Archive for the ‘Features’ Category

Does Jonathan Creek pilot from 1997 show that BBC knew about phone hacking?

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

By Marc Moninski

The BBC was fully aware that hacking into people’s answerphone messages was a widespread journalistic practice as long ago as 1997.

If proof is needed, just watch this clip from the pilot episode of Jonathan Creek called ‘The Wrestler’s Tomb’ – produced by the BBC’s own in-house entertainment department, and aired on 10th May 1997.

In the episode, Caroline Quentin plays the role of a freelance investigative journalist called Maddie Magellan.  In one scene  she taps into the answerphone of a character she is investigating, by entering combinations of the possible message retrieval code until she gets the right one.

For activities such as this to make it to a drama series, it has to have been pretty widespread and well-known.  Hacking into phone messages (albeit mobile ones) is at the heart of the current furore.  Which makes all the denials we are hearing during the Leveson Inquiry seem like complete hypocrisy.  It seems to me that it’s time for the BBC – and David Renwick (who conceived and wrote the series) – to explain where they got the idea from and how widespread the practice was.  After all, we’re talking 14 years ago.

I wonder how many of the 9.31 million* people viewing the episode thought they were watching something that was wrong, let alone that it would lead to the demise of The News of the World.

(*and that’s just the first airing of this episode, which has also been aired on several PBS stations in the U.S. and on BBC America, as well as countless repeats on Watch in the UK.  Which begs the question as to whether there isn’t a touch of hypocrisy in the public’s surprise and outrage at such practices.)

Via Moninski.com

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Posted in BBC 1, BBC Television, Drama, Features | No Comments »

Sir David Attenborough discusses The Bachelor King 3D – his latest Sky 3D movie

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

David-Attenborough-3d.jpg
Last night Tech Digest, TV’s Scooop’s sister title, was invited to the première of Sky 3D’s latest natural history movie, The Bachelor King 3D. Helmed by Sir David Attenborough, the movie tracks the trials and triumphs of a King penguin from adolescence to adulthood.

You’d expect nothing less from an Attenborough flick, but The Bachelor King 3D, shot on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, is particularly beautiful, in no small part thanks to the 3D work employed. From underwater chases with Orca whales to sweeping shots of hundreds of thousands of penguins protecting their brood in the harshest climate on the planet, it’s funny, tragic, and touching, giving an informative look at these charming birds.

It’s the second time Attenborough has been commissioned by Sky 3D, following last year’s Flying Monsters 3D movie. But 3D natural history movies come with their own shooting challenges.

“Technically it is impossible to use a long telephoto lens, the reason being that a 3D camera mimics the human eye and has two cameras close together with the same kind of separation as our own” said Attenborough.

“If you shut one eye when looking at something that’s close to you, you get one view, shut the other you get another view. The brain puts those two together.

“If you’re looking at something on the other side of this theatre, you would see no difference. The way that you would get a stereo image is to separate the two components further.

“But when you do that…they have different backgrounds so it won’t go together. So with the state-of-the-art at the moment it’s not possible to use long lenses. And that is a very considerable problem when it comes to natural history programming.”

ice penguin bar
However, that’s not to undermine the importance of Attenborough’s films. When asked by Tech Digest whether his two roles as both naturalist and broadcaster ever came into conflict, Attenborough answered:

“Broadcasting has given natural history a chance to reach audiences it never ever could before. Particularly these days, when according to the United Nations over half the population of this globe is now urbanised. This means to a greater of lesser extent, they’re living without contact to nature.

“Some people wont see a single wild creature from dawn to dusk, apart from a pigeon or a rat! But it’s crucially important for our own welfare that we understand the natural world. Natural history is not just a pastime, it’s an essential part of someone’s comprehension of the world in which we live, and we depend upon that world.

“I believe broadcasting has a very important function in keeping natural history in the awareness of an ever increasingly urban population.”

Attenborough’s next two Sky 3D flicks, ready for broadcast next year, will be shot in Kew Gardens and the Galapagos Islands respectively, the latter of which he last visited back in 2006.

“Galapagos is one of the most wonderful places in the world. There are extraordinary creatures living there that live nowhere else – a whole slew of marvellous animals” said Attenborough.

“But one of the things that make them even more extraordinary is that because the islands were not discovered by human beings until relatively recently, and they had remained isolated for so long, the animals still haven’t become frightened of human beings. You can walk among them carrying your own snap shot cameras or even carrying a 3D rig and they won’t go away. They continue behaving in just the way that they would do naturally. Galapagos is full of drama, full of charismatic creatures which you can film; it is a natural for 3D.”

The commissions are part of Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in original UK content by 50% to £600million a year by 2014, further cementing its position as one of the biggest investors in the UK’s creative enterprises.

Via TechDigest.tv

The Bachelor King 3D will air exclusively on Sky 3D at 8pm on New Years Eve, 31st December. It will then have a theatrical release, before returning to Sky 3D in 2012.

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X Factor 2011: girl group Little Mix voted surprise winners

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Amelia Lily

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Amelia Lily
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Little Mix were crowned champions of The X Factor last night.

