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60 SECONDS: Orlando Bloom


Heart-throb actor Orlando Bloom came to fame as arrow-shooting elf Legolas in the Lord Of The Rings films. He has more recently been seen frolicking around with zombie pirates as Will Turner in the Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy. Now, he wants to fight climate change in his time off. Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End is out now.

This is your last Pirates film – do you have mixed emotions about it?
Yes. It feels like I’ve been doing a pirate movie for most of my adult life but I feel very fortunate because these are quality films and I’ve worked with great people. It’s been a fantastic safety net. It’s definitely a bittersweet feeling. I’m getting ready to do some theatre in London. I need to do something completely different. I want to go back to what it felt like when I left drama school and I was immersing myself in a new world.

Daniel Radcliffe has just been naked on stage in London. Is that what you’re aiming for?
Go naked in London? Nothing wrong with a bit of nudity.

You celebrated your 30th birthday on the Pirates set. Was that a milestone for you?
Everything takes second place to the serious business of making a movie, especially one like this, but it was fun. Friends and family were around and it was lovely to be in Hawaii. Turning 30 and looking at my life and thinking how fortunate I’ve been, I realised I just want to challenge myself in a different way.

Did Johnny Depp really get a farewell pirate cake?
We all got a farewell pirate cake but it was a weird way to end because it’s not like we all had a final day of school. I had about three endings or maybe four. I kept coming back for pickup shots and then Jerry [Bruckheimer, director of Pirates] had a great idea for the end of the credits, so that was another one.

Was 30 a big deal?
No, I was actually really excited to turn 30. I felt like I didn’t have to take myself seriously any more because the number did it for me. It was a big relief. I had a great birthday and it was an exciting transition time for me.

Are you really building an eco-friendly house in London?
Yeah. I got back from Antarctica and it was fascinating to see what is at stake. The environment is such a massive issue that we all think it’s doom and gloom, it’s all or nothing but actually I don’t think that’s the case. You can drive an SUV but there’s a balance. If you do that, maybe use energy-efficient light bulbs at home or just be conscious of switching off lights. If you can afford to drive an SUV, maybe you can afford to make a donation to a wind farm or plant some trees. It’s all about balance. If you think of the ice caps as the fridge of our planet, if your fridge at home died, the food you eat would go rotten and you’d starve. I’m still figuring out how to use a version of solar panels to run my home in London but all my light bulbs will be energy-efficient.

Haven’t you been doing some stuff for Unicef?
I’ve been trying to. We had a trip cancelled unfortunately for security reasons but it’s in the pipeline to do some work for them and I’m really excited about that.

Your character, Will Turner, is more of a leader in this film. Are you a natural leader in life?
At school, I was always the captain at sports and actually all the attention I suddenly got with Lord Of The Rings put me into a shell for a while. It made me more shy because I wasn’t sure how to deal with it. I think I’m still learning to come out of that shell. The upside of this trilogy ending is for me to gain confidence by working on my craft in another way. I know what I’m capable of and I’m not afraid to make mistakes. There is nothing at stake and everything to gain at this point.

Any chance of your doing a Keira Knightley and announcing you don’t want to make films any more?
No. I’m not giving up anything for anything.

How do you handle fame now?
I just try to keep it real. My family and friends are great. I have a cool dog. I’ve been afforded the ability to have a home and I’m working on living in that home and creating a very real life. When you work in such a surreal environment as movies, just listening to some tunes or hanging out with friends is what you crave. Even time alone. So I’ve been enjoying that.

What tunes are you listening to?
The Raconteurs. I’m really enjoying them.

Your favourite films are Hotel Rwanda, The Constant Gardener and The Last King Of Scotland. Are you interested in Africa?
Those films are all socially conscious and aware. They shed light on different parts of the world, on strife and conflict that we all need to be aware of and they have done it courageously using the medium of film. I would love to work on films like those.

How’s your love life? Is anyone waiting for you at home?
No. Just my dog.
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Mr World On Challenge
Warren Harvey - Mr England Cable and satellite channel Challenge is to screen this year's Mr World grannd final on Sunday, June 3 at 19:00.

It is the first time in the contest's history that it has been televised.

The two-hour show is broadcast from Sanya, China.

Challenge has secured the rights to screen Miss World in September.

May 26 2007 - waveguide.co.uk

Prison Break bad guy speaks out ITV

Search For Saturday Night Fever Star

It had to happen - Graham Norton is reportedly to host a new BBC One series to find a new John Travolta to star in a stage version of Saturday Night Fever.

Norton once donned the classic white suit and pose of Travolta’s disco dance champ Tony Manero for a TV stunt. The film made Travolta a star in 1977.

