Slob to join Big Brother house-mates?

The Big Brother house opened it's door to half a dozen ladies on Wednesday night leaving everyone asking where the gents are.

The first bloke is expected to be launched into the house of freaks on Friday night and the common consensus has been that it will be a lady killer to get the girls panting.

However, there is also a school of thought that suggests the producers may be sending a different type of chap in altogther - a complete slob, just like Eastender's Keith Miller (pictured left).

This potentially has comedy value by the bucketload because the girl's worst nightmare will be a smelly waster in the vain of Keith.

Lost: Charlie death justified + producer's shock vow...

According to two of the powers that be on Lost, the character of Charlie just had to go in order legitimise Desmond's visions of the future.

Carlton Cuse (exec producer) had this to say: "We didn't do it beause we didn't like Dominic or we don't think he's a terrific actor, which he is. The story of Desmond's prognostication was one of the big parts of this season, like, ''If you push the button in the hatch, is that going to lead the hatch blowing up or is just a mindf---?'' Charlie's story had to lead to a conclusion, and we felt like Charlie's heroic death would be a culminating event that would give the season a sense of closure."

Full story

Meanwhile Damon Lindelof has also hit out at the many websites who published crucial spoilers prior to the epic Season 3 Finale. He was furious about Jack's 'Flash Forward' being revealed before the program hit the airwaves. In response to this, Lindelof has vowed that the Lost will become 'radio silent' when it comes to revealing future secrets about the show - notably the run-up to Season 4.

Get the lowdown here

Lost: Monaghan hits out at axing and reveals future plans

Following the demise of his Lost alter ego Charlie Pace, actor Dominic Monaghan has expressed dismay at the decision to bump off his popular character.

Unlike the Murphy's, Monaghan appears to be somewhat bitter as he states, "I think lots of people are gonna be pretty pissed off. Especially as there are others on the show they are more keen on having disappear."

I wonder who he's talking about there.....

Full story

For an even more in-depth and generally more positive account make sure you read this article too

The Apprentice week 10: Naomi pays price for Simon's incompetence...

The latest Apprentice offering was one of the best in the series so far, as Alan Sugar set both teams the task of selling live on air on a shopping channel - it was a recipe for superb tv and it didn't disappoint.

Normally Alan Sugar doesn't get to see his prospective Apprentice's in action, but this time was different as the no-nonsense man of Amstrad monitored the carnage as it happened live on air while sat watching a giant plasma screen deep in the heart of his HQ.

Prior to going on air both teams were set the task of choosing what they'd each be selling, this was the critical part of the show. Simon being team captain decided he would have a go at solo selling while Tre and Naomi would team up on air to sell the products that Simon had chosen and here is where it went horribly wrong for the team because the skipper gambled on selling a deluxe folding wheelchair...

On the other team, Kristina who't taken it upon herself to sell solo had to demonstrate a high tech mop, but her live on-air performance left Sir Alan shouting at this tv "what a bloody mess - get her off!". It was hilarious and embarrassing at the same time and once again great tv...

This current series must rank as one of the best as it has a superb mix of characters, but for me Alan Sugar is the real star of the show, I cannot think of a better man for the role of big boss man.

Simon only escaped because he's been pretty much the star of the show up and until week 10, but another repeat performance could see him cartwheeling out of the Amstrad exit door with Sir Alan's size nine boot up his backside.

Pure comedy gold - and how not to buy and sell.

Katie labels Kristina 'a snake'...

Mind Boggling Lost Finale: The questions that need answers..

The Lost crew produced their best season finale to date with a breathtaking double header that as always provided more questions than answers, 2 major deaths, 2 unconfirmed deaths, violence, humour and terrific action.

As expected the likeable Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan) drowned in the Looking Glass Station just as Desmond had predicted. This was apparently a double death as eyepatch wearing Other Mikhail was surely decimated in the process after letting off a hand grenade on the outside of the station. I say 'apparently' because we have seen the dogged Russian perish before only for him to make an unexpected comeback.