The girl group – made up of Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall – beat off stiff competition from fellow finalist Marcus Collins to become the first band in the history of the ITV1 show to be named winners.

After a string of breathtaking performances – including a rendition of their winner’s single ‘Cannonball’ – the quartet struggled to contain their emotions as host Dermot O’Leary broke the news to them and ecstatic mentor Tulisa Contostavlos.

Jesy said: “Oh my God, this is never going to sink in. We can’t thank the public enough for picking up the phone.”

After receiving the backing of show boss Simon Cowell – who has predicted the group will be as big as the Spice Girls – Little Mix are now expected to rake in a staggering £8 million in commercial deals.

As well as their £150,000 record deal advance, the foursome are expected to bag a number of lucrative contracts with major brands.

An insider told The Sun newspaper: “Offers have been coming in for weeks now. People in marketing spend their lives looking for suitable role models. Little Mix are the full package. The trick will be knowing what to turn down.”

Meanwhile, Simon has also lined up Richard ‘Biff’ Stannard – the songwriter who helped the Spice Girls find fame – and ‘X Factor’ head judge Gary Barlow to work alongside the band.

The source added: “Simon has made no bones of the fact that he wants the best writers on board. He genuinely thinks the girls can be as big as – if not bigger than – the Spice Girls.

See the gallery above for all the fashion from the weekend.

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X Factor 2011: Janet Devlin gets the boot, at last

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

Janet Devlin: the Irish singer wasn't everyone's cup of tea

Though widely tipped to win the competition, it always looked like Janet Devlin was going to struggle after last night’s terrible live performances on The X Factor.

Claiming she was sick, the Irish warbler managed to forget the lyrics to her ‘guilty pleasure’, Hanson’s Mmm Bopp – a song with only about five words in it. Sure, she picked it up for her second ‘hero’ performance of the night, Red Chilli Peppers’ Under The Bridge but she was still a long way short of her slicker opposition.

But this is Janet Devlin who somehow had managed to avoid being voted in the bottom two since the competition began despite several poor and bland performances in recent weeks. So when she was voted into the bottom two tonight (November 27th, 2011) I did think that maybe she would be lucky once again.

Predictably enough her sing-off was against Misha B who is no stranger to these events, having finished in the bottom two three times. And while Devlin’s choice of a Snow Patrol number was perfect for her strange, ethereal voice – and she performed it well – it was no match for Misha B who looked and sounded every bit like a natural performer during the sing off.

In the end, both Louis and Tulisa’s votes to send Janet home proved to be enough to finish her off after Kelly decided to abstain (in any case Gary Barlow would have voted to send Janet packing too).

So who next to leave the stage? Though I think Marcus and Misha are the best singers and performers in the competition it’s difficult to imagine that Misha can go all the way with the public so divided over her (she still hasn’t got over those stories of bullying in the press).  I reckon, then, the final will be Amelia Lily, Marcus and girl group Little Mix and that Marcus will be crowned the overall winner.

ALL IMAGES: ITV.com and ITVPICTURES.COM

X Factor 2011: Janet Devlin voted off

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X Factor 2011: Janet Devlin voted off
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Janet forgets the words to Hanson's, er, classic Mmm Bopp

 

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I’m A Celebrity 2011. TOWIE’s Mark Wright named favourite ahead of Dougie Poynter and Antony Cotton

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

Mark Wright

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Mark Wright
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COPYRIGHT: ITV

 

TOWIE star Mark Wright (pictured above)  has been tipped to be this year’s King of the Jungle after the line-up for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here was unveiled.

The 24-year-old is the bookies’ early favourite to win the competition, with William Hill offering odds of 7/2 on him surviving until the end.

I'm a Celebrity 2011: Dougie Poynter (Pic: ITV)

McFly bassist Dougie Poynter (pictured above), who will celebrate his 24th birthday Down Under, is second favourite at 9/2.

The boyband star is looking forward to his jungle experience, saying: “I am really into nature and Sir David Attenborough is a god to me.”

McFly’s Dougie Poynter is the bookies’ second favourite to win

It’s all about the boys this year, as camp Corrie star Antony Cotton is the 5/1 third favourite.

Other stars in with a chance of victory are Jessica-Jane Clement (8/1), Freddie Starr (10/1) and Fatima Whitbread (12/1).

Via Daily Mirror:  http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2011/11/10/i-m-a-celebrity-2011-towie-star-mark-wright-is-early-favourite-to-win-115875-23552294/#ixzz1dJrhk7S9

See I’m  A Celebrity Gallery below:

 

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Coronation Street’s Betty Driver dies at 91

Saturday, October 15th, 2011

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for BETTY DRIVER.jpgCoronation Street actress Betty Driver has died at the age of 91. Driver, who first joined the ITV soap in 1969 as barmaid Betty Turpin – later Williams, “died peacefully in hospital” in the early hours of Saturday.

She had played the role of Rovers Return barmaid Betty Williams (Turpin) in the soap for 42 years. The actress had been in hospital for six weeks. She had also been unwell earlier in the year and was treated for a chest infection in 2010.

