With viewing figures are down on previous years, we have to ask: have the Lloyd Webber shows started to lose their sparkle a bit? Rumour has it the BBC are desperate to keep Graham Norton and are looking for a way to make sure he doesn't get tempted away by the siren call of glamorous, sophisticated ITV. The question is... are these shows enough?
LES MISÉRABLES, the world's longest running musical, (currently playing in its 23rd year at the Queen's Theatre) has some cast changes coming up. From the 23rd of June, the part of a grown-up 'Eponine' will be taken by Nancy Sullivan (not that one!, that one), who was knocked out before reaching the final 12 on I'd Do Anything. Leanne Dobinson will play 'Cosette'. Leanne's been in Les Mis already in a different part, and was famously one of 10 hopefuls in How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria.
The elusive Cameron Macintosh finally speaks:
Beyonce RuPaul's doing a new reality show, and it's all about drag queens. The show will feature contestants competing to be best drag act.
RuPaul said, "Tell Tyra that the Queen has returned, and while you're at it have Heidi clear the runway. I'm going to pump some 'realness' into reality. To be a winner on this show the contestants need to be a fashion designer, an American Idol, and a top model all rolled up into one. And they definitely have to be smarter than a fifth grader."
Well, I don't say it often, but the truth is I can't put it any better than him. If you're a "sister sittin' on a secret" (dear god) click here.
Couldn't resist the exclamation mark. This is the world we have created, folks. I hope we're proud of ourselves. The Prime Minister could be heading up a new reality show, part-apprentice, part-Strictly, part-craziest thing you ever heard. Plans for a TV show for young politicians are being championed by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and were leaked prematurely when someone, I swear, took a photo of the memo over her shoulder.
They're talking about calling it Junior PM, and Gordon Brown, who I guess has nothing better to do, would play the Alan Sugar/Andrew Lloyd Webber role. The email in this picture (man, aren't you embarrassed FOR her?) was sent by youth worker Miss McCabe to Miss Blears' special adviser Andy Bagnall.
If this is a joke, it's a very weak one... but 'tis so often the way with reality show concepts. Justin Timberlake, they're saying, has been signed up as executive producer of a new US reality show, where contestants battle it out for a cash prize. Tony Disanto, executive vice president of programming and series development for MTV, said: "Genre-busting and reinvention is at the core of what we do, and 'The Phone' does just that. Each week will be an action-packed mini-movie."
Well that sounds great. What kind of "bustin'" and "action" will they be up to? Here's an example: the show begins with two hidden cell phones ringing in different areas of a large city. People who answer their phone will have five seconds to decide whether they want to play for a cash prize. Now, call me cynical, but I get people phoning me up offering me cash prizes all the time and while it's certainly stressful, I wouldn't necessarily say it was an action-packed adventure. So, is this the whole show? What's next, "The Email: Spam Survivor?"
Has the Isle of Man really changed their name to "Isle of Sam" in honour of Sam Barks? And aren't they overdue another invasion, anyway? Thinking about it, she's got a whole island of nationalistic manxies on her side - there's a good chance that could help her win. Join the debate here (and ask yourself, yes, it's publicity for the IoM... but is it really good publicity?)
As Big Brother fever sweeps the nation (oh is it that time again already? Sorry, I was asleep, etc) look what I found for you! It's Jonty! Doing a virtual museum tour! Come on, click on it. Call yourself a BB fan? WATCH IT.
Morbid reading, but oddly fascinating: The Mirror brings us a list of reality show deaths...
also known as... er, WHO? God. Seriously. We're still mourning Dermot's departure, and this is what they dish up to us instead? This... this pair of grinning hipsters with improbable hair and comedy names? I mean, honestly. It's like they've just given up. George and Zezi are already part of the C4/E4 family, as if that makes it better, with both presenting on E4 Music and something called Freshly Squeezed. George said: "Imagine how excited someone would be if they were presenting Big Brother, well I'm just a little bit less excited than that but I'm still extremely excited." My eyes, they are rolling.
You can see why Simon Foster and his bisexual wife Jane (and their respective girlfriends) appealed to Wife Swap producers.
But The Mirror reports that their marriage collapsed after appearing on the show. Following the show's airing in October, they divorced and Simon moved out. Jane also moved - to be nearer her girlfriend - but in an incredibly sad turn of events, Simon lost his job and became homeless. He was found dead in a Brighton flat on April 15. A spokeswoman for RDF Media Group, the makers of Wife Swap said: "All Wife Swap contributors are offered support both during and after filming and this care was of course available to Simon Foster. Our sincere condolences go out to Simon's family at this time."
This year the Big Brother house will be a third bigger. Sounds good, but does it just mean that they're going to up the number of housemates too? I sure hope not. LESS IS MORE, Big Brother bosses. LESS. IS. MORE.
As you'll recall, Fergie's fly-on-the-wall show about telling poor people how to eat properly was cancelled after a dead man was found at the home of the family the cameras were following. Well, it is going ahead after all, and will be screened at the end of the month.
Australia and Britain are at war!!!!!!!!! And it's all Gordon Ramsay's fault! Honestly, if I wasn't eating a banana right now, I'd have to check the calendar because it's exactly like the 1940s all over again. [Leila: are you ill? - ed].
Australia's Parliament is actually holding an inquiry into swearing on TV because of the amount of effing and blinding that comes out of Gordon Ramsay's mouth on Kitchen Nightmares and Hell's Kitchen. But not so long ago, Britain was banning Australian imports - we took offense, didn't we, at their godforsaken "Where the bloody 'ell are you?" campaign. I'm not sure why, but I guess because it was indecently annoying. Maybe Ramsay will be censored by the Aussies, but who cares? It's our go now. Watch your backs, Australia... that's not a knife, etc.
Eesh, I take one day off, and look what happens.
1. News emerges that Claire was so desperate to be on telly she's been through three Big Brother auditions. "The last thing she wants is for Sir Alan to discover she's a fame-seeker."
I'm sure the fact she's applying for a job via oh, uh, THE BBC won't give him any clues.
The latest Apprentice reject Kevin Shaw has attempted to impress a group of girls with the boast that he loves having sex in his Porsche. With a woman, presumably, not the hand-brake or anything.
One girl said: "Kevin started boasting about his Porsche. I asked him if he'd had sex in it and he said he had." The 17 year old claims she tried to kiss Kevin, but he stopped her. Kevin said: "It was nice to be recognised and I'll admit I was showing off a bit. One of the girls tried to shove her tongue down my throat. She was up for more, but I refused as I'm loyal to my car girlfriend."
Meanwhile Michael Sophocles, according to The Sun, took one of the girl's friends down a nearby alley in Windsor, Berkshire. Seedy? Well, it's easy to make snap judgements but if we're honest, I think we've all been there. Berkshire, I mean.