Therefore the first major question from the finale must be: Is Mikhail really dead? If we had to bet on it then I would say 'yes' but you just never know with Lost.

In fact Desmond was the only character to make it out of The Looking Glass alive after Mikhail also wasted fellow Others Bonnie and Greta after getting the order from Ben.

One other who definitely won't make it to season 4 is that lovable rascal Tom (the only Other to appear 'alive' in all 3 seasons so far). Sawyer finally got to fire a bullet into 'Zeke' after a remarkable surprise attack from Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes. To recap, Tom and two of his renegades had Sayid, Bernard and Jin tied up on the beach (Sayid's ambush predictably didn't work) and were in the mood for revenge after Sayid and co had taken out and impressive 7 of the 10 Others with the old dynamite trick (the third stick didn't blow which led to Tom's survival). Sawyer and Juiliette had returned to the beach sensing the plan hadn't worked and had previously told Hurley he wasn't welcome. While Sawyer and Juiliette hid in the bushes, Hurley steamed in driving the Dharma edition VW Camper and killed Ryan Price while Sayid took care of the un-named other with a leg sweep and subsequent neck break. That just left poor old Tom who surrendered. Sadly his reign of terror over the Losties came to an abrupt end as Sawyer decided to put a bullet in him anyway. Sawyer made it clear that his bullet was revenge for when Tom snatched Walt.....

Speaking of which....

Walt (pictured above left) has not been seen since season 2 when he and Michael secured safe passage off the island. Well all that changed in the finale as we got a glimpse of the youngster with those seemingly special powers. John Locke (who you remember had a affinity with Walt in Season 1) was lying in the pit of corpses about to commit suicide after being shot by Ben. Just before Locke could fire his last bullet through his own brain, up popped Walt looking over the shallow grave at John. Walt ordered John not to pull the trigger and reminded him that he had 'work to do.'

With that Locke dragged himself up and headed off into the jungle. This was a pretty special moment for Lost fans because one of the few season 3 complaints has been the lack of Michael and Walt. We're pretty sure that we'll see more of Walt and maybe Michael in the fourth season.

Which leaves a few more questions. Was the Walt we saw a ghost like creation of the smoke monster (we've seen this before in S2)? Or was it the real deal and if so, did Walt and Michael really leave the island?

On the trek to the communications mast, Jack was leading the rest of the survivors to safety where he was confident that he could secure rescue. Just as Jack and co were in spitting distance of the mast they were headed off by leader of the others Ben and his daughter Alex. Ben was confident he could talk Jack out of communicating with the outside world and urged him to hand over Naomi's satellite phone. After Jack refused to oblige Ben staged the shooting of Sayid/Jin/Bernard over a walkie talkie conversation with Tom (Tom fired the bullets into the ground). This final play backfired, as Jack, believing his friend's had been murdered, proceeded to beat 7 shades of shit out of Ben.

What followed was another magic moment as Ben confessed to a shocked Alex that Rousseau was in fact her mother (Alex previously believed her mother was dead).

As the group reached the mast, Ben begged Jack to reconsider stating that Naomi could not be trusted and that her 'rescue party' had other motives. Just as Naomi established contact with her crew she received a knife in the back from an injured John Locke who caught up with the group - we were then left with another classic Jack/John stand off where Locke threatened to use his final bullet on the good Doctor should he establish contact with the outside world. Jack called his bluff though and Locke couldn't go through with the shot. Interestingly John's objection was that Jack's phone call 'wasn't meant to happen' - had Walt told him so, had the island spoken to him or had John seen into the future??

By this point we had also established that there is more to Naomi than meets the eye. Back in the Looking Glass Charlie had made contact with Penny Widmore (Desmond's lover) who confirmed she had not sent a rescue team - Charlie managed to communicate this to Desmond before his death. This revelation gives more credence to Ben's words but still leaves us wondering what Naomi's motives really were and unless she survives a John Locke knife throw we may not find out anytime soon.

The on-island action finished here as Jack established contact with Naomi's boat whose captain confirmed they could locate the island thanks to the satellite phone.