An ITV spokesman said: “She will be sadly missed by everyone who knew her.”
Barbara Knox, who plays Rita Sullivan in Coronation Street, said: “I have lost a very dear friend and the Street has lost a very great character, a professional to her fingertips – she will be greatly missed.”

Julie Goodyear, former barmaid Bet Lynch in the soap, said: “It was an honour and a privilege to work with Betty Driver for 25 years. We laughed together, we cried together and never once had a cross word. She was a totally professional actress. A true icon and legend and a very dear friend.”

Goodyear said Driver was “the very foundation of the Rovers Return”, and added: “She will be missed and remembered by millions.”

She was employed on a three-month contract but stayed for 42 years. “I thought, why not,” Driver recalled. “It’ll make a break for a while.”

She had already been in showbusiness for more than 40 years, touring the UK as a singer by the age of 12. Driver was appointed an MBE in 1999.

Driver had originally auditioned for the role of Hilda Ogden in 1964 but was later persuaded to come out of retirement to audition for the role of Betty. She appeared in more than 2,800 episodes.

In January 2011 she told the BBC she would never retire. “I just love working and I will never retire – ever – they’ll have to shoot me to get rid of me,” she said. “I just love people, you see, and I love the cast.”

Born in Leicester, Elizabeth Mary Driver moved to Manchester when she two. She described an unhappy childhood with little affection given to her or her younger sister Freda.

At the age of eight she discovered that she could sing and her mother immediately began forcing her to enter talent contests.

When she was just 14 she was given the leading role in the revue, Mr Tower of London, and was spotted by George Formby who cast her in his new film Boots! Boots!

Her scenes as a cabaret singer ended up on the cutting room floor but, many years later, the film was re-released on DVD with Driver’s scenes restored.

In 1940 Driver became a big band singer and toured extensively with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) appearing in shows for the troops.

After World War II she continued touring and appeared in her own BBC radio show, A Date With Betty, which was broadcast live.

She was cast in a series called Pardon the Expression, a comedy spin-off from Coronation Street, before retiring and then appearing on Coronation Street.

Driver had a seven-year marriage to singer Wally Peterson, which ended in her late 30s.

RIP Betty. You will be sorely missed.

Betty Driver 1920-2011

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Betty Driver 1920-2011
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File photo dated 07/03/2000 of Coronation Street veteran Betty Driver after she received her OBE at Buckingham Palace. The actress who played barmaid Betty Turpin in the ITV soap for 42 years has died today aged 91, said a spokeswoman for the programme.

GALLERY – BETTY WILLIAMS OVER FIVE DECADES

 

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Rentaghost goes Hollywood. We look at Top 5 1970s Kids Shows that should be movies!

Friday, October 14th, 2011

Rentaghost is to be given a Hollywood makeover

So apparently Rentaghost is set to get the Hollywood treatment, with Ben Stiller – star of Meet the Parents and Zoolander – in the lead role (yes I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true).

For those who can’t remember (or who are too young)  the cult 1970s TV series was basically about a temping agency run by the recently deceased Mr Mumford who tried to get work for ghosts.

Although originally commissioned for just five shows, 58 episodes and a Christmas special followed with audiences peaking at an astonishing 10 million.

The series starred Sue Nicholls (best known as Corrie’s Audrey Roberts) as Nadia Popov, a ghost who teleported when she sneezed. Other characters included Hazel the McWitch and pantomime horse Dobbin.

But which are the other shows of the 1970s which should be given the Hollywood makeover. Here we give our Top 5 (and by the way Here Come The Double Deckers and Pipkins didn’t make the cut, but it was a close run thing).

Mr Benn

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Mr Benn
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The classic 1970s series about a bowler-hatted gentleman who walks into a shop, gets changed into a fancy dress costume and enters a whole new world via a magic door. Amazingly only 12 episodes were ever made. Hollywood could definitely give it a makeover with loads of CGI showing Mr Benn with dinosaurs and dragons. But who could play Mr Benn? Hugh Grant maybe or perhaps more of an action hero like Daniel Craig or Hugh Jackman.

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X Factor 2011 pictures: What Kelly, Tulisa, Misha, 2 Shoes, Amelia Lily and other contestants wore

Monday, October 10th, 2011

It was a sad night yesterday as four acts were voted off the X Factor. Amelia Lily was voted off in the girls category meaning we may have lost the rock chic styling, while 2 Shoes got axed from the groups meaning we won’t be seeing any Essex Girl fashions for the rest of the series.

Both Kelly and Tulisa were reduced to tears as they delivered their verdicts.

However, while all the acts were visibly devastated to be axed from the competition without their talents being put to the public vote, 16-year-old Amelia Lily couldn’t hold back the tears as she was delivered her fate by mentor Kelly.

The young hopeful – who performed a rendition of Michael Jackson’s ‘Billy Jean’ – later warned other teens about the pressure in reaching the live stages of the competition.

Speaking on ITV2 spin-off show, she said: “It’s a lot of pressure to take on and anyone who wants to audition next year, prepare yourself.”

Amelia has now reportedly shunned Kelly – who chose to save Janet Devlin, Sophie Habibis and Misha Bryan – as she was so “horrified” at getting the boot.