BBC One chief Peter Fincham is reported to be in talks with Saturday Night Fever’s producer Robert Stigwood, 73, who owns the rights.

May 28 2007 - waveguide.co.uk

DYING DI ON 4
Storm over plans to show shock pics


CHANNEL 4 was last night urged to pull a documentary on Princess Diana's death which features graphic pictures of her dying moments.

It would be the first time the photographs - taken by French paparazzi immediately after the crash on August 31, 1997 - have been aired.

Diana: The Witnesses in the Tunnel, to be broadcast on June 6, shows one picture of Diana receiving oxygen from a doctor.


Others are understood to show her trapped in the wreckage of the mangled Mercedes.

Shadow Culture Secretary Hugo Swire urged Channel 4 to reconsider whether to show the programme.

He said: "It should be remembered that Diana, as well was being a public figure, was a mother. This kind of coverage must be deeply distressing to Princes William and Harry.

"We would expect more from a public service broadcaster than showing sensationalist material in this way.

"It is difficult to see who will be served from broadcasting such sensational and private material."

He concluded: "The best thing Channel 4 can do for the British public and Diana's family is simply not to broadcast this programme."

But Channel 4 insists there is a "genuine public interest" in the events that followed after the crash. A spokesman said: "We don't think the pictures are intrusive and we have thought very carefully about the sensitivities of the families involved."

The programme also includes interviews with photographers and other witnesses to the high-speed crash.

Diana, 36, lover Dodi al Fayed, 42, and their chauffeur Henri Paul were killed when their car crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel as they fled pursuing paparazzi after leaving the Ritz Hotel.

A Metropolitan Police investigation led by Lord Stevens concluded they died in a tragic accident and that Paul was drunk and driving too fast.

An inquest into Diana and Dodi's deaths is due to begin fully in October. Mirror

CORRIE'S LES GETS AXE
EXCLUSIVE




BOOZE shame Corrie star Bruce Jones was axed as Les Battersby yesterday.

Devastated Bruce was given the news at a meeting with bosses.

He emerged looking "drawn, gaunt and bewildered", according to production staff.


The £120,000-a-year star was suspended in March after allegedly calling colleagues "those w*****s on the Street" during an 11-pint bender.

Yesterday producer Steve Frost said in a statement: "We have reached the end of the road with storylines for Les. We wish Bruce all the best."

Bruce, 54, said: "It's time to move on. I have already had some very exciting offers."

Les is currently supposed to be travelling as a roadie. His Street exit after 10 years has yet to be decided.
Mirror

IT'S SPALL IN FAMILY


TIMOTHY Spall is to appear alongside his actor son Rafe for the first time in EM Forster's classic love story A Room With a View.

Auf Wiedersehen star Spall will play outspoken socialist Mr Emerson while Hot Fuzz actor Rafe will be his rather unusual son George in the ITV film, adapted by Andrew Davies.

Central character Lucy will be played by Fingersmith star Elaine Cassidy.


Producer Eileen Quinn said: "This is a passionate, romantic story at the end of the Edwardian era."

The film, shot in Italy, will be screened in the autumn, 22 years after the Merchant Ivory movie starring Helena Bonham Carter. Mirror

New Channel 4 Show For Russell Brand

Waveguide - Russell BrandRussell Brand is being lined up to host a new Channel 4 stand-up show, it has been reported today.

The comedian is currently working on a film in Hawaii and is thought to be keen on developing a Hollywood career.

If the series goes ahead, it will feature Brand doing stand-up based around different topics and using archive television clips.

May 31 2007 - waveguide.co.uk

Charles Dance In BBC Drama

Charles Dance is to star in a BBC drama about the run up to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Britain.

Made by Lion Television Scotland, Consenting Adults will be broadcast on BBC Four and is a 75-minute special about the Wolfenden Committee, set up in the fifties to look at the law relating to homosexual offences.

The drama will show how the committee struggled to come to its conclusion, which marked a turning point in British history by recommending homosexuality should no longer be illegal between consenting adults over the age of 21.

Committee chairman John Wolfenden, played by Dance, thought homo- sexuality was “an abomination”, but was aware that his own son Jeremy, played by Sean Biggerstaff, was an active homosexual.

Despite his personal views, he led the committee to conclude that the law should not interfere in the private lives of consenting adults or enforce any particular pattern of behaviour.

Richard Fell, executive producer for the BBC, said: “The Wolfenden Report was the turning point in the legalisation of homosexuality in this country. What is much lesser known is that Wolfenden himself struggled with his own feelings of shame and fear in finding out his son was gay.”

