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Winner of Luke Westlake Scholarship 2025 Announced

6 Dec 2025

Eight shortlisted drama students sat anxiously on the front row of the Lyric Hammersmith this week awaiting the result of the seventh annual Luke Westlake Scholarship.

A wonderful initiative that plays an important role in opening doors

The eponymous actor’s parents, Lee and Bridgette Westlake, were present to commemorate their son and draw attention to the way in which JAM, the company behind the awards, and its directors Liam McLaughlin and Kristian Wall, have honoured his memory with the scholarship and done so much to help aspiring actors from working-class backgrounds. In a heartfelt speech, Lee recognised the challenges these young people face, the complexities of their backgrounds and the drive they need in order to achieve their dreams.

Videos of previous winners talking about the process of applying and the impact of the scholarship on their careers opened the evening, before comedian and presenter Stephen Bailey, in a stunning mottled pink suit, took up his role as compère. Welcomes done, he explained the scholarship and introduced the short video clips from each of the actors’ performances, to which they had added a commentary on their background and what winning the scholarship would mean to them, all interspersed with camp humour and lively banter with some singled-out audience members.

As the tension mounted, musical interludes were provided by singers David Hunter and Chelsea Halfpenny, with musical director Jon Ranger accompanying on the piano. Lee Westlake ended his speech with a reminder to all nominees of the sacrifices made by their "nearest and dearest”.

The rigorous selection process shortlisted Ashleigh Alana (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama), Kyle Casey (Guildhall School of Music and Drama), Annabel Gray (LAMDA), Simrita Khela (Guildhall School of Music and Drama), Thomas Mac Diarmada (LAMDA), Jasmine MacGregor (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), Sarah Jane Mulgrew (RADA) and Alana Ruddy (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama) as the finalists from a field of 129 applications from 22 drama schools and universities across the UK.

It was down to Bridgette Westlake to open the envelope, and she was delighted to announce Simrita Khela as the winner of the 2025 Luke Westlake Scholarship. The annual award, sponsored this year by Act On This – The TV Actors Network, provides over £6,000 in financial and career development support to a working-class actor in the final stages of professional training.

Commenting on the result, Dr David Linton, Head of Acting and Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Acting degree at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, said, “The Luke Westlake Scholarship is a wonderful initiative that plays an important role in opening doors. We are so grateful for this support and delighted that Simrita will benefit from this opportunity.”

Photo: Lee Westlake, Simrita Khela and Bridgette Westlake

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