HappyDude88

Bye bye everybody...the final blog!

2011-12-21T17:23:00.000+00:00

By Simon Wright (Blogger of HappyDude88)

SO, WE have reached the conclusion of this journey and after 22 months, it is ‘Time to Say Goodbye.’ Or is it, ‘The Final Countdown.’ Either way, each song is good.

When I began my blog, first on LiveJournal, before switching to BlogSpot in February 2010, I thought this might only last six weeks/two months before I got bored. However, I haven’t and I have enjoyed the majority of the content I have uploaded on here, even if some blogs were far more difficult to write than others.

Before I begin, I have had some questions on why I am stopping now and not continuing. Well, there is a combination of reasons behind my decision. First of all, this was something I decided back at the end of June, even before I started my work placement in London with Runner’s World magazine. I was happy with the decision I made back then and although, admittedly, I’ve had a few doubts in recent weeks, I have to stick to what I decided back then. If I continued into 2012, I would have felt that I needed to do another year of blogging, not say six months. I don’t think I would have the time to do that. Also, I am aware that 2012 poses some significant and massive challenges ahead of me. I have five months left of my journalism degree at the University of Northampton and need to put 100 per cent focus onto finishing off my dissertation and beginning my TV filming on technology for my Individual Practical Project. Time will be of the essence and I’m afraid, I’m not going to be able to give the blog the time and dedication it would deserve. Plus, it is best that I went out on a high, rather than a low and see my standards decrease. Therefore, it is best that I ended things now, rather than let the site decline.

Of course, there are lots of people to thank for supporting the website, giving me constructive or sometimes, damming criticism. However, I can’t thank you all personally. You do know who you are, but I don’t want to send anyone to sleep! But, I do want to thank some people especially, who have supported me, helped me out and always been there for me over the past two years.

First person I want to thank is my brother, Jason Wright. Over the past two years, Jason has provided extra content for this website on the world of entertainment. He has been my entertainment expert. His witty contributions to The X-Factor, Dancing on Ice and many award ceremonies have certainly added a good vibe to the site. Jason will go on to start his own entertainment site in the New Year and I urge you all to follow it when I get the link up. I hope you have as much enjoyment on your own site J, as I did with this one.

Jason is not the only writer who has produced a blog on this site. A friend of mine through the days at Milton Keynes College, Charlie Gardiner wrote an Avatar review for the site, Rochelle Lye did a blog on Doctor Who for me and Robert Jones contributed a 2010 FIFA World Cup preview with me last year. I want to thank them for helping the blog in its early stages, before me and Jason took things on in its later life. Also, thank you to the followers of this blog and again, you know who you are.

Another friend of mate gave me the inspiration to move to BlogSpot in the first place, who deserves a mention and that is Anthony Ashfield. I was at Milton Keynes College with Anthony or ‘Fat Tony’ as he is better known to his close friends and he suggested I should look at BlogSpot, rather than stick with the less frequent LiveJournal blog. It was a brilliant bit of advice and I haven’t looked back since, so thank you to Anthony for giving me the encouragement to go with the right blogging provider.

Then, there’s Farida Zeynalova, a very good friend of mine on the journalism course at the University of Northampton. Farida has always drummed up support for the blog, through her fantastic Twitter account, even going on to say that I have a ‘a big and aspiring future.’ Thanks for your help Farida with this; it really did mean a lot.

Two more friends of mine at the University, Ellie Birmingham and Tamika Short have always been there for me on the course and on the site too. I know personal columns and viewpoints were a big plus point of mine and it was Tamika’s funny personal views on her site that gave me the pulling power to give this kind of blog a go. So, she inspired me while Ellie has been a brilliant friend for me and I know she enjoyed reading my personal blogs especially. Thank you to both of you too for your kind words of support over the past two years.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who has done any kind of reading on the 660 blogs that have gone online. Whether that was the personal blogs I did into my life, my obsession with Skins, the entertainment reviews from my brother, my regular reports on the 2010 and 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship and those major events in the news like the General Election, the Royal Wedding, the tsunami in Japan and the summer riots in the UK.

I knew this day was coming and I am feeling a bit emotional, but I have high hopes for my future. In 2012, I want to show that to everyone and hope that this blog has given me the starting point to a better life. I will still keep the site online, so if you want to check up on something then come onto this site, it won’t close. I will also put together a University of Northampton 2011/12 page in due course, when I get more work back this year and who knows, I might pop up at some point in 2012 with a few special blogs. However, regular updating is over now and I’m so pleased I’ve had the passion and commitment to contribute in recent years. If you still want to get in touch with me, I am still available on Twitter at @HappyDude88.

So, that’s it folks. There’s little else for me to say, except I wish everyone a safe and brilliant Christmas and a prosperous and exciting New Year. It has been a pleasure to share my thoughts with you and after 660….that is it.

Thank you again and goodbye!

HappyDude88

That was 2011...for me!

2011-12-21T16:27:00.000+00:00

By Simon Wright (Personal piece)

I WENT into 2011 hoping to have a memorable year, one that I could lookback on full of positives. As we head into the final ten days of another year, I have to reflect on what for me has been a turbulent year by any sense of the imagination. There have been phenomenal highs, but also some lows which brought me close to the brink of making some serious errors of judgement. Generally, I am very thankful that I have got through another year full of health and joy, but ultimately, feel it hasn’t quite lived up to the high expectations I set.

THE LOWS

Well, I thought I should start with the highs, but then it might be better to end it in a positive view. The main problem has been not being able to settle at times and act as if something minor was the end of the world. At my age now, I shouldn’t be making these misdemeanours and should be able to deal with life better. Let’s be fair, life throws a lot at us and then there’s me – generally trying to blow things out of proportion. That’s not a good sign! A laptop charger not working is very annoying and frustrating; especially in the midst of a University year, but to go around everywhere feeling like the world has come to an end is not the right attitude. In my case during 2011, when things went wrong, they generally went wrong for far too long by my liking. I had a crisis of confidence in March and came very close to walking away from my second year at University. Looking back at it now, I’m glad that I got pushed into such a position, because it made the final two months of my course go very swimmingly and made me change my outlook on how I was approaching matters. March’s issues began with a failed laptop charger, combined with a severe lack of motivation to do any work, my general displeasure at the lack of contact with my lecturers, then a severe falling out with a close friend of mine where I really did get the wrong end of a comment and showed my raging or ranting colours shall we say. After a weekend away from it all, I came back to Northampton a better person, stronger individual and appreciating things far more. Those who are on my course at Uni can vouch that I was a different person throughout April and May, a time where everything did go right. In October, things went rotten again. This time, it was more difficult to explain. I guess I felt everything was so distant and once again, the lengthy summer break hadn’t done me any favours. Things got so bad; I needed a three week break from Facebook and what a relief that was. Facebook had taken over so much and by having the extended break made November not only flyby, but made my life easier. I now also know that I can cope without Facebook and I’m proud of that. Twitter is the way to communicate now, especially for my professional career I hope to build in future. As for Facebook, well I still use it, but it isn’t the attitude of desperation now; more a luxury. These dips in my morale, confidence and attitude could have wrecked me, but on both occasions, I feel like I turned satisfying corners and that’s a good thing.

THE HIGHS

The Balestra nights out in May were wonderful memories

For me, there are four highs that standout personally for me over the course of the past twelve months. First, was the two consecutive Thursday nights that as a journalism group, we went out together to the Balestra nightclub. It was May time and everyone was rushing around to finish projects and beat deadlines. As I would say, I was as cool as an ice cube and had everything handed in and organised days before! The nightlife experience was brilliant, because I doubted whether we could do something as a group like go out, dance, drink champagne and have a memorable night/nights. I’d forgotten what a good night out was upto that point. I have so many great memories from those nights out on the 11^th and 18^th May and something I will take away from when we graduate next summer. I’d like to think that we might do a few more like this in the remaining weeks of our degree in 2012.

The page I did that got into RW's October magazine

Secondly was my work placement experience in London. I was so nervous in the middle of July, when I went to Runner’s World magazine, part of the NatMags Company. I didn’t know what to expect, how the staff would be around someone like me, let’s say – not your average everyday person. There was no need to worry. I had a brilliant fortnight with everyone there, got on well with 99 per cent of the staff, understood and undertook the tasks given to me with minimum fuss and gained a lot more skills and confidence than what I could have ever imagined. Some of my work even got into October’s edition of the magazine, something very precious for my portfolio. I see Runner’s World as the first stepping stone into my future career.

Thirdly, it was working on the group project documentary for one of my journalism modules. I had so much fun filming and especially, editing the project with massive contribution from the likes of Tamika Short and Chris Ola within our work. It didn’t quite get the A grade we were hoping for, but it is the best piece of work I did in 2011 and the one piece in my two years that I take so much pride and place out of. I am my strongest critic and always have been. Looking back at my second year work at Uni; it did feel like a case of ‘not good enough, could do better,’ especially from some of the constructive and very harsh feedback I received. However, I don’t think there was much else I could have done better on the documentary, which leaves me full of vindication and satisfaction.

Enjoying my summer holiday in Fuerteventura

Lastly, the family summer holiday to Fuerteventura was amazing and the timing couldn’t have been better. At the start of the year, I didn’t think I’d have time for a family holiday, then decided in April after a hard day at Uni; ‘Nuts to this, I need one!’ I left the country two days after the heist of the UK riots which were sweeping across the country. I never wanted to leave England so badly and when Fuerteventura was over, part of me never wanted to come back to England. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt like that after a foreign holiday. I loved it out there, was so relaxed and really do feel like that in the future, I have a place where I can return for a break, or even set up some sort of holiday home. So, if things get tough in later life, I can just say; ‘I need to go to Fuerteventura!’ Sorry, but it beats Yarmouth, Dover or Portugal hands down! (P.S: No offence to any people from those destinations who read this.)

OVERALL FEELING

Am I pleased with how this year has gone? Generally, it’s been okay. Could it have been better? Yes it could have, I mean, I still don’t have a clear future in mind, still single (AGAIN!) and world events this year were pretty grim to witness or hear/read about.

How would I sum up my 2011? Character building and turbulent, with some great memories and periods where I would rather just forget I existed.

Thanks for reading my thoughts!

That was 2011...in sport

2011-12-21T11:51:00.000+00:00

THE world of sport has had to deal with a lot of aspects in 2011. We said goodbye to some stars at their prime and other legends who had made their mark. There were shocks, sensational returns to form and superstars who had years to remember. Sport has seen some vintage moments in 2011, though for some – they would rather forget it ever existed.

BACKSEAT: Nadal has had to watch Djokovic take over in tennis

The tennis year has been dominated by Serbian, Novak Djokovic. Djokovic had an incredible season, which saw him rise to the top of the ATP rankings and win three of the four Grand Slams (Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open). He became only the sixth individual in history to win three Grand Slams in a single year, only losing six matches in his season. He also took control of the ATP tour, winning six events. Rafael Nadal had to play second fiddle this year, but he was beaten in two finals by Djokovic at the Grand Slams and took his traditional title at Roland Garros. This meant that for the first time since 2002, Roger Federer went through a season without a Grand Slam title. Despite this, the Swiss Master still showed flashes of his best with an epic semi-final success over Djokovic at the French Open and winning the season finale ATP finals in London. Andy Murray’s ATP season was inconsistent, littered with several early exits. However, he did win the Aegon Championships at Queen’s and strung together his best ever Grand Slam season. Murray reached three semi-finals and was a gallant runner-up to Djokovic in Australia. However, he needs to raise his game otherwise he will be left behind by the three masters of the men’s game. In the ladies singles, there were four different Grand Slam winners. Kim Clistjers took the honours in Australia, before injury wrecked her season. China made its breakthrough in the major honours, when Na Li overcame Francesca Schiavone to win the French Open. At Wimbledon, the relatively unknown Petra Kvitova got the better of a rejuvenated Maria Sharapova to become the first Czech since Jana Novotna in 1998 to win the main prize. Sam Stosur continued the run of maiden winners, when she was too powerful for Serena Williams at the US Open in Flushing Meadows. However, this year belonged to Novak Djokovic.

Rugby union’s greatest showpiece took place in New Zealand during the autumn and produced a fairytale story. New Zealand had suffered a devastating year, with the earthquake in Christchurch and the River Pike mining tragedy. However, despite not being the greatest All Blacks side to ever take part in a World Cup, they were able to produce what many haven’t; win the Webb Ellis Trophy. They beat France in a close final 8-7, allowing inspirational captain Richie McCaw to lift the coveted prize, their first success since the inaugural tournament in 1987. Defending champions South Africa disappointed, but were unlucky to bow out to Australia 11-9 in the quarter-finals. The 2011 tournament was a mixed bag for the Home Nations. Scotland bowed out at the group stages after failing to score tries in three of their four pool matches. Ireland shook the tournament up with a shock and deserved win over Australia in the pool stages, but came up short in the quarter-finals against Wales, who were the story of the tournament. Warren Gatland’s young side came so close to defeating South Africa on the opening weekend and played some fantastic rugby en route to a heartbreaking semi-final defeat at the hands of the improving French. Wales cause was not helped by the controversial red card of Captain Sam Warburton. England’s 2011 year was a disaster. It started well with success in the RBS Six Nations. Even that was tempered by losing a chance at the Grand Slam in Dublin on the final weekend. At the world cup, off-field antics got in the way of their playing performances. They laboured to wins over Argentina, Georgia and Scotland and eventually, it was old enemy France who got the better of England in convincing fashion in the last eight. The fallout has continued since returning from Down Under, with The Times publishing media leaks of confidential reports, Martin Johnson quitting as team manager and Johnny Wilkinson announcing his retirement from international rugby. So, it was a year to forget for English rugby, but one that New Zealand will hail a new golden generation.

CHANGE: Long Run won both the King George VI and Cheltenham Gold Cup

There has been a changing of the guard in horse racing, as Long Run has taken jump racing to another level. He won the delayed King George VI at Kempton in January and then held off Denman to succeed in a thrilling Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. Sam Wahey-Cohen nearly completed a unique double in the John Smith’s Grand National. The amateur jockey was pipped into second place by Jason Maguire’s ride, Ballabriggs. It was another triumph for the McCain dynasty, with Donald McCain training the winning horse in humid conditions at Aintree. His father Ginger was there to witness it, but it would turn out to be his last attendance at the National. He sadly passed away from cancer in September, two days before his 81^st birthday. On the flat, the 4-1 second favourite Pour Moi won the Epsom Derby in June whilst Frankel was named Horse of the Year after stretching an unbeaten run to nine, which included success in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Royal Ascot. The main storm in horse racing has come through an amended ruling on the whip system. Leading jockeys included AP McCoy threatened to go on strike which brought the sport on a potential collision course with the authorities. After some tough negotiating, the rules have been changed so jockeys can use the whip seven times in flat races and eight times over jumps. Although the jockeys still weren’t delighted with the tweaks, they decided to agree reluctantly and carry on competing. The year ended with Paul Nicholls announcement that Denman was to be retired after injury. Despite a recent brilliant win at Newbury, his stablemate Kauto Star might also be bowing out soon after a year of fluctuating form.

SHOCK: Usain Bolt false starts in Daegu and is disqualified in 100m

Daegu in South Korea was the setting for the IAAF World Athletics Championships during August and September. With it came the biggest shock of the sporting year. World record holder and defending champion Usain Bolt unbelievably false started in the final of the men’s 100m. As he tore his vest off his torso, Bolt could only watch his training partner Yohan Blake collecting the gold medal. In true Bolt fashion, he bounced back to win the 200m, and be part of the Jamaican team that broke a world record in the 4x100m relay. It was a mixed championship for Great Britain, with the biggest success coming from Dai Greene, who won the men’s 400m hurdles and from Mo Farah. Farah was pipped into second place by Ibrahim Jeilan in the 10,000m, but went one better in the 5,000m. Pre-event favourites in the men’s triple jump and women’s heptathlon, Phillips Idowu and Jessica Ennis had to settle for silver, despite season bests and points records. There was also a bronze for Andy Turner in the men’s 110m hurdles after Cuba’s Dayron Robles was disqualified for an infringement and Hannah England took a surprising and sensational silver medal in the women’s 1500m. In all, the championships were a major success with London just a year away. Next year’s Olympic host had more reason to celebrate when it was awarded the 2017 World Championships in November.

By its high standards, football has had a quiet year, but that doesn’t mean nothing happened. Manchester United made history by finally breaking Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles. A 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers in May secured another Premiership title for Sir Alex Ferguson. Their noisy neighbours, Manchester City currently lead the new title battle by two points and stunned United in October, with an amazing 6-1 derby victory at Old Trafford. City also ended their long drought for silverware by beating Stoke City 1-0 at Wembley to win the FA Cup. Birmingham City ended up as the surprising winners of the Carling Cup, with Obafemi Martins last minute winner meaning Arsenal went through another year without silverware. Sadly, this wouldn’t have a happy ending, as Birmingham got relegated from the Premiership, along with Blackpool and West Ham United. QPR and Norwich City returned to the top flight and a 4-2 success over Reading in the Championship play-off final meant Swansea City became the first Welsh club to reach the Premiership promise land. Like Arsenal, Chelsea went trophy less, wasted £50million on Liverpool’s wantaway striker Fernando Torres and then sacked Carlo Ancelotti. He has been replaced by Andre Vilas-Boas, who led FC Porto to Europa League glory in Dublin in May. Arsenal sold Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona in the summer and it was the Catalan side who stole the football limelight. They cantered to La Liga success again, won the FIFA World Club Championship in Japan recently and produced an exhibition masterclass at Wembley to beat Manchester United 3-1 in the UEFA Champions League final. On the international scene, England qualified for Euro 2012 and went through the calendar year unbeaten. The Republic of Ireland will also be at the major European party next summer.

