Top Tv Talk

Celebrity US pouting princess to be added to Australia's top 10 deadly creatures list?

2007-11-26T03:08:00.000-08:00

TV audiences have been glued to their flat panel screens watching ITVs annual smash-hit reality TV show “I’m a celebrity get me out of here” which is filmed live in the sweaty confines of an Australian tropical jungle set.

This year's show has not disappointed with a first for Celebrity with a real-life love-triangle adding extra spice to the usual assortment of rodents and creepy crawlies not forgetting the insects and spiders which aren't very nice either.

The format of the show remains uncomplicated, in order to survive the contestants (victims would perhaps be more appropriate) are set daily challenges and the rules of the game are quite simple: Win the challenges and the camp gets to get to eat a decent meal - lose and they have to make do with meagre rations of rice and beans.

However, winning is easier said that done when would be contestants such as the self proclaimed ‘first ever US supermodel’ Janice Dickinson was early on in the proceedings given two stomach churning tasks of eating a Kangaroo’s penis and a live Witchity Grub.

Perhaps not surprisingly Janice declined both the Kangaroo penis and the Witchity Grub. Luckily for the rest of the camp and her, celebrity chef and love-rat John Burton-Race was on hand to devour both delicacies - to the absolute amazement of many the Michelin Star chef appeared to enjoy the latter, saying it tasted like an Oyster.

This is what a gruesome Witchity Grub looks like.

Without any shadow of a doubt though one of the biggest surprises of this year’s Celebrity has been the performance of the hitherto largely unknown Dickinson who has managed to remain in the camp while well known British stars as John Burton-Race and former soccer star Rodney Marsh have been voted off the show. However, while the pouting princess won over some of her jungle inmates, others have had difficulty working out Janice.

Burton-Race and Marsh got along fine with the former supermodel. Others, particularly the women in the camp have really struggled at times, not least because the pouting diva has a tongue every bit as venomous as a jungle viper. Some might even argue that Dickinson could be added to Australia’s top ten most deadly creatures list (see below).

Early on in the competition Janice made the mistake of letting the British voting public know that she wasn’t enjoying being chosen to face the awful challenges - this only served to make things a whole lot worse for the US babe - as it resulted in viewers voting in droves for Dickinson. To her credit and up to this point, Dickinson has taken part in nine challenges and has been successful in most of them.

Life in the jungle has certainly been no bed of roses having to put up with the hunger, the daily challenges and living so close to snakes in the grass, not to mention the remaining male contestants as well as the spiders. For these reasons the former US model is doing just fine. So well in fact that according to the latest bookmakers odds Dickinson could go on to win the competition.

Over the course of the last couple of weeks the initial group of celebs has been gradually whittled down as the public vote to decide which contestants should stay in the camp and who should be evicted, with the unlucky stars being packed off to live in the lap of luxury for a few days in a five-star hotel until the show is over.

The show is filmed live deep in the tropical Australian jungle, this year the set it’s believed to be located north of Cairns in Queensland.

Quick Facts on Queensland at a glance:

Climate:
In the North: Tropical to sub-tropical. In the South: Sub-tropical.

Location:
North East corner of Australia
Coordinates between 10º & 29º South latitude 138º and 154º East longitude

Age profile:
The media age of the 3.8 million population is 35.5 years old.
AreaQueensland is the second largest state in Australia.

Economy:
Queensland has the fastest growing economy in Australia.

State's capital city, Brisbane:
In 2004 Brisbane, was voted World's 8 Best Cities to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit survey
Size 1,730,648 km²

Australia's top ten dangerous creatures:
1. The Box Jellyfish
2. Irukandji (A Jellyfish)
3. Salt Water Crocodile
4. Blue Ring Octopus
5. Stone Fish
6. Red Back Spider
7. Brown Snake
8. Tiger Snake
9. Great White Shark
10.Funnel Web Spider

Quick facts on Queensland supplied by BigEasy Travel Guide.com

Marco Pierre White - a very scary man?

2007-09-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

Marco Pierre White and the Undertaker, two scary looking men with eyes that could kill...

This week the nation's tv schedules have been dominated by cooking related programmes, we've had BBC2s Kitchen Criminals in which the likeable top chef John Burton Race has been trying to make decent cooks out of people who hitherto couldn't boil an egg. It has been interesting, if not riveting tv so far.

We've also been subjected to another reality tv cooking show on BBC2 The Restaurant. Raymond Blanc and his top team of restauranteur empolyees are the judges in a competition in which couples are pitted against each other to win their own restaurant and in doing so they will become business partners with the top French chef.

The Restaurant's format is slightly different from other similar realilty tv shows of the cooking genre, in that Blanc and his top team really do test all aspects of the competing couples skill-sets. Everything from restaurant management, marketing, budgeting and cooking is tested thoroughly and quite entertaining The Restaurant has been too.

In last night's episode the extremely annoying Jacqui and Sam were thankfully turfed off, largely because of their appalling grasp of the numbers.

While The Restaurant has the makings of a decent pot-boiler, ITVs Hells Kitchen has been grabbing all the headlines, not least because there's a new head chef in the rather scary form of Michelin star chef Marco Pierre White.

Hells Kitchen's former head chef Gordon Ramsay, was apparently once reduced to tears by White. However, Marco says he didn't force Gordon to cry, 'it was Gordon's decision to cry'...

Ramsay has a somewhat confrontational management style in his tv shows, he's all too often foul-mouthed, often when shouting down his subordinates within his 'brigade'.

Marco Pierre White has an altogether different management style in the kitchen and while he has sinister looks that could curdle fresh milk and send your blood cold in the blink of an eye. The contrast between White and Ramsay is marked.