An insider told The Sun newspaper: “Amelia’s complete devastation was hard to watch. She looked broken like she was going to collapse. The whole studio felt awful, Kelly was horrified at the effect her words had had.

“Amelia pushed past all the cameras, she just wanted to be alone from the looks of things. Kelly was trying to help her but Amelia didn’t want to speak to her.”

Rhythmix, The Risk and Nu Vibe now make up the Groups category, while Janet Devlin, Sophie Habibis and Misha Bryan are left of the Girls.

However, we’re far more concerned about what they were wearing.

See the gallery below  for all the star and contestant style.

(more…)

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X Factor 2011: Kelly Rowlands and Tulisa’s style

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

X Factor mania has officially gripped us with everybody talking about the final 16 and the “twist”.

However, over here at TV Scoop we’re also excited about all the style we can expect to see from both the judges and the female contestants in the upcoming weeks.
To get us in the mood for the next few months we’ve decided to take a look at the styles Tulisa and Kelly Rowland have been channelling so far, and dare we say they are fairly similar.

Both have been spotted in red dresses and black jumpsuits as well as sequined numbers. However, they both have very different takes. Kelly so far has bought in sophistication while Tulisa has bought in a more urban feel. We can’t wait to see what outfits the live shows bring.

See the style pics below.

(more…)

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Do we really want Corrie ‘webisodes’ (even if they do feature Rosie Webster)

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Helen Flanagan stars as Rosie Webster in Just Rosie 'webisodes'

By Corrieblog.tv editor, Dave Lee

And so it begins. Last week on Corrie we had the first glimpses of what the future of the soap may be like. Every few scenes there was a reference to Rosie Webster appearing on Lorraine Kelly’s TV show clumsily crow-barred into the dialogue. Many viewers will have been utterly bemused by these pointless references to the antics of an off-screen character, many more will have just been annoyed. Of course, it’s all part of ITV’s grand plan to begin migrating viewers onto the internet so that they can start charging them to watch net-only material.

Whether people will want to go to the internet to watch second fiddle ‘webisodes’ or if they will be prepared to pay for such half-hearted material as those currently available for free on the Just Rosie spin-off website remains to be seen. What is more relevant is how it will affect ‘normal’ Corrie episodes.

If last week’s Coronation Street episodes are anything to go by, viewers can expect disjointed, tangential conversations involving events not occurring in Weatherfield inserted into the plot and characters suddenly disappearing for months at a time while the actors that play them are off on ‘B’ team duties – i.e. filming poorly produced 10-minute episodes which will only ever be watched by a tiny percentage of the core Corrie audience.

Cannier media commentators are saying that ITV attempting to charge for access to programming won’t turn out to be the cash cow they hope and that their current audience-shifting efforts are ultimately futile. Let’s hope so, or Corrie may one day end up being little more than a series of scenes involving characters sitting in their front rooms, looking at laptops and exclaiming ‘This ITV player thing is amazing, so it is.’ (That was Jim McDonald saying that, if you’d not guessed).

You can make up your own mind by going to Just Rosie – Rosie’s website. And here’s a gallery of ‘super model’ Rosie Webster in action.

Coronation Street - Just Rosie

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Wild reality TV fun this October as Meerkats 3D premieres on Sky 3D

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011


You’d be excused for thinking meerkats are cute little creatures who sell insurance, but did you know that these funny, affectionate and cuddly creatures also have slightly more wicked side?

The nation has fallen in love with ‘the little earthmen’ who live in the Kalahari Desert, so when TVScoop was invited to an early screening of the small furballs’ next TV adventure we didn’t hesitate to accept.

Together with National Geographic Channel, Sky 3D are bringing you Meerkats 3D this October.

Meerkats 3D follows the journey of Clinky and her family of meerkats as they cope with the twists and turns of life in the stunning yet hostile Kalahari Desert. See the highs and lows of being a meerkat matriarch: the daily dilemmas, tackling the tough and dangerous terrain as well as trying to keep little teenage meerkat daughters out of trouble – and away from rival gang’s admirers!

Expect drama, sadness and a lot of giggles as Clinky, Miss Bean, Harry and the rest of the clan watch over the new pups as they tackle their first scorpion, avoid deadly cobra attacks and take their first trip out with the group, trying to keep up – their lives depending on it.

The hour-long docu soap is produced by Oxford Scientific Films – the team behind popular Meerkat Manor – and immerses the audience in the complex social lives of meerkats over several different seasons.

Caroline Hawkins, the film’s producer, said the team were keen to bring meerkats to 3D as the “format makes the film more natural and dramatic” and “brings the viewer into the meerkat world as closely as possible”.

Before the screening at London Zoo, we quickly caught up with Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tim Clutton-Brock, who has spent over 18 years studying the fascinating animals and who assisted the film team before they went on location. Prof. Clutton-Brock told stories of how the ten inch desert creatures can be quite vicious when needs be – killing or banishing their own to protect the future success of their clan – and why meerkats make a very poor pets because of their social nature. “They become quite vicious when taken away from their pack” and are quite “brutal and not just cuddly” said Prof Clutton-Brock, who generally avoids being called Meerkat King despite his vast knowledge of these small animals.