TRAGIC: Simoncelli and Wheldon's deaths rocked motorsport

MotoGP was meant to be saluting Casey Stoner for an incredible season, in which the Australian and his Repsol Honda team blitzed the opposition. Stoner won 11 races and clinched the title in his homeland of Australia. A week later, the sport was rocked by the tragic accident in Malaysia that robbed motorcycling of one of its brightest stars. Marco Simoncelli crashed on the second lap and was struck by Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi. He died an hour afterwards from his injuries and his death sent shockwaves through motorsport. Simoncelli’s flair will be missed in the paddock in 2012 and it came just a week after a dreadful pile-up at the IndyCar season finale in Las Vegas. The 15-car crash claimed the life of British driver Dan Wheldon, who was only competing in his third event of the season. Wheldon had won the Indianapolis 500 in sensational fashion earlier in the year. Las Vegas may have lost its race next season, but it won’t bring Dan back. Dario Franchitti’s third successive championship was made academic. In Formula One, Sebastian Vettel was in a class of his own, winning 11 races, taking a record breaking 15 pole positions in a season and winning a second world championship. In a year full of vintage races and countless overtaking, Sebastian stormed to success with a third place finish in Suzuka, Japan in October meaning he became the youngest back-to-back champion. Britain’s Jenson Button won three events, including a sensational last lap triumph from the back In Canada and he was the runner-up in the final positions. Fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton had a troubled year, which included a high-profile split from his girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger and many on-track altercations with Felipe Massa. However, he won in China, Germany and Abu Dhabi to remind everyone of his capabilities. Sadly though, 2011 will be remembered for tragedy rather than records in motorsport.

In other sport, British golfers came of age in 2011. Luke Donald became the world and European no.1, whilst there was an emotional and popular success for Darren Clarke at The Open Championship. Having thrown away the US Masters at Augusta in April, Rory McIlroy produced a breathtaking display to win the US Open in June. It was his first major and certainly won’t be his last. Following their winter success in the Ashes, England’s cricketers had a summer to remember, recording a whitewash summer over Sri Lanka and India and establishing themselves as the no.1 ranked test team. However, their performance at the Cricket World Cup was less impressive, which included shock defeats to Ireland and Bangladesh in the pool stages. India won the trophy, beating Sri Lanka in a one-sided final. For once, Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor was usurped in the PDC World Darts Championships, being knocked out in the quarter-finals. Adrian Lewis won the tournament, beating Gary Anderson 7-5 in the final. Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in February to take the honours in Superbowl XLV. Australian Cadel Evans became the first Wallaby to win the Tour de France since the war, but the headlines were made by Mark Cavendish. The Brit won the most overall stages and ended up winning the prestigious green jersey at the end. Boxing has had better years, which saw David Haye lose his World Heavyweight title to Vladimir Klitcshko, then retire from the sport and Amir Khan recently lose his titles in controversial circumstances to Lamont Peterson. Lastly, John Higgins bounced back from a match-fixing scandal to win his fourth World Snooker championship, defeating Judd Trump 18-15 in a thrilling final.

Sport has had its moments of controversy and surprise, its moments of triumph and tragedy and its moments where you will remember where you were. 2012 includes the Olympics in London and the European Football Championships in Poland/Ukraine, so it promises just as much as 2011 ended up delivering.

That was 2011...in entertainment

2011-12-19T22:54:00.001+00:00

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

WITHOUT a doubt, the entertainment world has had another turbulent year and here are some of the big stories that hit the headlines over the last 12 months…

The year began in typical fashion – with a media scandal! What seemed to be remarks about women in football made off the air were actually picked up and made public, as Sky Sports presenters Richard Keys and Andy Gray discovered. More damaging off-screen behaviour would come to light over the following days through YouTube and it resulted in Gray being sacked and Keys resigning from his role. In its 22 year history, this was no question, Sky’s biggest ever embarrassment.

FIGHTING: Imogen Thomas was dragged into the superinjunctions debate

Just over a year after they got hitched in Las Vegas, a painful separation was in prospect for Katie Price and Alex Reid. Price would go on to date an unknown Argentine model for several months whilst Reid has found new love in ex-Big Brother Housemate Chantelle Houghton. The pair have recently become engaged, so no surprise who was the winner out of this doomed relationship. Another former BB contestant that sprung into the public eye was Imogen Thomas. Her name was mentioned in a granted superinjunction by a Premier League footballer who wished to remain anonymous. Speculation on Twitter led to a Liberal Democrat MP to use his parliamentary privilege and oust the footballer’s identity. The footballer has remained silent on the issue ever since the revelation back in May. Speaking about Big Brother, after the final series on Channel 4 ended last summer, it looked as if it had vanished away for good. Richard Desmond had other ideas and brought it back to Channel 5. With new host Brian Dowling, and famous faces such as Kerry Katona and Paddy Doherty, who would eventually go on to win, the method was simple, try to keep it as simple as possible. It has become Channel 5’s highest rated show but it will never match the success that it had on C4.

One person who would certainly want to forget 2011 in a hurry is Cheryl Cole and her fall from grace. In May, she accepted the chance of a lifetime to join the new US version of The X-Factor, with aide Simon Cowell, who also quit the UK version. The dream wasn’t to last long though as just two weeks into filming, she was sacked. Initially this looked to be the work of Cowell but it later transpired that Fox wanted her out because her Newcastle accent would make American viewers struggle to understand her. In either case, Cole returned back to the UK, more humiliated than when she left and her role of being “The Nation’s Sweetheart” was finally stripped for good when she had a fling with footballing ex Ashley Cole. Reconciliation seemed on the cards until the tabloids stepped in with more stories of Ashley’s infidelity. On X-Factor USA, Cole’s place on the judging panel was given to Nicole Scherzinger, a more well-favourable decision for many. Fox stood by Scherzinger, despite criticism from experts in the States. However, Nicole’s commitment to her solo career and her new job led to an amicable and publicised split with Formula One star, Lewis Hamilton. The newspaper press has certainly come under scrutiny in 2011, with damming revelations at News International, of phone hacking at the News of the World. Famous showbiz figures like Sienna Miller, Hugh Grant and Max Mosley were given liberal damages before the tarnished paper was closed down in July.

AWARDS: Huge success for Colin Firth and The King's Speech

In the film world, it’s been one dramatic year with several grossing films and rave reviews for several flicks than ever before. The King’s Speech topped the bill with its success at both the BAFTA’s and the Oscars whilst after ten years; the Harry Potter saga finally came to an end with the last film based on the final book of the series. Other top talking films of the year include Cars 2, The Inbetweeners Movie and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. In the land of music, there has been a frequent share of old and new talent at the top of the charts this year. Acts like Jessie J and Ed Sheeran have made phenomenal starts in their careers this year whilst established talent such as Pixie Lott and the Saturdays continue to challenge for supremacy, the latter still somehow have not managed a Number 1 single yet! Of course, there are acts that are just in it for the money – 2011 will go down as the year that Jedward began their course to world domination! A successful appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest, beating the much more challenging entry from Blue for the UK, coupled with third place on Celebrity Big Brother backs up the evidence. In fact, they have recently announced they will try for Eurovision again next year, this year’s contest being won by a delightful entry from Azerbaijan.

It’s been a torrid year for ITV with most of its popular programmes coming under the firing line for falling ratings. The most publicised was Dancing on Ice. A massive competition revamp designed to make it more entertaining and watchable had the opposite effect. It flopped miserably and it has now called its future into question. Daybreak has also suffered and amidst its constant thrashing in the ratings by BBC Breakfast, it is currently undergoing its own revamp over the New Year with its “star” presenters, Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley having already left.

STUNNER: Amy Childs has had a year to remember

If there was an award that the public could choose for, called ‘Sexiest Woman Of The Year’, favourable nominations like Abbey Crouch, Katy Perry and Michelle Keegan would all be distant runners-up in favour of a young Essex redhead, Amy Childs. Having shot to fame on The Only Way Is Essex, it was no question that she would soon go for it alone and she did just that in August when she was another famous guest in the Celebrity Big Brother house. Afterwards, she then went on to sign a lucrative deal with Channel 5 for her own reality series, currently be screened. Love or loathe her, she will be around for much longer to come, just like her use of the phrase, “SHUT UP!”

Someone who would certainly call 2011 as an “annus horribilis” is Simon Cowell. After Britain’s Got Talent suffered a slump in ratings in the Spring, his multi-million pound gameshow Red Or Black? certainly didn’t stay out of the headlines but for all the wrong reasons. Poorly constructed with nothing innovative about the format made it perhaps the biggest ever and most expensive flop in television history.

He then took a backseat when the all new X-Factor arrived in the UK. Cole and Dannii Minogue had gone from the panel, along with Simon. Established judge Louis Walsh was joined by Gary Barlow, Tulisa and Kelly Rowland for the new series. Critical reception was of praise to start with but when it got to the live shows, the new judges didn’t seem up to scratch. That and coupled with the usual off-stage controversy left viewers turning off in their droves. The most damaging of all centred on Frankie Cocozza. He seemed innocent and nice to start off with but when the live shows began, he was exposed as an act that really couldn’t sing and his behaviour off the show became more and more wild until he was eventually kicked out for breaking a ‘golden rule,’ alleged to have been taking cocaine.

However, from the all of the stories of mistrust, X-Factor provided one great story to finish on. One act came out of the shadows and defied the odds. Girl group Little Mix – formed by the judges at bootcamp from four girls turned down first as soloists and then again under different constructed groups – were written off before a note was sung when it came to the live finals. As the weeks progressed, they quickly gathered momentum though and the public began to get behind them. They eventually sealed a fairytale triumph in the final, live in front of 10,000 fans at Wembley Arena, the first group ever to win the UK version of the show after its years of trying. In the eight years of the show, there perhaps has been no other winner more popular than these girls but aside from it, it looks like the start of 2012 will perhaps see Cowell organise crisis meeting after crisis meeting to assess what went wrong with the show and how to restore it back to its former glory.

FAREWELL: We said a tragic goodbye to Amy Winehouse

Every showbiz year of course sees several famous faces sadly leave us. Some of the those who lost their lives in the last twelve months include Hollywood leading lady Elizabeth Taylor, Coronation Street icon Betty Driver and 80s legend Sir Jimmy Saville. However, the most familiar name to pass away this year was singer Amy Winehouse. Despite a fledging and promising career with millions of album sales and several awards on both sides of the Atlantic, her private life was always troubled and usually saw battles with alcohol and drug addictions. Then on one dry Saturday afternoon in July, came news that she had been found dead in her London home at the tender age of 27. Despite the woes of her private life, she will still be remembered for her unique contribution to music and her father Mitch has since gone on to set up a charity in her honour to help support young people who are battling their own addiction problems.

All in all, who said life was dull in showbiz? It never really is. With big stories on all of its corners, to say 2011 was hectic is putting it mildly. Who knows what next year will bring? Unless you have a crystal ball, don’t even bother predicting!

That was 2011...in news

2011-12-18T17:25:00.000+00:00

STUDYING journalism at University, it is essential to keep updated on the latest news around the world, no matter if it has any influence on you. 2011 has been one of the most dramatic news years in recent times, but sadly – there were a lot of dark forces and the stories don’t lie. Natural disasters, media revelations, economic crisis, uprisings in a new world and man-made riots made it a fairly depressing year for many.

The heart of Japan was ripped out in March by a devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country. An 8.9 earthquake on the Richter scale; the most powerful in Japan’s history was followed by a 30ft tsunami which swept away everything in its path. Cars, people, buildings stood absolutely no chance against Mother Nature’s deadly power. Many thousands were killed and it is unlikely that the total death toll will ever be recorded, due to the sheer destruction. It was a year when natural disasters sadly came right to the forefront again. Flash flooding recently has claimed the lives of 500 people in the Philippines; Brazil was hit by massive landslides which left 15,000 homeless in January. Australia had to bring in the military following widespread flooding in Queensland and Brisbane, which left at least 25 people dead and nearby neighbours New Zealand were left reeling by the earthquake in Christchurch in February which left over 100 dead.

Back at home and the media had its own cross examinations, in the form of a gulfing scandal. The phone hacking scandal not only stained the reputation of the British print industry, but it has left it with a lot of damage to attempt recovery from. Andy Coulson, who was David Cameron’s former press aide, was arrested and the chief executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks, eventually resigned from her tainted position. The Murdoch’s faced severe interrogation from MPs over the actions of rogue journalists, which spelt the end for the News of the World newspaper in July. The voicemails of murdered teen Milly Dowler were hacked into and many celebrities, including Hugh Grant, Sienna Miller and Andy Gray reported cases of their conversations being taped. The Leveson enquiry into this summer’s distasteful events is being held at the moment, but the implications are still far reaching for the press sector of media.

In America, the former doctor of Michael Jackson, Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. He has since been sentenced to four years in prison. Meanwhile, student Amanda Knox was cleared on appeal on the murder of fellow British student Meredith Kercher in Perugia. Knox had spent four years in jail, having been initially convicted in 2007.

America also said goodbye to the Space Shuttle, as Atlantis made its final mission in July. Having been in service for 30 years, the reusable spacecraft has been retired after some success and devastating disasters in American space exploration history. In Europe, an economic meltdown has seen the Euro on the brink of collapse. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have asked for emergency bailouts and a recent EU treaty proposal was rejected by David Cameron, which has left Britain playing a dangerous game, but a correct game against Europe. It has seen tensions rise in the coalition though. The Liberal Democrats might be at war with the Conservatives with this, but they also lost the AV vote referendum and suffered severe losses in May’s local elections. In 2010, Nick Clegg was on a crest on a wave, but now, he is among one of the most unpopular politicians ever to have walked in Downing Street!

The springtime brought about a changing of the guard in the Arab world. It started with the rebellion in Tunisia, which led to their president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fleeing to Saudi Arabia. Bahrain’s government also faced upheaval, but survived. Hosni Mubarak wasn’t so lucky and after weeks of tense fighting and standoff in Cairo, he fled from his position as Egyptian president. However, there is still great uncertainly about Egypt’s future direction. Syria, Algeria and Saudi Arabia have also seen scenes of demonstrations in 2011, but it was Libya where the biggest change happened. Colonel Gadaffi’s cruel regime finally came under stiff attack as world leaders called for him to depart graciously. Gadaffi held on and declared war; Cameron, Barack Obama and Nicholas Sarkozy reacted and air strikes began on the country, with NATO been called in to help out. After months of struggle, Gadaffi was captured and killed in September and a new dawn of promise and hope for Libyans might well be on, after years of torture and doom.

At the beginning of May, international terrorism came back into the headlines and the world became just a little bit safer. Barack Obama confirmed the news that Osama Bin Laden was dead. The Al-Qaeda figurehead was captured and shot dead by US troops in Pakistan; a decade after the search for him began following the September 11^th terrorist attacks. Ten years on, it will never bring back those who died in the appalling mass murder in America; nor those who suffered in Bali, Istanbul and London in years gone by, but a sense of justice could now be felt. Despite Bin Laden’s death, terrorism still remains at the forefront of our lives. In July, Anders Behring Breivik blew up government offices in Oslo, Norway and then, dressed as a policeman, committed a shooting rampage on Utoya Island, where many youngsters were spending a summer holiday at camp. Around 70 people were thought to have been killed in the two attacks. More recently, a man threw explosives in Liege, Belgium. Four died and the gunman took his own life after the four explosions rocked the city centre.

In April, Britain had a wonderful day, as millions watched in London and on TV the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. It was a perfect day and put a lot of affection back into our hearts for the Royal Family. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as they are now officially known brought a tear to many people’s eyes to show that our country can really do something that we should be proud of.

Four months later, the dark side really came to the force as the UK riots stunned us all. The shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham began a chain of events within London and spread across many other areas of the UK on a miserable Monday evening in August. Businesses were destroyed, damage estimated to be in the billions and the leadership seemed to be lacking from the coalition; all on holiday at the time the riots escalated. Several people died and record arrests were made, as police struggled to control the loonies who were causing such destruction on our country. The riots disgusted many and brought shame on a worldwide scale. The cost is still being felt now.

One of the greatest geniuses died in October, as founder and visionary of Apple, Steve Jobs lost his battle against pancreatic cancer. The world also said goodbye to singer Amy Winehouse, found dead in her London apartment in July. Elizabeth Taylor, the renowned actress passed away from ill health in March, as did Coronation Street icon Betty Driver in October. Sport also lost three heroes in Wales’s football manager Gary Speed, who took his own life, former heavyweight world champion Joe Frazier to cancer and double Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon, killed in a horrific 15 car pile-up at the IndyCar season finale in Las Vegas.

