BB FANS

ITV To Stage Film Awards

ITV1 is produce the National Movie Awards this autumn, hoping to emulate the ratings success of the National Television Awards.

Independent producer Indigo Television, which makes the National Television Awards, has been commissioned to produce the event which will take place at the Royal Festival Hall.

As with the National Television Awards, the National Movie Awards will be chosen by the public in a nationwide poll, with votes being registered either online or from forms picked up in UK cinemas.

Categories include all genres from action and adventure movies to comedy and animation and the organisers are hopeful that it will attract big name stars to the event because it will be the first awards ceremony to assess the popularity of this summer's blockbusters.

The National Television Awards attracts up to14 million viewers.




Dame Shirley Attacks TV Talent Shows

Dame Shirley Bassey has attacked television talent shows - insisting talent ranks second to fame for today's celebrities.

The Welsh singer said she has no time for reality shows such as American Idol and The X Factor, and is stunned at the lack of 'real' talent in modern pop stars.

She said: "Today people just want to get on reality TV shows and make money. Talent doesn't matter anymore.

"Anyone can get on these shows. Tall people, skinny people, fat people - and then someone makes millions out of them and their lives are ruined. I hate it, I really hate it."


Nuts TV To Share Freeview Space
Nuts TVNuts TV is to share Thomas Cook TV's Freeview channel when it launches next month.

ETV, the company that produces the content for Thomas Cook TV and will do the same for Nuts TV, currently broadcasts the holiday operator's channel from 19:00 to 22:00 on Freeview channel 41.

It is expected that these hours are to be cut from three to two hours per day and Nuts TV will air from 21:00 to 01:00. It launches on September 12.
Thomas Cook licences its airtime from Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), part of the AOL Time Warner empire that also owns Nuts publisher IPC Media.

Thomas Cook TV licences its airtime from Turner Broadcasting System, which can broadcast on the Freeview channel from 19:00 to 01:00.

Nuts TV will transmit twenty hours of live TV over five nights each week with highlights on the two other evenings.

It will initially launch on Freeview only but it is hoped additional coverage will be provided on digital satellite and through Virgin Media.


Richard And Judy Children's Club

Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan are to tackle illiteracy – by launching a new book club for children.

The couple – whose adult club has been a great success – will reveal Britain’s top eight kids’ books on a special prime-time show in October.

Authors such as Harry Potter's JK Rowling are being lined up to appear. It is part of a week of Channel 4 shows to promote literacy.




X Factor Viewers

The fourth series of The X Factor has attracted an audience of 9.5m viewers with its opening episode on ITV1, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The talent search show won the ratings battle against BBC One programme DanceX, which pulled in an average audience of 2.7m.

The series, hosted by Dermot O'Leary and featuring new judge Dannii Minogue, won almost half of Saturday night's viewing audience.




Passion For The Planet - Wellbeing Deal

Waveguide - Passion for the PlanetPassion for the Planet, the UK health and environment focused radio station, has signed the Wellbeing Network for a 12 month on air and online campaign.

The campaign is designed to promote the Wellbeing Network web site and benefits of membership.

Neil Davidson, co-founder of the Wellbeing Network, said: “Passion for the Planet is the only radio station that delivers a targeted audience of people interested in their wellbeing. We are looking to reach people who are motivated to improve their lives and willing to take action to do so. Passion delivers that audience."

Chantal Cooke, Passion for the Planet’s Managing Director, said: “The Wellbeing Network is exactly the sort of company where Passion can add real value. Many of Passion’s listeners run health related businesses and they visit our site regularly. So by developing a campaign that works both on air and online we can drive more personal and professional members to the Wellbeing Network’s site.”

The campaign will launch on August 27 and run for 12 months.

Passion for the Planet broadcasts on DAB to London, Essex, Bournemouth, Bristol/Bath, Devon and Peterborough, and is also available nationwide via the Internet.




Paul O'Grady Named In High Court Case

Labour peer Waheed Alli is at the centre of a legal row over allegations that he helped draw up the will of a dying man who had no idea what he was signing.

The millionaire peer is accused of being instrumental in drafting the will which distributed the £300,000 left by television producer Brendan Murphy.

Also named in the High Court writ is Murphy's business and life partner Paul O'Grady. The pair had known each other for 25 years.

It is alleged that Murphy, who died in June 2005, was 'unable to communicate or move' when Lord Alli is alleged to have obtained his 'identifying mark' on the will as he lay dying in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

The validity of the document is now being challenged by two of his brothers and his sister. The will was signed four days prior to his death.

The Murphy family have accused Lord Alli of asking a friend of Paul O'Grady, Frances Moira Stewart, to draft the will.






Signing For Sheilas' Wheels Girls

Sheilas' WheelsThe stars of the Sheilas' Wheels commercials for women's motor insurance have been signed up by Pete Waterman.

The Sheilas will release their first single, I'm So Happy, Happy You're Mine, next month.

To go with the single there is a 'Happy Happy' dance, a pop video, a fan club and the girls will be going out on the road for a series of live dates.