Everyone in the Hells Kitchen apparently loves White. For this reason I've been wondering if the Hells Kitchen bosses might be encouraging Marco to turn on the frighteners in bid to get nasty in the remaining days of the competition.

White could easily stand in for the WWE's undertaker, he possess similar scary looks, but in this reality TV show he's something of a big pussy-cat.

24 Latest: Bill is BACK + Production delay

2007-08-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

Right after telling the world that he wouldn't be returning for Season 7, it appears the silver fox of CTU - Bill Buchanon - will now be returning to the hit series. And he's understandably very happy about it. On his personal website, actor James Morrison says:

"I'm going to back to the show after all. And I'm very happy about it. I'll let you know more when I can."

Great news out there for all Bill fans.

Also, production has been delayed until the back end of September while the producers tweak the scripts even further.

In other news, Gary Oldman has allegedly turned down a role in the show due to a scheduling clash. His agent however has decided to keep the door open by refusing to rule out the story. Interestingly, Oldman and Kiefer Sutherland are old drinking buddies and actually share an arrest.......

Best. News. Ever: Michael is Back For Lost Season 4!!!

2007-07-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Smashing news from Comic Con as the Lost producers unveiled Harold Perrineau to Lost Fanatics as it was announced the character of Michael Dawson is coming back as a series regular.

Michael left the island at the end of Season 2 after striking a deal with The Others to allow him and son Walt safe passage off the island - in exchange for betraying 4 of his closest friends. The news that fans have been waiting for is now in as Michael makes his long awaited comeback to this wonderful show.

It was not confirmed whether Michael will just appear in flashbacks and flash forwards but his status as a regular would indicate he will see action on the island. We predict and hope that Michael will be made to face the music on the island. Which begs the question of whether The Others really let him and Walt escape in the first place.

Interestingly no news on Walt's current status - he popped up in the Season 3 finale (seemingly as an illusion) but his return will depend very much on the storyline. Despite the actor's aging and growth spurt, we really hope they bring back this character - arguably one of the most important in the whole show due to his unique abilities and understanding of the island.

Other news from Comic Con:

- We will see a Danielle Rousseau flashback - Yay!

- This season will see a mixture of flashforwards and flashbacks.

- Libby's story will be completed.

- Jack and Claire's relationship will be explored further - it has been strongly hinted they share the same father.

- The ending of the season 3 finale (Jack and Kate) will not be the ending of the entire show - there is more to come following Jack's apparent breakdown.

- There is some major trouble heading for the island - the newcomers will make The Others look like 'humanitarians.'

As you can probably we are very excited about these developments - watch this space for more news as it arrives!

Aaron Pierce Return + 24 Moves To DC!

2007-07-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

Interesting news emanating from Comic Con this week where the shows executive producers fielded questions from the show's hardcore fan base.

Here's the headlines:

- CTU has been disbanded by the government and will play no role in Season 7. It is likely to be replaced by a branch of the FBI.

- The L.A. setting has been dropped and the entire series will play out in Washington DC.

- Jack Bauer and Chloe O'Brien are the only confirmed returnees. The show will feature it's 'freshest' cast ever.

- Very strong of chance of Glen Morshower reprising his role as Aaron Pierce (above left) for Season 7. Great News!

- Producers refuse to confirm whether either Tony Almeida, Charles Logan or Wayne Palmer are actually dead. Keep watching is the message.

- An alternative ending to Season 6 was considered - featuring Tony Almedia. The idea was for Tony to confront Jack at the Heller Beach House as Jack was over looking the cliff. This could be a clear indicator from the show makers that they believe Tony can be brought back plausibly.

- They wanted to cast Donald Sutherland (Kiefer's father) as Philip Bauer but couldn't strike a deal.

- Jack Bauer will be forced to defend his actions over the years in front the Senate Commitee. This blogger believes this could lead to cameo's for other supporting characters to give evidence for or against Jack.

- Chase Edmonds is definitely not coming back to the show.

Overall interesting news without giving us anything major. We we're hoping for some more casting news but the powers that be are clearly playing their cards close to their chests. With some luck the deal to bring back Aaron Pearce will happen which would be sensational news for hardcore fans.

Another New President in 24 + Kim Wants In!

2007-07-22T11:28:00.000-07:00

Interesting news coming out of 24 this week - a new president has been cast for Day 7 and by golly it's a women - just as we predicted on these pages.

The woman in the frame is Cherry Jones who had a small role in Ocean's 12. It does now look like the 24 team are looking to do a Hillary Clinton-esque portrayl.

Politically on the show this is an interesting situation which needs to address a few loose ends.

1. Is she a Democrat or Republican? One would presume Republican (mainly because on Day 6 the Democrats were in power and surely either Wayne Palmer or Noah Daniels would be in the boxseat). However, there is the possibly, that if Daniels did replace Wayne, then the new Pres could have won a leadership contest between her and Daniels. There is also the interesting question if they could cast a women as the leader of the Republican party (a nigh on impossible development in real life).

2. Wayne Palmer - did he die? We need to know, we've lost one Palmer already on this show and if they don't give us some clarity on Wayne's situation I'll be P.O'ed.

3. Daniels - again some clarity on his removal from office would be nice.

4. Heller/Novick - if the new President of the United States is Republican then what odds for James Heller and Mike Novick to return. Heller has unfinished business with Jack Bauer in my opinion and a season of 24 is always better when Novick is involved. I missed both characters in Day 6, Heller's cameos were great but he should have been given more to do and a Republican cabinet could bring these two back into the fold.

