The final celebrity line-up has been confirmed for the 2026 Scaffolding Excellence Awards, with comedian Dara Ó Briain set to lead this year’s ceremony.
Ó Briain will be joined by Countdown presenter Rachel Riley MBE, actress and presenter Kym Marsh and former England cricketer Phil Tufnell.
The line-up brings together well-known names from British television, comedy and sport for one of the scaffolding and access industry’s biggest awards nights.
Dara Ó Briain to host
Ó Briain is best known for hosting the BBC comedy panel show Mock the Week and has presented programmes including Robot Wars, Stargazing Live, Blockbusters and Dara Ó Briain’s Go 8 Bit.
He also has a long-running stand-up career. His previous tour, So… Where Were We?, played 173 venues across 20 countries and won Best Tour at the 2023 Chortle Awards.
His latest show, Re, has played across the UK, Ireland and Northern Europe, with further international dates scheduled during 2026.
He is also due to return to television with a new comedy entertainment series, Dara’s Dull Appreciation Society, announced in June.
Rachel Riley joins awards line-up
Rachel Riley MBE will also join the celebrations, bringing another familiar television face to this year’s awards.
Riley is best known as the numbers expert on Channel 4’s Countdown, a role she has held since 2009 after replacing long-serving presenter Carol Vorderman. She has since become a regular part of the programme and is also well known for her appearances on comedy spin-off 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
A mathematics graduate from the University of Oxford, Riley has built much of her broadcasting career around numbers, puzzles and popular science, appearing across a range of television programmes alongside her long-running Countdown role.
Away from television, she has become a prominent campaigner for Holocaust education and against antisemitism.
Riley was awarded an MBE for her work in this area and, in October 2025, received the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of her contribution to Holocaust education and antisemitism awareness.
Kym Marsh confirmed
Actress, singer and television presenter Kym Marsh will also attend the awards.
Marsh first became widely known as a member of pop group Hear’Say before moving into acting, including more than a decade playing Michelle Connor in Coronation Street. Her work on the soap earned her several awards, including Best Female Dramatic Performance at the British Soap Awards.
She has since appeared as Nicky Walters in BBC drama Waterloo Road and as a presenter on Morning Live, adding to a television career that has spanned entertainment, drama and daytime broadcasting.
Her stage career has also kept her busy during 2026. Marsh has been starring alongside Lisa Faulkner in the world premiere stage adaptation of psychological thriller Single White Female, which toured venues across the UK and Ireland during the first half of the year.
Phil Tufnell completes line-up
Former England cricketer Phil “Tuffers” Tufnell completes the guest line-up.
The former left-arm spinner took 121 Test wickets for England, including 11 wickets against Australia at The Oval in 1997.
Since retiring from professional cricket, Tufnell has built a broadcasting career through programmes including A Question of Sport and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, alongside his work as a cricket commentator and pundit.
He remains part of the BBC’s cricket coverage in 2026, including analysis of The Hundred.
The Scaffolding Excellence Awards recognise companies, projects and people from across the scaffolding and access sector.
Organisers say demand for tickets and tables is high and are encouraging those planning to attend to book as soon as possible.
