ATV News Round-up Pallett to Postman Pat

Another Saturday @ Six rounding up a week in television and soap in bite size nibbles as well as anything else that might be of interest.

This week, our old favourite snoozing Roxanne Pallett, Postman Pat’s brush with fire, ‘Enders David Essex, Anne Robinson, Gordon Ramsay Richard Madeley, BBC pay packets and more.

Pallett Art

Former Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallett became sleeping beauty as a most unlikely living exhibit in a Manchester museum last week the Manchester Evening News reported.

While her fans may dream of waking up alongside her, it was throngs of museum goers who Roxanne woke up amongst as she took part in a sleep-a-thon to launch a search for young inventors. Roxanne snoozed away in a bed in the exclusive installation at the Museum of Science and Industry to launch the Dream Lab contest;

The national competition sponsored by Sound Asleep is inviting teenagers to design a sleep-related gadget with the winner getting £20,000 for their school plus another £10,000 to make their invention a reality.

Roxanne said “I’ve loved being the Dream Lab’s sleeping beauty. Design and Technology was one of my favourite subjects at school, so I’m delighted to support a competition that encourages teens to explore innovation”.

Pallett famously, well not that famously really these days, once said she liked sex outside. At least she didn’t go that far at the exhibition, that would have been far too Hollyoaks.

Postman Pat’s Hot Under the Collar

Several Blackpool illumination displays have been destroyed in a blaze at the depot where they were kept. Among the displays damaged was a giant Postman Pat and his cat Jess.

It’s feared that irreplaceable fibre-glass moulds used to create the world famous illuminations have been wrecked in the fire, which may have been started deliberately.

Blackpool Council bosses fear the building may have to be demolished, as it is unsafe. Richard Ryan, Illuminations Manager for the Council said “it’s extremely disappointing”.

Still Bealin’ Awful Accent

The Manchester Evening News still hasn’t warmed to Cindy Beale in Coronation Street. They say, ‘EE bah gum, by ‘eck, those daft `apeths at Corrie HQ should never have let Michelle Collins loose on a Mancunian accent. Now we’re all talking Yorkshire!

There was nowt wrong with Michelle, but now her ‘eads cabbaged by all this mithering over her attempts at a Salford twang – or is it Rochdale, Rawtenstall, or Ilkley Moor…

Cricketeer Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff, from Preston, is the latest to take the mickey and tweeted “Just need Jack Duckworth to pop up in the Queen Vic giving it a bit of rhyming slang”.

Why did the new landlady have to be Northern? We’ve had cockneys in Weatherfield before, unless producers didn’t want people to think of her as Cindy… fail!

In Brief

  • EastEnders newcomer David Essex has revealed a stint on reality TV may be his next move. He says “I get asked to do Strictly Come Dancing every year and every year I say no. But I am weakening a bit now” reported the Metro newspaper.
  • Sir Bruce Forsyth is looking forward to going to Buckingham Palace again. The 83-year-old can’t wait to receive his knighthood, well at 83 you don’t really want to wait too long do you… The TV Times reported that Sir Bruce thought at first the news was a hoax. “We checked it was real,” I think he’s talking about the gong and not his hair.
  • “I think I must be the only person who doesn’t care one way or another about Cheryl Cole being a judge on the American X Factor” says former reality singer Kym Marsh from Coronation Street. Funny I have never really been bothered about third rate singers working on British soap opera’s either…
  • “I never feel safe with Simon around. He’s really naughty. I call him a pig-tail puller. He changes things at the drop of a hat. It’s exciting when he’s around because of that” says Amanda Holden talking about Simon Cowell in The Weekly News. Obviously trying to keep one TV job… The Britain’s Got (selective) Talent judge is thrilled to be in Shrek The Musical after her TV shows Big Top, Fantasy Lives and Dreams Come True were all axed wthin a year.
  • The Britain’s Got Talent tour has bombed according to Metro paper, even after a ticket giveaway. Promotor David Ian told a mole “I can’t understand it – we have Jai on the top of the bill” Maybe Britain just isn’t interested in what little talent ITV scrapes up off the floor.
  • It looks like life on the set of EastEnders is a bit like being back at school. Rita Simons who plays Roxy Mitchell says “Chewing gum has been banned on set. It annoys the directors, so now we have to spit our gum out like we’re naughty schoolchildren” She told today’s Sun.
  • Gordon Ramsey is fuming that new film Love’s Kitchen, in which he has a cameo role, has gone straight to DVD in the USA. “It’s a mistake, as I am a huge star over there” he winged in his best Mrs Overall impression. Well why not f***ing f**k off over there you f***ing moaner. Look at that now, you’ve ruined my Lemon sorbet. F***er.
  • Alison King who plays Corrie’s Carla says that Andrew Lancel, who plays her on-screen business partner Frank, is a walking encyclopaedia. “He knows loads of facts, like Stephen Fry and waffles on. If you’re in the mood you go with it, if not you shut off”. She told today’s Sun newspaper.
  • Following on from the news he’d departed the bank, Howard from The Halifax Adverts has been melted down by staff at Madame Tussauds. He would “never be coming back on screen” they were told. I guess his interest rate has really dropped.
  • There’s no shame in being in touch with your emotions says Inside Soap. Emmerdale star Mark Charnock, the over-expressional chef Marlon in the dales disaster zone admits that he’s the sensitive type “Like Marlon, I’m a bit of a wuss… I often cry at films and stuff like that.”
  • The mass of mud at Glastonbury isn’t just casuing havoc for music fans – artists are suffering too. According to BBC 6 Music, bands are struggling to get on site because of the horrendously sticky conditions. Now a “one in, one out” rule has been put in place.