What happened next was the real kicker - the flashbacks throughout had been of a bearded and suicidal Jack who was clearly very troubled. The final flashback actually revealed that we had been watching a 'flash-forward' all along with Jack's story set in the future. The season finished with a jaded alcoholic Jack breaking down to Kate confessing that they should never had left the island, implying there had been a cover-up of sorts and that he was desperate to return to the island. Kate didn't seem the see it the same way and was keen to return to her unamed partner.

This was a very powerful end to the season and seemed to show us that Jack's decision to find rescue will eventually be shown to be a fatal error.

The flash-forward also raised two huge questions: Whose funeral did Jack try to attend? During all this Jack was pre-occupied with a funeral he found out about in the newspaper. He found the funeral parlour but the priest revealed he was the sole mourner. It was made obvious that Kate also knew the deceased which makes it almost certainly a Lostie or Other. Hot favourites are John Locke, Ben Linus and Michael Dawson.

The second question? Is Christian Shephered alive? Jack referred to his father in the present during the flashforward which implied he may be alive. Despite this potentially shocking twist, we think that Jack's comment about his father was a sign of his messed up frame of mind at the time.

All in all an amazing season and finale. If you have any theories then please leave a comment.

Gordon Ramsay going soft?...

Viewers who tuned into Ramsay's latest 'F Word' offering on Channel 4 might well have been surprised to see Gordon show mercy when confronted with the decision to pull the trigger and shoot a beautiful wild Deer - thankfully Ramsay blinked when the awful moment arrived and instead of pulling the trigger Gordon showed his not often seen human side as he pulled back from the brink as he trudged away to reflect 'am I going ******* soft'?...

The show was pre-recorded and last week Channel 4 received many angry calls from viewers who were upset over the piece on horse meat when Janet Street-Porter was seen sending a beautiful Pony away for slaughter, but what happened this week was no knee-jerk PR reaction to the protests of the last episode when People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) criticised the show and Ramsay.

Indeed PETA will no doubt be in touch with Channel 4 again over another rather controversial piece in last nights show in which Geese were seen to be force fed in preparation for high quality foi gras (duck liver).

Ramsay is no doubt courting controversy but at least his F Word show is raising public awareness on such issues.

Big Brother to slash phone vote costs..

Good news for fans of Channel 4's Big Brother 8 as the cost of voting for house evictions has been halved to just 25p.

According to Andy Taylor, Channel 4's managing director the price cut is aimed at keeping voting "fair and transparent" and also to encourage "the highest possible number" of viewers to take part.

The last series of Big Brother was embroiled in the race row controversy surrounding Bollywood actress Shilp Shetty, for which the show was later blasted by the industry watchdog Ofcom who stated that the shows producers were guilty of 'serious errors of judgement'.

Big Brother 8 starts on Wednesday night.

Simon Cowell to quit American Idol and link up with Michael Jackson?

Super uber music man himself Simon Cowell has announced that he's likely to quit American Idol. Current viewing figures for the show have dipped from 36 million to just 25 million.

Cowell says: 'I'll have done 10 seasons by then and it'll be time to do something else.
'Meanwhile, new people can be brought in...'

Speaking on GMTV, Cowell also hinted about a possible future link up with Michael Jackson on an as yet unknown project...watch this space.

Lost Finale Trailer Online

The trailer for the Lost Season 3 Finale is now online and you can see it in it's entirety at the bottom of this page.

The finale will air Sunday Night at 10pm on Sky One and this juicy trailer gives away little secrets.

If we had to make a prediction it's that Bernard will not survive the night - it seems inevitable that Sayid's ambush on The Others will go wrong and surely Bernard, after barely featuring this season, will be the fall guy out of the Losties.

Interestingly there is no sign of Charlie and the underwater Looking Glass Hatch. However we are pretty certain you will see this Hatch during the episode - after all the finale is entitled 'Through The Looking Glass.'

Those hoping to see Michael and Walt in the season send-off will probably be disappointed as we understand the episode will not involve the father and son who escaped last season. They are a very good bet to appear in Season 4 though.