Meerkats 3D will be shown on the Sky 3D channel on Sunday 16th October at 8pm.

If you don’t own a 3D TV the 2D version of Meerkats can be seen on the same day and time on Nat Geo Wild (Sky channel 528).

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Even Tulisa’s mum tells her to stop X-Factor tears!

Monday, September 19th, 2011

X Factor 2011: Tulisa's tears

More blubbing over on The X-Factor this weekend, this time it was Tulisa’s turn as she was reduced to tears by aspiring singer and mother-of-four Michelle Barrett’s rendition of Whitney Houston’s All The Man I Need (it was OK, but not that fantastic). She told the hopeful: “You remind me of my mum. It was brilliant.”

Tulisa added: “She became unwell and spent the rest of her life singing in the kitchen.” (Not sure what Michelle thought of being compared to Tulisa’s Mum).

Watching The X-Factor Saturday night I had assumed that Tulisa’s Mum had, very sadly, died. But I was wrong. Apparently Tulisa became a carer for her mother Ann -  a sufferer of schizoaffective disorder – and she’s not exactly overjoyed that Tulisa is getting all emotional. She told her to “stop crying” as soon as she saw the footage, after becoming confused with whether the show was live.

Tulisa wrote on her twitter page: “As if my mum called me 2nit going “r u ok love?stop crying!”…ITS NOT LIVE YET MUM! I’m sitting eating my dinner! Haha she cracks me up. (sic)”

Michelle went through to the Boot Camp stage of the ITV1 competition after receiving four yes votes from the judging panel.”

 

X Factor Auditions 2011 - Glasgow

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X Factor Auditions 2011 - Glasgow
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Picture Shows: MICHELLE

 

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X-Factor premiere, Los Angeles. Pictures: Including Nicole Scherzinger

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

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L.A. Reid at FOX's "The X Factor" World Premiere Screening held at the ArcLight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood.

Fox’s X-Factor World Premiere Screening held at the ArcLight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood yesterday (September 14th, 2011).

 

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Paddy Doherty beats favourites Jedward to win Celebrity Big Brother

Friday, September 9th, 2011

Celebrity Big Brother 2011

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Celebrity Big Brother 2011
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Paddy Doherty is the winner of Celebrity Big Brother 2011, Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

Paddy Doherty has won Celebrity Big Brother.  The Big Fat Gypsy Weddings star beat runner-up Kerry Katona and third place Jedward – who had been favourites to win the Channel 5 fly-on-the-wall show – to be crowned champion of the series.

He said: “I want to say thank you to English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish voters. God bless every one of you. I swear to God, I swear on my life, I thought I would be out after one week.

“I never thought I would get this far. I had no game plan, I was just myself. I am me and that’s it.”

However, Paddy admitted he was “surprised” at how well the group accepted him in to their fold, as he felt like a “fish out of water”.

He added to Big Brother host Brian Dowling: “I was in a goldfish bowl, I was with people who have millions. I’m not used to mixing with people like that, I was a fish out of water. It surprised me how well a traveller could fit in, those people are tremendous.”

But the reality TV star confessed although he loved his time in the infamous house, he could have “drowned” Jedward at times.

Paddy joked: “Jedward are a pair of sausages. It was a nightmare living with them, I wanted to pick them up and drown them.”

Meanwhile, emotional runner-up Kerry – who has battled drug addiction, two divorces and bankruptcy in the past – thanked the British public for giving her the chance to right her previous wrongs.

She explained: “In the whole of my celebrity career, I never thought I’d get the chance to put the wrong right. This show has let me do that.

“My eldest daughter is 10 and I want to make her proud of me and do the right thing. A massive thank you to everyone who voted for me, not just for me but for my babies.

“I made some solid friends in there. Paddy and Darryn will be friends for life. Paddy gave me so much advice, and said, ‘Leave your past at the door’. I’ve been through it all, I’ve written the book, I’ve got the t-shirt.”

Big Brother launches with 14 new housemates tomorrow night (09.09.11) at 9.30pm on Channel 5, with the contestants set to be welcomed in to the house by former Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson.

She said: “I’m going to give them the ride of their lives. I’m going to leave a skid mark on every one of them.”

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Shit lookalikes? Saturday night rivals Gary Barlow and Jason Donovan

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

Image: PA Wire

Well you’ve got to admit they do have a look of each other with Jason passing for Gary’s slightly older, less well groomed but skinnier older brother. Certainly a lot has been made about their Saturday night rivalry.

The Australian actor and singer is about to take to the dancefloor on BBC1′s Strictly Come Dancing while Barlow has already made his debut as a judge on ITV1′s The X Factor. Donovan said: “Gary and I have had a laugh about us being Saturday night rivals. “I think Gary’s position is far more steady than mine.”

The star said he would not be surprised if Barlow stepped out on Strictly one day. He said: “Secretly I think Gary fancies himself in some sequins, a spray tan and doing the cha cha cha.”