5. President's head of security - the Bring Back Special Agent Aaron Pearce campaign starts here. With any luck Martha has topped herself and the big guy can get back to doing what he does best - kicking ass.

6. Charles Logan - again, simple question - dead or alive?

While all the talk is of a brand new cast minus Jack and the tedious Chloe, all the above characters would be more than welcome back in my opinion.

One return that could happen, which would be brilliant, is that of Kim Bauer. Elisha Cuthbert has revealed she'd love to come back, but one expects it may be for the movie.

"I'll be waiting by the phone, I'm ready whenever they are. I love the show so much!"

Message to the powers that be: Make it happen.

New Pres - Click here.

Kim Comeback - Click here

Thank-you Gerry Much

2007-07-22T10:58:00.001-07:00

No surprise from this past Friday's Big Brother eviction a seriel manhater/moaner and all round BB Bore Nicki Maxwell got the boot.

She was up against token camp bloke Gerry The Greek who in reality stood little chance of being booted out.

The action over the last seven days has predictably focused on Charley, who in a stroke of genius bordering on Machiavellian proportions, managed to convince her fellow dullards that she was worshipped by the Great British public. Unsurpisingly, 'Mugs R' Us, her fellow housemates, fell for the play hook line and sinker - and as a result were too afraid to nominate the South Islington IT girl. To her credit the devious plan was executed very quickly and somewhat convincingly and this sterling piece of con-artistry may even save her for another week. Sadly the 'my cousin plays for Man United' routine will have to be dropped on her eventual exit, as her Kieran Richardson, the poor beggar who is related to this freak, has been shipped off to the all together less glamourous, ahem, Sunderland. One wonders if Ziggy and friends will as impressed with the hospitality seats at the Stadim of Shite as they would have been by promises of all expenses paid tickets to Old Trafford.....

Meanwhile, Ziggy and Channelle's on/off romance has cumulated in a cold shower together and reports in the media suggest his Ziggyness has a 'secret girlfriend' in the 'outside world.' The Yorkshire Terrier will not like that when she finds out.

Other highlights of the week include a stand up row between good old Brian and, you guessed it, Charley. As if things couldn't get worse for Bri, after a row with his former friend, he was then treated to a hair cut more ridiculous than his previous one.

Wit of the week has to go to the fan with the 'Brian Storm' sign at Fridays's live eviction- see what they did there....

William Hill are tipping the #1 Essex Boy to romp home the contest with his odds now standing at 1/2 on. If the dumbass thing is an act then he has played a blinder. If it's not then he's gonna need the prize money. All of it.

Go Brian!

24 Season 7 Update: Chloe Returns, Bill Buchanan Axed, Africa Plot Vetoed, Shooting Delayed & Kiefer's Hint

2007-07-11T13:34:00.001-07:00

24 uber-geek Chloe O'Brien (left) has been confirmed as a definite returnee for the highly anticipated season 7 of the Sky One drama.

Producers had indicated that the show was set to go in a new direction with only Jack returning as well as a few old favourites. It appears that Chloe is one of them. Interestingly Chloe found out she was pregnant at the end of season 6, so we may even see a bambino O'Brien in the up-coming season. No word on her on/off partner Morris as yet - maybe he'll be looking after the toddler while Chloe helps Bauer down the bad guys?

One 24 favourite who will not be returning, as things stand, is old safe hands himself Bill Buchanan - played by James Morrison (not the singer with the feminine haircut). The silver fox of CTU appears to be out of the picture as James said this on his personal website:

"At present, it looks as though I will not be back for season seven, since the show is moving in new directions. "

If Buchanan is out of the game then it's a safe assumption that Karen Hayes will be as well. We've already reported that Tom Lennox is unlikely to feature in anything more than a guest appearance which would indicate that D.B Woodside's President Wayne Palmer is also firmly out of the picture. A presidential story is still expected though with the smart money being a on 24's first female President.

Meanwhile, the shooting of season 7 has been put back 3 weeks thanks to a script re-write. The producers had planned on subplot based in Africa, but after failing to find a suitable fake location, the story writers have been forced to re-think this premise. Here's what Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O'Brien, above left) had to say:

"I don't know what's going on over there, but they're going crazy,"

"We usually start [back up] at the end of July, and I don't think we're starting until a couple weeks into August now. It's kind of exciting, because I think [the postponement] means that they're really having to dig in there and come up with new stuff."

With only Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) and Chloe confirmed up to now it is looking like a whole new concept for season 7 with no CTU involement whatsoever. While filming a Citroen ad (no accounting for taste there Kiefer) in Brazil, Sutherland revealed this juicy tidbit about the forthcoming plot:

“Bauer will be his own boss, at the end of the sixth season he’s tired, disillusioned with the government and doesn’t want to have anything more to do with the presidency,”

“He’s going to be on his own.”

Sounds good, but not entirely accurate, as we know Chloe is going to pop up in some capacity, probably as early as episode one.

Chloe Returns + Africa Plot & Production Delays

Bill Buchanan Out Of The Picture

Kiefer's Season 7 Tidbit

Poo Flushed, Charley & Nikki Face Fake Friday

2007-07-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

So the secret is out and so is actress Thaila Zucchi. 'Pauline' has been revealed as a fake and has left the asylum. Most of the housemates were sorry to see her go, well most except Charley who branded her a bitch. Amusingly Charley branded her fellow housemates 'mugs' for falling for Pauline's tricks, ironic words indeed from the girl who believed that Pauline had psychic powers and could see the future via a half eaten hamburger......