2011 has been a year full of revelations, rebellion and change. It has brought some cheer, some justice but also, a lot of devastation and uncertainly. That was 2011….in news.

Christmas TV highlights

2011-12-16T20:58:00.001+00:00

CHRISTMAS provides us with many pleasing and delightful aspects. There is spending time with your loved ones, that delicious dinner on Christmas Day and the countless amount of chocolate that needs to be munched. Another highlight of the next fortnight is the Christmas TV. Here is a preview of some of the festival treats on offer on the box.

In soapland, EastEnders has had the top billing for a number of years and their main storyline features the destruction of the Masood family. Evil doctor Yusef has managed to split Zainab and Masood up and weasel his way in Zainab’s affections. This Christmas, it all explodes quite literally and not everyone will survive. I can reveal of a fire at the B&B on Boxing Day, but is this part of Yusef’s revenge plot or the culmination of another storyline. Elsewhere on the Square, little Tommy Moon has his first birthday, but Kat and Alfie’s turbulent marriage hits a crisis point. Will a camera recorder spell the end of another Walford marriage? Also, Bianca is released from prison, but a happy Christmas for the Butcher’s looks highly unlikely, especially as Pat’s financial issues become public knowledge. Worse is to come for the Square’s matriarch, as her health takes a turn for the worse. Actress Pam St. Clement is leaving the show, but I’m keeping tight lipped on how she will be departing.

Another major character is leaving the soaps over the festive period and that is Becky McDonald in Coronation Street. Depressed at seeing her former husband Steve and her nemesis Tracy Barlow have a family Christmas; she sets fire accidentally to her flat. Can Nick Tilsley make it in time to drag the fiery Becky out of the fire? Peter Barlow might have just started a sizzling affair with Carla Connor, but when he misplaces a Christmas present in the back of a taxi, Rovers bar manager, Stella Price becomes nosey and her reaction to Leanne’s Christmas present that she receives from her cheating hubby suggests that Peter must watch his back. Also, Sophie Webster is set to tie the knot with Sian Powers, but she seems to be struggling to cope with last-minute nerves and growing feelings towards Amber. Will the wedding go ahead? In Emmerdale, goodwill will not be in play between Debbie and Alicia. Christmas dinner or should I say, Alicia’s dinner ends up being poured over her head by Debbie. Then, she has another plan to help conceive a baby with Andy, in the efforts to save Sarah, but how their partners react to her desperate plan. Also, factory owner Jai is arrested for the attack on Cain Dingle a couple of weeks ago. Have the police got their man, or is Cain just out for revenge? Plus, Laurel and Ashley get prepared to renew their wedding vows, but Laurel is another woman with second thoughts and can dishy chef Marlon stop her making a terrible mistake. Doctors, Home and Away and Neighbours all disappear on lengthy Christmas breaks, but in Hollyoaks, Brendan Brady and Warren Fox’s bitter confrontation for villain of the year in Chester reaches new heights. Brendan has a gun pulled on him, is he doomed to end the year in a coffin?

HEAD-TO-HEAD: EastEnders v Downton Abbey on Christmas Day

Taking on EastEnders head-to-head on Christmas Day will be the award-winning Downton Abbey. Nigel Havers, Brendan Coyle and Hugh Bonneville take guest roles in this special episode, which will bring a rollercoaster full of emotions and a mixture of cheer and sadness in Lord Grantham’s country house? On the same day, Matt Smith stars in the seasonal Doctor Who Christmas special. Alexander Armstrong plays a guest role this year and we’ve been promised a story that will show a different side to the Doctor. Other leading dramas see the star of Lewis, Laurence Fox take a lead performance in Fast Freddie, The Widow and Me where he and his wife attempt to bring some much needed cheer to a terminally ill child.

The final of Strictly Come Dancing is tomorrow evening and on Christmas Day, there will be the regular Christmas special for charity. This year, EastEnders wicked woman Charlie Brooks, former Blue boyband member Simon Webbe and boxer Barry McGuigan compete in the dance-off. As Bruce and Tess would say, keep dancing! Chris Tarrant presents another edition of celebrity Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, while Jimmy Carr and guests including Jonathan Ross, Alan Carr and Miranda Hart compete for a lighter look at 2011 in The Big Fat Quiz of the Year. Then there’s Ant and Dec and let’s be honest, a Christmas without them would be as dull as dishwater! They pick up where Phillip Schofield and Christine Bleakley by hosting the second edition of Text Santa, where the winners at the end of a fabulous night of entertainment and surprises, will be charities. Schofield’s acclaimed show The Cube has a couple of Coronation Street stars attempt to become the first people to beat The Cube and there’s also a Benidorm v The Only Way is Essex Family Fortunes Christmas Special.

Other shows to watch out for in Christmas are a lookback at the news from the year in Mark Austin’s That Was 2011. Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates will provide the music entertainment on Christmas Day with a special edition of Top of the Pops. In sport, Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea and Liverpool v Newcastle United look like the pick of the Premiership festive football action live on Sky Sports. Also, can Kauto Star produce one final piece of magic on Channel 4 with the King George VI at Kempton and stop Long Run’s recent dominance of jump racing. Lastly, Noel Edmonds will present daily editions of Deal or No Deal, which takes a panto feel to this Christmas. However, don’t expect any festive celebrations from the banker.

So there you go, that is your Christmas TV sorted….

Advert of the year 2011

2011-12-15T18:24:00.000+00:00

SOMETIMES, the adverts are the most annoying part of a commercial TV show, especially during a tense gameshow or dramatic soap episode. Normally, these three minute interludes are the perfect excuse to use the toilet, put the kettle on, text someone important on your phone and so on. However, sometimes adverts, despite being at times, completely pointless, can have you in stitches or even leave you feeling emotional. Here are my favourite 20 adverts of 2011;

20 Virgin Atlantic – Star Role

Virgin Atlantic's advert isn't quite as good as BA, but they needed to try something if they want to keep getting customers interested in their flights. This is called 'living the high life.' It works for me!

19 BMW – 6 Series

This advert is really uplifting and uptempo, promoting the 6 Series model from BMW, with catchy music and dynamic water fountains, alongside the stylish machinery. It does what the advert says, promotes the joy of driving.

18 Lynx – Perspiration

As men, we all want to have fun and get the most attractive girl possible and when it gets in the way, it really does get in the way. Like Suremen Xtra Cool, I'm not entirely sure about how or if it would work, but I guess I've never been in that position before.

17 Santander – Lego Car

Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton help their dedicated workers build a lego version of a Formula One McLaren in this advert. Ignore the announcer's promotion of its banking deals, appreciate the art in 60 seconds.

16 Suremen Xtra Cool – Ice Skater

I'm not 100 per cent convinced by the product, but it is a catchy way to promote it, by having an individual go through a day on his ice skates. It certainly would go with the current type of weather we are experiencing in the UK!

15 Direct Line – Free Cake!

Comedians Chris Addison and Alexander Armstrong's first entry is where a pitch needs reworking for Direct Line's car insurance. So, what better to do that than by promoting free cake to your customers, even if the salesman doesn't know anything about this incentive!

14 Boots - Soltan

When I first saw this, it had me in stitches and I certainly don't want to look like this in future! That is all!

13 Fiat – Fernando Alonso

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso has a busy and very social lifestyle, as indicated in this commercial. Someone doesn't know how to take it easy, but then again, life would be boring if it was too easy.

12 Halfords – Crocodile

Easter's promotion at Halfords was to release a crocodile into a family home and force them into the car and off to take advantage of their 'stunning' deals. Let's be honest, it's not everyday that you get a crocodile in your home!

11 Skoda – Made of Sterner Stuff

Skoda's famous cake car advert is replaced by a meaner version in 2011 of how to put a car together! Obviously, the makers didn't want the company to have a soft feel to this advert and it had to be made of sterner stuff. It's not a favourite of mine, but even still, would draw the attention of the normal individual.

10 Cravendale – Cats!

To many of us, cats are seen as lovely pets to have, even if they can do their business in the most inappropriate places! This commercial sees the cat show their frustration at not getting the milk they crave for. As the narrator says; 'Jog on Kittens!'

9 Specsavers – Space Shuttle

'Should have gone to Specsavers!' Well, Luton Airport will never get a Space Shuttle land on their airport runway anymore. Maybe these astronauts don't realise that having vision is an important part of our lives.

8 British Airways – To Fly, To Serve!

British Airways have had mixed fortunes in recent years, but have a distinguished history, which is reminded in this advert through the ages. It provides us with a memory of flying with privilege with the world's favourite airline.

7 Vauxhall – Supporting a Nation

British manufacturer Vauxhall began sponsoring Home Nations football in February and promoted their commitment to the England team, with this advert which has the nation lining up everywhere, with pride and tradition. Features England players, both old and new and ends in Wembley Stadium. Throw in Noel Gallagher's new song with his new band, and it makes it a memorable advert.

6 Argos – Christmas 2011 (Aliens)

Panic buying is at the top of many people's stresses around this time of year. It could be so much easier if you reserved and collected your xmas shopping, especially when Argos and the aliens come into the equation. Apparently, it's just as popular as Justin Bieber, but I'm not surprised by this!

5 Direct Line – Hoax!

Comedians Alexander Armstrong and Chris Addison make the list for a second time, with this advert in the mini Direct Line series. This time, the customer produces a publicity stunt which goes horribly wrong and to the salesman's annoyance, brings the police in! Until now, car insurance adverts were boring, so thank you Direct Line for bringing these two funnybones together!

4 Muller Yoghurt – Wonderful Stuff

When I first saw this advert, I wasn't gripped by it, but it is actually catchy and I don't even like yoghurt! As we all know, Muller is clearly made of Wonderful Stuff.

3 Pepsi Max – Business Meeting

Pepsi Max have a history of producing commercials that are totally ridiculous. However, these made me laugh. 'What the heck is that parrot doing here?' Let's be honest, drinking Pepsi Max and watching the racing is a million times better than a tedious Friday afternoon business meeting.

2 Carling – Refreshed

A long day at work, yep we all know the feeling! So, what's the best feeling to become totally refreshed, well it's simple. Has to be over a pint of Carling according to the makers. It's not a bad vision, I must admit.

1 John Lewis – Christmas 2011

This is my advert of the year and such a touching and memorable commerical too. It is one of the best ever Christmas adverts I've ever seen. A young child is waiting for the big day to arrive, but it isn't to receive gifts, but to give one to his parents. His anguish in the slow countdown is clear to see and it reminds us that Christmas is totally more than receiving presents. A masterpiece of an advert if there ever was one.

The X-Factor Final 2011 - Little Mix create history

2011-12-13T11:04:00.000+00:00

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

THOUSANDS had applied and now just two acts remained. Following Amelia Lily’s departure at the end of Saturday’s show, just two now were left to fight it out. Marcus Collins and Little Mix would compete over two hours on Sunday night to decide who would win The X-Factor 2011. They were ready, the audience was ready, the judges were ready and Britain was ready to meet its next big popstar.

Before the serious business began, there was once again time to enjoy a performance from the eliminated contestants (minus Frankie for obvious reasons.) In his place, there was a cameo appearance by Goldie Cheung; the act that Louis Walsh had initially sent through to the live finals, but declined to participate.

Turning back the clock to the past

Each act had three songs to win The X-Factor 2011. In their first performance of the night, both of them performed a song from a past live show and they both opted to reprise their numbers from Movie Night (Week 7 of the competition, to you and me.)

GALLANT: Marcus was a creditable runner-up

First Marcus performed ‘Higher and higher,’ bringing back the gospel choir he used to great effect back then. Just like the previous night, he had opened this leg of the final in sensational style. Then Little Mix jumped onto stage to perform ‘Don’t Let Go.’ The song once again showed their unique abilities of being a group with either no lead singer or someone who gets the majority of the lyrics. They all get their fair share and that’s why the public love them.

Giving Seasons Greetings

The X-Factor wouldn’t be the same without some Christmas cheer, something it has ignored in the last two series finals. So it was nice to see it reinstated for 2011. Marcus first gave a performance of Wham’s ‘Last Christmas.’ It was a song that was sort of lukewarm but the judges didn’t care, it was the final after all and it was all about standing out from the crowd for them.

Little Mix then next performed ‘Silent Night.’ This was them at their best, a song which just focused on their amazing voices that have grown throughout the competition. With every performance that goes by, the belief that this could be the year of the Groups was growing. All that Tulisa could do, as she had been doing throughout, was to make a loud plea for people to vote for them and that was an X-Factor political broadcast by “Tulisa’s Little Muffins” Party!

As the acts went backstage to prepare for their final and most crucial performance of the evening, it was time to look back at a series full of highs and lows. Westlife, who have just announced they are splitting up, performed an acclaimed rendition of ‘What About Now,’ with a montage of series highlights being shown on the big screen behind them.

Just one more chance left

So it had all come down to this. One song now stood between Marcus and Little Mix from victory – the winner’s single. Reverting back to old rules, both finalists ad recorded versions of the Damien Rice ballad ‘Cannonball’ but with one difference, both acts had recorded it in their own style and how they saw it fit. Unfortunately, both performances would be overshadowed by what is the worst ever X-Factor winner’s single!

Marcus went for a mixture of high notes and up-tempo base for his performance. Although many might have predicted it would suit him more, it didn’t quite turn out the way many expected but what couldn’t be taken away was the power and soul put into it and it even had Gary Barlow shedding a tear or two.

Little Mix opted for the more traditional route of keeping the song as a ballad throughout its entirety. They put plenty of dedication, emotion and other all sorts of dimensions into it. It sounded like they been in the music industry for years.

ELECTRIC: Coldplay put on a stunning performance

A long wait would now have to be endured as it was time for another X- actor first. This group had declined from appearing on the show, until now. The biggest band in the world, Coldplay performed two songs from their recent new album, ‘Charlie Brown’ and ‘Paradise.’ The Wembley Arena crowd was transformed into a sea of glow lights for the performance and the group worked so hard that lead singer Chris Martin was left sweating like a pig after their performance.

An emotional and fairytale climax to an incredible weekend

Now came the moment Britain had been waiting. Could Marcus make it four wins for the Boys in five years? Or would Little Mix claim a long overdue triumph for the Groups? In what was the closest X-Factor final ever, with just five per cent of the votes separating the two acts, and the standard long pause, the nation decided that the winner of The X Factor 2011 would be

…LITTLE MIX!

After eight long years, the group’s category had finally hit the jackpot! In the past, the likes of G4, Same Difference, JLS and One Direction had tried and failed to win the final. Now Little Mix had well and truly showed them all up.

The girls were undoubtedly overcome with emotion over the announcement; tears’ streaming down their faces and even their mentor Tulisa cracked and was a sobbing wreck too. Throughout all they had been through, the public saw faith in them and they had well and truly beaten the odds. Marcus was left to just offer his congratulations but again, he will surely be on his way to a bright future.

That just left Little Mix enough time to wipe away their tears and perform their debut single before being enveloped into a massive group hug by all of the finalists. The race will now be on to get the single to Christmas Number One, but with that contest being taken place over two weeks this year and with a strong challenge from the ‘Military Wives’ charity single, it isn’t going to be easy. However, they will surely be virtually guaranteed number one in next Sunday’s chart beforehand.

Series eight in a nutshell

It’s fair to say this year’s series of The X-Factor has had its ups and downs. It started off so well in the early stages with rave reviews from critics over the new judging panel. Once the live shows started, it descended into chaos, which put a bit of a damp squib on the competition because, at least in my opinion, the talent was much better than in previous years.

When Strictly Come Dancing started in October, the expected ratings switchover happened and The X-Factor struggled to maintain its grip with Strictly’s approach to hit the show where it really hurt. Even the first night of the final on Saturday was outfoxed by Strictly’s semi-final and on Sunday, the peak audience was just over 15 million. As anticipated, this was the most watched show on the box on Sunday but still a massive four million down on last year’s finale and the overall series ratings were below both 2010 and 2009.

As for “The Next Generation” judging panel, Gary Barlow was a creditable addition and delivered his promise to be fair and brutally honest in his role. When Tulisa was appointed, I didn’t have any high hopes, but she has actually turned out so great in her role and my opinions on her have changed. The least said about Louis Walsh, the better, and Kelly Rowland was strongly opinionated and honest in her feedback but looked out of her depth in the UK. I wouldn’t be too surprised if at least one of these judges gets their P45 orders before next year however, with Nicole Scherzinger potentially switching from the US version to the UK edition next year.

Congratulations to Little Mix: X-Factor Winners 2011

Lastly, congratulations to Little Mix for a well deserved victory. Now will they turn out to be successful – the answer won’t be revealed until next autumn but with acts like Shayne Ward, Leon Jackson and Joe McElderry having failed to build on their success, and with last year’s champion Matt Cardle seemingly going the same way, there will be huge pressure on them to deliver. However, we should leave this until when that moment comes and celebrate on the foursome becoming the first group ever to win the competition. The countdown now begins again to summer 2012 for when the search resumes for the class of series nine.

It may have not been a vintage series but The X-Factor 2011 certainly got a happy and fairytale ending.