Take a look at the trailer to wet your appetite for Sunday Night:

24 Gossip a red herring - thank god!

The 24 Finale has just gone out in the states and thankfully all the talk of a former star returning 'from the dead' proved to a red herring from producers.

This story was leaked and reported by so many sources, inlcuding ourselves, that it was generally conceived to be true.

What actually happened is that producers infiltrated some hardcore online 24 forums and brought this story out to throw viewers off the scent going into the finale.

Apparently brief consideration was given to bringing Tony back from the dead, but the producers felt this would be a leap too far. We suggested that it would be unrealistic to bring back Tony Almeida and, I think wisely, the producers came to the same conclusion.

If 24 does go down this road again then we still believe that Sherry Palmer (Penny Johnson Jerald - above left) is the only cast member they could realistically resurrect because of the uncertainty surrounding her so-called demise.

While this piece of smoke and mirrors did successfully throw a curveball to the fans, it has also backfired to a degree, with many fans now upset that the Tony return didn't happen and generally feeling let down by Season 6 as a whole.

We will await the end of the series at Sky One pace before delivering our verdict on Jack Bauer's latest 24 hours.

Big names join Eastenders....

Good news over at Albert Square for flagging soap opera Eastenders, as two well known British thespians have signed up to join the show.

First-up is former Hollyoakes and Casualty star Will Mellor. He will be playing the part of Warren - a smooth talking car dealer intent on snaring some of the women of Walford.

The second star is set to be a big asset to the show - the popular Samantha Janus (above left) will be joining as a member of the famous Mitchell clan. Her character, Ronnie Mitchell will arrive with onscreen sister Roxy Mitchell - played by the lesser known Rita Simons. The duo will be nieces of Mitchell matriarch Peggy and cousins of barrell chested bruiser Phil. This is the the first time that Eastenders has had a pair of Mitchell Sisters, although long time fans may argue that the Mitchell brothers have been acting like a pair of girls for a few years now.......

Simon Cowell 'steaming' over rivals pay deal....

Aparrently Simon Cowell was left fuming on hearing that fellow ITV star presenters Ant and Dec have trounced the man with the high waisted trousers in the pay department. Cowell's current deal is believed to be worth just £20million while Ant and Dec have agreed a deal which is worth a mind boggling £40million.

Ant and Dec on a mission to wind-up Cowell, who doesn't like being second best...

Mixed fortunes for TV Reality show The Apprentice...

Donald Trump has announced that he's quitting the US version of the Apprentice, the show had huge viewing figures of over 21 million when it was launched back in 2004, but more recent figures have dropped to around 7 million. Donald Trump's media organisation has released a statement to the effect that the 60 year-old tycooon is "moving on" to work on "a major new TV venture", no further details are available at this time.

Meanwhile better news to report on the BBC version of the hit show of the same name because it has been announced that Alan Sugar is to get a further two more series. The show is currently in its third series and is averaging around 5.8 million viewers.

Did you see Jacob? Does he Locke familiar?

Eagle eyed Lost viewers got their first glimpse of the mysterious Jacob in last Sunday's episode 'The Man Behind The Curtain.'

Don't worry if you missed it - most viewers did - but there was a brief glimpse of Jacob in the surreal cabin showdown between Benjamin Linus and John Locke.

The picture to the left of this is a screengrab of Jacob from this episode, he appeared for a split second in the cabin as Locke branded Ben a liar and a fantasist. Ben appeared to be talking to an empty chair during the sequence until we heard Jacob say 'Help Me' to John. At this point chaos ensued as objects were hurled around the cabin and amid this was the shot of Jacob.

What makes this photo even more intriguing is the character's similarity to John Locke. The forehead, nose and chin bears a remarkable resemblance to Terry O'Quinn (who plays Locke) and intriguingly Jacob has long hair, maybe even a pony tail which could be a wig.

This was the amazing episode where Locke apparently met his maker after being shot by Ben and left to die. Most Lost fans don't believe this is the last we will see of Locke. The character seems too important to the overall series to be shot down in Season 3, especially when a further 3 seasons have been confirmed. With the shows religious parallels I wouldn't be surprised to see Locke rising from the dead ala Jesus in what would be some kind of resurrection.

