It wasn't all bad...
We'll be honest, 2017, you haven't always been great. But there were times when you made us laugh. Here's some of your best bits...
Michelle Obama's inauguration side-eye
Eight years of first lady photo calls should have made Michelle Obama a seasoned pro at hiding her true feelings, but at Trump’s inauguration – with this terrific WTF side-eye – she really was all of us…
Beyonce's oh-so-casual casual pregnancy announcement
For most women it’s an Instagram ‘bumpie’ or a baby scan on Facebook. If you’re Beyoncé, the only way to announce your pregnancy is with a shoot masterminded by Ethiopian artist Awol Erizku. We also enjoyed the wave of Beyoncé baby bump imitation shots that followed.
The kid who gatecrashed her Dad's BBC interview
Four-year-old Marion Kelly and her baby brother James became our favourite thing on the Internet when they danced/rolled into the background of their father Professor Robert E Kelly’s interview on BBC news. At a later photocall, Marion dressed like a tiny detective in a mac and pink-framed glasses. No big deal.
Trump's cup of covfefe
In the early hours of 31 May, President Trump tweeted: ‘Despite the constant negative press covfefe’. Was it a fat-fingered typo? A plea for caffeine? Or a new Trumpism to add to his growing repertoire? As ever, with this president, it’s anyone’s guess. Among the jokes the tweet inspired was one from Hillary Clinton, who replied to a Trump insult with ‘People in covfefe houses shouldn’t throw covfefe.’ BURN.
Theresa May's naughty fields of wheat
During a final campaign push for an election that would prove disastrous, Theresa May was asked a question she couldn’t reply to with the words ‘strong and stable’: ‘What’s the naughtiest thing you’ve ever done?’ There were sniggers when she replied, rather head-girlishly, about upsetting local farmers as a child by running through fields of wheat. Us too, Theresa, us too…
The jealous girlfriend stock photo
A stock photo of a boyfriend eyeing up a woman on the street became almost impossible to avoid this year, hijacked to symbolise anything from Taylor Swift’s new album to the dangers of global warming. Don’t get it? An under-25 near you can explain.
The intern who saved Southern Rail
With passengers united in hatred against its service, only one person could turn around the PR fortunes of Southern Rail. Enter work-experience student Eddie Smith, who took over the firm’s Twitter account for two glorious days. ‘Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?’ was a vast improvement on ‘we’re sorry for the inconvenience…’
A Super Versace comeback
Twenty years after her brother Gianni’s death, Donatella Versace’s SS18 show repeated one of the most iconic moments in catwalk history, as Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Carla Bruni and Helena Christensen stormed the runway together. The soundtrack? George Michael’s Freedom of course.
Literally everything about Blue Planet 2
Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet 2 brought a gasp-inducing front-row view of life under (and out of) the sea, and that five-minute clip of a mother walrus struggling on a patch of melting ice hammered home the effects of global warming more than a bar chart ever could.
Prue's Great British F**k Up
Poor Prue Leith. On a trip to Bhutan, the Bake Off judge muddled the time difference and accidentally tweeted series winner Sophie her congratulations… before the show had aired. ‘I fucked up,’ Prue replied when asked about the error. Witnessing Prue swear made it all worth it.