Even more pleasingly the fake eviction pencilled in for Friday pits Charely against bosom buddy Nicky. With this being a fake eviction, the exit interview will run as normal only for Davina to inform the fallen housemate that they are heading straight back into the BB ranch. The twist being the other housemates will get to watch the interview on a plasma. For sheer comedy value it has to Charley who gets the interview - she will bitch like no other and then have to return to face the music. Friday night promises fireworks indeed.

G'Day Pauline! Laura Out! Ziggy & Chanelle Go Pop!

2007-07-09T15:19:00.000-07:00

Plenty to report in our latest BB Blog entry as Pauline enters the house, Laura is ejected and the Ziggy/Chanelle love-in comes to a premature end.

There were no surprises on Friday as the bookies backed the right horse and Laura was promptly ejected to a mixed reaction. If there was anything of interest to report from her exit interview then we would comment on it. Sadly there wasn't.

Moving away from the Shrek look-a-like we can now tell you all about the more aesthetically pleasing Pauline (left). Except she isn't actually called Pauline, no, her real name is Thaila Zucchi and her real occupation is that of a jobbing actress. 'Pauline' has been sent in on a secret mission to hoodwink the housemates, her 'tasks' include pretending to be Australian, pretending to be psychic and having to call Brian 'Ryan' - a bit like the old Only Fools gag with Trigger and Rodney.

So far she is just about scraping by. While some of the less intellectual housemates have been taken in, you know who you are Ryan, others are already beginning to smell a rat. Wily old bi-sexual Carole is the first to clock that all may not be as it seems and has already worked out it's a set-up. Which is good news for the housemates. Because if Carole acts on her hunch then the housemates win this weeks shopping task. If they somehow fail to rumble the Ozzie (actually a Swindoner) then they lose the task. Should be interesting.

Meanwhile, over in lovers lane, Ziggy and Chanelle have decided to call time on their relationship. The Posh and Becks of BB have driven each other to breaking point and following a stream of arguments the affair is now well and truly off.

Our money is on the Zigster to make a move for Pauline/Thaila in the coming days. It would be worth it just to see Chanelle's face.

BB8 Latest - Bookie's tip Taffy for the axe

2007-07-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

According to the bookmakers the Great British Public will opt to save Posh Spice wannabe Chanelle and decide to get rid of the not so loveable Laura for the fourth BB eviction.

Laura started out as one of the favourites, but her recent behaviour; mainly consisting of two faced jibes, whining and shouting has failed to endear her to the voters. She is also quite the sight without her make-up on.

While Chanelle isn't the most popular candidate on the outside world, there is a genuine interest in her relationship with his Ziggyness and it seems that many women have sympathy for Posh, sorry, Chanelle, who it seems is being strung along by the serial womaniser.

Meanwhile, one of the token older housemates departed of his own accord as Jonathan left the BB house. Sadly his grandmother passed on and he decided he couldn't miss the funeral. Quite right too. He seemed a decent sort and it's a testament to the chap that he didn't have any nominations this week.

The housemates also passed this weeks 7 sins task, well all except Charley, whose punishment was to be locked away in the sin-bin while her housemates partied on!

All in all not a bad week for BB.

Brian and Liam are the firm favourites to win at the moment but there is still a long way to go.

Bootiful food victory for Chef Ramsay...

2007-07-03T14:45:00.001-07:00

So then just a few episodes after upsetting just about every horse lover in the country following on from Janet Street-Porter's horse eating meat controversy, Gordon Ramsay's F-Word show has turned from public enemy number one to championing the rights of the great meat eating British public and their rights to know the origin of supermarket food.

Janet Street-Porter was challenged with taking troubled food retailer Bernard Matthews to task over his less than clear labelling policy. Following on from what was a highly successful meeting it has been agreed that from September all Bernard Matthews labelling will be much clearer and all meat which has been bred in the UK will carry the Red Tractor logo on its packaging. Bootiful Gordon and Janet.

Louis Back On The X-Factor

2007-06-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

The bizarre choice to replace Louis Walsh with Brian Friedman on the X-Factor has been reversed - just days into filming the new series.

Louis has rejoined the panel following his sacking which garnered loads of publicity a couple of months ago.

New judge Brian Friedman has been sent back behind the camera and will now help the talent on their chereography and dance techniques. Leaving Louis to re-stablish his on screen war with Cowell, Sharon and new judge Danni Minogue.

The original choice to sack Louis wasn't a shock to us, after all, he made many a ridiculous decision and frequently favoured Irish acts ie, the dreadful Conway sisters.

However the decision to replace him with Freidman was ridiculous - this guy is nothing more than a dancer - fine for Grease Is The Word - but someone should remind Simon Cowell and the producers that the X-Factor is a singing contest.

Good news for Louis then, but we don't envisage that Kate Thornton will be getting 'the call' anytime soon.......

Louis is BACK!

Four new stars join Prison Break

2007-06-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

Sky One's latest acquisition Prison Break welcomes four new faces for the up coming third season as the popular prison based drama aims to go in a slightly new direction. Joining Michael Schofield (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) in season three will be:

Robert Wisdom - who takes on the role of a Panama drug lord (you may know him from The Wire).

Chris Vance - will play a mysterious con named 'The Whistler.'

Danay Garcia - takes the role of Sofia and is Whistler's girlfriend - she looks like she could be the top totty this year.

Jodi Lyn O'Keefe - joins as unamed villain operating for 'The Company.'

The action is set to go down in Panama where Michael Schofield has been incarcerated following Season 2's shock ending.

Full Story: New cast takes shape

Bad week for 2 Dragons + New Godfather joins the Den

2007-06-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

Shocking news from Dragon's Den as Richard Farleigh has been axed from the panel. The brilliant business mind, who proves you don't have to be an arrogant jerk to be successful, has been given his cards by the BBC and is rightfully furious. This was the aussie's reaction:

"It would be disappointing if that was the reason - rather than anything fundamental - if it was because I was the wrong colour."