It is a long way from the day two years ago when three jobbing session singers – Carly Romain, 27, Cathi Ogden, 37, and Emma Robbins, 39 – turned up for an advertisement casting Covent Garden and ended up dressed in pink spangly dresses, driving a pink Cadillac and urging women drivers: 'For bonzer car insurance deals, girls turn on to Sheilas' Wheels'.

Sheilas' Wheels insurance was started by Peter Wood, who founded online car insurance company esure. Wood was also responsible for Michael Winner's 'Calm down dear, it's just a commercial' slogan.

He also founded the telephone insurance company Direct Line in 1985 and made an estimated £80million out of it before selling up in 2000.

waveguide.co.uk

Britain's Got Talent Breached Ofcom's Code

ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent has been found in breach of Ofcom’s broadcasting code for featuring material considered inappropriate for children.

The live semi-final of the talent-search show brought complaints from 21 viewers who thought that an act called Dr Gore, which featured a performer dressed in medical clothes apparently extracting organs from the body of a young man live on stage, was not suitable for family viewing.

Channel TV, the company that compiled the programme for ITV1, said it wanted to present its viewers with a “wide range of live entertainment”.

It said it suspected that a small percentage of viewers would be offended by the act and ensured it was introduced and presented appropriately, with presenters Ant and Dec warning Dr Gore “has the power to make audiences feel sick in seconds”.

An edited minute-long version of Dr Gore’s audition tape was also shown, which Channel TV felt gave viewers the chance to make an “informed choice” over whether to watch the act.

It also said it had not included any “graphic, prolonged of close up shots” and that there were elements of comedy in the act that made it more pantomime than horror.

However, Ofcom said the act had broken rule 1.3 of the broadcasting code, which states children “must be protected by appropriate scheduling from material that is unsuitable for them”.

Ofcom said the act went “beyond audience expectations for peak family viewing” and said the one-minute preview tape had not “acted as a warning to viewers about the nature of Dr Gore’s act”.



Gay Remarks Warning For TalkSport

National commercial station TalkSport has been censured by media regulator Ofcom after two presenters made derogatory comments about gay people.

Mike Mendoza was suspended for a week after linking homosexuality with paedophilia, while Garry Bushell called homosexuality a "perversion".

The regulator upheld two complaints, saying connecting homosexuality with paedophilia was "highly offensive".

A TalkSport spokesman said it took the watchdog's findings "very seriously" and called the comments "unacceptable".

Introducing a show in May, Mendoza commented on footballers making appeals over the disappearance of four-year-old Madeleine McCann.

"Paedophiles in general are the type of people that surely would not follow football... not many gay people to the best of my knowledge are great football fans," he said.

The broadcaster said the remarks were not defensible and apologised.
In a separate show in June, which generally concentrates on footballing issues, a discussion began about a recent gay demonstration in Russia.

During the discussion, Bushell made light of gay rights activist Peter Tatchell being arrested during the protest.

He said: “I would not go to another country and try and impose my views on them, it’s up to them what they do. I think there are a lot of things to put right in this country before you go around preaching the gospel of perversion”.

Ofcom said there was some attempt by his co-presenters to challenge what he had said, but that it was an "inflammatory remark" that would be regarded as "derogatory and offensive".





Channel 4 + 1

Channel 4 has become the first of the five terrestrial television channels to give viewers the chance to watch all of its programmes delayed by an hour.

Channel 4+1, which is available on the digital platforms, repeats everything from the main channel, but with an hour's delay.

It joins around 40 "plus one" channels that are already available, including versions of ITV2, E4 and More4.

Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan said the launch of Channel 4+1 was a "logical strategic move".

He added: "It's consistent with our commitment to do everything appropriate to secure Channel 4's public service model longer term."

The channel is available on Freeview, Sky Digital and Virgin Media.



Spooks Back In The Autumn

Popular drama Spooks in returning in the autumn, it has been announced.

Rupert Penry-Jones, Hermione Norris and Peter Firth return as officers Adam, Ros and Harry of Section D, MI5 in the 10-episode BBC series.

Raza Jaffrey, Miranda Raison and Hugh Simon also reprise their roles as Zaf, Jo and Malcolm, and welcome new arrival Connie, played by Gemma Jones.

The series sees Iran's covert scheme to become a nuclear power leading to growing mistrust between the British, American and Iranian governments. The volatile climate culminates in a series of high-risk operations both at home and abroad.

The opening episode sees Zaf, undercover in Tehran, placing a bomb on a civilian train in an effort to flush out a key Iranian spy.

Producer Katie Swinden said: "For the first time ever, we've chosen to explore one theme throughout the series, and one which is an ongoing concern in today's world affairs agenda. The relationship between Britain, Iran and the US is such a delicate and topical issue that it opens up a wealth of new storyline possibilities to us.

"Audiences will be able to follow Adam, Harry, Ros and the team as they take on their most challenging operation to date, and will get to see them in a whole new range of dangerous and exciting situations."

waveguide.co.uk

American Idol - The Movie

Simon Cowell is bringing TV show American Idol to the big screen, promising the upcoming movie will be "very, very realistic" like 1976 Oscar winner Rocky.

