EastEnders Roundup
The Vic is in financial difficulty and Peggy is at rock bottom. She tries to keep the extent of the problem to herself, but she needs a way out of her debt and things are made worse by Sean walking away from their deal. Ronnie is determined to find a solution to Peggy’s woes, but is distracted to see Roxy’s ex-boyfriend back in Walford. Roxy, meanwhile, makes plans to return to Ibiza – not realising how much Ronnie will miss her. Bradley and Stacey’s wedding plans are causing ructions, not least when she tells Max that their affair is over. But, as the wedding run-through begins, the pair are still worried about who overheard them talking. And will the eavesdropper speak out when asked “If anyone here present knows just cause or impediment…”? But before that there’s an anxious moment when a pre-wedding lunch for Bradley and Stacey is ruined when Dot receives some shocking news.
Soap stars set to tie the knot?
Following on from the news that Roxanne Pallett and Richard Fleeshman are to part after getting together on Soapstar Superstar, the relationship of one of soap’s other famous couplings looks to be stronger than ever.
Viewers of Coronation Street who wonder where cheeky mechanic Tyrone Dobbs has got to over the coming weeks will no doubt be interested to hear that actor Alan Halsall has flown over to South Africa to see his girlfriend Lucy Jo-Hudson, perhaps better known as the Street’s Katy Harris.
The 24-year old actress is currently half way around the world filming the new series of Where the Heart Is’ though the distance has not affected their romance.
“Alan is my other half, I’m not complete without him,” she said recently.
Indeed, things are going so well for the pair that they may soon be taking time off to go on honeymoon together, if rumours are to be believed.
“Alan is taking time off from Corrie to fly out to see Lucy-Jo in South Africa, where she’s filming, and he has something very, very special to ask her,” the website femalefirst quoted a source on the Manchester soap as saying.
Superhuman Giants
Superhuman Giants was a programme examining the everyday lives and problems encountered by the very tall . Around 3 in every million people are 7 feet or more in height. The programme featured a number of people, who had dealt with abuse and comments over their size, had specially made beds, furniture and clothes and were unable to go about their daily lives without a reference to their height.
Chris Greener aged 63, had been the tallest man in Britain since 1967 until very recently. He had a tumour on his pituitary gland , which caused him to grow 22 inches in 3 years. Chris was 7 feet and 6 and a quarter inches in height with size 17 shoe size. Over the years Chris had received plenty of work in films, adverts and to demonstrate the height of a product. In the programme, he had a job standing by a security fence at the Glastonbury festival. This was to demonstrate that the organisers of the festival had put in much taller fences than in past years (in an attempt to control the crowd size).
During the job, Chris became quite tired and collapsed. Although Chris had an large heart, he had been subject to an irregular heart beat for the last 40 years.
Neil Fingleton’s height had not been caused by medical condition, but at 7 feet 7 inches, he had recently been crowned as Britain’s tallest man. Aged 26 and still living with his mum, we were taken to Neil’s home where the only modification was to have an extended bed. Neil’s mum still cooked for him and spent around £100 per week on his food. A typical meal consisted of whole packets of bacon, sausages and a tin of beans and Neil needed 8,000 calories a day. It would take 20-25 pints of beer for Neil to feel “merry”. Neil had been working as a basketball player but we followed his attempt to become an actor in Hollywood. He was told that he could get a job as an “alien” in films. Whilst walking around Hollywood, Neil was verbally abused when someone suggested that he his brain did not work properly as a result of his height. Sadly, it was a regular event to receive such abuse.
During the programme, we also came across Ross, a supermarket worker with a case of curvature of the spine causing him to actually become shorter. He thought that he was 7 feet 5 but actually measured 6 feet and 10 inches and was extremely disappointed as he could not be a member of the exclusive 7 feet club.
The programme also concentrated on Alana, 6 feet 11 inches in height and recently engaged to a guy of 6 feet 2 and the former tallest man in the world, from Inner Mongolia.
Superhuman Giants gave an interesting insight into the problems faced by extremely tall people in terms of their health, finding employment and suitable accommodation and in finding love.
BBC defends against Strictly Come Dancing claims
The BBC has hit back at criticisms that its Sunday Strictly Come Dancing show is pre-recorded, with the corporation arguing it has never been billed as live.
Around 25 viewers rang in to complain when they saw contestant Kenny Logan dancing to stay in the show just after he had commentated on Scotland’s match at the Rugby World Cup in Paris.
