Sunday Mercury - Telly Talk

Wow, This Morning, what a shock. Not.

2009-07-15T16:35:39Z

WELL, that wasn't much of a surprise, was it?

I have just discovered, via the medium of Twitter (how 21st century am I!) that Phillip Schofield's new partner on This Morning is Holly Willoughby.

Yeah well, whatever. Yawn. She was always a front runner, and it's just a bit boring to keep seeing the same faces on TV. Having taken over Dancing On Ice, this couple are now teaming up again in the mornings.

I wish Holly all the best, as she has big shoes to fill. I'm not sure if she's a great presenter yet with the required interviewing skills, but she has potential.

And I do like her attitude towards her curves. I hope she's not now embarking on a huge weight loss campaign before her debut in September, as she promises she is in no rush to lose her pregnancy weight (she gave birth to Harry two months ago).

Holly has said: "I'm still wearing my maternity clothes. I believe in nine months up, nine months down. I'm breast-feeding Harry, so I am not going to diet.

"I have never worried about my weight or diets. I'll never be a skinny girl." Good on you, girl!

By the way, I can recommend following Phillip on Twitter. He's full of funny remarks about his day, though my favourite Tweeter is still Alan Carr. Today he's been talking about meeting Katie Price and said: "I am now swinging between Camp Peter and Camp Katie - which i guess just makes me camp."

I still don't feel sorry for Katie Price and her mass of contradictions

2009-07-11T21:21:16Z

Sorry Katie, but I'm just not convinced.

Despite your protestations, you went on TV tonight to gain sympathy because you were fed up with everyone being on Peter Andre's side.

And I was willing to be won over, but all I got from the Piers Morgan interview was a mass of contradictions.

You said "I'm shy and reserved" (yeah, right!) and then "I'm an exhibitionist".

You said "I never thought I'd get divorced" then "I knew we'd split up eventually".

You claimed "I'm over him, I've moved on, I'm happy", before talking about the "emotional torture" you'd been through and that "I still love him"

I would hope you do have some feelings towards him, Katie. I just didn't buy your emotionless act at the start of the interview, when you said you were fine and had moved on. Eight weeks is not enough time to mourn a marriage.

Your lack of feeling while discussing the split made the later tears harder to accept. I'm sorry you lost her baby, but I can't help thinking you made this revelation to get sympathy. It's hard not to feel manipulated.

What are we supposed to believe? There are far too many mixed messages here.
Piers did his best to probe her but I have no more idea what the real Katie Price is like now than I did before.

Torchwood must be coming back, surely?

2009-07-10T22:02:46Z

Wow! Wasn't the last episode of Torchwood fabulous?

John Barrowman complained about only having five episodes rather than 13 in the series, but I think it was a masterstroke of scheduling (and I very rarely say that) to show them every night this week, cleverly building up the tension to a brilliant finale.

Emotional, exciting, chilling, controversial, it was stirring stuff.

Russell T Davies was correct to mention Doctor Who in the script, but didn't really address the rather huge question of why he hadn't turned up to save the world. Being ashamed really doesn't cover it.

But what an exit Captain Jack made, beaming himself up into the sky! He's got to come back, surely?

Unlike Robin Hood (shame on you, BBC, for axeing it), Torchwood must continue, even if there's hardly any of the team left and Gwen will be off on maternity leave. At least they can recruit Lois Habiba, the only person alive able to put in hard contact lenses for the first time without her eyes watering. Now that's hard.

She's played by the even-more-wonderfully named Cush Jumbo, not that I was able to ascertain that from the credits which raced by at the speed of light. Slow down, please!

Sian Reeves to show 'em how it's done in Emmerdale

2009-07-07T16:47:54Z

Congratulations to the Emmerdale producers for bagging Sian Reeves.

The West Bromwich and Staffordshire lass is a great TV actress. She was fab in Cutting It and is currently one of the best things about Hope Springs.

EastEnders let her slip through their fingers when they cast her for just a few episodes as Elaine, nasty manager of Fargo's restaurant.

But now she has a chance to really make her mark on a soap. She starts filming in Emmerdale soon as Sally Spode, an old love interest of Ashley Thomas. When she appears in August, it emerges she was the vicar's first love, so his wife Laurel is unnerved to see her in the village.

As well as being talented, Sian is a really nice woman. I've interviewed her several times and always found her friendly, chatty and open.

Last time she told me all about battling back from an horrific accident which left her bed-bound for 10 months and really knocked her confidence.

She was worried she would never work again, but this latest news really puts paid to those fears!

Nathaniel Parker brightens up my day

2009-07-03T18:36:55Z

There are some weeks when I really love my job, and this has been one of them.

I'm still not quite over meeting lovely Johnny Depp, but I spent this afternoon in the sunshine, in the depths of beautiful Warwickshire countryside, in the company of another charming actor.

It's a tough job but someone's got to do it.

The man in question was Nathaniel Parker, star of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries who was filming a new BBC period drama, Land Girls, filmed entirely on location in the Midlands.

Nat is rather posh but not in the least bit stuck-up. A thoroughly nice, articulate and witty gent, he even made me a cup of coffee!

It seems the rest of the country has finally caught up with what we knew all along - that the Midlands is THE place to film.

I understand one Birmingham hotel is currently packed full of stars, with the cast of Land Girls breakfasting on one table while Max Beesley and his Survivors co-stars eat at another. And, of course, Hustle is also coming to town.

We're where it's at, you know.

How Johnny Depp left me feeling a little faint

2009-06-30T18:54:11Z

I've spent today feeling rather hot and bothered, and that's not just down to the weather (and sweltering on the Tube. I don't know how Londoners do it every day).