Like American Idol itself, Cowell plans to cast the lead roles in the film - called Starstruck - through open auditions across the US.

He said: "It is called 'Starstruck'. We're writing the script as we talk.

"It is about 10 contestants who enter a gigantic singing contest. It's like 'Rocky'. It's about good versus evil, and it will be very, very realistic.

"I'm going to cast the lead parts through an open audition process across America. So if you get through the auditions, and you get a part in this movie, it's a huge, huge deal."




BBC Children's TV Presenters Are Gay Or Childless

A BBC children's presenter has said that "everyone at CBBC is either gay or childless and don't like kids".

Kirsten O'Brien, 35, has been performing Confessions Of A Children's TV Presenter at the Edinburgh Festival.

Born in Middlesbrough, she now lives in North London with her boyfriend, they have no children.

She first worked on CBBC in the Nineties as a general presenter and has gone on to host SMart, SMarteenies, Totally Doctor Who and BBC 7's Little Toe Radio Show.

Last night a BBC spokesman said that her remarks about her colleagues had been made in jest.

He said: "Kirsten's joke is a throwaway line and is clearly meant to be ironic.

"The audience is totally different at the festival because it is for adults.

"We wouldn't check her script if she was doing something separate from the BBC.

"She is due back on air in the autumn and this wouldn't affect that."




Jamie Oliver Cartoon

Aardman Animations has turned Jamie Oliver into an animated character for a children's TV cartoon series.

The show, Little J, will follow Oliver as a 10-year-old trying to find the secret to becoming a great chef.

Oliver said: "I really want to pass on a little knowledge in a fun way, to really connect to the younger kids."

Each of the 52 episodes made by the company behind Wallace and Gromit will be 11 minutes long and will be aimed at seven to 11-year-olds.

Little J will be accompanied by several bizarre characters such as a depressed ham and a mad scientist called Eggs Benedict, who sports a chicken on his head.

A "spiritual-cum-culinary guru" called Nonna will guide him on his journey.

Miles Bullough from Aardman Animations said: "We were thrilled when Jamie approached us to collaborate on an animated project.

"We quickly agreed that we needed to make a show that was first and foremost a comedy, which would hopefully inspire kids to think positively about good food, even brussel sprouts."

waveguide.co.uk

Loach attacks Marr over Thatcher




Loach: 'I find it very disturbing that these assumptions about Mrs Thatcher are made even by liberals.'
Ken Loach, the leading leftwing film maker, has attacked Andrew Marr, accusing the BBC presenter of "swallowing" Margaret Thatcher's anti-union ideology in his TV series History of Modern Britain.

Loach, whose films include Kes and Riff-Raff, has spoken of his fury at the anti-union bias in the BBC2 series fronted by the former BBC political editor and broadcast in May.

Loach attacked Marr for "swallowing" the "liberal consensus" that former prime minister Mrs Thatcher's undermining of the power of the trade unions during her 11 years in power was a "good thing".

"I find it very disturbing that these assumptions about Mrs Thatcher are made even by liberals," he told MediaGuardian.co.uk.

"I think the problem is that New Labour has swallowed the whole Thatcher ideology and people like Andrew Marr have swallowed that too," he said.

Mr Loach made the comment last night after a screening of his new film, It's a Free World, which follows the fortunes of a English single mother who starts a business using a workforce that includes illegal immigrants.

"Even Andrew Marr talked about the mighty unions and praised the fact that their power was undermined," Mr Loach told journalists.

"That idea about the unions has passed into the liberal consensus but it is the very thing that created the situation we see in this film.

"Does he really think it was a good thing, given the way people have been exploited as a result, working on the minimum wage? If Andrew Marr says that, he's happy with what we see happens in this film."

Loach insisted that his film was based on scrupulous research and that scores of immigrant workers as well as the people who provide them with work were interviewed in its preparation.

It was written by Paul Laverty, who wrote Loach's recent controversial film about Irish republicanism, The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

It's a Free World premieres at the forthcoming Venice Film Festival and will be shown on Channel 4.

Marr who was once a member of the socialist group Socialist Campaign for a Labour Victory while at Cambridge University - where he acquired the nickname "Red Andy", was on holidays and unavailable for comment.

A BBC source said that Marr "was quite critical of Mrs Thatcher in the film as well but it was quite balanced".

In June Marr wrote an article for the Sun newspaper to promote his series in which he addressed Mrs Thatcher's legacy.

In the piece, headlined "We're all Maggie's children", the Sun described it as "former Leftie and Beeb presenter's tribute to Thatcher".

Marr wrote: "It probably calls for a shrink, or a large glass of whisky. But I have finally admitted that Margaret Thatcher is my mother ... politically, Thatcher has made us all her children."

His piece concluded: "The great shake-out in British industry in the early Eighties was too tough, too drastic.

