Recently by Paul Cole

After the shock announcement during the TV awards last night, here's the full story

It's starting all over again ...

Here's the first official ABC trailer for season five of Lost.

And new scenes ask all sorts of questions.

MEET A-Team icon Dirk Benedict - the star who played the suave Faceman.

That's the celebrity prize offer from the Sunday Mercury today.

It's your chance to chat with one of TV's most popular stars in person.

Dirk, who played Lt Templeton 'Faceman' Peck in the A-Team, is on his way to the Midlands.

And we have a meet-and-greet prize for a lucky Sunday Mercury reader and pal.

The A-Team star is coming to the Collectormania show at Coventry's Ricoh Arena.

He'll be among a galaxy of guests at the November 1 and 2 event.

Others include Jaws star Richard Dreyfuss, Dr Who actor Paul McGann and Star Trek's Vaughn Armstrong.

Jamie Waylett and Natalia Tena from the Harry Potter movies are among many, many more.

They'll be meeting the fans and signing autographs during the two-day event.

Watch out, too, for the A-Team van and Faceman's Corvette!

For full information and latest line-up, click on www.collectormaniamidlands.com

Here's how YOU could be our A-Team winner!

Simply tell us the name of the A-Team's madcap pilot.

Was he (a) Howling Mad Murdock, (b) Rattling Rupert Murdoch or (c) Dandelion & Burdock?

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BOBBY and Sue-Ellen are getting back together.

That's right, fresh from the shower the Dallas do-gooder and his sozzled sister-in-law are an item.

In a new TV show, that is.

And there's no JR in sight.

Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray are to team up in an Italian TV drama.

Patrick, who played Bobby Ewing in the hit US soap opera for 13 years, spoke about the hush-hush project when he was in Birmingham last week.

"Linda and I are developing a series that will be shot and screened in Italy," he revealed.

"We're inventing a new TV drama. It won't be anything like Dallas in terms of characters and storyline - we want it to be completely different."

They're Dallas-delighted at the prospect of working together again.

The pair, along with Larry Hagman, who played the wicked JR, have remained firm friends since they filmed the first episode of the Southfork series 30 years ago.

In fact, Patrick refers to them as 'the three musketeers'.

So when the couple were approached by an Italian TV producer while they were doing a personal appearance in the country, they agreed to work together again.

"He asked us if we ever had the desire to work in Italy, and we told him it depended on the job," Patrick explained. "Linda and I will have to uproot our families and live there, but it's great working with her again."

Patrick, 59, was promoting the new Airstream caravan at the International Caravan & Motorhome show at Birmingham's NEC. Read the full story here.

Relax. It's coming back on Tuesday October 28.

Because it's been taking a break in the States, it's been postponed here in the UK too.

Just don't forget to set your Sky+ series link again!

What the Dickens is going on?

The Beeb's new production of Charles Dickens' classic Little Dorrit is anorak heaven for sci-fi fans.

Just take a look at 'who's who'!

Doctor Who companion Freema Agyeman (known to Time Lord fans as Martha Jones, of course) plays Tattycoram in the rags to riches tale.

"I've always wished I could be involved in a period drama because I'm an enormous fan of them," beams Freema, who achieved huge fame as Martha.

"So I was bowled over when they asked me to play Tattycoram. I'd never had such a chance before, so I bit their hand off! It was a massive opportunity, and I couldn't possibly turn it down."

"I was equally delighted because Tattycoram is not written as a black part.

"She's an orphan, and in the 1820s there was a general prejudice against anyone who wasn't from an upper-class background. So the idea transposed well to a black character."

And whose path should she cross but that of Torchwood team-mate Eve Myles (policewoman Gwen Cooper in the Cardiff sci-fi spin-off series).

"I've always adored Charles Dickens!" exclaims Eve, who plays Maggy in Little Dorrit.

"His characters are so bold. They're larger than life, like a very rich painting. It's like having the luxury of playing on screen the sort of characters you'd usually only play on stage.

"Dickens conjures up this beautiful picture of London at the time. He writes about these wonderful communities. They're never run of the mill, they're always heightened and extraordinary.

"Working on this has exceeded all my expectations about Dickens - it's been an absolute blast."

Also familiar to Dr Who fans will be Russell Tovey, who plays John Chivery. He was one of the stars of the Titantic Christmas special which also featured Kylie.

There are roles, too, for Andy Serkis (Gollum from Lord of The Rings), Robert Hardy (Cornelius Fudge from the Harry Potter movies), Sea Of Souls star Bill Paterson and Spooks masterspy Matthew Macfadyen.

The 15-part series begins on BBC1 on Sunday October 26.

After a slow start, JJ Abrams' new conspiracy thriller gathered pace towards the end of the first episode - and set up a new X Files for the 21st century.

But more intriguing were the nods to Lost.

Shadowy special agent Phillip Broyles (right) looked awfully familiar, didn't he?

Let's look at the facts.

He's a Special Agent for Homeland Security intent on investigating paranormal goings-on, and wants to get the bottom of what's going on at a sinister science company.

He keeps dropping enigmatic hints about a global conspiracy, and always gets his way.

Meanwhile, over at Lost, shadowy Matthew Abaddon (below left) keeps popping up at uncomfortable moments throughout the flashbacks of the castaways.

He visited Locke as he was recovering from his spinal injury, and implanted the idea of going on a walkabout in his mind, which ultimately put Locke on Oceanic 815.

Abaddon recruited Naomi Dorrit to lead Daniel Faraday, Charlotte Lewis, Miles Straume, and Frank Lapidus, on a mission to the island.

And he visited Hurley at the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute, claiming to be a lawyer working for Oceanic Airlines.

Both are played by Lance Reddick, of course, but there's more to the coincidences than that.

Listen to the first episode of Fringe carefully at on three occasions you'll hear the same rising electronic note that ushers in each episode of Lost.

Add to that the series of symbols - leaf, butterfly etc - that appear throughout the show and it's starting to look more than familiar ...

Davros, Chief Kaled scientist, creator of the Daleks, fugitive of the Time War and arguably the most evil creature in the whole universe, has been spotted in Britain.

He's the latest inhabitant of the excellent Doctor Who Exhibition at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.

The exhibition, which has been visited by more than 180,000 people since April, is the galaxy's largest collection of props, costumes and monsters from the series.

Concentrating on the Eccleston and Tennant era, it includes adversaries old and new, from Daleks and Cybermen to Slitheen and Ood.

Many of the exhibits - the Vashta Nerada, the Hath, the Sontarans and now Davros - have never appeared before and are unique to the show.

The extended Doctor Who Exhibition runs until November 9, 2008.

Click on the official website for full admission details.

Heroes returns to BBC TV on Wednesday - and the new series will be full of big surprises.

1. We'll get to learn the terrible truth about Sylar's secret past.

2. We'll see the return of characters we thought we'd never see again.

3. There'll be a Justice League-style battle between good and evil.

4. We'll get to meet as many as a dozen new super-powered people.

Don't want to spoil the surprise? Then don't read any further.

But if you can't resist ... turn the page.

If you're taking part in the Dharma Initiative testing programme, there's a new poser online.

Test 6 is a multiple choice general knowledge challenge, with 10 questions to answer.

Head for the Dharma Initiative website but hurry - the tests close on October 7.

If you're new to the tests, there's still time to register for free and try all six challenges.

Namaste, and good luck, brother ...