"I don't know why this has happened and I am very disappointed and bemused - I wasn't expecting it because all the feedback I got was very positive."

"I had even moved back to the UK to focus on commitments for the show. I am gutted that I have not been invited back."

In our opinion this move is a joke for several reasons, one, Farleigh as mentioned above is a nice guy and is the only Dragon who is always polite to the inventors - no matter how barmy they are. Two, he consistently invests unlike a couple of others and doesn't wait for other Dragon's before making his choice. Three, he consistently invests in businesses that go on to do something after the show - take Reggae Reggae Sauce from Levi Roots which is now an exclusive product at Sainsburys. He also invested, along with Duncan Bannatyne in Igloo, which has grown into a profitable transport business that has made it's founders millionairres.

All in all a real mistake by the BBC.

Richard's replacement is investor James Caan, who shares his name with The Godfather screen legend. Caan is worth £130 million and frankly, better be good. On his appointment James said:

"I'm thrilled to be invited to be in one of the highly coveted Dragon positions.

"In business I make a point of investing in people, as I'm a great believer that it is people who create a success in business through their passion and conviction."

And finally onto the King of Puns Peter Jones whose ITV business show Tycoon has taken a kicking in the ratings. For once Peter's midas touch hasn't been upto it and ITV have ditched the program's one hour time running time and time slot. Tycoon will no longer go out on a Tuesday night between 9pm and 10pm. It will instead return on Monday nights at 10pm in a half hour timeslot from the 9th of July.

The big problem for this show has been the quality of the contestants - unlike the Apprentice these entreprenuers are neither particularly sharp or media savvy. Frankly they are ruddy boring. Peter has also changed his Dragon's Den persona which hasn't helped. On the Den the pun happy Dragon comes across as being shrewd but also as a good fellow with a sense of humour - as he does when on other shows ie, Chris Moyles. Sadly he's decide to reinvent himself on this show as being a hardman but really he should leave the tough guy act to Sir Alan and concentrate on being himself.

Links:
Godfather replaces Aussie

Tycoon goes the way of Titanic

Billi Gets Bullet - No Surprise

2007-06-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

The bookies get it right once again and the Big Brother dream is over for another housemate. Billi (left) failed to capture any public support and succeeded in turning over the half the house again as his strategy went the way of the pear. Cheerio old bean.......

Next week the smart money is surely on Charley barring another 'save' from Big Brother. Get ready for a lynching......

Seany Out, Geordie Wins £100K & Brian Wets The Bed

2007-06-26T11:34:00.001-07:00

Another interesting week from the Big Brother 8 House.

Seany boy got the chop in Friday's eviction after failing to win over the voting public - strangely despite claiming he was a gay man, his family are now rubbishing these claims and say it was just a strategy he employed to get into the house.

The show winner may not be announced for many moons yet, however Geordie Tree Surgeon Liam appears to be the clear winner so far - he's already won the £100K prize money. He's also enjoying a love triangle with self proclaimed IT Girl Charley (left) and Nikki (formerly a 'man hater').

Meanwhile, Ziggy has finally got jiggy with Chanelle (according to the papers anyway) and poor old Brian has managed to wet the bed.

Also, Brian and Charley both confessed to not knowing who Shakespeare was.

We kid you not.

Nominations to follow.........

Female President on 24?

2007-06-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

24 could be set for it's first ever female president in Season 7 according to numerous online sources. The ground breaking show was the first program to put a black politician in the President's chair and the producers are said to be lining up a women to boss The White House in Season 7.

This comes off the back of news that there will be few surviving cast members from previous 24 outings. Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer remains a certainty and Chloe O'Brien (Mary Lynn Rajskub) is also extremely likely but anyone else remains unclear.

As reported earlier, Tom Lennox (Peter MacNicol) looks to be out of the equation due to his re-transfer to Numbers, while Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside) and Noah Daniels (Powers Boothe) are almost definitely out should a new charge be cast in the Presidential position.

Intersetingly, it has been stated the producers would like to cast a women due to the fact Hillary Clinton may be running for the Presidency in real life. If the producers were to go a step further and cast Sherry Palmer (Penny Johnson Jerald) or Martha Logan (Jean Smart) then it could really be a case of art imitating life. Both are unlikely though - storyline wise Martha Logan wouldn't appear to have the mental strength, while Sherry's 'dead or alive' status is very much unconfirmed.

Female President for Season 7

Numbers up for Tom Lennox

2007-06-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

Bad news for fans of 24 as Season 6 favourite Tom Lennox (Peter MacNicol) has been ruled out of having a major role in Season 7.

Despite the critical pasting that Day 6 received, the character of Lennox shone like a beacon and was undoubtedly one of the best things about the previous season. As Wayne Palmer's Chief of Staff Lennox became a key player in day 6 with some double deals, blackmail and even heroics. As a unanamanous fan favourite he was one of the few truly multi dimensional characters of the season and many will gutted to find out he will not be returning to operate in the corridors of power at the White House.

Peter MacNicol has instead signed up to a full season of popular US drama Numbers where he will reprise his role as Dr. Larry Fleinhardt.

With a political plotline 99% confirmed for 24 Day 7, that leaves us to speculate which political animals, if any, will be returning to the show. Karen Hayes (Jayne Atkinson) seems unlikely after being forced into retirement along with Bill Buchanon (James Morrison). While President Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside) and ex-President Charles Logan (Greg Itzen), last seen on the operating table and a life support machine respectively, it seems unlikely that either will be back in the frame.

