Dianne Bourne

Dianne Bourne turns entertainment and lifestyle stories into firsthand consumer guides, using her own experiences to show what a night out, attraction or trend really feels like and costs. As lifestyle editor at the Manchester Evening News, she covers local events, entertainment, food and drink, theatre, tourism and TV with a focus on accessibility and value for ordinary readers. Her work ranges from testing health resets and festive days out to reviewing department stores and airport lounges, always rooted in practical detail and clear verdicts.

City nights out and the cost of fun

Bourne’s coverage of nights out and family trips often centres on what people actually spend, rather than just what they see. She has broken down the “mind-blowing” cost of what should be a simple outing with her children, listing snacks, hot food and treats to show how quickly a day at major attractions turns expensive. That same attention to pricing and value runs through her entertainment writing, where ticket costs, food and drink bills and add-ons are treated as core parts of the story, not background detail.

Her pieces give a clear sense of whether an experience feels worth the money once everything is counted.

Retail landmarks, festive experiences and city attractions

Bourne frequently reports from major retail and leisure landmarks, focusing on how they function as lived spaces rather than just brand names.

She has examined one of the city’s most iconic department stores, describing how it feels overlooked despite its heritage and pointing out the “one weird thing missing” from the experience. In coverage of a once-famed “Harrods of the North”, she has gone in person to see what remains and how the store fits into the modern city, bringing a reviewer’s eye to layout, atmosphere and offer.

Her festive reporting includes detailed reviews of Christmas attractions such as Lapland Manchester, where she characterises the event as the most epic and extravagant Christmas experience she has visited and explains why it earns that description. She has also assessed seasonal supermarket ranges, testing items like hash brown towers, gingerbread cookies and turkey wellington and separating hits from misses in straightforward language.

Across these pieces, she treats shops and attractions as stories about experience, choice and mood, with concrete examples from the shop floor or trail to support her conclusions.

TV, live entertainment and streaming guides

Alongside lifestyle features, Bourne covers TV and live entertainment with a clear service angle.

In guides such as her piece on how to watch Take That’s Amazon Circus livestream, she sets out practical steps and viewing options so fans can access major events without confusion. Her professional profiles highlight regular work on events, theatre and TV, reflecting an entertainment brief that stretches from live performances to broadcast and streaming.

She tends to frame these stories around what audiences need to know - how to see the show, what kind of experience to expect, and how it fits into the wider calendar of concerts, specials and cultural moments.

Health, lifestyle resets and everyday experiments

Bourne often puts herself at the centre of health and lifestyle coverage, testing trends to see how they work in daily life. In her feature on Dr Amir Khan’s “September reset”, she follows six specific tips - such as adding one healthier element to familiar meals, planning food choices ahead of time, and building a short daily outdoor routine - and reports what they feel like to adopt.

She writes about identifying personal “drains”, from checking emails late into the evening to doomscrolling before bed, then documents the impact of changing one behaviour over several days. This approach turns expert advice into a narrative of trial and reflection, giving readers concrete examples of schedules, decisions and moments where a reset is hard or helpful.

Her lifestyle pieces tend to focus on manageable adjustments rather than dramatic transformations, showing how minor changes fit into normal routines.

Travel and consumer experiences beyond the city

Bourne extends her consumer-focused style to travel and transport, reviewing services that sit between everyday life and treat purchases. In a recent article for a national news site, she tested a new £57 airport lounge, detailing dynamic pricing, the booking window, inclusions like a carvery and drinks, and the limited two-hour stay before departure. She sets out starting prices for different lounge options, notes how costs vary by date and time, and explains the rules on children and same-day bookings. The result is a clear account of what travellers get for the fee and how the lounge operates in practice, written in the same grounded, consumer-minded tone she uses for attractions and nights out.

This work complements her local lifestyle coverage by showing how value and experience play out in travel settings as well as in the city’s shops, venues and events.