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Strictly Come Dancing line-up. Including Robbie Savage, Alex Jones and Rory Bremner. Pictures

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

It’s the usual motley crew of assorted Z-list celebrities (Nancy Dell’Olio, Chelsee Healey, Russell Grant??!!) , ex MPs (Edwina Currie), comedians/presenters (Rory Bremner, Dann Lobb, Alex Jones) and ageing sports people (Audley Harrison, Robbie Savage) – all looking to supplement their income. Sorry impress us with their dancing skills.

One Show presenter Alex Jones admits she has no natural rhythm and Robbie Savage is more used to getting sent off a football pitch than staying on a dance floor, but then he seems to be everywhere at the moment since hanging up his playing boots.

Says the 36 year old former Leicester City player – onced regarded as one of the dirtiest player in football: “One thing my mother taught me is to respect your elders and respect people who know what they are doing…If the judges dis me who am I to tell them what they’re doing? I’d never argue off the field, it’s not who I am.”

The quality of the ‘celebs’ may not be the highest this year (and let’s face it, it never is), but Strictly Come Dancing is sure to excite a certain type of reality TV fan when it returns to BBC1 this Saturday, presented of course by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly.

Robbie Savage

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Robbie Savage
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Is Scoop the BBC’s revenge on print journalism?

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Stick with me on this one.

20 years ago the BBC screened an amazing Steven Moffat-penned children’s series called Press Gang. The inside track on a school’s kids run newspaper it starred Julia Sawalha (as Lynda basically (Kelvin) Mackenzie in a mini skirt), Dexter Fletcher and the brilliant Paul Reynolds (what the ferret happened to him?).

It was not only superbly scripted, brilliantly acted and daringly topical (they covered drugs, child abuse and more) mainly through the charactar of Lynda it showed journalists as heroes, publishing stories that exposed corruption, took on bullies and helped make school life better for all.

Yet it also showed Lynda as a real person dealing with her own insecurities and hang ups. It was also full of dirty jokes too, which made it a lot more fun than Blue Peter.

Most important of all though like a generation of other kids it inspired me to try my hand at journalism. And I am not the only one. Countless times, in conversation after conversation, other journalists have cited Press Gang and Lynda as the reason they joined the fourth estate.

Fast forward twenty years and the BBC has once again got a press-related programme on children’s TV. Scoop is a radical reworking of the Evelyn Waugh classic which stars Shaun Williamson (Barry from EastEnders) as a local newspaper journalist. Whereas Lynda was brave, intelligent and honest, Digby Digworth (Shaun’s charactar) is a bumbling, incompetent, lazy fool who is invariably beaten to his stories by his canine chum, the brilliantly named Hacker.

To make things worse the local newspaper editor Max De Lacey (played by Mark Benton) has zero scruples and thinks nothing of making stories up, fixing competitions so his relatives win and more.

Scoop is actually pretty funny, but it does portray journalists in a really negative light. You might scoff, but have local builders’ reputations ever recovered since the Beeb started screening The Chuckle Brothers? Thought not!

With the rise of citizen journalism, the problems of monetising web content and the stuttering economy haven’t local newspaper proprietors have enough on their plate at the moment?

To make amends the BBC should re run the original Press Gang and commission a reunion, where Lynda (quite possibly an alcoholic now) and Colin (obviously a banker) team up once more to save the nation from corrupt MPs, dodgy press barons, rioting gangs and morally bankrupt Catalan football teams

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Pictures – Big Brother launch party. Including Emma Willis

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Big Brother Launch Party

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Big Brother Launch Party
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Emma Willis arrives at the Big Brother Launch Party, at Elstree in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

Photo credit : Ian West/PA

We always knew that Big Brother would be back, and now that lovely old Channel 5 has bought the show it’s only a few days before it goes live (Thursday August 18, 2011). Yesterday the press launch party took place in Hertfordshire, with Big Brother’s most famous (and forgotten) faces in attendance.

Naturally, Brian Belo was there – the day he doesn’t come to anything BB related will be the day we die of shock – and he actually looked quite nice yesterday in a crumpled white shirt with some slim-fitting men’s chinos. Another Brian that looked quite lovely was our favourite, Brian Dowling, who looked very dapper and sharp in a two-piece grey men’s suit.

On the girl’s side we had the beautiful TV presenter Emma Willis, who looked fresh and pretty in a polka-dot tea dress with red detailing and red patent heels. Also there was the ex-Atomic Kitten and Snog Marry Avoid? presenter Jenny Frost, who showed off long, tanned pins in a split-skirt black maxi dress, with lots and lots of gold jewellery. Keep up the good work, Jenny.

We must also note that some ex-housemates did not make much of a sterling effort: last series’ Sam Pepper wore scruffy cut-offs, his usual cap and a bright yellow T-shirt. I’m sorry, Sam, but didn’t anyone tell you that this is a glitzy event? BRIAN BELO is here, for god’s sake. 2009′s Marcus Akin was there – you know, the one that looks like a rubbish Wolverine – in a cringey Ed Hardy tee and leather bracelets. No one should wear Ed Hardy when they’re emptying the cat litter tray, let alone going to a press party. Take note Marcus.