The X-Factor Final 2011 - Amelia departs in stage one

2011-12-13T10:34:00.000+00:00

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

THOUSANDS had fallen by the wayside and now just three acts remained. This weekend, Little Mix, Marcus Collins and Amelia Lily competed in the 2011 X-Factor final, infront of 10,000 fans live at Wembley Arena.

After the casual, but always cringe worthy scene entrance of Dermot O’Leary, the three finalists kicked off with a group performance of Take That’s ‘Greatest Day.’ Then it was onto the real matter of impressing the public. Each act had two songs to perform on the first night of the final and the act that finished bottom of the public vote would be eliminated.

Making a lasting impression

For their first performance of the night, each act was given a song they had never previously performed before in the competition. With Wembley Arena’s bigger stage capacity, each act had the opportunity to add an extra dimension into their first song. First was Marcus, who performed Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya!’ to the backdrop of a prop plane. To say it was amazing was a bit of an understatement as he tore the roof of the building (not literally) with his cool, calm and collected approach to the song.

So, how could Little Mix match or even beat the stage display from Marcus? Simple, arrive on stage, riding four Harley Davidson bikes before blasting into a rendition of Florence + the Machine’s ‘You Got the Love.’ They have been without question the revelation of this competition, not only having ripped up the form book of girl groups on the show but shredding and burning it. The question was now, could the public believe that they really could go all the way?

Finally it was the turn of Amelia. Kelly Rowland decided to take gamble in not using extra displays, deciding just to concentrate on her performance ability. Though that might have sounded a big disadvantage, her version of ‘Ain’t No Other Man’ by Christina Aguilera was at the same level as all of her performances since her whirlwind return.

The bond between acts and mentors exposed

As with finals in the past, each act would next perform a song with a special guest. This is X-Factor though and with the new venue destination in mind, the stakes were raised massively. So for the first time in the show’s history, each act was tasked to perform with their mentors. It was a chance to see whether they really had either bonded together throughout the competition or were at each other’s throats.

First, Marcus and Gary Barlow performed Billy Joel’s classic ‘She’s Always a Woman.’ Collins announced previously he would be dedicating his performance to his mother and both he and Barlow made the song into their own unique way.

UNISON: Tulisa was like a fifth member of Little Mix in the duet round

Next, it was time for Tulisa and Little Mix (or ‘Little Muffins’ as Tulisa has been referring them to as throughout much of the competition) to give a medley of the Alicia Keys songs ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ and ‘Empire State of Mind.’ This performance perhaps gave no question that this is the best partnership between act and mentor in the competition. At times, it felt like Tulisa had become the fifth member of the group.

Then Amelia and Kelly joined forces to perform Tina Turner’s ‘River Deep, Mountain High.’ As much as Amelia gave it her best as she has with any other song in this competition, the overall level performance lacked the passion and dedication that was required at this point in the final.

Only the public now could decide whether the acts had done enough to win a place in Sunday night’s decider.

The full time whistle goes for Amelia Lily…again!

The finalists weren’t of course, the only ones to take to the Wembley stage as The X-Factor promised that the final would be littered with guest stars. On Saturday, the fans were treated a special “super group” performance by JLS and One Direction, as well as cameo appearances from Leona Lewis and Michael Buble.

Finally, the voting lines were frozen and the results of the first stage of the final were in. Little Mix continued their incredible run by reaching the final two and despite going in as the underdog; Marcus’ performances were enough to sway the public vote in his favour of going through.

DIGNITY: Amelia was eliminated on Saturday, but achieved her target

It meant Amelia had to deal with the prospect of elimination for the second time. However, unlike nine weeks ago, when she refused to accept what had happened, this time she was extremely gracious in defeat. She said that her ambition was only to reach the final and she achieved it with flying colours. Afterwards, she vowed that this would not be the last of her and for 17 years of age, she has an incredible voice.

ECSTATIC: Marcus and Little Mix celebrate their progress on Saturday

So as Amelia departed, the dream was now just beginning for both Marcus and Little Mix. They would be back in the second stage of final on Sunday where one would win and have their lives change forever. The Great British public now had 24 hours to deliver their verdict…

TO BE CONTINUED…

My favourite music in 2011

2011-12-12T18:35:00.000+00:00

2011 has been another sensational year in music and this is my top ten selection of the best hits of 2011! Apologises if your favourite is not here, these are my personal favourite choices. Enjoy listening!

1. Try With Me - Nicole Scherzinger

2. Goodbye Kiss - Kasabian

3. Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 (ft Christina Aguilera)

4. Price Tag - Jessie J (ft B.o.B)

5. AKA....What A Life - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

6. Don't Hold Your Breath - Nicole Scherzinger

7. What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction

8. World In Union - Hayley Westenra

9. Who's Laughing Now - Jessie J

10. Paradise - Coldplay

Famous faces no longer with us in 2011. . .

2011-12-09T20:43:00.000+00:00

ONE month to go until the start of a new year, but whilst a load of us our getting ready to celebrate the Christmas cheer, some famous faces are no longer with us. Here is my tribute to some of those who sadly will not be around during the festive season. . .

Gary Mason (British boxer) Died on 6 January, aged 48

Gary Mason was the British heavyweight champion in 1989 and one lost once, to Lennox Lewis in 38 professional fights. He was part of a golden generation of British boxers around in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He sadly was involved in a cycling collision with a van in South London on January 6, aged just 48 years of age.

Nat Lofthouse (Footballer) Died on 15 January, aged 85

One of Bolton Wanderers greatest ever players passed away in January, Nat Lofthouse. He won 33 England caps between 1950 and 1958, scoring 30 goals and playing in the 1950 World Cup. For club, he scored a staggering 255 goals for Bolton, captaining the team to success in the 1958 FA Cup final against Manchester United.

Elizabeth Taylor (Movie actress) Died on 23 March, aged 79

It was a glittering movie career that made Elizabeth Taylor a star on the big screen. She died from heart failure after a short illness in March. Elizabeth won two Oscars for Best Actress and played a leading role in ‘Cleopatra,’ ‘Father of the Bride,’ and ‘Lassie Come Home,’ amongst other movies. Her private life was also well documented; marrying eight times to seven separate husbands, but it is the movie memories that will remain with many.

Seve Ballesteros (European Golfer) Died on 7 May, aged 54

The game of golf was left rocked by the death of one of its most charismatic competitors in Seve Ballesteros. Seve had a lengthy battle against illness over the past three years, but like all the time on the golf course, he took the battle to the bitter end. Sadly, the brain cancer he had been diagnosed with was terminal. He won the Open championship three times, was successful twice at the US Masters and captained Europe to Ryder Cup glory in his native homeland in 1997. There is no doubt that he was a legend in golf and will always be one of the greats of the game.

Roy Skelton (Actor) Died on 8 June, aged 79

The name doesn’t stand out in the acting world, but Roy Skelton’s voice certainly did. He had a showbiz career that spanned 53 years, with his last in February 2008, voicing two characters in the first episode of BBC series Ashes to Ashes. Roy’s impact on television was as providing the voices of Zippy and George on the kids programme Rainbow from the early 1970s until 1992. He passed away quietly in his home after suffering a stroke.

Betty Ford (First Lady) Died on 8 July, aged 93

Betty Ford was the first lady when Gerald Ford was president of the United States between 1973 and 1976. She was a passionate individual, who devoted her time to raising awareness to issues such as abortion, equal pay and feminism. She won the Congressional Gold Medal in 1998 for her hard work and became co-founder of the Betty Ford Centre in California in 1982, holding the role as president for 23 years. Ill health in later years sadly took its toll on Betty, but she brought the role of being the president’s wife into prominence throughout the 1970s.

Amy Winehouse (Singer) Died on 23 July, aged 27

The media has had plenty of field days in recent years, documenting the private life of Amy Winehouse all over the tabloid newspapers. However, she did have a powerful and passionate voice, as was proven by hit songs such as ‘Rehab.’ She was found dead in her London flat in July, aged just 27 years old.

Janey Cutler (Singer) Died on 24 August, aged 82

Janey Cutler is another face whose career got a revelation in her later years of life. She was one of the stars of the 2010 series of ITV’s summer reality hit, Britain’s Got Talent. Despite some concern over her health, Janey finished a creditable ninth in the final, won by gymnast act Spelbound. She then went on to perform on the BGT live tour and got to achieve her dream of singing infront of millions.

Ginger McCain (Horse Racing trainer) Died on 19 September, aged 80

Aintree will be missing something next year and that will be Ginger McCain’s presence. Ginger lost his battle with cancer in September, just two days before his 81^st birthday. He is one of the most successful trainers of all-time in horse racing and despite never winning at Cheltenham, formed a formidable partnership with Red Rum, as the greatest horse to have ever lived won three Grand Nationals in 1973, 1974 and 1977. He took a fourth triumph with Amberleigh House in 2004 and this year, the dynasty continued in the McCain family, as his son trained Ballabriggs to glory in 2011.

Steve Jobs (Founder of Apple) Died on 5 October, aged 56

The world lost a genius in early October, when the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs passed away after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. Jobs was responsible for reviving Apple’s fortunes and spearheaded major technological change, such as the iPad, iPhone and iPod. Apple will move on and continue, but the world will struggle to find another technological genius.

Dan Wheldon (Double Indy 500 winner) Died on 16 October, aged 33

Two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon was tragically killed in a massive 15-car pile-up during the IndyCar season finale in Las Vegas. He was only competing as part of an incentive set by organisers to pass every car in the field and win a massive jackpot prize. Having struggled to find a breakthrough in Europe, Dan moved to America in 1999 and had great success, winning the IndyCar title in 2005 and the prestigious Indy 500 race twice, most recently back in May. He leaves behind a great legacy for both American and British motorsport.

Marco Simoncelli (MotoGP rider) Died on 23 October, aged 23

Marco Simoncelli had everything going for him as a MotoGP star of the future. He had taken one pole position and two podiums this season for the Gresini Honda team and his flair and style on the bike meant life was never dull when Simoncelli was around. He was killed at the penultimate event of the season in Malaysia, when he crashed and was struck by two fellow competitors. The MotoGP paddock will be a poorer place next season without Simoncelli around.

Sir Jimmy Saville (DJ & Actor) Died on 29 October, aged 84

Television presenter, media personality and a massive fundraiser for many charities, Sir Jimmy Saville will be best known for being a long-standing host on Top of the Pops and for his own BBC television show Jim’ll Fix It. He had been recently treated in hospital for pneumonia before his death. Sir Jimmy though has left plenty of catchphrases and moments that people will never forget.

Joe Frazier (Former Heavyweight Boxing Champion) Died on 7 November, aged 67

Liver cancer may have claimed the life of Joe Frazier, but the memories will always remain of a glittering boxing career. He won 27 fights in his career, only being beaten by two of the greats, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman along the way. Joe was a true fighter to the end.

Gary Speed (Welsh football manager) Died on 27 November, aged 42

Gary Speed had a great football career and had a potential brilliant career as a manager ahead of him. He was transforming the fortunes around of the Welsh national team and is still the leading outfield Welsh player to win international caps. He played for Leeds United, Everton and Newcastle United amongst other clubs, winning the First Division championship in 1992. Gary was found hanged in his home, just 24 hours after a positive appearance on the BBC’s Football Focus show.

The X-Factor 2011 - The race to get to Wembley

2011-12-07T20:13:00.000+00:00

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

ONLY two performances stood between the remaining four acts and place in X-Factor’s biggest final yet at Wembley Arena. With only the public getting the say last week, it was going to be a tense weekend for the semi-finalists, as they sang their hearts out to convince that they should be on the big stage infront of thousands of people.

In this year’s semi-final, each act performed a Motown classic and a song that they believed would be enough to see them get to the final.

Misha B – A true survivor

On the public vote alone, Misha has been very lucky to still be in the competition. No act has ever reached the semi-final through three Final Showdown wins during their time. What can’t be mistaken though is that Misha is the real deal, the voice, the personality, you name it. Her motown song ‘Dancing In The Street’ had everything about her talent crammed into it and her second performance, ‘Perfect,’ showed off why many have rated her as having the best voice in the competition. Having had to sing for survival three times, the chances of her winning the competition, as mentioned by Gary Barlow, were slim to nil. However, she has been a true survivor and in these shows, anything is possible.

Amelia Lily – The real comeback girl

COMEBACK: Amelia has become a serious threat in the latter stages

Three weeks ago, Amelia Lily was at home in Middlesbrough, perhaps reflecting on her shattered dreams of being a superstar. Then when a certain karaoke act from Brighton got kicked off for breaking a ‘golden rule,’ the public seized their opportunity and gave her a second chance. She has taken that lifeline and changed the course of the competition. Her performances of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ and ‘I’m With You’ once again showcased Amelia at the highest level possible. The chances of Amelia being here on this night were never imagined early on, let alone the final and her return to the competition have resulted in the others having to work harder and prove that they should be ahead of her.

Little Mix – Truly living their dream

When the live shows began, Little Mix were the odds-on favourites for the chop. Now, having broken the girl group jinx, they are the first girl group to reach the semi-finals. A sudden surge of popularity has put them as bookmaker’s favourites to win outright so for the girls, it was a case of no pressure on the night. Unfortunately, the pressure did get to them and their first song, ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’ was uninspiring and then they failed to better it with ‘If I Were a Boy.’ Both Louis Walsh and Gary Barlow were unimpressed with the group’s performances and it, of course, led to Tulisa to making a passionate plea for everyone to vote for them. She was lucky to escape receiving a bill for damaging the judge’s desk. Certainly, on a night like this, Little Mix needed all of their supporters now.

Marcus Collins – Impressing with all his abilities

There has been no other act that can handle the pressure of performing an upbeat classic than Marcus. The order for him was the same as pretty much every single week in this competition; another two songs with an up-tempo theme to prove that he is, as Gary Barlow has been marketing him, the most versatile act in the show. In his first performance, ‘My Girl,’ certainly worked out for him, as did ‘Can You Feel It.’ Louis believed it was the wrong song choice for him, but this is what Marcus is all about and if that was the song that both he and Gary felt was enough get him to the final, then they certainly were both doing the job right.

Meet the finalists…

This time, unlike last year, ITV kept their promise. No surprise unannounced involvements from the judges, the three finalists were decided purely on the public vote. After an agonising 24 hour wait, the acts were now about to hear the verdict from the nation.

FAREWELL: Despite her talent, Misha struggled to win support

Screams and tears of delight were heard when Little Mix, after a disastrous semi-final round, made to the final. Their faithful had responded just when it was needed the most. Marcus was perhaps the only one of the acts that believed he could go through, so both he and Gary were ecstatic when he did. That left Kelly Rowland’s two girls in the firing line Amelia Lily and Misha B. One would be given a ticket for the Wembley final and the other would be crashing out at the worst possible stage.

Finally, the girls were put out of their misery and it was, as widely predicted, a visibly stunned Amelia was the last act to get to the final. So after three fights for survival, sadly this time there was no comeback for Misha. She certainly didn’t go out quietly, closing Sunday’s show with an amazing rendition of ‘Who You Are’ as the judges gave her a standing ovation. Misha will surely bag herself a recording deal from here on in and if anyone doesn’t feel that way then they don’t know what being a popstar really is.

CHOSEN: It is Amelia v Little Mix v Marcus this weekend

So having beaten off thousands of competitors, just three acts are now standing. Teeside student Amelia Lily, Liverpool hairdresser Marcus Collins and girl group Little Mix. Next week, one will win The X-Factor 2011 and a “life-changing” recording contract in front of a 10,000 strong audience. This series might have not proven as popular for well-documented reasons but surely next weekend’s finale has to be a ratings winner. If it isn’t then something is seriously wrong!

A brutal battle remembered....

2011-12-04T18:51:00.000+00:00

IT HAS gone down as one of the most brutal and sensational boxing bouts ever, but the fight for the title would soon be forgotten, by its tragic aftermath. 16 years on, a documentary to be screened on ITV tomorrow evening will look back at the consequences of this fight, the memories of it and the everyday struggle that Gerald McClellan has in his life.

On Saturday February 25, 1995, McClellan fought Nigel Benn for the title of WBC Super Middleweight champion. Benn, known in his boxing days as ‘The Dark Destroyer,’ was part of a fine crop of British boxers in the mid 90s, which included Steve Collins, Chris Eubank and of course, the great Frank Bruno. McClellan, from Illinois in America was already the WBC middleweight champion and was moving up in weight level to challenge Benn for his bout. Up to this point, he had only lost twice in his career. Experts in America gave Benn little hope of overcoming McClellan, whilst Nigel was dependent on the partisan crowd in Docklands, London giving him the extra incentive he needed. Over 10,000 people attended the fight and an estimated 17 million people tuned into ITV for Big Fight Live. This was to be a fight that no-one would forget, but the aftermath would completely overshadow the excitement of the contest.

McClellan started strongly, seemingly wanting to finish things early. He knocked Benn through the ropes within 35 seconds of the first round; Benn hit the television monitors and he almost needed a push from ITV boxing reporter Gary Newbon to help him recover and get back into the ring. Somehow, he was given a slow count and allowed to continue in the fight. In an interview with ITV in 2007, Benn recalls this moment; “I remember him hitting me, I went back and then he punched me again. I felt my ligaments and my neck stretching out of the ring.”