This all makes for interesting speculation and with sources claiming that Terry O'Quinn will be back for Season 4, it will leave viewers wondering whether he will return as John Locke or indeed in the guise of Jacob.

My personal theory is that this is the last we will see of Locke for Season 3, but that he will be somehow be resurrected in Season 4. He's too important a character to lose and seems central to the powers of the island.

There has been much talk of sacrifice in recent episode's (notably surrounding Desmond/Charlie), which makes me wonder if Locke has been 'sacrificed by Ben for a specific reason - possibly to free Jacob from the shackles that keep him in the cabin and mostly invisible.

Ultimately Lost is a show that is impossible to second guess, but it does appear there is a striking resemblance between John Locke and Jacob - this could be very clever casting from the producers though. Time will tell on our favourite Island......

Cowell gives thumbs down to Sandy and Danny...

It's nice to know that even Simon get's it slightly wrong now and again

OK well not exactly, the ITV show is currently getting around 4 million viewers every Saturday night so it's hardly bombed. However, Mr Nasty himself AKA Simon Cowell says the show isn't doing as well as he'd hoped and he also says that the critics are right to have panned the show...

24 set to run and run?

More good news for all fans of the Golden Globe winning show 24 because it's been confirmed that the US network Fox has commissioned a further two more series which run until 2009.

The word is that 24s executive producers are likely to make some changes but the focus will remain very much on special agent Jack Bauer.

Big Brother 8 news update......

Davina back to the house for a few dollars more...

Channel 4 have confirmed that Big Brother 8 will start on Wednesday, May 30, which is great news for fans of the cult show. It has also been confirmed Saturday night update is to be replaced by an hour-long Big Brother On The Couch which will also be fronted up by Davina McCall, who will be speaking to psychologists and analysing the latest house evictions.

'Presumed Dead' Star to Return to 24?

Speculation is now buzzing around 24 fan sites that the Season Finale will herald the return of a previous star who was presumed dead on the show.

The closing minutes of the Season 6 Finale are rumoured to concern a showdown between Jack Bauer and a former 24 character that we all presumed was now pushing up daisies. The rumour mill has stated that the return will be a big name and will shock 'long time' fans.

Hot favourite is Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) who we saw 'die' midway through Season 5 after a lethal injection. Quite how the producers could bring back Tony we don't know as it seemed apparent that he was a goner at the time. Fans were outraged at the low key nature of Tony's death and there is a belief amongst fans that the former CTU loyalist should be brought back from beyond the grave.

The clues are that the returnee will carry some major shock value and no return would be more shocking than that of President Palmer. The last time we saw The Big Man was when he took a bullet in the neck during the opening minutes of Season 5. Conspiracy theorists like the sound of an assasination cover-up but we believe there is pretty much no chance that Dennis Haysbert will be reprising his role. Haysbert has recently hit out at the show for knocking off the Palmer character which would make a return all the more unlikely: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/news/article2525596.ece

Outside bets include bad guy Christopher Henderson (Peter Weller) and former CTU Directors Ryan Chappelle and George Mason. From a storyline perspective only Henderson could surely be brought back, he was shot by Jack in the 23rd hour of Season 5 just after making a deal with Bauer to fake his own death. At the time it appeared it Jack reneged on the deal - but the twist could be that Jack did indeed help his enemy disappear into the sunset. With Mason blown to pieces in a nuclear blast, albeit off screen, his chances of returning seem nil, as do Chappelle's who was shot in the back of the head by Jack from point blank range.

The only 'presumed dead' character that could feasibly be brought back, in our opinion is Sherry Palmer. Again, the last time we saw Sherry she had also taken a bullet, however it was potentially non-fatal and the shot was fired by a civilian - not a trained marksman. Ever since this 'death' Sherry has never been confirmed as being dead on the show and was even referred to in Season 5, but quite ambiguously. The producers have clearly left the door open for Penny Johnson Jerald to come back if she wishes.