To see which housemates were at the launch, check the gallery above.

By Emily Borrett, via ShinyStyle.tv

 

 

 

 

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Next Week’s TV preview: A round up of the best and worst of what you should be paying attention to next weekyou do

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

MONDAY


BEST: Britain and Ireland’s Next Model, Living TV, 9pm

According to Ambassador of England, and definitely Australian person Elle McPherson, the new direction of the latest series of Britain & Ireland’s Next Top Model will be “Uniquely British, the sense of humour and the styling is very British… more hybrid backgrounds… and I think that is really examplatory (this isn’t a real word) of what’s going on in the UK today”.

Right. So, last week on BINM, a woman cried because she couldn’t go to a party, with the opening chords of Hometown Glory in the background. Another woman cried because a fellow model gave her some Swarovski crystals that perfectly complemented her tracksuit. Somebody else cried because they thought they looked a bit like a wet dog. And in a shock twist, Sophie Ellis Bextor revealed that she is the Official Representative for all Mothers with Cool Tattoos. Amazing. Tune in on Monday for the next instalment, and bring every shallow bone in your body.

WORST: Show me the Funny, ITV 9pm

Why are people still employing Jason Manford? For those of you who haven’t tuned in to the latest reality experiment from ITV then, well, nice one. ITV’s blind insistence on Cowellizing every single medium of entertainment has reached a hideous depth with this one, as 10 potential stand-up comics strive to win ten grand, their own stand-up DVD, and a nationwide tour.

One of the judges Alan Davies theorizes early on in the first episode that ‘You can’t become a stand-up comic overnight, you have to work at it.’ But apparently, you can in six weeks. The selection of comedians are barely as sharp as Ant and Dec’s joke writing team, and it really doesn’t help that the entire premise of the show is a terrible idea either.

ITV’s resilient desire to caress the mainstream of the viewing public is just one thing that stand-up comedy should not have to be catered for. 90s observational comics all iron their shirts now. Not that waving your arms in the air yelling ‘Do you know what I’m talking about’ after every single sentence isn’t worthy of winning ten grand, obviously. In essence, the show will melt your prefrontal cortex, and nobody will care once they do find the new Matt Cardle of stand-up comedy. It’s a Mcin-tyring process.  

TUESDAY

Best: Twenty Twelve, BBC2, 10pm

For anyone who didn’t catch this when it first came around on BBC4, this is a mockumentary focusing on the run-up to the London Olympics 2012 written by John Morton, now happily running on BBC2. The stronghold of comic talent including Jessica Hynes (neé Daisy from Spaced), Olivia Coleman and Hugh Bonneville is subtly clever, with accurate depictions of dismissive media types. It’s apparently been accused of ripping off an Australian mockumentary called The Games, but in all honesty, and sincerity – who gives a toss.

Worst: Murder She Wrote Marathon, Alibi 9am

So, it’s Tuesday afternoon, you’re having another a trialing day at work. Whatever line of work you do. That police report has gone missing. Henrietta, the sickest hen in the surgery has tragically gone into a coma. That gentleman did get food poisoning from that unruly McNugget after all. Let’s face it, the only face that you can bear to look in the face right now is the calm, creased folds of Angela Lansbury. Eleven times. Yes, that’s right. It’s the Murder She Wrote marathon on Alibi. That’s 9am down to 7pm, red-headed, crime solving mayhem for half of your entire day.

Today, on Murder She Wrote, an ACTUAL WITCH LITERALLY PUTS A CURSE ON A TOWN, A PRIMA BALLERINA IS ALSO CURSED, MORE WITCHES, SOME BUSINESS GUY GETS MURDERED, ANGELA LANSBURY GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, SUSPICIONS ARE ‘AROUSED’ and much, much more. This is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity. Although, if you miss it – you can catch it again on Alibi the day after. And the day after that. So remember, next time you’re having a hard time of it in the office, think of that poor TV controller dude down at Alibi HQ, all alone, brushing up webs.

WEDNESDAY

Best: There is literally nothing on.

On Wednesday, the floor is open. If you’re a football fan, then it’s England vs. The Netherlands on ITV1 in what may turn out to be a seemingly important match in regards to the World Cup which we of course always win. Alternatively, if you’re not in a boisterous, chest baring, salivating, sexually incapacitated kind of mood, you can always tune in to Dot from Eastenders looking through her family tree on BBC1′ s Who Do You Think You Are, which is guaranteed to be a mildly pleasant watch. Essentially, today is the day that you must step out and talk to three dimensional family members and friends. Either that, or Rocky’s on ITV4 at 10pm.

Worst: Chick Fix, Sky Living 8pm.

We’re not angry. Just disappointed. When the trailer first surfaced for Chick Fix, a new BONDING reality tv series, the trailer consisted of crying middle aged women talking to other crying women about how disgusted they were with their hollow lives. As you can imagine, it looked absolutely fantastic. On closer inspection, however, a spanner was thrown in the works when it turned out the show is in fact categorically very,very awful.