The drama has been written by Julian Mitchell.

May 31 2007 - waveguide.co.uk

Daniel Radcliffe In ITV Drama

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe is to star alongside Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall in a one-off ITV drama to be filmed in Dublin this summer.

Cattrall will play Radcliffe's mother in a production of My Boy Jack, a film based on the true story of how Rudyard Kipling used his influence to get 17-year-old Jack a commission with the Irish Guards despite his son's poor eyesight.

It will be Radcliffe's first TV drama since playing Harry Potter in the popular films. Rudyard Kipling will be played by David Haig.

May 31 2007 - waveguide.co.uk

Gay Remark - Grey's Anatomy

Actor Isaiah Washington will not be returning to the popular US show Grey's Anatomy following his use of a gay slur, it has been revealed.

According to ABC Television Studios, producer of the award-winning medical drama, his contract option has not been renewed for next season.

The actor played Dr Preston Burke in the show and was involved in a scuffle with co-star Patrick Dempsey on the set of Grey's Anatomy last year after using a derogatory term about their co-star, T R Knight.

The actor denied using the term at the Golden Globe awards in January, but received a rebuke from ABC for saying the word in public.

He has since received counselling and met with civil rights groups to discuss ways to address homophobia.

The season finale of Grey's Anatomy, shown in the US in May but yet to be broadcast in the UK, opened the door for the departure of Washington's character.

June 08 2007 - waveguide.co.uk

New BBC Panel Show

Waveguide - Angus DeaytonAngus Deayton is back at the BBC in a new comedy panel show called Would I Lie To You?

Starting on Saturday, June 16, the BBC One series stars David Mitchell and Lee Mack as team captains.

For each show, both team captains are joined by two celebrity guests capable of talking funny, convincing nonsense.

Jono Coleman is one of the guests in the first show.

Over a series of rounds, each player tells the opposing team a number of amazing stories and embarrassing facts about themselves. The aim of the game is to convince them that what's a lie is true and what's true is not.

June 08 2007 - waveguide.co.uk

DELIA IS BACK ON THE BOX


DELIA Smith is planning a comeback four years after retiring.

BBC bosses have signed the 65-year-old cook for a weekly series next spring.

It will be linked to an updated version of her 1971 book How to Cheat at Cooking.


Delia said yesterday: "We're short-cutting all the rules. Cheating has come on a lot and there's so much more available."

The series will be Delia's first since 2002.

She has concentrated on Norwich City after buying the club in 1996 with husband Michael Wynn-Jones.

Delia has opened five restaurants at the ground - and she has won awards for bestfed fans.

But friends said she had been planning her return by rewriting the book about easy ways to make healthy family meals.

Mirror

Sci Fi Channel To Screen Flash Gordon

Waveguide - Eric JohnsonThe Sci Fi Channel has secured the UK rights to the new Flash Gordon live action series.

The 22-part series is based on the 1934 newspaper comic strip by Alex Raymond about three characters fighting Ming the Merciless, the ruler of the planet Mongo.

The show will star Eric Johnson in the title role and will air during 2008.

Canadian actor Johnson is perhaps best known for his role as Whitney Fordman in Smallville, a character he portrayed from 2001 to 2004.

Sci Fi will also hold the video-on-demand and internet rights.

The show makes its debut in the US on August 10.

June 12 2007 - waveguide.co.uk

Lloyd Webber Concert

BBC Radio 2 is feature the work of Andrew Lloyd Webber in a special 90-minute gala concert featuring performances from an array of musical theatre stars.

The event, which will be recorded and broadcast in August, will feature music from a variety of shows that Lloyd Webber has both written and produced in recent years.

It is understood that Argentinean actress Elena Roger will reprise her role as Eva Peron from Evita, recently staged at the Adelphi Theatre, and is expected to perform the songs Don’t Cry for Me Argentina and Buenos Aires.

Connie Fisher, who won the role of Maria in The Sound of Music following her appearance on BBC One’s How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, is also likely to make an appearance, performing numbers from the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic.

However, a BBC spokeswoman said no names had been confirmed and that a full line-up will be announced shortly.

The concert will be recorded at the Mermaid Theatre on August 19 and will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on August 31.

BBC Radio 2 head of live music, events and talent Lewis Carnie said: “We are delighted to feature a show that looks at the work of Andrew Lloyd Webber as a producer. He is renowned, of course, as a composer, but if you look at his influence on musical theatre, it extends far beyond that.

“We’re happy to highlight that area and bring the very best of new and exciting talent to our audience to perform that work. It will be a sensational show.”

June 12 2007 - waveguide.co.uk