August 2009 Archives

That's fighting talk, Louis Walsh!

The X Factor judge boldly claimed: "We've never had a winner from Birmingham and we're not going to this year."

I really hope we can produce a great candidate to prove him wrong, though there wasn't a huge amount of talent on show on the latest programme.

Alan from Weoley Castle should stick to his day job, as he really can't sing. But bless him, wasn't he funny with his directions to how to get to his home, down the Bristol Road and through Selly Oak?

The X Factor continues to manipulate our emotions, but it does it so well that you just have to go with it. One minute I had tears in my eyes at the bloke whose brother had died of lung cancer, then the next I was laughing at the sight of Simon singing along to Jamie Afro, though no doubt he was changing the words to 'My sex is on fire'.

I love The X Factor, one million per cent!

I have a huge bone to pick with the TV schedulers over tonight's programmes.
Was there a conspiracy to make sure non-football fans switched off in their droves?

It's bad enough that Coronation Street has been shoved from its normal Wednesday slot and moved to Thursdays to make way for boring old footy.

But tonight we didn't get any episodes either. And for what? Some silly match that doesn't even involve British teams!

So what did the other channels offer? BBC1 had a repeat of tired sitcom My Family. No thanks, I didn't find it very funny first time round.

Five had a repeat, too, about helicopters. Yeah, that's really going to appeal to females.

Channel 4 may have spotted a gap in the market, because it came up with How To Snare A Millionaire, which at least sounded interesting.

But what an appalling programme this turned out to be! I am amazed it ever reached the airwaves.
Some girl called Rebecca set out to find a herself a rich man, setting back the cause of feminism decades with her insistence that only a man with lots of cash would do for her. But she didn't want to fall in love, or even kiss her sugar daddies.

She did realise, after a few fake dates, that it was a two way street and the men might want something in return for all the money they spent on her.

No, really?

To make it even worse, she kept breaking into song!! The producer plainly thought "hang on, this show is really insubstantial and needs something else...I know, let's get her to sing little songs about being single".

Just painfully bad TV.

I did learn one thing, though. Apparently to snare a millionaire you need a ponytail. So that's where I've been going wrong...

The big question isn't why are they axeing Big Brother, but what took them so long?
And why are they still going ahead with the show next year?

I was a big fan, but this summer I've hardly bothered tuning in. Every time I've tried to see it, the housemates have been rowing in an unentertaining fashion or looking bored.

Being freed from the restrictions of avid BB viewing has actually been refreshing. No time wasted watching an hour-long show every single night, no time wasted chatting to friends about the characters, no feeling that there's a big hole in my life when it comes to an end.

I have no idea who's going to win this year and I really don't care. And that's why they're axeing the show, because there are millions more viewers just like me.

Boyzone star Keith Duffy may return to Coronation Street as show chiefs today confirmed he is in talks for a comeback.

The singer, 34, played barman Ciaran McCarthy in the ITV1 soap for two years, but left in 2005.

When I was growing up Emmerdale farm was all about farming, countryside, sheep-shearing and not much else.

It was based around the Sugdens and matriach Annie Sugden ruled with an iron-fist.

It was harmless telly, very twee, very mundane but still quite popular.

Ian is 10 times as good-looking in real life, Vincent is a taciturn pain, Brian is serious and a bit odd-looking....and James and Ola? They're just brilliant!

I've just come back from a Strictly Come Dancing launch and found the show's pro dancers I chatted to rather different from what I was expecting.

I've never been a particular fan of James Jordan, thinking him rather arrogant, but he was fantastic to interview. Frank and honest, he says what he thinks, and he's very funny. He's also very sweet with his wife Ola - they make a genuine couple, flirting and bantering together and holding hands.

I also liked Matthew Cutler and Ian Waite. Ian has the most gorgeous, mesmerising blue eyes.
Flavia Cacace is simply stunning, articulate and intelligent.

Sadly her dance partner Vincent Simone was a lot less forthcoming. He looked bored most of the time, which is odd as he surely loves nothing better than talking about himself.

Of his new Strictly celeb partner, EastEnder Natalie Cassidy, he boasted: "She loves me. Of course, she's only human!"

But he refused to talk about his new baby son, saying: "I won't discuss that here." Which I'm sure means he will open his heart and home, as long as a glossy magazine opens their cheque book.

Heather Locklear is apparently in talks about reprising her role in Melrose Place.

The 47-year-old actress - who played catty Amanda Woodward on the hit show from 1993 to 1999 - has watched the pilot for the new version of the TV series and "loved it", reports usmagazine.com

We thought we would bring you this informative piece of news to keep you up-to-date - it's also a great excuse to use a pictuire of everyone's favourite 80's pin-up girl!