However, all rumours point to the returning star being male in which case we think it's between Henderson and Tony. Judging by the character's popularity, a recent on-set appearance and his somewhat lame death scene, we're backing Tony to be the guy who returns at the end of Season 6 in a role currently classified as 'To Be Determined.'

The Apprentice, week 8: Ghazal - you're fired!

In episode 8 of the Apprentice the two teams were led by Ghazal and Jadine, the task was to create the branding and supporting advertising for a pair of trainers and to present their ideas to an advertising agency before Sir Alan Sugar made the final decision on who won and more importantly for the contestants who lost.

The girls team, led by Ghazal, struggled to come up with a big idea, this was despite having team members Katie who has worked as an international brand manager and Naomi who is an advertising manager. In the end they settled on the brand name of 'Jam', which has it's obvious musical connotions.

However, the girls group was split down the middle over the central theme behind their big idea which was changed at the last minute to 'music is everything' the decision was largely due to Katie taking control of poceedings and Ghazal following.

None of this pleased Naomi and Kristina. The usual predictable cat-calling following with Katie suggesting she'd like to fire Kristina 'in more ways than one'...and suggestions from the other half of the group that perhaps Katie was out to get Ghazal fired....

To be honest, I'm not sure that was the case here as Katie genuinely was pleased with the groups promotional material. I honestly think much of the back-biting which goes on all of the time is designed in part for self preservation should things go wrong in the Boardroom - if that happens the said person can turn round and say 'I told you so'.... A prime example of this in episode 8 was Tres in the boys group who never seemed to stop complaining.

The boys eventually won out( I dont know how ) with their appallingly branded 'Street' trainer and no doubting who was the star of the show and that was Simon - if this was purely a talent contest then he'd win it hands down, though to be fair Tres did play a large part in the group's win.

The fear of losing is of course what makes the show such good tv as the contestants are all desperate to become Sir Alan's assistant and so they will do and say almost anything to win which is why The Apprentice is fantastic viewing.

As for Sir Alan Sugar he was on top form again and apart from giving out his usual no nonsense verdict at the final inquest, he once again gave us all an insight into the way he thinks about business, this week marketeers got the 'SAS treatment' when he said 'For once I agreed with an advertising agency'...which suggests that dealing with Sir Alan's advertising account would be a nightmare.

Ghazal - "you're all talk and no do" you're fired

Special delivery for Gordon Ramsay's restaurant - 1 tonne of horse manure!

One lump or one tonne Gordon?

Here at Top TV Talk we knew that Janet Street-Porter's shocking film about sending a horse to slaughter for the dining room table on this weeks edition of the F Word would enrage the British public and so it has. It has quite literally caused a right old stink, because PETA (aka People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) have dumped a tonne of steaming horse dung on the doorstep of Gordon Ramsay's top London restaurant Claridge's.

Full Story...

Apprentice tells SAS where to stick "six figure salary"

Word coming out of the beeb this weekend suggests that one of Sir Alan Sugar's Apprentice finalists tells the beligerant boss that life at Amstrad just isn't for him or her.

In what will be the most shocking boardroom on record, one of the finalists drops the bombshell that they don't actually want the job working for former the Spurs head honcho.

Sunday Mirror sources have promised fireworks: "Sir Alan and the whole team were completely wrong-footed. Alan had chosen the person he believed would go on to become his winner.

"That contestant had become one of the biggest personalities in the series and we were all set for a proper showdown between Alan's last two. But this individual decided to quit instead. After weeks of hard work and graft, no one could have guessed this would happen.

"It is one of the most dramatic moments in the three-season history of the programme. Sir Alan is forced to pick another contestant - who he obviously didn't rate as much."

This speculation, carried by many of the nationals over the weekend, does appear to be true and could possibly leave the credibility of this cult hit in some doubt. Two of the 'fired' candidates from series, likeable Northerners Andy 'Work Til We Bleed' Jackson and Adam Hosker have both accused fellow contestants of using the show to establish TV careers. Both former car salesman have stated that many of their in-house peers had absolutely no intention of working for SAS, with Hosker going as far to say that villainous contestant Katie Hopkins branded Sugar a dunce behind closed doors.