"Many companies that went then could still have been with us today. She could be harsh. The poll tax was a disaster. That's the nature of revolutions.

"There are always victims, always mistakes. But this is a rich country now. And you can't eat the fruit while sneering at the farmer."
guardian

60 SECONDS: Scott Ian


Scott Ian is guitarist with legendary New York thrash metallers Anthrax. Since forming in 1981 they have become rock institutions thanks to ditties including I Am The Law and Only. They've also got through seven singers and five guitarists and notched up an appearance in Calendar Girls. Ian hosts tomorrow's Kerrang! magazine awards in London.

Which bands at the Kerrang! awards do you want to meet?
Fall Out Boy are going, which is cool because I’m friends with them. People might not expect me to like them but I’ve seen them twice and they put on a great show. If things go south at least I’ll have someone on my side. There are lots of bands around at the moment that I’m into. Bands such as Mastodon, who I love. Machine Head aren’t new but their new album is the best metal record for seven years.

What do you make of all the emo kids in the world of metal?
They all need to start listening to Anthrax. Bands such as My Chemical Romance aren’t the sort of things I listen to because they are too poppy for me. I love a good pop song but for me that’s something like Cheap Trick. I loved them when I was growing up so that set the bar high for me. I’m not into this newer version. Not even on the rock side, the crap on MTV. I just don’t like those noises that come out of my TV.

What are the highs and lows of being in Anthrax?
The high is having a 25-year music career without having to do anything else. We’re still able to do what we want to do. We started in 1981 and you can count on two hands the bands that have lasted that long. The lowest point was being on tour with Metallica in 1986 when their bass player Cliff Burton was killed in a bus crash. We were all very close.

Why so many line-up changes? Are you hard to get on with?
I’d like to think it was that simple – just me telling them to f*** off. Charlie, Frankie and I have been the core of this band since 1981 so maybe it’s a group effort. I can’t take all the credit.

Who are your least likely famous fans?
Frankie and I were in the movie Calendar Girls playing ourselves. There’s a scene in a hotel when they bump into Anthrax. I was pretty excited to be in a scene with Helen Mirren. All these actresses were saying that they’d heard of us but later I found out it was because the director told them who we were. For one second I hoped Helen Mirren listened to us.

Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe had all the women, we played to seas of denim, leather and unwashed man hair

Did the anthrax terrorist attacks ruin your good name?
At first we thought it did but we found we had the support of not just our fans but everyone. I was amazed by how many people told us not to change our name and we were pretty close to changing it at one point. We went on Jay Leno’s show and he told us not to change it too, so everyone was behind us.

How was your reality show with Ted Nugent and Sebastian Bach?
I find most reality shows to be extremely cheesy so I wondered if doing it would end my career. I didn’t know who else would be in it, but it turned out to be like being in a summer camp. Playing guitar with Ted was like a 13-year-old’s dream. I got on with everyone on the show, my feet are a bit more firmly planted on planet Earth than Ted and Sebastian so I was the voice of reason. I’ve known Sebastian for years but I still stay in touch with Ted so I made a new friend out of it.

How many groupies have you got through as a band?
Two or three. When bands in the 80s like Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe had all the women, we were playing seas of denim, leather and unwashed man hair. You must remember what genre you’re talking about. That wasn’t part of the scene we were in. I had no choice, I blame AC/DC and Iron Maiden for getting me into this music so I missed out on all that stuff. Do I regret it? No.

What’s the worst job you had?
When I was 16, I worked in a fish market in New York. I had to clean up after it closed. It was brutal. There were fish guts and disgusting things everywhere. I cleaned for four hours every night. The only plus was that they’d leave something for my dinner, such as scampi. I didn’t last long. When summer came I was out of there.
Metro

60 SECONDS with Kevin Bacon


If the boardgame Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon is true, any Hollywood actor can be linked to him in six steps. Bacon, 49, is still not sure about being more famous for that rather than his roles in films such as JFK, Footloose and Mystic River. In his new movie Death Sentence he plays a father who takes revenge when his son is murdered.

Your character in Death Sentence kills his son’s murderer. Would you do the same thing in real life?
No, he makes a terrible mistake and by the time you see him at the end of the movie everything he loves is essentially destroyed and his life is almost over. That’s the price he pays for seeking revenge in that way. What he says in the film – you never know what you’d do in this situation – is true. I hope I’m never tested.

You shave your head for real in this film. Isn’t that unusual in this special effects age?
Very. I said to the director: ‘Wouldn’t it be great to actually see me shave my head and not have to use bald caps or wigs or anything?’ So I did. It was a tense moment because you can only do it once and if it doesn’t work you’re screwed. There’s no glueing the hair back on.

How did you go from being a singing-dancing heart-throb in Footloose to being a paedophile in The Woodsman?
The groundwork was already laid because I had started my career with a lot of theatre in New York and really wanted to make it as a serious character actor. It was a question of convincing the industry that I had that side to me.