A spokesman for the BBC explained that it had “never set out to trick people”, revealing that the results show is recorded once all the votes from the public are in on the Saturday night.
The new Sunday results show was only introduced with this series as a result of growing demand for family entertainment across the whole of the weekend.
The husband of fellow contestant Gabby, Kenny survived the public vote and will go on to compete against the likes of Penny Lancaster and Kelly Brook for the top prize while also hoping to avoid the spate of injuries which have been striking down a number of the contestants during the show’s first few days.
Windscale : Britain’s Biggest Nuclear Disaster
Over the last few months we have seen the subject of nuclear power pushed back on to the political stage, as the UK authorities strive to look for alternative power sources to replace the UK’s falling oil and gas reserves. While wind and sea power have been billed as potentials for the future, it is the subject of nuclear power (the only real alternative in many people’s eyes) which has grabbed the headlines.
This program covers the UK’s worst nuclear disaster, which occurred in 1957 at the Windscale Nuclear Reprocessing plant in Cumbria. Initially the disaster started as a small fire, although this quickly ripped through many of the main buildings, making its way to the core which housed the nuclear reactor. Despite the brave attempt by a number of technicians to subdue the fire, a significant amount of radioactive particles were released in to the atmosphere.
This program follows the government investigation into the incident, and the final report which savaged the technicians who put their life on the line to try and contain the blaze. Many thought that the technicians were made scapegoats for some glaring investment issues with the plant, and we hear the whole unedited version of events from many who had first hand experience.
Such was the anger from the locals and work force, not to mention the plants overseas customers, that the government took the strange step of later changing the name of the plant to Sellafield, in a blatant attempt to disassociate Sellafield with Windscale. The plant itself has long been a matter of great controversy in the area, because although it brings thousands of jobs to the area, and supports local economies, there have been a number of “small scale” releases since 1957.
A truly enlightening look at the world of nuclear power, and the risks which have been present since day one.
King of Pop set for X Factor?
If rumours are to be believed, then Michael Jackson could make a long-awaited return back into the public eye with an appearance on ITV’s top talent show the X Factor.
The moon-walking singer is apparently set to shock the remaining contestants when he turns up to their boot camp in order to act as a mentor to them.
With interest in the show flagging after so long, the producers are hoping to inject some excitement back into proceedings by getting some of the biggest names in pop to share their wisdom with the hopefuls.
As well as former winners Shane Ward and Leonia Lewis, Westlife, Celine Dion, Rihanna and Mariah Carey have all been lined up to grace the nation’s screens over the coming weeks, though it is the prospect of Jacko lending a hand which has really got the show’s producers excited, the Sun has claimed.
“We’ve got some huge names but Michael Jackson really is a sensational signing,” a source told the paper.
“He is a truly global, worldwide superstar.”
It has also recently been reported that Kylie Minogue, sister of judge Dannii, is to appear as a guest on the show next month.
Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
Award winning “Friday Night with Jonathan Ross” is now in its 13th series and airs on Friday nights on BBC1, on a weekly basis. It is a chat/comedy/music show and has a regular format of a song by the resident band, “Four Poofs and a Piano”, interviews with three sets of guests, closing music by a popular band, interspersed with Jonathan Ross’s weekly observations.
It is a format that works well, as Jonathan has a charm that makes him easy to talk with and puts guests at their ease. He is also able to get away with teasing and outrageous comments, as he flirts with all of his guests – male or female, regardless of their age. Jonathan’s interviews are usually littered with sexual innuendo as well as a genuine interest in his guests.
This week’s guests were Michelle Pfieffer, Chris Moyles and Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor and thankfully Jonathan has lost the “Three Musketeers” beard that he has been sporting over recent weeks.
Michelle Pfeiffer was asked about what she thought of her leading men, Jack Nicholson and George Clooney (who she had a bet with about being married before he turned 40 and lost). She spoke about her role in Grease 2 and about Star Dust (co-written by Ross’s wife Jane Goldman) and with an all-star cast including Ianj McKellan, Sienna Miller, Melanie Hill and Peter O’Toole. It was the first film that she was able to let her children see.
Ross’s own dog, Mr Pickle, was on the show modeling a nice line in dog balaclava, which Ross also wore whilst making fun of the view of the dog that he saw from the rear. This became a running joke with Chris Moyles commenting that Ross liked to look at people’s rears whilst they viewed the TV screen from the guest couch. This was also picked up by Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor as they caught footage of themselves on their motorcycle trip “Long Way Down” from John O’Groats to Cape Town.