If the Sunday Mirror story does indeed turn out to be a goer then it seems that the ousted duo may well have a point......

Of course Season 3's collection of bullshitters and schmoozers wouldn't be the first to take advantage of the considerable press lauded onto the contestants with Series 1 runner-up Saira Khan being the first to enjoy a decent media career following 'the job interview from Hell.'

Not far behind her was the actual winner of Season 2, Michelle Dewbury, who jacked in Amstrad after 5 months. Michelle also hit the headlines for her relationship with fellow contestant Syed Ahmed- unfortunately Michelle suffered a miscarriage after becoming pregnant with Syed's child - in fairness this turblent time in her life may have had an impact on her decision to leave Amstrad.

Syed himself has now scored a satellite TV show, as has Ruth Badger - catch her on Sky One at 10pm on Tuesdays for Badger or Bust. Even Season 3 MVP Paul Torrisi popped up on UK Living last summer as analyst in the channel's alternative World Cup '06 coverage.

If any more proof were needed that the celebrity lifestyle can beat working for Sir Alan then look no further than Season 1 winner and all round good egg Tim Campbell. The former transport manager has left Sir Alan's empire after two years to work on 'new projects' aka 'a media career' of his own.

Full story

Porter upsets horse lovers in Ramsay's F word...

Trigger happy Janet Street-Porter in ratings shocker...

It's not often that I'm shocked when watching the goggle box, but last night I was as Janet Street-Porter trundled off to France on Ramsay's F Word to send a nag to slaughter, just so she could taste horse meat. Unlike many animals which we Brits happily consume without too much thought or consideration, horses are owned and loved by many of us and what shocked me was that Porter went to the trouble of going off to France to capture one short clip of one our four legged friend's being ushered into the back of a horse box for slaughter in preparation for human consumption.

This short clip brought home the harsh reality of what happens in other parts of Europe where the practice is common, but thankfully not so in the UK. Added to which there is concerns for the horses welfare as many are transported very long distances on the way to slaughter in totally inadequate conditions, there was no mention of this during the F Word.

In the programme Ramsay and Porter conclude that eating horse meat is good for you because of its nutritional values, I guess that they also thought that in making this short film that too would be good for the F Word, but the move has been described elsewhere as a desperate attempt to drive up ratings.

I have to say it left me completely unimpressed and slightly puzzled and yes slightly shocked too. Unlike the rest of the tv chefs, Ramsay has managed to do something with his rather unique - for much of his many shows it isn't just about the food, that is almost incidental, it's all about him and his huge personality, and how many times Gordon can say **** in the allotted time. Maybe Gordon & co feel the expletives shock factor is wearing thin hence the search for new shock tactics. Great tv? I don't think so.

Teenage boob jobs - celebs have a lot to answer for...

OK so last night I had to endure ITVs Teen Boob Jobs: Too much too soon, when I say endure, my wife insisted we watched it in bed instead of Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul - which has been hugely disappointing thus far and about as flat as Joan Rivers chest, which brings me back onto teenage boob jobs. The youngest teenager who underwent the knife was just 16, and I found myself thinking what will become of these young girls in a few years time when they will need further surgery. The show ended with confirmation of my worst fears as one of the featured four girls said she wanted yet another op to make her even bigger....and so it goes. I'm no doctor or physcologist but I don't agree with teenagers having boob jobs - I actually blame their parents, and this 'must have' culture which is driven by celebs in the media.

Power to the people....

This programme marked the first of a new BBC2 series as Tim Samuels joined the residents of Lanreath, a small Cornish Town which like many similar small villages in the UK is under threat. Samuels and the villagers, which included Morris Dancers, farm animals, children and old age pensioners travelled enblock to London to protest about what is happening to Lanreath and to save their tiny local school. Alas the collective best efforts to save the school failed but the people of village did manage to reopen the local post office and the local pub. You cannot help but admire the spirit of communities like those of Lanreath. Samuels comes across well and the series is one to look out for.