As the bout continued, the sparring got more explosive. Both boxers were pounding each other in dramatic fashion, in a battle that was turning into an all-time classic. Having recovered his momentum, Benn was fighting back, but McClellan responded and knocked his competitor down in the eighth round. Surely, it was all over, but inside the minds of both, they were seriously struggling. Nigel recounts this and wasn’t prepared to quit; “Even when he put me down in the eighth, I still had to win. For the life I wanted to have, I had to win to secure my family’s life.”

McClellan had never been past the eighth round in a fight before and was starting to look more exhausted every time he returned to his corner. At the start of the tenth, Benn knocked him down rather tamely. McClellan looked dazed and was shaking his head. The referee counted him out. At the time of the stoppage, two of the point’s judges had McClellan infront, the other a draw. On the other side of the ring, Benn celebrated his triumph, as did the entire arena rooting for the Brit. McClellan slowly got up to his feet, looking in severe trouble. Benn was ecstatic but also looked rather animated. As Newbon went to interview the winner, Nigel started ranting live on TV, he did look seriously wound up, the adrenaline still burning after his victory. Out of the corner of his eye, Newbon could spot that McClellan had slipped off his stool and was losing consciousness. With the end of their programme looming, Newbon quickly tried to wrap his interview up and hand back to Jim Rosenthal, saying “We’re going to wrap this interview up because we’ve got a serious problem here with Gerald McClellan.”

Gerald McClellan had collapsed in his corner and lost consciousness. A stretcher came into the ring and he was rushed to hospital where it was discovered that he had developed a blood clot on his brain. He remained in a coma for 11 days, requiring emergency surgery to even survive. It was a devastating end to a gripping contest.

Today, Gerald McClellan uses a wheelchair to get around, although unlike another boxer who got seriously injured in the ring, Michael Watson in 1991, he still has some movement in his legs. He is completely blind and lost around 80 per cent of his hearing. His three sisters take care of him. Nigel Benn was never the same fighter after this bout and lost his title in March 1996. Two weak defeats to Steve Collins the following year prompted his retirement from the ring. He now lives in Majorca with his family, with religion taking a strong place in his heart once his boxing career finished.

In February 2007, Nigel Benn met Gerald McClellan for the first time since their fight in 1995. It was an emotional moment for Nigel, as he organised and hosted a benefit dinner at the Grosvenor Hotel in London to help with McClellan’s ongoing medical expenses. A total of $175,000 was raised on the night as several pieces of memorabilia were auctioned off. Astronomical medical bills mean that all of McClellan’s earnings as a professional boxer have gone and his family rely on donations through the Gerald McClellan Trust to help with paying for his medical bills. The address to donate is below;

Gerald McClellan Trust

C/O Fifth Third Bank

PO Box 120

Freeport, IL 61032

Sport is always competitive and always has been. Sometimes, people will do anything to win, even if it against the rules. However, there are occasions where battles sadly end in tragic circumstances. Gerald McClellan should always be remembered as a talented prospect whose career ended in such a sad and unfair way. Even now, sixteen years on – seasoned boxing experts will never forget this fight, or Gerald McClellan’s legacy on boxing and his battle to see him in the best care possible today.

F1 2011 review - Sebastian's perfect season

2011-12-01T12:42:00.000+00:00

THE 2010 Formula One season has gone down as one of the most special seasons ever and it ended with the youngest ever world champion. Just what would 2011 deliver? The new season began with new regulations, such as the introduction of DRS which was brought in to make overtaking more possible in races. KERS made a return after its 2009 failure and Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli returned to the sport as the sole tyre supplier after a 20-year absence. Uprisings in the Arab world forced the postponement and eventual cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix, so once again, the championship would begin in Melbourne.

From the moment he arrived at the Australian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel set a benchmark which no-one could live with. He was untouchable at Albert Park, controlling qualifying and dominating the race to win the first event. It was Red Bull’s first Australian victory and a sign of things to come. McLaren arrived with a car that looked miles off the pace from their winter testing figures. They were the surprise of the first race, as Lewis Hamilton produced a fighting performance to come home second, underlining the team’s hard work. Team-mate Jenson Button had a fierce dice with Felipe Massa in the early stages of the race and got a drive-through penalty for cutting a corner and gaining an advantage on the Brazilian. It left Button down in sixth by the finish. Vitaly Petrov drove stunningly to register his first ever podium finish for Renault, a brilliant boost for the team deprived of Robert Kubica’s services this season after the Pole sustained serious injuries in a pre-season rally accident. Both Sauber’s were disqualified for technical infringements which robbed Sergio Perez of points on his F1 debut, but it did allow Scottish rookie Paul di Resta to get a point in his first race.

Vettel started how it meant to go by winning the first two events

In the heat of Malaysia, a Red Bull weakness was identified. The tight packaging of their chassis meant they were struggling to keep KERS reliable. However, this didn’t stop Vettel who was in a class of his own again, looking after his tyres and an intermittent KERS issue and claimed his fifth victory in the last six events altogether. Button launched his championship assault with a brilliant second place and Kubica’s stand-in at Renault, Nick Heidfeld was an outstanding third, benefiting from a flying start that had him second into the first corner. Talking of flying, his team-mate Petrov took to the air in a spectacular exit from the race with three laps remaining. Old rivals Hamilton and Fernando Alonso clashed again, when the Ferrari misjudged an overtaking move. For a separate weaving incident, a frustrated Hamilton was penalised and wound up eighth, with Alonso in sixth.

After running out of fresh tyres in Sepang, Hamilton played the strategy game in China and it worked with a brilliant victory. He overcame a major oil leak in the garage before the race and saved an extra set of tyres in qualifying to use them in a race that went down in the history books as one of the greatest ever. Vettel beat Button to pole, but made a poor start and looked tense all afternoon, but showed his championship might with second place. More KERS problems left Mark Webber in a dismal 18^th on the grid, but he put in a sensational fightback to claim the final place on the podium. Button was a dejected fourth and produced one of the blunders of the season. Having led the early stages, he made a terrible mistake and stopped at the wrong pit! A comical moment, but Jenson would make up for it later in the season. Felipe Massa’s inferior strategy left him down in sixth, but beating Alonso by 15 seconds made it a solid and sweet performance. Another man who impressed in China was Nico Rosberg. He led a significant chunk of the race, but faded badly to fifth by the end. It was the closest Mercedes GP would get to finishing on the podium this season.

Another tremendous Grand Prix followed three weeks later in Istanbul. Pirelli’s tyre mileage left us with a four stop strategy for most of the top runners and overtaking galore with the effective DRS. Despite crashing in wet practice on Friday and losing a day of race setup, Vettel was a comfortable winner on what turned out to be F1’s last trip to Turkey. Webber ensured Red Bull had their first 1-2 of the season, coming out on top in a feisty scrap with Alonso, who claimed Ferrari’s first rostrum after a difficult start to the campaign. A sticky wheel nut at a routine pitstop left Hamilton over 40 seconds adrift in fourth place and Button’s gamble on one less pitstop didn’t work and left him behind Rosberg in sixth. While Rosberg was picking up points for Mercedes, Michael Schumacher’s weekend was a disaster. Unnecessary contact with Petrov in the early laps and losing out in many midfield battles left him admitting to feeling ‘no joy’ following his 12^th place finish.

Next stop on the Sebastian Vettel crusade was Barcelona, which surprised many with an exciting duel. Despite being beaten to pole position by team-mate Mark Webber, Vettel showed his superiority on raceday. However, he was made to work very hard for his 13^th career victory. Fernando Alonso’s adoring Spanish public witnessed an incredible start as their hero catapulted from fourth on the grid into the lead. Sadly, dreadful tyre wear left him ending a lapped fifth. Vettel led from lap 19 onwards, but Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren was the faster package and hunted him down. The German’s brilliant defensive driving was enough to take victory again and the team rightly praised his driving, rather than his ‘Crazy Frog’ impression. Having made an awful start and dropping to tenth on lap one; Jenson Button produced two cracking moves on Alonso and Webber to complete the podium. Michael Schumacher responded to his critics with a solid run to sixth, ahead of his team-mate Nico Rosberg whilst Nick Heidfeld came from last after a fire in practice to eighth.

Perez's rookie season was put on hold after this crash in Monaco

Any driver will claim that winning in Monaco will be the highlight of the season and Vettel added Monte Carlo to his ever increasing trophy cabinet on a turbulent weekend in the principality. The weekend started with a sickening shunt for Sergio Perez in qualifying. The Mexican crashed out of the tunnel in Q3 and suffered a bruised thigh and concussion, keeping him out for two races. In the race, Vettel, Alonso and Button produced a supreme afternoon of driver skill. Sebastian survived a bad pitstop on lap 16 and stayed out on weaker tyres to hold off the Ferrari and McLaren. Hamilton had a nightmare weekend, which included a qualifying demotion, then two more drive-through penalties in the race for controversial clashes with Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado. He attacked race stewards in an unsavoury post-race interview, beginning a dark period for the Brit. Vitaly Petrov was admitted to hospital after being involved in a multiple crash with Adrian Sutil, Hamilton and Jaime Alguersuari late on which caused a race stoppage. Fortunately, the Russian escaped serious injury.

If anyone thought F1 2011 had been crazy so far, then the drama of the Canadian Grand Prix exceeded everything. Five safety cars, a two hour stoppage for a torrential downpour and an amazing finish which had avid fans jumping up and around at 10.15pm in the evening! Vettel drove brilliantly again and led through most of the chaos, until around the last lap, he ran wide and handed Jenson Button a sensational victory. Button stormed back from 21^st and last at half-distance, following collisions with team-mate Hamilton and Alonso, which ended both of their races. For once, Vettel showed he was human and still could crack under pressure. Webber recovered from his own contact with Hamilton to make it two Red Bulls on the podium, just ahead of Schumacher, who ran as high as second and produced the best drive of his comeback. Further back, a hard-fought eighth place from a pitlane start saved Jaime Alguersuari from the sack at Toro Rosso.

After that Canadian excitement, the European Grand Prix disappointed with the usual lack of action in Valencia. Vettel bounced back from his Montreal slip-up to dominate in trademark fashion. He took pole position and won at a canter, whilst Alonso beat Webber in a straight fight to take an excellent second for Ferrari. Hamilton had a very quiet run to fourth, followed by Massa and Button. All 24 cars that started in Valencia made it to the finish; only the third time in history this has happened, after the 1962 Dutch GP and the 2005 Italian GP.

Alonso was in top form at Silverstone, taking his only win of 2011

An incident-packed British Grand Prix at Silverstone saw our fourth different winner of the season. Alonso benefited from a poor Red Bull pitstop and Vettel being held up behind Hamilton’s slower McLaren in the middle part of the race to take Ferrari’s first victory since Korea last year. Webber claimed pole position on Saturday, but dropped behind Vettel at the start and was forced by team boss Christian Horner to “maintain the gap,” in the closing stages. There were time when memories of Turkey 2010 came flooding back, but a 2-3 result kept Red Bull comfortably clear in the constructors championship. The Brits had a largely miserable day. Paul di Resta made contact with Sebastian Buemi and had a dismal pitstop to wreck his hopes of points after qualifying a brilliant sixth, whilst a loose wheel nut ended Button’s grand prix prematurely. Hamilton stirred the motions with fourth, holding off Massa in an exciting final corner duel, despite fuel management issues.

Next was a trip to the chilly Eiffel Mountains and the Nurburgring, where Lewis Hamilton put a great weekend together to qualify on the front row behind Mark Webber and win the race. He jumped the Australian at the start and used great strategy and daring overtaking moves on both Webber and Fernando Alonso to take the spoils. Alonso was second and Webber back in third. An off-colour Sebastian Vettel spun early on and seemed unhappy on home soil all weekend. Nevertheless, smart pit work from Red Bull saw him leapfrog Felipe Massa on the last lap to salvage fourth place. Once again, Jenson Button was out of luck, forced to retire with hydraulic problems, handing Adrian Sutil a best finish of the season for Force India in sixth place. The pressure was growing on Nick Heidfeld at Renault after a clash with Sebastian Buemi put him out of the race and his seat in severe jeopardy.

A week later and the McLaren summer renaissance continued at an unseasonably damp Budapest. In a race decided by getting on the right tyres at the right time, Button mastered everything again to win in Hungary for the second time in his career. The race was Hamilton’s for the taking, as he led the majority of it. However, he was left to rue a missed opportunity when he spun into the path of Paul di Resta, forcing his countryman off the road. Lewis got a drive-through and pitted six times, but still finished fourth. Second place for Vettel increased his championship lead, with near rivals, Alonso and Webber finishing behind him in third and fifth respectively. Heidfeld’s Renault career ended spectacularly when his engine air bottle exploded on pitlane exit, leaving his car in flames. Fans also felt fiery, when news came through of a new TV deal in Hungary which sees Sky Sports receiving live coverage of every race next season and the BBC settling for partial coverage of ten live events.

Hamilton's crash in Belgium summed up a messy championship

After the summer break, Formula One returned at the end of August to Belgium and the daunting Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Despite safety cars and serious concerns over blistered tyres after qualifying, Red Bull took a 1-2 finish. Vettel handled it all with his usual panache and Webber recovered from a shocking start which saw him ninth into La Source to finish a very strong second. Hamilton’s faint championship hopes ended when he had a silly collision with Kamui Kobayashi, which speared the McLaren into the barriers. Team-mate Button started 13^th after a tactical mix-up in qualifying and had to pit early after first corner contact, but produced a stirring fightback to third. Alonso was hindered by Ferrari’s decision to use one less set of dry tyres and without the grip levels of his rivals, the submissive Spaniard had to settle for fourth. On the 20^th anniversary of making his F1 debut, Michael Schumacher stormed through from last on the grid after a wheel hub failure in qualifying to record a fabulous fifth place, narrowly ahead of team-mate Rosberg. Pastor Maldonado scored his first and only point of the season, whilst Bruno Senna qualified a superb seventh on his Renault debut, but blotted his copybook by running into Jaime Alguersuari at the start of the race.

The final European race of the season was as ever, at Monza and Ferrari country. Red Bull feared they wouldn’t be very strong, due to the power disadvantage of their Renault engine, but Vettel blew the opposition away. He produced a meteoric lap to take pole position by half a second on Saturday and despite Alonso beating him off the startline, made a brave and decisive pass on the grass to record another fantastic victory. Button overwhelmed Alonso later in the race for second place, but despite poor traction from his Ferrari, Fernando still managed to make the podium to give the Tifosi something to shout about. Michael Schumacher pushed the boundaries in a vigorous defence from Lewis Hamilton for half the race, with Hamilton eventually coming out on top for fourth place. Massa was a distant sixth after contact early on with Mark Webber; the Australian having a pathetic off into the barriers on his way back to the pits with front wing damage. Vitantonio Liuzzi produced his nomination for accident of the season, by trying to move his HRT into the points from the back row into turn one! His ambition backfired, torpedoing Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg out of the race at the first chicane.

The flyaway finish began under the lights in Singapore, where Sebastian Vettel eased to another victory and within one point of the title. Jenson Button came second, which was enough to take the fight to Suzuka, but third and fourth place results ended any mathematical hopes for Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso. The weekend was dominated by two run-ins between Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton, with a fuming Massa angrily confronting his rival in the interview pen after the race. Paul di Resta was a notable sixth to achieve his best finish of his 2011 rookie year, whilst Michael Schumacher escaped injury after a nasty looking accident, when he went airborne over Sergio Perez.

Three wins for Button, including an emotional success in Japan

Sure enough, as expected, Vettel sealed the world championship title at Suzuka, to become the youngest back-to-back champion in the history of the sport and only the ninth driver to achieve such a feat. Button drove brilliantly once again to take victory, ahead of a hard charging Alonso, but third place was easily enough for Vettel in a gripping Grand Prix. Once again, Hamilton and Massa made contact during the race, which saw a piece of McLaren bodywork deployed on the racing line and forcing the Safety Car out. By their 2011 standards, the incident was relatively minor, but it was another flashpoint in a dismal season for both. Michael Schumacher managed to split Hamilton and Massa at the chequered flag, whilst flu-ridden Perez drove well in his Sauber to eighth, as did Nico Rosberg from 23^rd on the grid to tenth. However, Suzuka 2011 will be remembered for the place that wrapped up Sebastian Vettel’s glory season.

The German wasn’t finished yet though, as he cruised to his tenth victory of the season in Korea. Combined with a third place finish for Webber, it sealed the constructor’s championship for Red Bull. Hamilton blasted to pole, the first non Red Bull pole position of the season, but he was subdued all weekend as he finished second, his split from Nicole Scherzinger seemed to weigh on his mind throughout. Button, Alonso and Massa completed the top six, leaving slim pickings for the rest.

