Ryan Paton

Ryan Paton is a senior journalist at the Liverpool Echo who covers celebrity and entertainment news. His coverage is distinguished by the way it connects high-profile film, television and music stories to the people, venues and culture on his patch through first-hand reporting and reflective features. He moves between red-carpet interviews, concert and screening reports, pub and food columns and character-led pieces about well-known figures, giving his work a strong sense of presence and place.

Celebrity interviews and profiles

Ryan Paton’s core work centres on interviews and profiles of actors, performers and entertainers, often drawing out how their careers relate back to the communities they come from. He has interviewed Jodie Comer more than once, including a recent face-to-face conversation timed to the release of The Death of Robin Hood and an earlier phone interview ahead of 28 Years Later, using the encounters to explore how she embodies the strengths of her home city.

In a birthday piece on Ricky Tomlinson, he notes that he has interviewed the actor five times and uses that familiarity to explain how Tomlinson’s enthusiasm and long-running roles have helped turn him into a national treasure. He brings similar attention to Stephen Graham, reporting on the actor’s emotional encounter with Timothée Chalamet, his new book and a live event where contributors read letters from fathers, framing Graham’s work within a broader mission to open up conversations between men.

In his Pub Corner sit-down with Alexei Sayle in the Flat Iron pub near Anfield, he mixes biography, political history and present-day activism into a conversational portrait of a veteran comic reflecting on his life and new book. Beyond actors, his celebrity reporting includes figures such as UFC fighter Paddy Pimblett and fellow fighter Molly McCann, using Pimblett’s favourite restaurant and the launch of their documentary series Show No Mersey to anchor a wider look at their personalities and connection with audiences.

On the ground at gigs, screenings and award shows

A large part of his output comes from being physically present at major entertainment events and writing from the vantage point of a reporter in the room. He covers concerts such as Zach Bryan’s Anfield show by spending the day with fans and documenting the emotional ties they have to the artist, turning a gig review into a study of what his music means to people.

He reports from world-premiere listening events, including Sir Paul McCartney’s intimate homecoming show at the Jacaranda and a preview of McCartney’s album The Boys of Dungeon Lane, describing how new work reflects formative years while unpacking the “secret code” of local references.

Film screenings are another strand of his beat: he reviews a Kenny Dalglish documentary from a screening attended by Alan Hansen, weaving Hansen’s health update into the story, and covers the first UK showing of Bradley Cooper’s John Bishop-inspired movie at the London Film Festival. Awards coverage runs from red-carpet dispatches to broader reflections on the industry, as seen in his report from the BAFTA TV Awards, where he interviews James Nelson-Joyce and Ellis Howard and highlights the number of nominees from his patch, and in a separate feature celebrating Merseyside stars whose success challenges barriers to working-class access to the arts.

Live music reporting extends to moments such as The Christians’ emotional announcement during a homecoming gig at the Philharmonic Hall, where he records how a tribute interrupts the show and reshapes the atmosphere. His social feeds show similar on-the-ground work at events like Jürgen Klopp’s farewell at the M&S Bank Arena, where he documents the crowd’s reaction and post-event singing, reinforcing that much of his coverage comes from experiencing entertainment moments alongside fans.

Pub Corner, food and everyday culture

Ryan Paton runs recurring formats that look at entertainment and culture through everyday places, especially pubs and food. His Pub Corner series takes him into venues such as the Sable Bar & Co in Liverpool John Lennon Airport, where he spends a morning with holidaymakers and staff to examine the appeal of the “airport pub” and the social rituals around early-morning drinking.

The same series brings him together with Alexei Sayle in a neighbourhood pub, turning a simple drink into an extended conversation about upbringing, politics and creative life.

He writes tasting pieces such as a comparison of Guinness, Murphy’s and Beamish after the three Irish stouts are reunited in UK pubs, using first-person testing with a colleague to judge how they stack up and what their return means for drinkers. Food also becomes a way into celebrity stories: in his feature on Paddy Pimblett’s favourite meal, he visits Furusato Bar & Grill to order the dishes the UFC star recommends and assesses whether they live up to their reputation as a “champion’s meal.” In his coverage of a “mystery” shop on Rice Lane, he goes inside and speaks to the owner who insists it is just like any other business, applying the same descriptive, on-the-ground method to a curious local enterprise as he does to bars and restaurants.

Championing film, television and music linked to his patch

Across his entertainment beat, Ryan Paton repeatedly spotlights film, television and music projects that are made by, or closely tied to, talent from his outlet’s area. His BAFTA coverage emphasises how many nominees and leading actors come from the region and treats their success as a cultural milestone, highlighting shows like This City Is Ours, Adolescence, A Thousand Blows and What It Feels Like For A Girl that have strong local connections.

He follows up with more focused pieces on individuals, including James Nelson-Joyce, where he links a gesture on the BAFTAs red carpet to the values of the city he represents. His film writing often centres on stories rooted in local figures, whether reviewing the Kenny Dalglish documentary, tracking Bradley Cooper’s adaptation of John Bishop’s life story or interviewing Jodie Comer around her latest lead roles. In television and soap coverage, he reports from events where Brookside stars reunite and marks milestones such as Hollyoaks’ 30th birthday, treating long-running shows as part of the area’s cultural fabric.

His work on Sir Paul McCartney’s album and homecoming listening event adds music to that picture, showing how new releases and intimate gigs continue a lineage of artists whose careers are intertwined with the place they came from. Taken together, these strands mean that his entertainment reporting does more than relay announcements: it consistently frames film, TV and music stories against the backdrop of the creative community that produces them.