Haven’t you gone from one extreme to the other? You’re best known now for dark, intense roles such as that.
In the same way that JFK shook things up for me I feel like I need to shake things up a little bit again in terms of finding something lighter or more comedic. I’m definitely not the go-to comedy guy right now. People in Hollywood have very little imagination and now no one really remembers I can do anything light, like dancing.

Do you take your work home with you?
I’m pretty good at leaving my work at the office although I do sometimes have very dark dreams and thoughts while doing it. The hard thing on a Friday is knowing you have to go back to it on the Monday. It hangs over you – you have to put yourself into a certain headspace. It’s not a switch you can turn on and off.

Do you hate watching yourself on screen?
The first time you record an outgoing message on your answerphone and you play it back to yourself and just go, ‘Agh’. Multiply that by 1,000 and that’s what seeing yourself on screen is like. Your voice, your face, your hair, your body, your acting. Everything is terrible.

What do you think about the Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon game?
I thought it would have gone away a long time ago but it seems to have a tremendous amount of hang time. I was bugged by it at first and then I got used to it and came to see it as amusing.

Have you made loads of money from it?
Hardly a dime. They wrote a book and I wrote the foreword and they added a board game, which had my photo on it, so they had to give me a percentage of the sales. I did get a cheque once for about $600 (£300).

Now you’ve turned it into a charity, SixDegrees.org.
Yeah. I always wanted to do something from a charitable standpoint and thought: ‘Is there anything I’m really branded with?’ So now you can log on and donate to more than a million charities in a really easy point-and-click way.

Of all the actors in Hollywood why do you think you became the Six Degree subject?
I don’t know but I get comments about it all the time. The guys who dreamed it up were college kids at the time and one of my movies was on TV. There was probably some alcohol involved and they came up with this idea.

Is it sort of an honour?
Oh, absolutely. On my gravestone it will say, ‘No Oscars – but at least he had a game named after him’.
Metro

Channel Five series to tackle body issues




Channel Five is to examine women's body obsessions in a five-part series that it claims will crack open beauty taboos.

My Body Hell, to be made by independent production company North One Television, is part of the channel's new autumn slate, which will be unveiled in Edinburgh tomorrow.

The series will feature a different body issue in each episode, such as body hair, spots, breasts and cellulite.

My Body Hell will also delve into the weight-loss issue by seeing if it is possible to drop a dress size in a week, as well as live on a strict celebrity diet regime.

Real-life stories will include the woman with Britain's biggest breasts and another whose bust is covered in hair.

Celebrities will also undertake a series of beauty experiments, such as Liberty X singer Michelle Heaton going to a premiere without her makeup and fake tan, and Alex Best having a "bum facial".

Other celebrities featured include former Big Brother winner, Kate Lawler, "agonising" over breast implants and model Danielle Lloyd talking about body hair.

The Five controller of factual entertainment, Steve Gowans, who commissioned the show, said: "It's full, frank and really rather shocking. The full extent of what women put themselves through hasn't been shown on TV before, and Body Hell is thought provoking and pulls no punches."

My Body Hell will be series produced by Anna Richardson and executive produced by Tess Cuming and is due to air in September.
guardian

Marc Bolan Unseen Footage

Waveguide - Marc BolamBBC Four is to screen unseen footage of Marc Bolan in a programme marking the 30th anniversary of the singer's death.

Marc Bolan: The Final Word will feature home movies, radio interviews and unseen concert footage together with Top Of The Pops footage.

The documentary is narrated by Suzi Quatro and will be broadcast on September 16.




ITV Could Lease Freeview Space To Virgin

ITV may sell or lease some of its Freeview capacity to Virgin, it emerged today.

Earlier this year, ITV dropped its ITV Play channel and launched ITV2+1.

Now it is looking at consolidating and improving its existing channels ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4.

Virgin will launch its general entertainment channel Virgin 1 in the autumn but currently only has Freeview capacity via its FTN slot from 08:00 to 18:00. It wants to broadcast 24 hours.




Doctor Who Turns On The Lights

Doctor Who star David Tennant will be switching on this year's Blackpool Illuminations, it has been announced.

The annual switch-on will take place at around 21:25 on Friday, August 31.

The illuminations will also have a burlesque theme, with a new section called Decodance, created by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. It will also feature a Doctor Who lights display.

Dale Winton will present a special Radio 2 programme from the event starting at 20:30 and featuring Natasha Bedingfield, McFly, Natalie Imbruglia and Gareth Gates.
waveguide.co.uk

Morrissey Refuses $75 Million Offer To Tour With The Smiths

Morrissey Rewards Diehards, Quashes Smiths Reunion

Morrissey is taking special care of his most devoted fans on his upcoming fall North American tour, which, as previously reported, begins Sept. 20 in Tijuana, Mexico.

A number of special opportunities have been created for multiple-night runs in Los Angeles and New York, including a "seasons ticket," with a reduced price for fans that want to attend every show.

For a 10-night stand at L.A.'s Palladium, a package with tickets to each show will be sold for the price of nine and will allow fans early entry to the venue, which will be closed for renovation following Morrissey's performances. This package goes on sale Monday (Aug. 27) and will only be available through Sept. 5.