F1 made its inaugural visit to India and the sport gave the country the tradition in 2011 of a Sebastian Vettel pole position and a Sebastian Vettel victory. He led every lap and was simply untouchable. His 11^th triumph of the season put him within two races of equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in a season. Once again, it was Button and Alonso who completed the podium positions which provided a great circuit, but sadly, very poor racing. Massa and Hamilton became attracted again with their sixth collision of the season. The Brit’s front wing was damaged and he limped home in seventh. Massa was blamed this time by the race stewards and awarded a drive-through penalty, but it didn’t matter in the end, as he abused his Ferrari over the plastering kerbing and broke his front suspension. Mercedes equalled their best result of the season, with Schumacher leading Rosberg home to fifth, as he did at Spa earlier in the season.

However, Vettel’s hopes of equalling Schumacher’s wins in a season record ended on the second corner in Abu Dhabi. A sudden deflation on the left-rear tyre sent the champion spinning out of the race. Hamilton took full advantage and returned to form to secure a brilliant win in a very controlled and measured drive. As so often the case this season, Alonso outperformed his equipment to take second place for Ferrari and despite a KERS failure, Button made it two McLarens on the podium.

Red Bull may have finished off the podium in Abu Dhabi, but they showed their class in the finale at Sao Paulo. Webber finally ended his barren run by taking a magnificent victory in Brazil, although he was aided by a faulty gearbox problem for his team-mate. Button wrapped up second in the drivers championship with a podium finish, but Hamilton was out of luck, finishing his largely desperate season off with gearbox failure. At least he ended his public feud with Massa after the race. Fourth place for Alonso wasn’t enough to hold off Webber for third place in the driver’s championship final positions.

Vettel and Red Bull were the class of the field in 2011

So, after 19 races in 18 countries and five different winners from three teams, the end has arrived for F1 2011. Sometimes in the sport, you just have to appreciate greatness and we must hail Sebastian’s perfect season!

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Sebastian Vettel 392, Jenson Button 270, Mark Webber 258, Fernando Alonso 257, Lewis Hamilton 227, Felipe Massa 118, Nico Rosberg 89, Michael Schumacher 76, Adrian Sutil 42, Vitaly Petrov 37, Nick Heidfeld 34, Kamui Kobayashi 30, Paul di Resta 27, Jaime Alguersuari 26, Sebastian Buemi 15, Sergio Perez 14, Rubens Barrichello 4, Bruno Senna 2, Pastor Maldonado 1

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP: Red Bull 650, McLaren 497, Ferrari 375, Mercedes GP 165, Renault 73, Force India 69, Sauber 44, Toro Rosso 41, Williams 5

Talkback Thames to split

2011-12-01T12:25:00.000+00:00

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

ERA: Ending as Talkback Thames is set to split

TALKBACK Thames, one of the most prolific names in television production in recent times are to part ways as part of a major shakeup of operations at the company’s owners, Fremantle Media. The joint-venture, responsible for many of the popular shows seen on screen today, will cease to exist from New Year’s Day next year with both companies reverting back to their original solo identities. This is because Fremantle is aiming to broaden its programming genres and it plans to do that by launching two new production companies in the process.

Talkback was launched in 1981 and launched the careers of many faces like Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith, becoming a major player in comedy production in the 1990s with hits like I’m Alan Partridge and They Think It’s All Over. Thames roots go back to when it was part of the ITV network, launching in 1968 and holding the London franchise of the broadcaster on weekdays until 1992. It’s mainstay of programmes were mainly in drama like The Sweeney, Minder and The Bill.

After Thames was ousted out of ITV, it became an independent production company and in 1996, it was taken over by Pearson Television, predecessor to Fremantle. Both Talkback and Thames merged to form Talkback Thames in 2003 with its current onscreen name first coming into effect two years later.

So what happens now to both companies in this production shakeup? Talkback will now revert to its original roots of producing comedy entertainment/panel shows such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks, QI and Celebrity Juice whilst Thames will now focus on just general entertainment programmes like The X-Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and All Star Family Fortunes. They will also be responsible for producing an upcoming revival of the classic gameshow Blockbusters for digital channel Challenge. The two new productions labels set up, will be known as Retort, which will be responsible for scripted comedy (PhoneShop and Richard Bacon’s Beer & Pizza Club) and Boundless, which will oversee production of factual shows (Grand Designs and The Apprentice.)

The change in direction has been requested by Fremantle Media UK chief executive Sara Geater, who said in a prepared statement: "This new label structure allows us to showcase the amazing talent within our business by enabling us to be even more creative and innovative to better respond to our customers' needs. We're committed to developing inspiring entertainment for broadcasters and audiences, and I believe that this structure of labels with big ambitions will ensure we better serve our customers with bespoke propositions that will deliver them the hits of the future."

It’s certainly a bitter pill to swallow, having to say farewell to such an excellent provider of British television over the last few years. Now though, it’s time to face up to the future and this change seems that it will give a new lease of life to Fremantle’s current programmes and it will certainly attract the attention of potential new investors.

2011 Brazilian Grand Prix - Webber ends barren run in style

2011-11-29T20:08:00.000+00:00

SMILES: Webber finally has something to lookback on in 2011

AFTER 18 frustrating months playing second fiddle to his red-hot team-mate Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber finally tasted the champagne on the top step of the podium on Sunday. The Australian won the 2011 finale in style in Sao Paulo, taking full advantage of a rare reliability issue that hobbled his team-mate. From second on the grid, Webber was let through into the lead of the Brazilian Grand Prix on lap 29, as world champion Vettel had to battle on with a serious gearbox problem. Nevertheless, he still finished second as Red Bull Racing put on a demonstration in a race that will quickly be forgotten by the avid F1 fan.

On Saturday afternoon, Vettel broke another record with his usual pole position. It was his 15^th of the campaign, eclipsing Nigel Mansell’s mark of 14 that he achieved in 1992. From the moment the Red Bulls got into turn one first, the rest might have well parked their cars as they had no chance of getting on terms with the team that has had the best equipment, the best pit crew and the best strategies all season. Vettel was first warned of his gearbox gremlin on lap 14 by his race engineer Rocky. He was urged to short-shift in third and fourth and although he set some fastest laps to provoke some nerves within the team, Sebastian did what was asked. Later, he said on the team radio; “I feel like Senna in 91,” which will go down as one of the sound bites of the season. This was the famous reference to when the late Ayrton Senna won in 1991 with a major gearbox problem. Webber caught his team leader and Vettel let him by into turn one in a piece of synchronised driving that is more likely to be seen by a couple of truck drivers on the M1. It was an overtaking manoeuvre that would have struggled to get anyone excited.

While the Red Bulls dominated at the front, the fans did witness an exciting dice between the other two standout drivers of the season, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. The Ferrari looked to have the measure of the McLaren for much of the race, as Jenson struggled with a balance on the option tyres. In fact, Fernando pulled off one of the best passes of the entire season, when he swept right around the outside of the Brit into turn six on lap ten. 52 laps later, Button had reeled him in again, as the Achilles heel of the Ferrari team came back to haunt them again. Alonso couldn’t get decent consistency on the harder prime Pirelli tyre and Button outmanoeuvred him in turn four. This decisive move meant Webber stole third place in the drivers’ championship from Alonso at the last event of the season.

Lewis Hamilton had a difficult race, as he was another driver to struggle with gearbox issues. He had his from the tenth lap onwards, but unlike Vettel, his gave up the ghost whilst sixth on lap 48. It completes a tough season for Hamilton, which sees him finish fifth in the championship and although he looked in good spirits, 2011 will largely be a season he’d like to forget. At least he ended the feud with Felipe Massa that has ruined both of their seasons, by embracing his rival in parc ferme after the race; a gesture that was widely appreciated by Massa, Martin Whitmarsh and Stefano Domenicalli.

DAMAGE: Senna and Schumacher harmed each other's races

It was a race where there wasn’t a lot to shout about for the Brazilian fans. Massa finished a lonely fifth, although he did pull off some donuts after the race to entertain everyone. Potentially in his final race, Rubens Barrichello ended up in 14^th place for Williams after making a shocking start and dropping from 12^th to 20^th by the end of the first lap. Bruno Senna qualified well, but was harshly penalised by the stewards for a clash with Michael Schumacher which wrecked both of their races early on. The contact at turn one was unnecessary and pointless, but a racing incident. Bruno damaged his front wing and Schumacher collected a left-rear puncture. Both finished well out of the reckoning, in 17^th and 15^th places respectively.

The path was made clear for Webber to record the seventh victory of his career and his first since the Hungarian Grand Prix last July. Vettel completed Red Bull’s fourth 1-2 of the season, followed by Button, Alonso and Massa. Adrian Sutil put in his best drive of the campaign to record a fine sixth place for Force India, as he seeks a drive for next season. His team-mate Paul di Resta completed a fine rookie season with eighth place and took Force India to within four points of snatching fifth in the constructor’s championship from the underachieving Renault team. Nico Rosberg had his usual unobtrusive run to seventh place and the final points went to Kamur Kobayashi and Vitaly Petrov. Kobayashi’s two points were crucial, as it kept Sauber ahead of Toro Rosso in the constructor’s championship by three points and could be worth an extra $5million to the team in prize money.

So, that is it then. The curtain has come down on a season which has produced five different winners, from three teams, in 19 races across the globe, taking place in 18 countries. We have seen some vintage races, numerous overtakes, records tumble and ultimately, a team and driver at complete harmony with one another. Red Bull have set the standard this season and raised the bar once again in Formula One. McLaren and Ferrari have a lot of hard work to do in the winter to get on terms, otherwise come Melbourne next March; the team from Milton Keynes will be ready to crush everyone again.

Enjoy the winter break!

The X-Factor 2011 - The battle hots up

2011-11-28T21:42:00.000+00:00

By Jason Wright (Entertainment expert)

FOR the first time in quite a while, the remaining acts in the competition were all genuine contenders, with none really being classed as ‘joke acts.’ Here is how the latest drama has unfolded over the last two weeks…

WEEK 7

The Ultimate Saturday Night Blockbuster

THE X-Factor met Hollywood for a night of movie themes. The name’s Colton, Craig Colton. (I mention that way because he was assigned a classic Bond number ‘License to Kill.’) Showing off his great vocals once again as he has always done, he came under the firing line however for the first time with questions over whether the song was wrong for him. After two weeks of mediocre performances, Janet Devlin somewhat returned to form with a simple yet effective rendition of ‘Kiss Me’ from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

The other two Girls also had strong nights, even if it wasn’t their best to date. Returning act Amelia Lily’s performance of the Bridget Jones song ‘Think’ focused more on a stage production than just the voice but was still very competitive. After a second stint in the bottom two the previous week, Misha B went out and proved she can still compete with the best in the competition and her take on ‘I Have Nothing’ from The Bodyguard had Gary Barlow calling for people to start supporting her again.

The one remaining group in the competition Little Mix tried something different this week. ‘Don’t Let Go’ from Set It Off was a song that might have been upbeat but more stripped back with more emphasis placed on their vocal abilities. In a nutshell, it paid off handsomely again. Finally, Marcus Collins also went down the stage-show route (again) for his performance of ‘Higher and Higher’ from Ghostbusters, this time with the help of a gospel choir. It just proves that he is the real deal and it would be a travesty if he at least didn’t make the final.

Curtain Closes On Craig

After a surprise appearance from legendary icon Bryan Adams in the finalist’s group performance, and somebody nicking his guitar without anyone noticing, it was time for the latest round of results. With Misha B, Little Mix, Marcus and Janet all having done enough to go into the quarter-final, it left Craig, expected on his performance level, and Amelia, just a week after coming back, battling for survival. Both acts gave it 110 per cent and this wasn’t going to be an easy decision. Both Gary Barlow and Kelly Rowland stood by their acts but Barlow was bang out of order in saying that Amelia “shouted her way” through her sing-off performance. It wasn’t shouting at all, it’s the way Amelia performs. Tulisa based her decision on the sing-off performances and decided Craig had put more passion into his before Louis Walsh decided that Amelia was a better all-round performer than Craig.

DEADLOCK: However, it was the end of the journey for Craig

That meant after seven weeks, a Final Showdown finally had the judges torn over their votes. The Deadlock situation was called into play for the first time this series and not to anyone’s surprise, Craig finished bottom of the public vote and his time on the show was up. A bitter shame as he had performed beyond everyone’s expectations but in a competition so close, it was a case of one bad night and you’re out.

WEEK 8

Everyone has a guilty pleasure

WITH five acts now left standing, it was now double the pressure as each one had to perform twice for the support of both the judges and the public. In the first round of performances, each act performed a song of Guilty Pleasure.

Little Mix went first with Justin Bieber’s ‘Baby’ and although it was made to perfection, Louis wasn’t impressed by the choreography involved in it. At least they coped better than Janet who tried the tested and failed formula of an up-tempo song, ‘MMMBop,’ and yet again, she fluffed the lines and this time blamed it on being about to vomit.

Misha B played it rather safe but effective with Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ before we got the rather usual spectacular from Marcus, this time putting it together with the Wham! Hit ‘I’m Your Man.’ Finally, Amelia Lily brought the first round to a close with a mind-blowing rendition of T’Pau’s ‘China In Your Hand’ with Gary claiming it to be better than the original version. It of course didn’t go down well with the original artists of the track.

And everyone does need a hero

With the Guilty Pleasure numbers done, it was now time for the acts to showcase one of their big musical idols. Little Mix got an opportunity to showcase a completely different side. This time, there was no dancing, no gimmicks, just the four girl’s voices of ‘Beautiful’ by Christina Aguilera. It was an emotionally-captivating performance which helped them on their way to becoming the new bookmakers favourites to win.

Janet fared slightly better on her second song, Red Hot Chilli Peppers ‘Under The Bridge’ but it was evident that the damage from the first song had already been done as the judges didn’t really warm to this either. Misha B meanwhile was having a rather predictable night but still remained on the top of her game with Roberta Flack’s ‘Killing Me Softly with His Song.’

For his hero’s song, Marcus also decided to strip things back with Stevie Wonder’s ‘Lately.’ A very difficult song to conquer and although it didn’t prove to be spectacular, it was still proof of why he deserves a chance in music. Having mastered a power ballad in her first performance, Amelia Lily went for a rock style in her second outing with Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Since You’ve Been Gone.’ Her first song of the night was better but nevertheless, it summed up her intent to take on the opposition since her return.

Janet bids farewell – but not in a dignified way

With three of the original four girls left at this stage, surely the odds were strong that one of them had to go this week. Despite five acts being left, a Final Showdown was still held, signifying the rule changes in elimination made last year were no one year fluke. In the public vote result, Amelia was spared a second consecutive sing-off, Marcus continued to flourish under his growing fanbase and Little Mix made X-Factor history in becoming the first girl group ever to reach the semi-final.

That left Janet and Misha B; the latter in the bottom two for the third time in six weeks, having to sing again for the one remaining place in the semi-final. They once again, showed why they were great competitors but Misha’s ability to deliver under the pressure was what swayed it with the judges. Even Louis, the biggest fan of Janet, decided to send her home and when Tulisa sided and sent her home too, it was game over and her mentor Kelly sealed it – by deciding to opt out of voting! Despite being warned by Dermot O’Leary about the consequences of her considering actions, she stuck by her decision to refuse in casting a vote. Cue the jeering from the audience and the typical explosion of angry and furious comments on Twitter and Facebook.

SLUMP: Janet struggled to recover in recent weeks and it has cost her

Regardless of the outcome, the truth is simply that Janet’s decline began in the fifth week of competition and her failure to recover from this slump has finally led to her paying the ultimate price – a shot at winning the competition. However, there’s no denying that this is the last we will hear of Janet; she surely will be selling records and albums in the future.

So, it’s now down to the final four – Amelia Lily, Little Mix, Marcus Collins and Misha B will battle it out in next week’s semi-final. The prize, for three of them is a place in the showpiece finale live in front of 10,000 people at Wembley Arena. It doesn’t matter whether this series is trailing in the ratings, this has surely got to be the closest semi-final field yet, anyone can well and truly miss out on the final.

Football mourns the tragic death of Gary Speed

2011-11-28T20:39:00.000+00:00

TRIBUTES have been pouring in from across the sporting world for the Welsh team manager Gary Speed, who has died aged 42. The ex-Leeds United and Newcastle United player was found dead at his home in Cheshire. He is believed to have taken his own life. The news was confirmed in a statement by the Welsh Football Association on Sunday morning; “We extend our sympathies and condolences to the family. We ask that everyone respects the family’s privacy at this very sad time.”

Born on September 8, 1969, Gary Speed became one of the most honest professionals in the game and the tributes over the past 24 hours since the news broke indicate that no bad word could be said about his personality. At club level, he came through the ranks at Leeds United, under the stewardship of Howard Wilkinson. The former FA technical director told Sky Sports; “He had so much to offer as a person and as a sportsman. I just find it unbelievable. I cannot start to try to understand what his family are going through. Gary had a lot of talent and that talent became his job. Footballers are subject to all the stress and strains of things that happen in life.”

BREAKTHROUGH: Gary Speed's best club success came at Leeds

Making his first team debut at just 19 years of age, Speed was part of the squad alongside the likes of Gary McAllister and Eric Cantona to win the final football league title in 1992 before the inception of the FA Premier League. Another member of the squad and a managerial counterpart when Speed was at Sheffield United, Gordon Strachan shared his memories on BBC Radio 5 Live. “I was proud of Gary Speed, like a kind of father figure would be because he wasn’t the most talented of kids when I first met him but he wanted to make himself better. I am going to miss his laugh, he had a childlike laugh. I was speaking to Gary McAllister and I said I would forget the games and the goals but I would never forget his laugh and I am never going to hear that again.”