The programme was closed by former Moloko lead singer, Rosin Murphy. Friday Night with Jonathan Ross is always worth watching, whether you like the guests or not and has a winning formula.
Billie lined up for Doctor Who blockbuster?
Both Billie Piper and David Tennant have signed up for a big screen version of the BBC sci-fi hit Doctor Who.
While Billie left the show last year and is currently on the nation’s screens playing a high-class escort, insiders have revealed that she was offered £20,000 to return as Rose Tyler in the final three episodes of next year’s season.
Apparently the finale will see Rose track down the Doctor in a bid to save Earth after the time lord’s actions have devastated the planet.
However, all the talk among the show’s fans is of the potential big screen adaption.
“It’s all hushed been up - but yes, it’s definitely happening. David and Billie were a superb combination on the small screen, so it seems only right that they appear in the film,” a source told the Daily Star.
” ‘Doctor Who’ has been a runaway success on TV, and this film is going to make it even bigger.
“Fans feared they might never see Billie and David together again but they shouldn’t have worried.”
The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle
The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle is the new Jennifer Saunders vehicle on BBC2, and is a beautifully played black comedy on the subject of day-time talk shows such as Trisha and, in the in no way rhyming nor scanning, Jeremy Kyle. Saunders plays the ego-driven title role in which she has a therapy show where she has people with deeply saddening stories but treats them all with contempt, insulting and belittling them. Miranda Richardson as her scraggy, cocaine-addled producer, Helena, camping it up rotten and acting like a spoilt child, accompanies her in this quest.
In the first programme Vyle has a couple on where the woman claims that her husband is not the father of her child and wants to prove it. This is the first that he has heard of it and is being wound up by a production assistant who then sends him out in a temper to shout at his wife. Vivienne uses her presence to bring him under control and then questions him. Whilst she is belittling him he gets angrier and suddenly punches her, hard. She falls off the stage and the incompetent security guard that comes to her rescue falls on top of her.
Whilst recovering in hospital we see a very fragile side to Vivienne’s character, as she wants to give up. Helena convinces her that she should come back whilst Fern Britten covers for her during convalescence. Britten’s cameo is nicely under-played as she says and does things completely against her normal TV persona. To help her back, Vyle is assigned a real psychologist, Dr Jonathan Fowler, played by Jason Watkins. He spots her problems and she takes an instant dislike to him. Helena immediately recruits him to work on the show.
When she gets out of hospital her fragility is further exposed by her desperation for a baby and her husband, Jared’s refusal. This is major strain on their relationship but Conleth Hill plays a suitable counterpoint as an aging bon viveur.
Sight gags and a little slapstick are offset by some dark moments. A beautiful scene is where Dr Jonathan is in Vivienne’s ear on the set for the show. The doctor is a novice here and Vyle the professional. He tells her what she can’t do and how she must act and she responds by talking to the camera as if on the show. He is bumbling along and she appears as the consummate professional whilst actually showing how callous that she is. As she becomes more annoyed by him she walks off set, appearing behind him in the director’s booth, completely flummoxing his perceptions.
After one episode, the Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle has the potential to be classic television. Saunders and Tanya Byron, who had the original idea, write the drama, satire and comedy excellently. All actors play their parts well including the background characters that may come to the fore in later shows. The subject may have been covered before but not in this way and Jennifer Saunders looks like she has both Thursday and Friday sewn up as French and Saunders return the following day.
Oh yes he is! Hard man Kemp to play panto baddie
Fresh from confronting gangs on the streets of Latin America and Jamaica, TV hard man Ross Kemp has confirmed that he will be spending his Christmas playing a pantomime villain.
The former Eastenders star has been lined up to play the Queen’s henchman in a production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the New Ambassadors Theatre in Wimbledon, South London.
Alongside him will be fellow Albert Square favourite Bobby Davro as well as Warwick Davies, best known for playing Professor Flitwick in the Harry Potter films.
The 43-year old recently scooped a BAFTA for his series Ross Kemp on Gangs and says that, after coming face-to-face with some of the world’s most dangerous criminals, the panto season doesn’t scare him in the slightest.
“Having spent time recently dodging knives in Colombia, I’m sure I can handle a few Fruit Pastilles being hurled at me by kids in Wimbledon,” he said.
The news comes as Scott Malen, best known as The Bill’s Phil Hunter, was unveiled as the latest star of the BBC soap after policing London’s streets for five years.