What A Gay Day

The Sun reported last weekend that catty TV Host Anne Robinson has been blasted for telling a vicar his tunic looked “gay” on The Weakest Link. 45-year-old Rev Peter Hayler appeared on last Wednesday’s show in a colourful shirt specially made to fit with his dog collar. 66-year-old Anne asked “Was the shirt gay?” and then said “I thought you had come from a vicars and tarts party”. Her comments were cut from the episode and Rev Hayler had the last laugh when he went on to win £2,530.

David Allison of gay rights group Outrage said her use of the word gay as an insult was “particularly inappropriate for a public figure”. And then said “Anne Robinson should and I’m sure does know better”.

Rev Hayler of Cambridge University’s Great St Mary’s Church said “I was accused of tactically voting and she called me a liar five times”. He then said “She said `was the shirt gay?’ I should have said `yes, its brightly coloured”.

The BBC defended Anne’s comments as “tongue in cheek”.

Neighbours sing-a-long for Winslett

Film actress Kate Winslett, reveals that working with former Neighbours pin-up Guy Pearce who played Mike Young in the soap turned her into a giggly schoolgirl.

“When I was a teenager I only had two heart-throbs – one was Patrick Swayze and the other was Guy. I was so in love with Mike from Neighbours that I would fake illness so I could stay off school to watch the show. I told Guy I was convinced that Mike from Neighbours was going to take me away on a white horse. And of course he laughed his head off about that”

Winslett and Pearce are working together on Mildred Pierce, a five-part mini series that starts on Sky Atlantic tonight at 9pm.

“Throughout filming Mildred Pierce, made famous by Joan Crawford winning Oscar for title role, whenever we had an intimate scene before the Director said `Cut’, I would turn to the camera and sing `Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours…..’ And bless Guy he was very good about it” she told the TV Times.

Diamonds are For… BBC Two

The dramatic life of Dame Shirley Bassey is being made for television. The Cardiff born singer who grew up in poverty in the citys docklands, is the daughter of a British mother and Nigerian father and left school at 15 to work in a local factory.

Her career almost ended before it began after she became pregnant at 17 but she survived the scandal of being an unmarried mother to become a massive star. Some of her biggest hits are themes to James Bond films including Goldfinger and Diamonds are Forever.

The film about Dame Shirley which is billed as showing her “difficult rise from poverty to international stardom” is part of a BBC Two season about mixed-race life in Britain.

A Barmy Barlow for McDonald’s?

Simon Gregson who plays Steve McDonald in Coronation Street spoke this week to Inside Soap magazine. When asked “as a serial monogamist, surely Steve will want to settle down some day?” He replied “Let him get divorced first, I don’t want to end up a bigamist – I’ll leave that to Peter Barlow, thank you! But you never know with Steve. He does tend to fall in love very quickly”

There was also a pondering on whether he’d ever shack up with Tracey Barlow, the pantomime dame of the drama.

“Now that would be like jumping out of the frying plan into the fire… Steve is mad, but I’m not sure he’s that mad! You never know what the writers might have in store for him, though.”

Advice from Dick

Richard Madeley says he is an “agony aunt” to friends of his daughter Chloe who regularly text him for advice says todays Sun newspaper. The 55-year-old explained he has such a close bond with Chloe that even her pals turn to him to solve problems. He added he approves of Chloes new boyfriend, actor Sam Attwater whom she met on Dancing On Ice. There are no ends to Dick’s talents are there…

The Price Is Right

The BBC could be forced to reveal the salaries of its top presenters through new legislation, Government ministers have threatened. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned BBC chiefs to make the information public or face being ordered to by the Government. Today’s Dail Mail reports.

He said it was a “huge mistake” for the BBC to continue refusing to disclose the pay levels of stars such as Graham Norton, Chris Evans and Bruce Forsyth. He’s annoyed that the BBC has dragged its heels over a voluntary arrangement last year to give the National Audit Office unfettered access to its accounts.

The BBC has so far refused to disclose the pay of its top talent, claiming that the information is “commercially sensitive”.

Little Les Mis

Little Britain’s Matt Lucas was grinning in delight after his West End debut in hit musical Les Miserables The Sun report today. He won a standing ovation for his portrayal of innkepper Thenardier – a role he learned for the show’s 25th gala production at the O2 in London. Bosses were so impressed by that performance they offered the part full-time at the Queens Theatre

For 37-year-old Matt it was a teenage dream come true. He said “As a child, I fell in love with musicals. For my 13th birthday I was taken to see Les Mis and its been my favourite ever since. This is the best gift I could give my Mum, apart from being in Coronation Street”.

Baldrick Abroad

Tony Robinson could soon be leaving our shores for Australia. The Blackadder star has become hugely popular in Oz, as Time Team is one of the highest rated programmes there. He spent much of last year in the country filming travelogue Tony Robinson Down Under, currently being shown on The History Channel, and production companies are now begging him to make more the Daily Mail reported today.

Quote of the Week

“I think it could be quite funny to watch the other ‘celebrities’ squirm. Jedward will probably drive them so mad they will be crawling up the walls.” Says one Daily Mail reader on the news the annoying pair of so-called singers (they can’t sing) may appear on Channel 5’s revival of past-it reality series Big Brother.