Former Sec Def James Heller (William Devane) would be a welcome re-addition to the cast but his political status is unclear. If Heller is still in politics then a return could happen but I've given up hope that he'll be a series regular following a half season in Day 4 and limited but key roles in Day 5 & 6.

The best chance we have of a former political face returning has to be Mike Novick (Jude Ciccolella). The former chief of staff to both David Palmer (Dennis Heysbert) and Logan, Novick is one of the few characters still with us from Day One and has a big following amongst hardcore fans.

Those hoping for a Lennox return may get their wish in the shape of a 'Special Guest Star' cameo but for the moment we have no news on this.

Chef Ramsay in a pickle over the pond...

2007-06-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

Chef Ramsay is having a bit of a nightmare of his own over in New York where he's likely to face a court date over an episode of the US version of the hit tv series 'Kitchen Nightmares'. The fiery chef is well known for his brand of no nonesense management style, and his often confrontational approach has led to him landing in hot water before with one chef having a heart attack following a tirade of abuse.

The latest setback concerns Martin R Hyde, who is a general manager of the Dillons Indian-American restaurant in midtown Manhattan. Hyde has filed a lawsuit accusing Ramsay of faking scenes for the camera. Mr Hyde is seeking damages for the humiliation for which he says he suffered, and he also is trying to get a court order to stop the show from being screened.

Full story

Bizarre Apprentice Headlines

2007-06-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

Following Simon Ambrose's surprise Apprentice victory there have been some comical and bizarre headlines since the show's finale.

Typically, it is wicked witch Katie Hopkins who has taken her share of the column inches.

Despite her making many derogatory comments about the hapless Paul 'Captain Mainwaring' Callaghan, it seems that the first couple of the Apprentice we're happy to make-up at the filming of 'You're Hired' and have promptly rekindled their relationship.

The top Katie story has to be an even more eye opening love story; her secret crush on Sir Alan's right hand man Nick Hewer (above left). Katie revealed that she fell for the silver tongued silver fox during the filming of the show. Interestingly Nick branded her a 'gameplayer' following her firing. I wonder what he will make of the latest revelations?

The mind boggles.

The Apprentice final: Simon wins in some style...

2007-06-14T00:47:00.000-07:00

The latest Apprentice series ended with yet more drama, which isn't always the case with reality tv shows as often the final turns out to be something of a damp squib. However, the makers of the Apprentice have ensured that doesn't happen by inviting back the finalists former team-mates for one last task. Simon was facing hard-working Kristina along with their selected fellow contestants, both teams were set the task of re-designing Alan Sugar's latest acquisition, a £120m building which is situated on London's South Bank on the edge of the river Thames. The two teams had just three days to gather and then present their schemes to a huge gathering of London property experts along with Sir Alan and his acolytes, aka Margaret and Nick.

Against all of the odds, given the sheer scale of the project, the teams triumphed when they created what can only described as two stunning schemes. One has to add here that a great deal of credit must go down to the unnamed architects practice who rejected Simon's initial design which was based on the Angel of the North.

However, Rory who hadn't really contributed that many outstanding ideas during the series thus far, to his eternal credit had actually penned what was viewed as a far superior design which the architects loved. To the consternation of Tre, Rory's nemesis, whose boat scheme had already been abandoned and beached, the man who had been made bankrupt twice also came up with the brilliant idea of using dancers during the presentation of the new building which would be been known as The Wave.

From then on it was down to Simon to present the numbers behind the scheme, and he did not disappoint. The former public schoolboy had the assembled audience transfixed and in the palm of his hand as he gave good answers to every searching question from the floor. Sugar sat smiling throughout as he stroked his silvery whiskers while often nodding approvingly, he was like the proverbial cat licking the cream as Simon went through the potential numbers - you could almost see the pound signs lighting up in Sir Alan's eyes.

Next came Kristina with a more low-key presentation of The Phoenix, that was an equally stunning design which was also backed up with solid numbers. Once again as hard as the audience tried to poke holes into the scheme they were effortlessly batted away.

Both teams had seriously impressed this gathering of city experts, there was nothing between the two schemes. But as Sir Alan later said, the game show rules dictate that there could only be one winner and in the end, after much soul-searching, Sugar decided that Simon fitted the bill as his operation is now moving ever more into property. It was a very closely run final, the Amstrad boss later admitted that it was his toughest call yet on the Apprentice.

The fun did not end there though as once again the superb BBC2 Adrian Chiles show You're Hired ended the series with both finalists, their fellow contestants and Sugar himself talking about the final in front of a live public audience.

Katie Hopkins who'd given up the chance of a final place because she'd not consulted her family support unit on her plans to uproot to London, was once again in the spotlight as previous footage of her slaughtering Kristina behind her back was aired, in what must have been cringing moment for Katie who had no alternative but sit and grin through the ordeal.

In response Kristina let it be known that she would never stoop so low and the audience just loved that. However, this was slightly disingenous as Kristina had previously outed Paul and Katie for 'carrying on' in the house.

Then somewhat surprisingly, Sir Alan piped up stating that he'd never employ someone like Katie in his organisation, this after he'd offered her the chance of a final place in the previous episode - it actually smacked of Sugar still smarting because Katie had made something of a fool of him when it looked as Katie had only entered to competition for her own ends with a possible career in the media which is what we've been saying on this site for some weeks now.

It was a dramatic end to what has been a great series which left the viewers wanting more.

Big Brother8 latest: Lesley walks, nominations in...

2007-06-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

Time for a quick Big Brother update here on the blog with the two main stories over the last few days being that Lesley has walked away from the televised goldfish bowl and that this weeks nominations have been counted and verified.