LEADER: Speed celebrates scoring for Everton against Chelsea in January 1998

An occasional goalscorer, Gary spearheaded Leeds to two top five finishes in the Premiership between 1992 and 1995, but after 312 appearances for the Yorkshire side, felt he needed a new challenge and made a £3.5million move to Everton in the summer of 1996. An Everton fan, Speed became Toffees captain and made his mark in a mediocre period for the Goodison Park side. He scored his only Premiership hat-trick in a 7-1 battering of Southampton in November 1996 and it was Joe Royle who was Toffees manager when Speed spent 18 months on Merseyside; “He always had a smile on his face, he played with a smile on his face and he was one of the best players I was fortunate enough to manage and handle and I still can’t believe it. He was part of the North Wales Everton supporter’s band and from the minute he came, he was perfect for the club.”

Gary’s next destination was Newcastle United, where he spent the bulk of his career and probably, his best period playing football. He spent six years on Tyneside, experienced UEFA Champions League football and was on the losing side in two successive FA Cup finals. It was Kenny Dalglish who signed him in February 1998 for £5.5million. He paid tribute on the eve of Liverpool’s 1-1 Premiership draw with Manchester City yesterday. “I knew Gary Speed as a fantastic footballer, but more important than that, he was a decent man and there will be a lot of people very saddened by what has happened. The most important people at the moment are his wife and two boys and your heart goes out to them.” Dalglish also confirmed that he withdrew Craig Bellamy from the playing squad yesterday, as he was very close to Speed as a friend and a mentor. At the Liberty Stadium, news broke of the tragic circumstances only an hour before Swansea City’s sombre 0-0 draw with Aston Villa. A minute’s silence turned into a minute’s applause from both sets of supporters. Villa goalkeeper Shay Given was bravely seen to be wiping tears away moments before kick-off. The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper had played together with Speed throughout his time at Newcastle United. Another former Newcastle player paid tribute on Match of the Day 2 last night, Michael Owen. “He was a gentleman and his footballing ability is without question but I would focus on him as a person. Gary probably lived ten miles away from me and the other day I saw him on the way to school on the kids run and we shared a wave as we drove past each other. It’s a terrible loss and the mood of Cheshire was just utter shock and disbelief.”

In 2004, Speed was deemed surplus to requirements by Sir Bobby Robson and he moved onto Bolton Wanderers. During his four years at the Reebok Stadium, Gary became the first player to make 500 Premier League appearances, which is an incredible feat as only David James and Ryan Giggs have played more games in the 20 season history. In January 2008, Speed moved down from the Premiership in a bid to improve the fortunes of Sheffield United. They narrowly missed out on promotion the following season and it was injury that forced Gary to retire from football, aged 40 in 2009. He wasn’t finished at Bramwall Lane though, as he worked on his coaching badges and became Kevin Blackwell’s assistant. In the summer of 2010, the Blades refused him permission to speak to Swansea City about the vacancy at the Liberty Stadium, when Paulo Sousa took the Leicester City job. The current Swans manager is Brendan Rodgers; “We’re all shell-shocked. It was a real bombshell. Gary was a great Welshman and it’s hard to take in. My players loved working with him with Wales and really enjoyed it. It’s difficult to comprehend.”

When Blackwell was sacked at the beginning of the 2010-11 campaign, Gary took over the managerial reigns at Bramwall Lane, but he only won six of his 18 matches in charge as Sheffield United slipped towards eventual relegation from the Championship. Another young manager finding his feet in the Championship is Speed’s former team-mate, Dean Saunders at Doncaster Rovers. He told BBC Sport; “I just can’t believe it. I spoke to him last week. We roomed together all of our careers with Wales, I just can’t get my head around it. He’s so level-headed and was just a really nice fella.”

SMILE: Gary was turning around the fortunes of the Wales team

At international level, his association with Wales began in an international friendly against Costa Rica in May 1990. Aged just 20 when he won his first cap, Speed was made captain of the national team by Bobby Gould and only narrowly missed out on qualifying for both the 1994 World Cup in the USA and the 2004 European Championships in Portugal. He retired from playing international duty in October 2004, having captained his country 44 times and recording 85 caps, which is still the most ever for a Welsh outfield player. Despite his limited experience in management, Gary signed a three year contract to replace John Toshack as coach of Wales in December 2010. Under his stewardship, Wales became a revitalised side. Youngsters such as Gareth Bale, Norwich’s Steve Morison and captain Aaron Ramsay became senior figures in the national team as the Welsh made a 50 place gain in the FIFA world rankings. Although Wales didn’t qualify for Euro 2012, he led the side to impressive victories over Bulgaria, Montenegro and Switzerland to finish third in England’s qualifying group. His last game in charge was a fine 4-1 win over Norway in an international friendly last month, which meant he had recorded five wins in his ten games as manager. There were high hopes for a successful World Cup qualifying campaign which was due to begin next September for Brazil 2014.

Gary’s last public appearance was only on Saturday, when he appeared alongside McAllister on the BBC magazine show, Football Focus. Presenter Dan Walker has been left lost for words, as he posted on Twitter yesterday; “Gary was full of life yesterday talking about his kids, the bright future with Wales, twitter and golf. I can’t get my head around it.” Twitter was full of tributes from many personalities yesterday. Cricketer Dominic Cork met him on A Question of Sport. He tweeted; “Met him on Q.O.S and what a gentleman. Kept in touch and devastated about the news. Just doesn’t seem real.” BBC Five Live Formula One pitlane reporter Natalie Pinkham shared the general feeling on Twitter; “Very sad news about Gary Speed. Thinking of his family at what must be an incredibly tough time.” Real Madrid footballer Xabi Alonso remembered his Premiership debut for Liverpool against Speed’s Bolton in August 2004; “RIP Gary Speed. My first PL game was against him, he showed me in that game what is British football about.”

Gary Speed - 8 September 1969 - 27 November 2011

Gary Speed made a positive impact on so many lives, both personally and impersonally. He was a great sporting man, with a respectful personality and will go down as a Premier League icon. Potentially, he had a great career as a manager on the way. For me, words can’t describe how I feel about his sudden loss and it is a huge and horrible shock for football to deal with. Gary leaves behind a beautiful wife and two boys who he devoted and spent so much time with. They have revealed how overwhelmed they have been by the support they have received and whilst football mourns a great character, his family are the people we should be feeling for the most.

RIP Gary Speed – The game of football will never forget you!

Chiles and Bleakley's partnership goes sour

2011-11-27T12:49:00.000+00:00

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

IT SEEMED like a match made in heaven. When Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley left BBC’s The One Show in a massive media frenzy last year to front Daybreak, ITV’s breakfast replacement for the ailing GMTV, it looked like ITV could finally take a hold to the growing popularity of BBC’s Breakfast programme. They were wrong. Now, 15 months into the mockery of a project, Chiles and Bleakley have paid for their gamble, with their jobs.

So where did it all go wrong for Daybreak? Firstly, the chemistry that was strongly built on The One Show could never be captivated at the time of first thing in the morning. Many experts commented that Bleakley was “too light-headed” and Chiles “too grumpy” for breakfast television. Secondly, the way the programme has been run is seen as a total laughingstock. At times, it looks like as if the production team hardly pay attention to the news stories, often usually focusing on the main entertainment topics and showcasing weird and sometimes stupid talents. Do people care about seeing what bubble art or speed stacking is like just before going to work?

DEPARTED: Daybreak will no longer feature Adrian or Christine

Not surprisingly, ratings have rapidly gone down since the show’s launch last September and last week, reached a new low of just 350,000 viewers, compared to a peak of 1.5 million who watch BBC Breakfast. Chiles is unimpressed with the decision taken, quoted as saying; “We were assured we could go with our dignity intact. That’s obviously not happened. We were enjoying the show and we thought things were going well. We didn’t want to go.”

Now attention turns to who will take over, with production of the programme being transferred entirely to ITV Studios. The main favourites are likely to be sports reporter Dan Lobb and showbiz correspondent Kate Garraway, being promoted to full-time presenters. They have currently been serving as a relief presenting team to Chiles and Bleakley. Other big names being mentioned including Natasha Kaplinsky, who has recently joined ITV News from Channel 5, Keir Simmons, who currently serves as a reporter on ITV News and Sian Williams, who is due to leave BBC Breakfast next year ahead of the programme’s relocation to the new MediaCityUK studios in Salford. However, Eamonn Holmes has rejected the chance to rejoin the ITV breakfast franchise, by signing a new three-year deal to front Sunrise on Sky News.

As with Chiles and Bleakley, they will now move onto concentrating on their main ITV commitments. As well as being promised new projects, Chiles will remain the broadcaster main anchor for Champions League, FA Cup and next year’s UEFA European Championships football coverage as well as staying on as frontman of That Sunday Night Show. Bleakley will stay on to host selected entertainment specials, as well as taking over as co-host to Phillip Schofield on the upcoming new series of Dancing On Ice, following Holly Willoughby’s decision to co-host the UK version of the popular US talent contest, The Voice on BBC.

The pair will certainly have nothing to worry about for the future for now but surely, a failure of a show like this will decrease their already declining popularities with viewers even further.

The Leveson Inquiry - Week one highlights

2011-11-27T12:35:00.001+00:00

THE tabloid newspaper industry has had another week in 2011 it would rather forget as normal members of the public and high-profile celebrities spoke out against their illegal practices of gaining information. The phone hacking scandal over the summer led to the closure of the News of the World newspaper and many other popular titles have had to defend themselves that they knew anything about phone hacking.

Last week, the Leveson inquiry began at the Royal Courts of Human Justice in London, set-up by the government in the wake of the damaging scandal. It is a scandal that has seen the arrests of former NoW staff, including Andy Coulson, high-profile resignations like Rebekah Brooks and Rupert Murdoch being forced to defend his News International empire from a barrage of allegations and criticism.

However, it isn't just phone hacking at the centre of attention. We have learnt in the four days of evidence so far that victims have spoken out at paparazzi and photographers being camped outside their residences for days, desperate for a story to provoke a distasteful reaction. On Monday, the parents of murdered teenager Milly Dowler spoke of their distress over the fact that her phone had been hacked into. They told the inquiry that they believed Milly was still alive from her voicemail messages. It was this frankly unforgivable piece of journalism that ultimately spelt the end for the News of the World and prompted the Leveson enquiry to take place. Also on Monday, we heard from actor Hugh Grant, who alleged that the Mail on Sunday had hacked into his voicemail messages to break a story about his private life back in 2007. The Mail on Sunday has responded by saying that no such practices took place at their newspaper, although launching an attack at Grant's evidence during the inquiry was not the smartest move they ever thought of.

Later on in the week, the author of the Harry Potter books, JK Rowling described how the press had targeted her five-year old daughter by slipping notes into her schoolbag. Rowling also said that if you are famous, then this is the kind of stories you pay the price for, which was a stinging and damaging remark, but probably a fair one in the light of what was revealed in the summer. Actress Sienna Miller, who accepted damages from the News of the World earlier in the year went further to say that the paparazzi even spat at her in an attempt to provoke a reaction. She also claimed that the tabloids twisted stories of her and how she had to take out an injunction at the High Court to prevent the press from hounding her private life.

Former FIA motorsport boss Max Mosley has campaigned heavily against the press for abuse into his privacy when a story broke about his sexual activities in 2008. Mr Mosley won damages from the News of the World, but had to face a vote of confidence from FIA members at the time to keep him in the job. He stepped down in 2009 after a row about a proposed breakaway from the major manufacturers in Formula One, although the tabloid stories probably didn't help their confidence in Mosley. On Thursday, he told the enquiry that he couldn't put a figure on the legal fees he has had to fork out in a desperate vain to keep his privacy away from the media's watchful eye. The inquiry has also heard this week from the bereaved parents of Madeleine McCann; Kate and Gerry McCann, comedian Steve Coogan and Paul Gascogine's estranged former wife, Sheryl.

The inquiry resumes tomorrow and the case against the press is set to continue. On the schedule tomorrow are former breakfast presenter Anne Diamond, singer Charlotte Church and Chris Jefferies, the landlord of murdered Bristol teenager Joanna Yeates. The press will have their say also in the inquiry in an attempt to defend their actions; even Piers Morgan has been called from TV duties in America to give evidence at the inquiry in weeks to come.

No doubt that the events of the summer still feel sour to many involved within journalism, both training to be one and those who innocently ended up losing their jobs. It was a week where those who suffered at the hands of the tabloids showed their displeasure and told of their anguish at being targeted. I'm sure there will be plenty more revelations in the weeks to come at the Leveson inquiry.

BBC F1 - Another broadcasting chapter ends

2011-11-24T18:20:00.001+00:00

NOT only does the 2011 FIA Formula One world championship ends this weekend, but it will also feel like the end of an association for many Grand Prix petrol heads. Television viewing changes next year and the BBC is taking a backseat from its coverage of one of the most colourful and glamorous sports in the world. 2011 has been the final season where you will be able to watch every single Grand Prix on free-to-air television. From next season, Sky Sports becomes the home of Formula One racing.

Under the controversial new deal, signed at July’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Sky subscribers will get extensive previews to races, plus live coverage of every single practice, qualifying and race event from the currently 20 scheduled events in next year’s championship. The deal runs until 2017. The BBC has had to scale back its coverage, due to sweeping budget cuts. It decided to do this, despite recently renewing deals for the Six Nations and the Wimbledon tennis championships. However, they will still screen ten live weekends next year of all sessions, plus delayed highlights of the other ten events it will not show live. Monaco, the season finale in Brazil and the British Grand Prix will be definitely covered in the agreement by the BBC, while there is still an announcement pending over the other seven races. Pundit teams have also yet to be revealed, although we do know that Jake Humphrey will still be fronting BBC’s coverage, whilst Martin Brundle is debating over taking over as the lead commentator for Sky Sports, or staying on as the leading anchor for the BBC.

The BBC has a prestigious history of screening Formula One, even if that is not so much in recent times. They began showing live coverage of the entire Grand Prix season from 1978 onwards. ‘Grand Prix,’ became the home of F1 for 18 years, until 1996. They showed the drama of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna's dramatic collisions in successive years at Suzuka, Nigel Mansell's spectacular tyre blowout that robbed him of the 1986 championship and Damon Hill's popular title success in 1996 which had Murray Walker literally with a lump in his throat.

In 1997, ITV outbid the BBC to take the rights away for 12 seasons. Although the levels of extensive coverage improved from BBC’s output, especially in the early days, its later years were seen as a massive letdown for fans. Commercial breaks during some huge moments in events, including the embarrassing faux-pas at the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix added to the mounting frustration. In March 2008, ITV announced their F1 exit for commercial pressures; three years before their current deal was due to expire. The BBC took back the rights for 2009 on a new five year deal. Formula One was coming home!

Jake Humphrey was preferred to Steve Rider in taking over the hosting duties. He was joined in the paddock by Eddie Jordan and newly retired David Coulthard, who have certainly added plenty to the coverage, especially Eddie’s horrific choice of shirts! Jonathan Legard, who had previously covered F1 for BBC Radio 5 Live became lead commentator, whilst both Brundle and Ted Kravitz switched from the ITV team to the BBC crew. Lee McKenzie, an experienced motorsport presenter from A1GP and GP2 joined Ted in reporting from the pitlane and the legendary voice of Formula One, Murray Walker, has been part of the team too, previewing, reviewing and answering burning questions from fans on a regular basis.

The BBC era started brilliantly and in a way, they took over from where ITV left off, with a British world champion. Jake and the team did magnificently to interview Jenson Button in a massive media scram only moments after he had clinched the championship in sensational style in Brazil. They took coverage to a new level, with every session on the red button and all qualifying and race events on BBC One, with a prime time highlights package on freeview station BBC Three. BBC built on this in 2010 and has also given plenty of time for analysis from the action, which has included the popular F1 Forum. The forum lasts an hour online and on the red button after every race. Blogs from the presenters on the BBC F1 website, Ted Kravitz’s behind the scenes report from the pitlane and features such as Classic F1 have only added to the experience.

There was a minor change to the team in 2011, when Legard was dropped from the team and Coulthard joined Brundle in the commentary box; Brundle moving into the lead role having been the expert provider since 1997. TV ratings have always been very high, peaking regularly on raceday at between five and seven million viewers. It won the BAFTA for Sport in 2011, thanks to its coverage of the season decider 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which saw Sebastian Vettel take the title in the first four way showdown ever. Its impeccable coverage of the sensational Canadian Grand Prix this season, which lasted nearly five hours, means it, will be a favourite for more awards in 2012.

This isn’t the end for the BBC and the F1 partnership, as they will still be giving us unbeatable coverage in 2012 and for the next five seasons afterwards, but on a more reduced scale which is a big disappointment to the normal viewer. Money talks in this business and it is clear that BSkyB has this in abundance. I have no doubt that Sky Sports has the ability to take F1 coverage to another level, like they have with the Premiership since 1992, but they will never get the same audience appeal that the BBC has enjoyed in the last three seasons. Enjoy the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend everyone, as another F1 broadcasting chapter reaches a conclusion.