For a five-show stint at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, fans attending every night will save $125 off the combined face value of the tickets, and will receive early entry and a commemorative poster. On-sale dates have yet to be announced.

In addition, Morrissey's publicist has confirmed the artist refused a $75 million offer to tour under the Smiths name in 2008 and/or 2009, with the only mandate being that Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr would be part of the band. The Smiths also declined a multi-million dollar offer to perform in recent years at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif.

www.billboard.com

Siouxsie Sioux is back in bloom Sundaytimes

BBC One has been named terrestrial channel of the year at the Edinburgh Television Festival.

ITV2 received the award fro top non-terrestrial channel.

The shortlists for the three categories were compiled from public votes by polling company YouGov.

The festival's executive committee - made up of 33 senior figures from TV, journalism - then decided the top terrestrial and non-terrestrial channels of the year.

The other nominees for the terrestrial channel award were BBC Two, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five.

And on the shortlist for best non-terrestrial network were BBC Three, BBC Four, More4, Sky One and UKTV Gold.

The best programme award was taken by BBC One Doctor Who.

The winner of the best programme prize was chosen from the shortlist by almost 200 young people who were invited to attend the festival as a way of showcasing the next generation of TV talent.

Doctor Who beat E4's programme Skins in its category, plus BBC One series Life on Mars and Planet Earth.




BBC Two Looks At Religion

new BBC Two series is to focus on the fraught relationship between Christianity and Islam in a three-part documentary to be shown next year.

Called Clash Of The Worlds, the programmes will look at the tensions, wars and misunderstandings between the two religions during the rise and fall of the British Empire.

Each hour-long programme will include archive film and interviews with historians and eyewitnesses.



Casualty Returns

The BBC hospital drama Casualty returns to BBC One next month starting with a double episode.

The firsts look at the arrival and first day at Holby City of two new doctors.

The second episode is seen through the eyes of Charlie Fairhead, played by Derek Thompson.

On his way home from work, Charlie receives a call telling him that a major incident has been declared after a bomb explosion.
waveguide.co.uk

60 SECONDS: Rihanna


Barbadian sauce-pot Rihanna amazed the nation with her astonishing ten-week run at number one in the singles chart with her super-annoying hit Umbrella (ella, ella, ella). She's planning another reign of terror with new release Shut Up And Drive which is out today. The 19-year-old embarks on a UK tour in December. Full dates at http://www.livenation.co.uk

Why was Umbrella so popular?
It has a very original sound and people like new, fresh songs. It might also have had to do with the horrible weather in Britain.

What’s your favourite thing about Britain?
I found some great West Indian restaurants in London and I like going to Topshop and Selfridges. I haven’t been to Topshop yet on this trip but I’ve bought a Stella McCartney bag from Selfridges.

Are you looking forward to your UK tour?
Yes I can't wait. I love performing in the UK. The fans are great. They are super energetic and come out to have a good time. the shows are always full.

What was the worst gig you've done?
There was a gig in Canada where a fight broke out in the crowd. It was a difficult one because the weather was horrible, my dancers couldn’t even go on the stage because it was so slippery. The stage was extremely wet. It was a lot to deal with.

The single is called Shut Up And Drive. When was the last time you got a parking ticket?
I’ve never got one. I’m a great driver. I passed my test first time. I haven’t had time to buy a car yet though.

I went with some friends to a strip club not long ago. I was very weirded out. It wasn’t my cup of tea

The album is called Good Girl Gone Bad. What’s the worst thing you’ve done?
I went with some friends to a strip club not too long ago. I went because I was very curious. I didn’t learn any dancing tips. I was very weirded out. It wasn’t my cup of tea. I’ve been reading some film scripts so I had to go to see what it’s like.

Are you going to be playing a stripper?
[Appalled] No, no, no.

Have you ever shoplifted anything?
No way. I've never been tempted either.

Has being so good looking ever caused you any problems?
Definitely. When I was in school I had a lot of jealousy. I lost a lot of my friends through jealousy when I won a beauty pageant. When I signed to my record label it got worse. People were very envious.

Do you have any friends left from school?
Definitely, I have a lot. I just lost some of the friends. The best ones have stayed with me.

Have you always been so good looking?
I had acne at one point in my teenage years. I would advise people with acne to use Proactive. It worked for me.

You got your big break singing for producer Evan Rogers. What did you sing?
I sang Emotions by Destiny’s Child and Hero by Mariah Carey. I’ve met Beyoncé and Mariah since. They were lovely, very pleasant.

What’s your favourite item of clothing?
I have a python bag from Chanel. It’s the most expensive item that I’ve ever bought. It was $6,000 (£3,000). I take it everywhere I go.

What do you miss about not being in Barbados?
I miss my culture, my friends, my family, the food… I hardly ever get to go back. The last time I was there was December. It’s easy to get homesick for Barbados when you’re in London and it’s raining. I got quite homesick earlier today. I won’t be going back until Christmas.