Oldster Lesley decided life in the house just wasn't for her and packed her bags on Saturday to the surprise of, errr, no-one. If ever a housemate was a waste of space it was this woman. She failed to even contribute to the action in the house and frankly made for awful television. As a W.I. member, we expected an opinionated feminist battleaxe - sadly she didn't conform to type. Lesley also claimed to be a comediene - she must have left her sense back at the W.I. HQ because we saw absolutely no signs of a personality - let alone a sense of humour.

Far more interestingly, nominations are now in and the public hanging will have to be postponed for at least one more week because Charley has dodged the bullet for yet another week.

Typically 3 of the more entertaining housemates are facing peril as Carole, Tracey and Shabnam will face the dreaded public vote. I fear for Shabnam, because it looks like her number could be up as Tracey and Carol seem to be quite popular with the Great British public. Shabnam hasn't had an easy ride thus far in the house - she was stripped of her make-up because Ziggy and Emily broke the rules and was also up for nomination last week. Despite her blatant weirdness she is one of the more likeable younger housemates, which granted, isn't difficult.

Sadly for Shab, she isn't nearly as weird as Tracey and Carole, whose eccentricities should see them through. Carole is reality TV gold and would be a big loss to the viewer and the house itself. My personal favourite to go would be Tracey - she brings little to the table and isn't as wrecked as Bez (Celeb BB winner) to make a worthwhile impact.

Watch this space for more housemate based banter.

Links:
Lesley Walks
Nominations Confirmed

Prison Break Escapes Channel 5...

2007-06-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

As Prison Break Season 2 reached a dramatic conclusion on Channel 5 last night, fans were left reeling from the not-so shocking news that Sky One has snatched Season 3 and beyond of this violent drama.

For those with Sky it doesn't really matter, but the defection of the show will leave a bitter taste in the mouthes of many fans - still furious after losing Lost to the Sky empire last year.

The move hardly comes as a major surprise though - Sky have been poaching the best of terrestrial telly for years, as fans of 24 can testify to their chagrin.

So if you want to catch up with the antics of Wentworth Millor and Dominic Purcell in season 3, then you will have to consider shelling out for Sky or waiting for the DVD release.

Full story: Sky One poaches Prison Break

Met Office Forecast: 'The Sack' for Katie..

2007-06-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

Wives across the country will be raising a collective glass of champagne tonight as news spreads that Katie Hopkins (left) has been given the sack from her bosses at the Met Office.

While Katie may have bowed out of The Apprentice on her own terms, there was no such joy for the Global Brand Consultant as Met Office chiefs decided to get even. Her employers were furious at the way Katie has dragged the name of their organisation through the mud and have taken no hesitation in wielding the axe on TV's top superbitch.

In a carefully worded explanation, a Met Office spokesman said this: "Katie was informed that we were terminating her period of probation with us.

"Although the probationary period is normally one year and Katie joined us in September 2006, we have the right to terminate her employment at any time during that period."

Katie's reaction to the firing is currently unkown, but the formerly-£90k a year candidate has gone a good way to restoring her loss of earnings by signing high profile media deals with OK magazine and the News of the World.

Surely it's only a matter of time before the most controversial contender in Apprentice history goes on to start the inevitable media career - as predicted on these pages weeks ago.

Full story: You're fired again, Katie!

Emily gets the boot! Tonights eviction cancelled - new blood to enter BB house

2007-06-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

It's all been going on at the BB house over the last 24 hours as posh totty Emily (above) was despatched for using racist language. The net result is that tonights eviction has been scrapped and that 2 newcomers will enter the house - both men.

Emily received her marching orders in the Diary Room after calling Charley a nigger and there was only ever going to be one result following the recent controversy in Celeb BB. While we can't and won't complain about the decision to axe the Bristol Blonde, one has to ask questions of Channel 4's double standards. The station went to great lengths to protect Jade Goody and Jack Tweedy after the rasicm storm involving Shilpa Shetty but have opted to hang Emily out to dry. It couldn't possibly because the station has projects invested in Jade now could it? Whilst Emily, a minor celebrity of little to no value to them, has been cast aside without a second glance.

Despite her blatant ineptitude and stupidty I can't help but feel sorry for the girl. When you see the comment she made in context, it's pretty clear she isn't attacking or trying to offend Charley and I don't think anything was meant by the comment. This doesn't mean it was acceptable behaviour - it wasn't. But it does mean that due to the 'hang and flog em' mentality of the media, this 19 year old girl will be branded a racist for quite some time, when in reality, she is just brainless....

Anyway, as Emily was up for eviction, tonights lynching has been cancelled and instead we get to see a couple of newbies entering the BB asylum. Both are blokes, and if early clues are to go by, both are weird too. However they can't be any worse than perpetual poser Ziggy who must be a contender for dullest housemate. Lets hope tonights characters will present a return to form.

Bring out the freaks........

The Apprentice week 11: Katie Hopkins wins final place, but bows out...

2007-06-07T00:38:00.000-07:00

The Apprentice reached a crucial stage last night as Alan Sugar had to choose two finalists from the remaining five would be apprentices. This is the stage of the competition when Sir Alan brings in his three advisors, aka the three stooges, to give their views on each of the contestants.

I'm sure that many viewers are like myself and they find this interview stage a tad boring, as the two teams no longer have tasks to complete and there's no boardroom at the end of the episode. Instead we have blood on the carpet as the stooges rip-apart and psycho-analyse the candidates one by one. Last night's show didn't disappoint in that respect, as once again Katie Hopkins showed the ruthless side of her character when she let it be known she'd taken the husband of another woman because 'she wanted him'.