F1 classic races - Brazil

2011-11-24T17:32:00.000+00:00

FOR the final time this season and on this blog, I will be looking back at specific events from previous years of the country about to host a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. This time, it will be a bit different, as I charter the history of the Brazilian Grand Prix since it returned to Interlagos in 1990.

The Brazilian Grand Prix had been staged on the Rio de Janeiro circuit in the 1980s, but returned to a shorter Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo from 1990 onwards. To locals, it is better known as the Autodromo Carlos Pace, a Brazilian driver who won his home event in 1975. Sao Paulo has certainly put on some special events since its return to the Grand Prix calendar.

Alain Prost won the first event in 1990 after local hero Ayrton Senna ran into the back of backmarker Satoru Nakajima whilst leading. Senna had never won his home race, but he ended the barren run in 1991. He started on pole position and spent the majority of the race, fighting off a stiff challenge from the Williams of Nigel Mansell. A wild spin for Mansell led to a gearbox failure, which was the Achilles heel of that chassis. With three laps to go, the unpredictable Brazilian weather played its usual wildcard, with Senna waving furiously for the race to be stopped. Aided to that, he was struggling with a misbehaving gearbox of his own. Somehow, he finished the race with just one working gear and the McLaren beat Riccardo Patrese by just two seconds. Cue euphoria and ecstasy in the crowd. Senna had worked so hard for the victory; he was in intense physical pain and had to be lifted out of his car by paramedics. He was suffering from cramp in his arms and shoulders. Undeterred, he stood on the podium to take the top prize and achieve his remaining ambition of winning his home race. He repeated the feat in 1993, edging out Damon Hill in another wet/dry race.

For 1994, Ayrton switched to the all-conquering Williams team. With Mansell away in IndyCars and Prost retired from racing, surely he was going to steamroller a mediocre field and take his fourth championship. However, the partnership didn’t work out and as we all know, it ended tragically at Imola. However, it was already in trouble from the outset in Brazil, with the 34-year old clearly unhappy about the nervous handling of the FW16 chassis. He did drag the machinery to pole position, but that was more down to his brilliance behind the wheel, rather than the car’s competitiveness. In the race, he spun off and stalled his engine whilst running second on lap 56. As Michael Schumacher coasted to victory by a full lap, the Brazilian fans heading out of the gates in their droves, unaware that this was the last Brazilian Grand Prix Ayrton Senna had competed in.

For years afterwards, Brazil had to largely do with pay drivers in the sport, such as Pedro Diniz, Tarso Marques and Ricardo Rosset. Their only shining light was the talents of Rubens Barrichello and when he moved to Ferrari for the start of the 2000 season, there were high hopes that he might end their long drought for a home winner. Sadly, Rubens Interlagos jinx continued to strike at Maranello. Hydraulics failure twice, an accident with Ralf Schumacher in 2001 and a fuel feed problem in 2003 put him on the sidelines, part of an event that will go down as a special race.

New tyre regulations meant both Michelin and Bridgestone had not brought a full wet tyre to Sao Paulo in 2003 and with the track soaked, the race started behind the Safety Car. An aquaplaning river at turn three turned that corner into the car version of Beachers Brook at the Grand National. Juan Pablo Montoya, Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher were among the six victims who crashed out on this corner. Barrichello looked set for victory, when he passed David Coulthard’s tyre hungry McLaren, but the fuel pressure issue robbed him of a certain triumph. The incident-packed race was stopped early after almighty accidents for the Jaguar of Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso’s Renault. Both escaped unharmed, although Alonso needed precautionary checks in an ambulance, so missed the podium ceremony. The race was initially awarded to the McLaren of Kimi Raikkonen, but a countback error meant Giancarlo Fisichella was rightfully awarded his maiden success five days later in an FIA enquiry into the incidents in Paris.

Traditionally, Brazil had been one of the early season races, but it moved to a season ending regular from 2004 onwards. Juan Pablo Montoya secured the final victory for Williams to the present day that year, before Interlagos became the setting for some gripping championship deciders. Fernando Alonso was crowned champion in 2005, becoming the youngest driver to achieve this in the process. A year later, he did it again, although this was overshadowed by Michael Schumacher’s final race of his first career, which involved a storming drive back through the field to fourth, after an early puncture. In 2007, Kimi Raikkonen pinched the championship from under the noses of McLaren’s Alonso and Lewis Hamilton with a season ending victory and in 2009, Jenson Button put in the drive of his life from 14^th on the grid to clinch the title with a stirring performance to fifth for newcomers Brawn GP.

However, if you want drama, try the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, which will go down as one of the most dramatic finishes of all time. Going into the event, Lewis Hamilton had a seven point lead over local hero, Felipe Massa. Massa did nothing wrong all weekend, starting on pole position and never looked troubled to take his sixth win of the season in changeable conditions. Fifth place would have been good enough for Hamilton to take the title in only his second season in the sport, but when he was overtaken by Sebastian Vettel’s Toro Rosso with three laps to go, Hamilton had been relegated to sixth. For the second successive year, the championship seemed to be slipping away from Hamilton, but the wet weather intensified on the final lap and left Timo Glock’s Toyota stranded on dry tyres. He was powerless to resist Vettel and Hamilton, who passed Glock into the final corner on the last lap of the season. Ferrari celebrated, thinking they had won, as did McLaren. It was the latter who had it right; Hamilton had secured the title in the most sensational fashion possible.

This season’s title battle may have been settled a long time ago, but let’s hope Brazil produces another special event this weekend to conclude the 2011 Formula One season.

English rugby exposed by embarrassing media leaks

2011-11-24T16:52:00.000+00:00

AFTER three and a half years in one of the most pressurised hotseats in sport, Martin Johnson elected to stand down as England’s rugby union coach last week. Johnson, who had no previous coaching experience before this role has made the decision after a dismal World Cup in New Zealand, which included off-field issues involving captain Mike Tindall and Manu Tuliagi jumping off a ferry. Quarter-final elimination at the hands of France was the final straw for Johnson, whose decision gives Rob Andrew and the RFU the chance to find a replacement in time for next year’s Six Nations.

At a press conference to explain his decision, Johnson said; “While we’ve had our most successful season with ten wins from 13, we are disappointed with how we ended it with the World Cup. I think it’s the right decision at this time. It’s a thoughtful and considered opinion.” On Twitter, former England captain Will Carling was disappointed with the final outcome; “Sad for MJ, the man was an awesome player, an incredible captain and one of the greatest England players.”

RESIGNING: Martin Johnson has decided to leave after World Cup failure

As a player, Martin Johnson had considerable success with Leicester Tigers at club rugby level and England on the international stage. He won 84 caps in test rugby, with the big moment seeing Johno captaining England to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. In his 38 game reign as coach, he only won 21, coming out with a 55 per cent win conversion since succeeding Brian Ashton in 2008. Under Johnson, England did beat Australia home and away last summer and won the Six Nations in 2011 for the first time in eight years, but even that success was tempered by being denied the Grand Slam in Dublin by Ireland.

Rob Andrew now needs to look for a replacement, but that looks like being a difficult challenge. New Zealand World Cup winning coach Graeme Henry ruled himself out of the running in midweek, saying he only wants to be involved in an advisory role with a Heineken Cup team. Jake White, who won the Webb Ellis Trophy with South Africa in 2007 and former England boss Sir Clive Woodward have already said they aren’t interested in taking over the reins. The favourite with many seems to be Northampton Saints coach Jim Mallander, who already looks after the careers of England stars such as Chris Ashton. Mallander has indicated that he is interested in the role, but the RFU seem reluctant at the moment to make a decision.

What seems to be a more pressing concern for the RFU is the damming leak to The Times newspaper of player comments made by the squad during the disaster in New Zealand. The leak contains information that would normally be handled in a confidential manner and will leave Andrew being asked some serious questions over his already tricky position. We don’t know how much The Times got hold of, nor how many players views have been published, but some of the comments below make for grim reading for the RFU;

“The man-management was absolutely terrible.”

“There wasn’t enough focus on basic skills.”

“I really can’t believe we lasted as long as we did in the tournament. We played like c##p.”

“To go into World Cup games not having a game-plan, any structure or clear idea of what we were going to do in attack was astonishing.”

“Coaches did not put enough trust in players on the field.”

“We just wanted Johno to have the b######s to take action, especially after the Tindall night. He was too loyal and that was his downfall.”

“It was amazing how some players who couldn’t play due to an injury were doing back flips into the swimming pool and playing golf.”

“It’s our own fault we came back so unpopular.”

That is only a selection of what has been released, but it is hugely embarrassing for everyone connected with English rugby. At a time where there is no structure in place, players are trying to win back reputation and multi-million sponsorship contracts from the likes of Nike and O2 waiting for urgent renewal, this comes at the worst possible time.

While we say goodbye to Martin Johnson and wish him the best for the future, English rugby has got a lot of soul searching to do in the nine weeks before the start of the 2012 RBS Six Nations.

Children in Need 2011 - A record breaking night

2011-11-20T18:18:00.000+00:00

By Jason Wright (Entertainment expert)

RECORDS: Children in Need was very popular again with the public

FAMOUS faces were out in force again at Television Centre for the 32nd staging of the popular BBC Children In Need telethon night. BBC One, as ever, cleared its Friday night schedules for the seven and a half hour marathon of music and entertainment in the aid of giving disadvantaged children a helping hand.

Sir Terry Wogan again oversaw the proceedings across the night and was joined by Alisha Dixon (7:30pm-8:30pm), Tess Daly (8:30pm-10:00pm) and finally Fearne Cotton (10:35pm-2:00am.) With the financial times getting so tough, it was predicted that the appeal night total would be down again for the third year in a row. They were wrong!

X-Factor boyband One Direction were the headline act of performances, getting the girls screaming out more as usual. JLS, Susan Boyle, the reunited Steps, Olly Murs and the Saturdays, which saw Frankie Sandford make a surprise return to the band after several months away due to illness, were among the other musical guests on the show. For this year’s official single, Take That and new X-Factor head judge, Gary Barlow gathered some of the finest acts from the R&B and hip-hop scene, including Rizzle Kicks, Tinchy Stryder and Tulisa from N-Dubz to perform his self-penned song ‘Teardrop.’ The song however was blighted with a sound failure in the microphones during its performance on the show.

BBC programmes once again got in on the act. The cast of EastEnders paid tribute to rock legends Queen, Lord Sugar took on the terrifying Dragons in a special Dragons Den sketch. There was a special edition of Never Mind the Buzzcocks shown on BBC Two during the interlude on BBC One for the Ten O’clock News and Doctor Who fans were treated to a special sneak preview of the upcoming Christmas episode. BBC Radio 2 rose over £2 million through their popular ‘Money Can’t Buy’ auction and ‘Music Marathon’ events.

Of course though, Children In Need wouldn’t be the same without something from the BBC News team. This year, four of the presenting team – Emily Maitlis, Sophie Raworth, Susanna Reid and Sian Williams joined forces with four professionals from Strictly Come Dancing for a special group dance. Strictly is one of a few programmes to raise interest in Children In Need, and this weekend’s show is being broadcast from Wembley Arena in front of an audience of 6,000. In three weeks from now, 10,000 will be seated inside the same arena for the X-Factor final weekend.

Outside of appeal night, other companies have been offering their support for good causes. Some of the most highlighted were:

· ASDA sold a wide variety of Children In Need kitchenware and Pudsey Bear gingerbread biscuits.

· Greggs sold Children In Need themed cupcakes and doughnuts.

· Boots sold Pudsey teddy bears along with key rings and wristbands. Wristbands were also on sale in Post Offices.

· Welcome Break motorway service stations and CostCo cash & carry stores displayed donation boxes.

· Build-A-Bear Workshop had Pudsey teddy bears in a wide range of different outfits.

All that, along with the rolling donations from the night, ensured that Children In Need against all odds broke the record for an on-the-night total, raising a massive £26,332,334. This was over six million higher than the previous record set in 2008. The final total is already projected to hit over £45 million.

It proved that despite the doom and gloom on the financial market that for just that one night, Britain can afford to pick their phones and give some money in the aid of a good cause.

Turning the corner

2011-11-18T22:01:00.000+00:00

By Simon Wright (Personal piece)

“I know what is around the corner – I just don’t know where the corner is.” – Kevin Keegan (Former England manager)

SORRY Kevin, no-one knows what is around the corner, but the unexpected can happen so easily to derail things. However, the second part of that quote can sometimes be said when you are looking for love. However, this isn’t me pining for something special, this is turning around the corner and feeling positive about me again and that’s the first time I can say that about myself in a long time.

I can’t quite believe it; it has been such a positive week but the trick worked. As people who know me, follow the blog, I think the problems I’ve faced of late have been well-documented. I’ve been a troubled soul before ‘production week,’ last week. I returned feeling refreshed, with as much power from a standard Duracell battery and ready to take on everything again. However, what was important was to bring my old self back and return to the caring, supportive, relaxed side that had worked so well in the final weeks of second year at University. I feel that I have achieved this and I’m on the edge of continuing this momentum.

Mondays can be such a long slog; but the 9-6 day (with a three hour gap in-between) is good practice for all trainee journalists. Not only does it remind those who have undergone placement and faced this, it is what is to be expected at the minimum after graduation. I came home feeling that everything went according to plan and that is the first Monday I’ve felt like that since my birthday over six weeks ago. I got something out of all the timetabled lectures/sessions, was encouraged by progress made in a group project and understood how to reference a dissertation within your work. Yep, it was all largely encouraging. If there was a black mark, then it was confirmation of a choice of five topics for a 2,000 word feature; abortion, death penalty, the right to bear arms, freedom of expression and something else that I can’t remember! Not a great choice, but as one of my close friends on the course Ellie said the other week, it is no good complaining about this in a proper job. We all have strengths and weaknesses and sometimes you need to work on the weaknesses. Excitement is not going to feature in this piece when I write it up, but I can stay encouraged by attempting something that might not only help me understand the law a bit more, but you never know what you might find out in your research. Oh, I’m not writing about abortion or the death penalty, I do have my limits when it comes to this!

It certainly is and something I want to get used to

The good vibe continued on Tuesday when I went in to have my first detailed meeting with my tutor on my dissertation. For stating the obvious, I will not be revealing what I’m doing, but I had already written up my first chapter and felt ahead of the game. There was a lot of red pen on the paperwork I sent in, which could be seen as a bad thing. However, the feedback was very detailed, very constructive and I know what I can change and attempt to improve; e.g.; my exaggerated use of language. Criticism can come in many forms and it is something I have struggled time and again to accept. I’m one of those who would rather learn and improve, rather than someone come up to me and say; ‘Your work is rubbish, start again you imbecile!’ I still feel confident in meeting my dissertation targets and believe I’m well on track to succeed with one of the toughest challenges.

It doesn’t end there; I’m now feeling like I’m contributing far more to the group project on Silverstone and motor racing too. I’m helping out with two of the three tasks and only attempting to stay clear of the third task on the worry that a technical involvement (i.e. editing) will end up in me having to change the tougher individual project. I feel everything is under control with this too and the good news is I can restart the production folder. Okay, it’s not the most attractive piece, but for me, a crucial one. For those who probably were ready to write me off and they may have had a point a fortnight ago, my message now is ‘Who’s laughing now!’ I’m not one to brag, never have been but I feel like I have proven myself and I can cope with third year. Yes, it is a shame that it took seven weeks to get a grip of it, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. While I am mentioning laughing, I love that song by Jessie J!

Has there been any frustration this week, not personally anyways. BlackBerry’s do seem to have a severe lack of application memory space and the bumbling Sepp Blatter still refuses to quit as FIFA president after a disgraceful comment he made about racism in football. However, both events are out of my control, so I will not let these issues bother me. On the charging side of things, I would like to know why the FA (Football Association) charged Luis Suarez 32 days after Liverpool played Manchester United in the Premiership. Suarez is alleged to have said something to United defender Patrice Evra in the 1-1 draw last month at Anfield. You would have thought that he would have been charged on the Monday after the game, not a month later. However, it is the alleged bit that really strikes me and can be used so much in journalism. ‘He allegedly said,’ or ‘I think this guy has no place in society’ allegedly – it is a word that is so often used to protect quotes and sources. That’s the thing with this; we don’t know what Suarez said and that’s the same with John Terry in the QPR v Chelsea stormy encounter. The British justice system has been questioned in the past, but I’m maintaining the belief that these two are innocent until proven guilty and they shouldn’t be trialled by media.

Finally, Christmas is not far away now and I can’t wait. It is weird for me to feel like this, especially as it didn’t appeal so much a few years ago (2006, 2007 era). Christmas is a time of year where you forget the bad times and remember the good moments, not just in the present, but the past year too. It is a time for reflection, a time to be with family and the time to indulge in all that food, drink and TV. In fact, the build-up is almost just as exciting as the day itself. Let’s never forget the meaning of the festive season and for anyone who says; ‘It’s not Christmas yet,’ it's on TV now and here is my vindication that it is;

See you next time!