Do you have a philosophy of life?
Karma is a bitch. There’s good karma and bad karma. You do things sometimes without realising it’s bad until it comes back. I have definitely been on the receiving end of that. I can’t tell you a specific time of when that’s happened but I’ve experienced it.

Who was your favourite member of the Spice Girls?
Mel B. I love her. I met her at the Beckham’s party in LA. We didn’t chat much, we were just hanging out. It was so exciting to meet her. She is absolutely beautiful. I would love to see them on their reunion tour. When I was little I had the Spice Girls dolls and stickers, all that fun stuff. My favourite song was Wannabe.

Will you be doing a cover version on your tour?
No, hahaha.

Do you really like cricket?
I like going to the cricket and partying in the stands more than watching it. It’s been a while since I've gone though, not since I left Barbados.

Have you ever done a really loud fart in public?
No. I had someone do that sitting next to me and it was the most embarrassing thing. We were sitting in a car too which makes it worse. You’re trapped.

Have you got any pets?
I have two turtles in Barbados. One I’ve had since I was 11, the other is very young, a baby. They’re called Charley and Charley.

Don’t they get confused?
No, that’s just our name for them.

If they could talk to you, what would they say?
I don’t know.

Do you pick your nose when you think no one’s looking?
No, I always do it first thing in the morning in the bathroom just to get it over with.
Metro

60 SECONDS: Andrea Corr


Andrea Corr sold 30million albums with The Corrs. Now, with the lead singer's siblings taking a break from the music scene to spend time with their children, Andrea is soldiering on with her debut solo offering, Ten Feet High. She hopes to better her last single Shame On You with her current release Champagne From A Straw.

How’s the solo career going?
I’m thrilled with the record. I look at it more as a solo project than a solo career, so I’m happy. It is a bit weird doing it on my own, though. I’m out of my comfort zone. All my life, I’ve worked with my family, so doing it on my own was strange. This time, it wasn’t a democracy, it was all my own decisions. I wrote it because I wanted to write – with no record in mind. So perhaps I was a bit more daring with what I wrote. When you’re in a band that has sold so many records, there’s an expectation that your sound should be the same every time so I was totally free of those restrictions with this.

The single Champagne From A Straw is about the excesses of celebrity life. Is it based on first-hand experience?
No, it’s just a story centred on the things we all see in celebrity magazines and on TV. I don’t hang around with celebrities. The song is about someone who is famous just for being famous. I don’t mean to be judgmental, it’s just an observation. I like having a normal life and don’t like being paparazzi’d. I don’t court it or put myself in those situations, it’s just not me.

When did you realise you were famous?
In Australia with The Corrs, we had no idea people knew us or that they’d been into the first record. I was drying my hair in the hotel and I heard the man on the radio say, ‘Andrea Corr is in the country,’ which was weird. We then went into the rainforest in Cairns. We were just your average tourists but the other people on the tour were saying, ‘Oh my God, it’s The Corrs,’ which was strange.

You’ve been called the most eligible woman in Ireland. Have you got a queue of suitors banging on your door?
No. I don’t think of myself in that way. I’m just myself. I don’t pay attention to things like that – but it’s flattering.

What’s the weirdest thing you had to do to promote the band?
We had to take part in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. The whole of America watches, so the record company was very excited. We were supposed to go on the parade and then sing two minutes of Breathless outside Macy’s at the end. We got there to discover we had to ride through the parade on a huge turkey. And we were on it for two hours. It was horrific. When we came to perform the song, all I could do was laugh – it was ridiculous.

We had to ride through the parade on a huge turkey. And we were on it for two hours. It was horrific.

Is there a particular song you can’t stand?
Of course, but I don’t like to say because it’s someone’s song. They might have put their heart and soul into it. If I say what it is, it’ll become this thing. This is what gets picked up on. I once said I wanted to read the Bible all the way through but I stopped when it said that women endure the pain of childbirth because of what Eve did with the apple. I said I shut the Bible and that I’d had enough at that point. Then the papers reported: ‘Andrea slams the Bible!’ Of course I didn’t ‘slam’ the Bible. You’ve got to be careful what you say.

Who are your musical heroes?
No one beats Nina Simone’s singing as far as I’m concerned. I love Paul Simon – his writing blows my mind – Randy Newman and Neil Young.

Have any unexpected people told you that they’re fans?
We supported the Rolling Stones and I sang with Ronnie Wood a few times. They said they liked our stuff, which I did not expect.

Have you ever had a supernatural experience?
I’ve had strange dreams. I’ve had premonitions, too. When my mother died, I had very unusual dreams. Whether you decide that it’s your own mind trying to come to terms with something or whether it really is help from another world is down to your personal opinion but that’s why I keep an open mind about it all.
Metro

Brian DePalma Airs "Redacted" Iraq Images in New Film



NEW YORK Critics of the war in Iraq have long charged that the press has usually whitewashed the death and violence of the conflict by refusing to publish or air some of the most graphic images. Now a famous filmmaker -- using some of the photos that newspapers have failed to print -- is trying to do something about that.