Going into week 11, many viewers must have been thinking that time was up for Lohit and Tres and they weren't wrong. Lohit was viewed as being boring and too nice, while Tres was viewed as something of a back-bedroom chancer.

Eventually Sugar decided that Katie would go through to the final, but then before deciding who would join her, Sir Alan did something which was remarkable as he apparently sensed that Hopkins might not be willing to comply with their earlier conversations about her moving her family and 'support unit' nearer to London. To me this was a startling revelation, had Sugar already canvassed Katie about her willingness to up-root her family? It seems that he had, whatever the details of that conversation Katie decided that she could not give her word that she would be able to keep her end of the bargain and promptly withdrew from the final. It was a dramatic exit for the venus fly trap.

Regular readers of the this blog will note that we told you earlier that someone won through to the final, but didn't take the job - we weren't far off the money on that score...

The two remaining contestants Simon and Kristina both go through to week 12 the final.

Tubby Taffy is favourite to win Big Brother 8

2007-06-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

Laura (left) is the early favourite to triumph in the Summer of Bruv according to the bookies.

At 13/2 she is the red hot favourite to walk away with the crown. If the Tubby Taffy is to go the distance then history is certainly not in her favour - with only 2 previous female winners (even one of them was really a bloke), the British public rarely back a female. They also rarely back a Welsh horse, despite the popularity of BB Legends Helen and Glynn (both Welsh), neither of them could beat their counterparts to secure a Big Brother victory.

Our advice - keep your money in your pocket and wait for the influx of blokes this Friday as the winner is bound to come from this pool of newcomers.

The only chap in the house at the moment - Ziggy - definitely has BB also-ran written all over. The public already perceive him as shallow and boring and his early affections for wag wannabe Chanelle should seal his fate as an early loser.

Luckily for Ziggy (real name Zac) can't be axed this Friday due to show stipulations. The red hot favourite to be dismissed by the voting masses is Charley who is 8/13 for the axe. Her only saving grace may be that Ziggy keeps her in. If you fancy a pre nominations dabble then look no further than OAP Lesley who has failed to gel with fellow housemates - the old goat is 11/2 for the chop.

Based on the early evidence, a good each way bet for the victory must surely be Carole, who is 8/1 to win and while she probably won't she must be a fair bet to come in the top 3 (providing she doesn't become so intellectually starved that she walks out). The public love nothing more than an eccentric and the bi-sexual protestor most certainly is that - see this hilarious entrance video for further confirmation:

All Odds courtesy of Oddschecker.com: http://www.oddschecker.com/specials/celebrity-big-brother/

Burnside Joins Eastenders

2007-06-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

Brilliant news over at Eastenders where the producers have pulled off a serious coup by luring The Bill legend Christopher Ellison aka DCI Frank Burnside to the soap.

The Bill and Eastenders have a long history of using the same actors but Burnside is probably the biggest name to jump ship from Sun Hill to Albert Square.

Easties has been long short of some alpha male characters and if anyone fits 'the bill' to shake up the square it's Ellison, who portrayed probably the most popular character in the history of ITV 1's cop drama.

If the script writers have got their brains engaged (probably not - this is Eastenders after all) then they will use Ellison as the next gangster, hardman type figure that this program desperately needs. Phil Mitchell has been in need of a decent adversary for years and desperately needs another hard nut to lock horns with - Burnside could be just the man.

Sadly, we have our doubts that Ellison may have been miscasted in what could be a role for an aging philanderer. The Sun reports that the character Ellison will portray is a chap called Len who romances wrinkly Pat Butcher while on her holidays. Bless.

Hopefully this will lead to something more meaty for 'Len' in the future and his romance with Fat Pat will just be a plot device to get him into the square.

Eastenders has been short on dodgy geezers for some time and the soap is at it's best when it has some tough talking hardmen taking centre stage. They desperately miss the likes of Den Watts, Steve Owen, Dan Sullivan, Grant Mitchell and Jonny Allen.

This could be the shot in the arm in EE needs to spearhead a change in fortunes - lets just hope the script writers don't blow it!

Ellison joins initially for 4 episodes and if 'The Powers That Be' have got any sense they will secure his services for as long as possible after this.

Full story

Simon Cowell to launch new Saturday night talent show...

2007-06-03T02:27:00.000-07:00

News reaches us that Simon Cowell is to launch yet another Saturday night talent show. Britain’s Got Talent is a talent show that is based on the postwar holiday camp / Butlins tradition. Unlike his Pop Idol series, anyone can enter, it will be competition for allcomers. Simon will be alongside fellow judges Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden.

Apparently Cowell remains a fan of the end-of-pier comedy acts and in an inteview with the Sunday Times Simon says “Well, I’ve always been a big fan of entertainment in the 1950s and 1960s, to me, that was the absolute pinnacle. There was a kind of naivety in those days that I enjoy. We went through a phase in the 1990s when we became incredibly cynical, and I didn’t like that. Now we’re back on track, because I don’t think tastes change.”

The show starts next Saturday on ITV.

Slob to join Big Brother house-mates?

2007-05-31T15:44:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-05-31T15:33:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-31T15:19:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-05-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

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..

2007-05-30T10:38:00.001-07:00

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?...

2007-05-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

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..

2007-05-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-05-26T03:48:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-24T10:50:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-05-23T15:11:00.001-07:00

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....

2007-05-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

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....

2007-05-22T01:00:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-05-22T00:46:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-05-19T05:16:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-05-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-05-18T02:20:00.001-07:00

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......

2007-05-18T00:18:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-05-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-05-17T00:41:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-05-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

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"

2007-05-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-05-15T22:32:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-05-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

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....

2007-05-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

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.