Now I've finally caught up with the first X Factor show, here are a few of my thoughts.

Firstly, how huge must Simon Cowell and Co's carbon footprints be? They can't turn up to the venue in one vehicle - their egos are too big to fit - so they have to use four cars, or, for the London auditions, speed boats. What an unnecessary waste of fuel! They ended the episode by boarding a private plane, admittedly all together for once, but where on earth were they flying to guzzling up more gallons? And in Manchester, Simon had to be driven from his hotel even though it was next door to the venue. Shame on you!

But the show is still great, of course, and refreshingly free of sob stories so far. The addition of the live audience is a good one, letting us see who can perform and who just stands there like a scared rabbit in the headlights.

There is such a thing as over-performing, though. I couldn't get nearly as excited about teacher Danyl than the judges, who gave him a standing ovation. I found him over-confident to the point of cockiness, with his microphone throwing and stage-name spelling of his moniker - come on, was he really born Danyl and not Daniel?

He was in great contrast to smiley single mum Stacey from Dagenham, who had a great voice but was completely natural. I loved her.

Another question strikes me. There must be quite a bit of rehearsing involved before they supposedly step on to the stage for the first time, or how else do they know in what key and tempo to play the backing track? Which once again suggests a lot more behind-the-scenes manipulation going on than someone just turning up for an audition. It makes it harder to believe the hype, but I guess that's what reality TV is about these days - an almost complete lack of realism.

NOT long now until The X Factor returns and I can't wait!

I can't wait to see what Cheryl Cole is wearing, what stupid comments Louis comes out with, how sarcastic Simon is, whether Dannii will be able to move her face, and how great Birmingham's ICC looks on telly.

Most of all, I can't wait to see what unhinged and deluded people will turn up really believing they can sing.

I'm talking about normal people who just have a high opinion of themselves, not those with real mental health problems like Susan Boyle. It's because of her that the producers are introducing psychological appraisals for the finalists to make sure they can cope with the pressure of taking part.

That's to be welcomed, although frankly I think anyone who enters any reality show needs to get their head tested.

I notice Glamour magazine has just published their list of the 50th sexiest men on the planet.

Having been fortunate enough to get up close (though sadly not personal) with nine of these handsome devils, it made me wonder how I'd rank them.

Number one in Glamour's list is Robert Pattinson. I know this may infuriate his many, many fans out there, but I'm afraid he doesn't rank very highly on my list.

I agree that the Twilight star is very photogenic and has a brooding presence on screen. But in the flesh he's nothing much to write home about. A nice enough, pleasant-looking man, but he didn't make me go weak at the knees when I met him.

Unlike Johnny Depp. Being just feet away from him last month was incredible, as he just oozes sex appeal. I don't think I've ever encountered such a charismatic man, so Glamour's number two choice goes straight to the top of my list.

Then there's George Clooney, Glamour's number seven choice. I got close to him when he opened Star City in Birmingham, and I'm afraid he was a little bit of a let-down. Maybe I expected too much, as I've long been a fan. I still think he's gorgeous, but he seemed a bit under par - perhaps due to the fact he was ill. He had a beard and was chewing gum which made him rather less sexy than usual!

David Tennant appears in the Glamour list at 14. He comes higher up my list because he's such a nice bloke. I've met him a couple of times, long before he was Doctor Who, and he was sexy even then. Not conventionally good-looking, but definitely charismatic, and with a friendly, laid-back personality.

Gerard Butler's at 22. He's OK, but a little arrogant and not swoon-inducing handsome. Similarly, I'm afraid I couldn't get too excited about Chris Pine (number 28) at the Star Trek press conference. I thought Zachary Quinto was far sexier.

Coventry's Clive Owen, ranked 36 by Glamour readers, does have charisma close up. He has a way of looking at you with those gorgeous green eyes and mischievous smile which definitely has an effect!

Just behind him at 37 is James McAvoy - a great actor who can look handsome on screen but doesn't translate too well in the flesh, sadly.

Then there's Will Smith at 40. With those sticking-out ears he's not a chiselled hunk, but he has star presence and a great personality. He charmed everyone he met with his wit and kindness when he came to Birmingham for the Hitch premiere, looking much more thrilled to be here than George Clooney had done.

So here's my list, in order of gorgeousness, of the sexy stars on the Glamour chart that I've met.

1. Johnny Depp
2. David Tennant
3. George Clooney
4. Clive Owen
5. Will Smith
6. James McAvoy
7. Robert Pattinson
8. Chris Pine
9. Gerard Butler

Of course, there are lots more I still hope to meet. Hugh Jackman, Brad Pitt, David Beckham, Daniel Craig, Jake Gyllenhaal...I'll let you know if I manage to clap eyes on them!