The latest film by Brian DePalma, director of numerous well-known movies such as "Scarface," "The Untouchables" and "Carrie/" is aptly called "Redacted" and has just been shown for the first time as part of the Venice Film Festival. DePalma spoke to reporters there, saying, among other things, "Pictures are what will stop the war."

The film centers on perhaps the most horrendous known atrocity involving U.S. troops, the gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl and four members of her family in March 2006. DePalma had directed in 1989 a movie about a rape by U.S. soldiers of a Vietnamese girl called "Casualties of War," starring Sean Penn and the young Michael J. Fox.

"All the images we...have of our war are completely constructed -- whitewashed, redacted," said De Palma in Venice, according to press reports. "One only hopes that these images will get the public incensed enough to get their congressmen to vote against the war."

DePalma makes use of images he has grabbed from the Web, including soldiers' home videos and photos that have never appeared in print. There's also more standard documentary film footage and the use of fictionalized techniques and characters to avoid certain legal issues, making it into an unusual kind of "docu-drama."

"The movie is an attempt to bring the reality of what is happening in Iraq to the American people," he said after a screening in Venice.

"In Vietnam, when we saw the images and the sorrow of the people we were traumatizing and killing, we saw the soldiers wounded and brought back in body bags. We see none of that in this war,.

"It's all out there on the Internet, you can find it if you look for it, but it's not in the major media. The media is now really part of the corporate establishment....

"When I went out to find the pictures, I said (to the media) give me the pictures you can't publish...

"Everything that is in the movie is based on something I found that actually happened. But once I had put it in the script I would get a note from a lawyer saying you can't use that because it's real and we may get sued."

www.editorandpublisher.com

60 SECONDS: Zac Efron


Actor Zac Efron became a global phenomenon after taking the part of Troy Bolton in teenage mega-sensation High School Musical. The toothy heart-throb has also appeared in the screen version of the musical Hairspray. He is about to play the romantic lead again in High School Musical 2 which premieres on the Disney Channel at 6pm on September 21.

What is it about you that drives the under-16s wild with desire?
I can’t tell you what it is but I’d like to think it’s all of us in High School Musical and the fun we have on screen. I’d like to attribute it to that.

Is it true that one in three American teenage girls owns a poster of you?
I’ve read that statistic but I don’t believe it. It’s flattering but surreal.

Is it a scary responsibility? Are you tempted to use your influence for evil?
No, I haven’t turned to the dark side. It’s not scary, I’ve got fun fans. They are very energetic and supportive. There are none better.

So you haven’t been sent any unsavoury items in the post?
No, not at all. I get long letters that are really sweet. Or letters that have been written by children who are obviously still at kindergarten. It’s fun to hear how school’s going for them. They want someone to talk to and it’s nice to be there for them.

Do older girls throw themselves at you? Is that ever a problem?
Every once in a while. That’s just beginning for me. It’s not a problem, if anything it’s rather pleasant and I’m just rolling with it.

Older girls throw themselves at me once in a while. It’s not a problem, if anything it’s rather pleasant

Why were your vocals in the first film actually sung by a different singer?
I’m not sure how that happened, it’s still unclear to me. I can’t get into the specifics because I don’t actually know. The second movie has my voice though.

You’ve also done Hairspray. What’s your favourite musical?
Singing In The Rain. Gene Kelly is a master performer and he’s got a sense of charisma I aspire to possess one day. I must have been 14 when I first saw it. I was getting into performing as a hobby and I really looked up to his performance in that film.

What was your favourite subject at school?
English because there was no right answer. With maths there’s always that one precise answer you have to get. I found that more difficult. I still got an A though.

How long does it take you to do your hair in the morning?
Thirty seconds – it just falls that way. If I’ve got an event, a lady will put cream in it but other than that it just lays there.

Are you really turning down millions of dollars because you don’t want to do High School Musical 3?
No, I don’t know where that story came from. It’s definitely not true. A third would be a dream come true. It’s all about having fun. There’s nothing more fun than doing High School Musical.

You seem well balanced. Why haven’t you gone mad like fellow former child star Lindsay Lohan?
I don’t know. If you stay focused on what you do and have fun doing it then that’s your creative outlet. I have so many supportive friends I don’t feel the need to go to clubs and places to look for it.

How have you dealt with your sudden superstardom?
I’ve ignored it. I don’t read about myself. That in itself is helpful. I know other actors go into chatrooms and read things on the Internet about themselves. I stay away from that. People started approaching me in the street right after High School Musical 1. I just hope I fulfil people’s expectations, I always try to smile and be polite. I remember what it was like when I met my favourite sports stars and the impact it had on me that they were so nice and signed autographs.

Gossip bloggers have been speculating about your sexuality. How do you deal with that?
Again, I simply ignore it. I’m just going to continue being myself. I’m not going to let every blogger’s opinions get to me.

What are you up to after this?
We’re working on developing a remake of Footloose, with me in the Kevin Bacon role, and an age-swap film like Big. There’s other stuff but I don’t want to talk about it and then let people down.
Metro