Arnold Schwarzenegger has never been nervous of talking about his faith, and faith is now a hot word in Hollywood, from the enduring dedication of the Jonas Brothers, to the occasionally wily but always redeemed Justin Bieber.

In recent months, Covid and Black Lives Matter have, in very different ways, asked us to reflect, reacquaint and readjust. And yet, while thanking God and looking to him for guidance has been a staple of many an Academy Award acceptance speech, it’s not always been ‘cool’ to preach the faith, lest stars attract criticism or alienate a chunk of their possible fanbase, particularly in these ‘woke’ times.

For Schwarzenegger, however, alienation was never a fear, for he was an anomaly on the streets of California – the very definition of a ‘legal alien’. Having built up a formidable reputation as a body-builder in Europe – he began lifting weights at 15 and won his first Mr. Universe title at the record-breaking age of 21 – the power-packed self-starter arrived...

How can a ‘man of God’ make a living hurting people? Stuart Weir checks out the boxing pastor Derrick Osaze.

Derrick Osaze has two jobs. He is a professional boxer and an ordained pastor in his church in Nottingham. The ‘Punching Preacher’ has won all ten of his professional fights so far. He says of the name: ‘It’s not a nickname I picked for myself. It’s one I tried to reject at all times. I was ordained last year in March. So I guess I’d embrace the nickname now because it’s the truth, I do punch and I do preach.’ Sorted decided to ask him if he felt there was any conflict between loving his neighbour and punching his lights out. We will return to that later…

Osaze, who grew up in a Roman Catholic home in South London, was often in trouble. He was a sporty kid playing football, rugby and basketball. He takes up the story: ‘I had issues dealing with anger management and I was getting into trouble at school. I had been excluded from school about 16 times and was on the verge of ...

Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button is still in the fast lane. Stuart Weir reveals all.

Jenson Button is a member of an exclusive club, one of only 13 men to have been Formula 1 World Champion. In a career lasting 17 years he has driven in 306 Grand Prix, achieving 50 podium finishes and 15 wins. His career started with the Williams team, followed by time with Benetton, Renault, BAR, Honda, Brawn and McLaren. In 2009 he was World Champion. That year Button also finished second to footballer Ryan Giggs in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

Like so many F1 drivers, Button started in karting at the age of eight, achieving early success before progressing to car racing in Formula Ford and Formula 3, getting his chance in Formula 1 in 2000 with the Williams team. He was clear from an early age about the direction he wanted his life to take, commenting: ‘My school reports always used to point out that my concentration levels were appalling. I never listened in class becau...

The Black Lives Matter campaign exploded into life in Britain on 7 June, after the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was hurled into the harbour in Bristol by a furious group of protestors. Watching events unfold that day was Marvin Rees, a member of the BAME community and the city’s elected Mayor. And, as he explains, he hopes the controversy will act as an important agent of change.

Q: Do you endorse the statue of Edward Colston being thrown into Bristol harbour, or was it a legitimate form of protest?

I can’t endorse it as a civic leader, because it was criminal damage. I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t want the statue gone years ago, or that I mourn its passing. And I think it was poetic for a statue to be taken down, carried through the streets and thrown into the harbour, from the very quayside where some of his ships would have docked. It’s not just the statue, Colston’s name is all over the city. Colston had a drive to bring civic order to the city at a time when...

When Michael Bushby was first told that his cancer treatment hadn’t worked, and he would need stronger chemotherapy for theincurable stage four cancer in his chest, spleen, neck, bone marrow and stomach, he panicked. After drinking a lot of alcohol, he locked himself in his garage, beer in hand, with a rope – ready to hang himself.
His family saved him. ‘If you don’t open this door, we’ll call the police’ shouted his wife, Maria, and his daughters, Helen and Jennifer, joined in.

‘I was angry with God. But I will never forget hearing the voices of my wife and daughters. I came outside the garage and surrendered my life completely to God. I said to him that whatever life I have left, take it and use it for your glory.’

After three sessions of strong chemotherapy, followed by a week in isolation for an infection, Michael was told his ‘incurable’ cancer was in complete remission. And it has left him unafraid of it returning, because of his faith: ‘God works together for the good of ...

Matthew ‘Ollie’ Ollerton is a former Special Forces operative whose missions included hostage rescue, counter-narcotics, counter-terrorism and homeland security. His autobiography Break Point is a Sunday Times best-seller, and he’s best known for putting contestants through their paces on Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins.

Q: How have you been coping in lockdown?

A bit too easily! Anyone who’s been in the military will have coped more easily in lockdown, but I relate to what people are going through because when you leave the military, you lose the structure of your working week, and the framework of your everyday. You’re no longer connected to your support network of friends, and you’re left with a void. That’s exactly what people have been going through.

I actually put myself into isolation, in my own bootcamp, in 2015. I had no money and a lot of issues, so I could’ve gone, ‘Oh, my life’s terrible,’ and been a victim, but instead I went, ‘This is amazing! I’ve got the opportu...

In his time he’s donned military uniform for the Queen and served a prison sentence for theft. Now Paul Cowley’s life has taken a very different path.

Paul Cowley's CV really is that short: thief, prisoner, soldier, priest. After a difficult childhood, he fell into crime, but in his case, his criminal career was short…

Q: What made such a difference?

The army saved my life. If the army hadn’t given me the opportunity of joining up, I think I would have ended up dead or in prison again. The army is an institution and I like institutions: you know where you are with them. They have boundaries, rules, and I needed that in my life. But it couldn’t really prepare me for normal life, so in some ways, (when I left), I was back where I was before, except I was fitter, stronger, more determined and, looking back, quite angry. What I never gained from my military service was a moral code. Morally, I was a nightmare.

Q: But God intervened…

My first encounter with the God stuff was ...

Abuna Yamata Guh is a place that I will never forget. Hidden in the remote mountains of Gheralta in northern Ethiopia, Abuna Yamata is a monolithic church built on top of rocks and carved into the side of a cliff above a staggering 250 metre drop.

The road to the church snakes through the epic Gheralta Mountains. The scenery was beyond description and the mountains featured the most incredible rock formations. We got to the foothills. The road stopped. The climb started. The mountains were epic and magnificent. A Coptic Christian priest makes an incredible journey there every day, climbing sheer, steep cliffs barefoot and without a rope.

We started the challenging climb and after 45 minutes we made it to the cliff. Although I was a bit under the weather, the incredible scenery, fresh mountain weather and a surge of adrenalin perked me up. While climbing, I was thinking to myself: what must go through someone’s mind to compel them to build a church in the side of a cliff?

When ...

In the first half of a two-part interview for Sorted, Simon Weston talks about losing friends, forgiving enemies and battling on.

Q: You’ve received an OBE, a CBE and an honorary doctorate – to name just a few of your awards and honours! Which ones mean the most to you?

As a soldier, I saw my fair share of aggression and roughness and I was a part of some of it as well, but what left a mark on my heart more than anything was kindness, decency and humanity. Moments of heroism, moments of courage – moments of sheer terror, and people doing it anyway. That’s what stays with me more than anything else. That’s why the awards mean so much to me, because it’s a recognition of my efforts. It’s really kind that somebody nominated me and I always feel thrilled.

All the awards are immensely emotive, and each one is special in its own way – particularly the ones voted for by the general public.

The Freedom of the City of Liverpool was special because Liverpool took me to their hearts. ...