The programme consists of four women who all have a different ailment, which they helpfully hold up on felt tip pen splattered bits of cardboard at the start of the show (A show in which it’s main premise, is to NOT look like a failure and pathetic, remember.) These sort of foibles range from “My husband only trims his nasal hair on a bi-weekly basis” to “I’m fat because I ate too much cake” to “I’m a massive slag, and I can’t stop being a massive slag.”

The show then proceeds to lock these four misanthropes in a country cottage together, where they get together, giving each other makeovers, and having free food to take their minds off their incredibly pointless existences. In one segment, one particularly slutty old woman buried a Superman belt in a garden to cleanse her of her past of sleeping with teenagers. Absolutely no paraphrasing. Truth man, truth.

THURSDAY

Best: The Killing vs. Torchwood showdown, BBC1/Channel 4, 9pm

This really is a judgement call, but if you really want to give off the impression that you are an actual human being, you will not be watching Croc Man on Channel 5 tongiht. You will be watching either a gritty crime drama, or a gritty (okay, grey area) sci-fi drama tonight instead. The Killing is mid-way through it’s 13 episode run now, so if you haven’t seen it, then you are best watching the Danish original from the start instead. Nonetheless, this American remake is a strong counteract. If you’re following through with it, you don’t need us to tell you to watch it at this point. Same goes for Torchwood: Miracle Day, which has been enchanting Whovians (Oh, don’t hate us, we’re naïve) to much stronger capacities this series, and is giving the BBC a valuable use of their endless John Barrowman quota. Happy choosing.


Worst: Peter Andre, Here 2 Help, ITV2, 9pm

Well, you know what they say. If you can’t make a decision that everybody is happy with – choose neither. That little girl who had to choose between her own father and McCains oven chips had to find out the hard way. And now, so do you. Since their divorce, Peter Andre and Katie Price have been bleeding ITV2 dry in a number of embarrassing and ultimately discerning ways.

Katie Price has been airing her hired collection of men in brand new loved up incarnations of the same documentary, whereas Peter Andre has decided to HELP PEOPLE. For example, earlier on this year he launched a Literacy Project with Boris Johnson. Now, he’s bringing out the big guns with his own ITV2 series about how good damn helpful he is. In the press release, the premise appears to be:

“Members of the public can contact Peter and the production team with whatever they would like help with, whether it be a teenager who can’t get on the dating ladder or a single parent struggling to cope. “

So basically, if you want Peter Andre to have sex with you, he will. Actually, he probably will either way. It’s been a slow summer.

FRIDAY

Best: Practical Magic, ITV1, 10.35pm

Yes, you’re fucking right it is. Practical Magic is categorically and unequivocally the greatest film in the world. It really is the Citizen Kane of Sandra Bullock supernatural movies. Everyone says it. Roger Ebert has a poster of it on his bathroom door. Let’s face it. You COULD learn about how Hip Hop Changed the World on C4 which is being aired at the same time, but you won’t. Because you don’t care about what Jessie J feels about grime. You care about what Nicole Kidman is going to do about her troublesome boyfriend. Yeah y’are. Midnight Margheritas with Diane Wiest, anyone?

Worst: Paul McCartney and Wings: Band on the Run, ITV4, 9pm

With Dermot O Leary. Oh.

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Are TV recorders becoming redundant? We offer three reasons why – live tv, social media and big news

Friday, August 5th, 2011

steve-coogan.jpgSome interesting stats today about what we’re all doing with our free time and internet-enabled devices. Not surprisingly, it shows that we’re all pretty much hardwired into the net. In particular, 37% of adults and 60% of teenagers described themselves as “addicted” to their smartphones.

One finding though that goes a different direction shows that – for the first time in years – live TV watching has increased. Yep, you read that right. According to research carried out by UKOM/Neilsen time-shifted TV viewing, using digital video recorders, made up 14% of all viewing time in 2010. The interesting part is that it is 1% lower than the previous year, a fall for the first time.

I also think that it is very likely that the figure will fall even further in 2011 – here’s why.

1 The popularity of Live TV – There’s a list today in the Metro of the most watched Saturday night TV shows and as you may have already guessed they are all live shows. Watch Britain’s Got Talent, X Factor, Strictly a few hours later and you miss half the experience. We have become addicted to live TV once again. I wonder if there’s an analogy here with live music. It is all about being there isn’t it?

2 Twitter - As you know all too well one way to massively increase your enjoyment of any TV show is to see what the rest of the world thinks about it via Twitter. I haven’t seen any figures for the number of people tweeting during live shows, but the hashtag frenzy around live shows, sports events and even Question Time suggests micro blogging is seriously affecting our TV consumption.

3 Big TV events – Well last year we had the World Cup, but this year we have been glued to live TV. Some good (Royal Wedding, NOTWgate, Steve Coogan on Newsnight) some not so good (Arab Spring reaction, Japanese Tsunami, Norway).

It’ll be fascinating to see what the recorded viewing figures are for next year. I don’t think we’ll be chucking away our Sky + boxes just yet, but they are certainly not working quite as hard as they used to.

Go Steve.

See Top 30 Saturday night TV programmes

Via ShinyShiny.tv

 

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