The reason for the rise in temperature was due to the close proximity of Mr Johnny Depp.

I've met a lot of famous people, but there's something special about being in the presence of a real movie star, and Johnny is one of them.

I was a big fan before, but he really bowled me over.
He just oozes charisma and is a thoroughly nice bloke.

I went to the press conference for his new film Public Enemies and found him to be witty, polite. self-deprecating and articulate, not to mention rather gorgeous. All the women in the room, and half the men, suddenly became a bit giggly when he smiled at us.

Read my full interview with him in Friday's Birmingham Mail.

We also met Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard, who was beautiful but a bit barmy.

Halfway through the interview, she suddenly noticed a digital recorder taping her and seemed rather startled.

"It's going round!" she cried.

She only managed a few more sentences before stopping and staring at the device, saying: "It's funny, no? It's alive!"

How she ever manages to cope with all the high-tech equipment on a film set without pointing is beyond me.

But then she is French.

How June 25 left me emotionally drained

2009-06-26T09:35:37Z

The phrase 'emotional rollercoaster' tends to be overused, but I certainly felt like I was on one yesterday, thanks to the entertainment world.

First I watched the new film My Sister's Keeper, which is great but really puts audiences through it. I recommend taking a big box of tissues, as only the hardest of hearts could sit through this human drama and not shed a tear. If you're like me, you'll spend most of the film sniffling and quietly sobbing.

Then came the final two episodes of Grey's Anatomy, which also put us through it. We had an inkling that Izzie might not make it to the end of the series as she has cancer - and actress Katherine Heigl wants to concentrate on her film career - but then came the double emotional whammy of George landing in his own hospital, about to kick the bucket after being hit by a bus.

Feeling drained by all this heart-wringing drama, I then learned the incredible news that Michael Jackson had died. And let's not forget the earlier demise of Farrah Fawcett, a TV legend who I grew up watching on Charlie's Angels.

What a day. For once, emotional rollercoaster doesn't do it justice.

Transformers is transformed by IMAX - but please leave the kids at home

2009-06-20T17:08:51Z

I've just seen Transformers 2 at the IMAX in Birmingham. It was great to see it on such a huge screen and encouraging to see so many punters in the cinema, with barely an empty seat to be had.

But why did parents bring along such young children? This isn't a film designed for three and four-year-olds (it's a 12A certificate, after all), who are never going to sit still for 151 minutes, let alone follow the plot. I had trouble enough keeping up with the gubbins about the Matrix of Leadership and Tomb of the Primes, so no wonder the kids started to fidget.

I don't blame them for causing a disturbance as most were pretty well-behaved, but I wish parents would think before taking their children to the cinema.

Incidentally, I'd love a pair of Megan Fox's self-cleaning white jeans. She rolled around in the desert dust for hours before the bright white, tight pair showed any sign of dirt.

Cheers, chief, Great British Menu was a triumph

2009-06-16T20:25:44Z

Congratulations to my fellow Mercury blogger Glynn Purnell for his part in the Great British Menu banquet to honour homecoming servicemen and women.

He represented Birmingham brilliantly with his mouth-watering curried monkfish dish. I just wish I could taste it, as it looked a wonderful meal.

Though probably not quite, as judge Oliver dramatically overstated it, "a life-changing experience". Food is important but not THAT important.

That exaggeration isn't something you'd catch Glynn coming out with. He takes his food seriously but not himself, unlike a lot of the po-faced chefs who took part in this competition.

The banquet made me proud to be British. Well done, Glynn, or as he would say, cheers chief!

Halfwit lives up to his name in snore-bore Big Brother

2009-06-15T22:20:26Z

Zzzzzz....excuse me while I nod off. I've just tuned in to Big Brother for the first time in a few days, and wondered why I bothered.

Hardly anything happened. Even the task was boring, dressing them up as dancing flowers. Make them suffer more! Bring back the electric shocks!

The housemates need something to liven them up. About the only character worth commenting on is posh Freddie, who, despite his Oxbridge education, is living up to his new name of Halfwit.

He's forever going on about how clever he is, but he didn't have the sense to realise he was the victim of a lame practical joke when he hid by his bed for a whole 31 minutes in a one-sided game of Hide and Seek.

Though he tried to claim he knew exactly what was going on and had turned it into a "win-win" situation.

Eh? That makes as much sense as describing arguments in the house as "cleansing healthy debate". No wonder he wants to be a politician, though by saying "I don't mind if people don't take me seriously" he clearly models himself on Boris Johnson.

"I want to make politics cool, sexy and fun," says the man who's neither cool nor sexy, or, indeed, much fun. Good luck with that!

Your chance to put the questions on Question Time in Brum

2009-06-08T16:07:46Z

Fancy putting a bunch of politicians in the hot seat and calling them to account for the mess the Commons and country is in?

Then here's your chance. This week's Question Time was to come from Llandudno, but BBC bosses have quite rightly decided that Birmingham is better than a wet Welsh town, so they've shifted the location.

Though it's really more to do with the fact that, due to the fast-changing nature of politics these days - who knows who's going to resign next? - the show could go out live on Thursday.

If you fancy being in the audience and giving an MP what for, ring Alison Fuller on 01299 829299 or long on to the BBC website www.bbc.co.uk/questiontime

Big mistake, Sir Alan, huge!

2009-06-07T21:39:29Z

NOOOoooooooooo! Right, Suralan, we need to talk. We're beginning to take this personally.

Do you have a downer on Midlanders? Why won't you recruit one as your apprentice?

You should have gone for Wolverhampton's Ruth Badger a few years ago and blew that chance.
Now tonight you passed up the opportunity to employ Cannock's own Pretty Woman, Kate Walsh. Big mistake. Huge!

It was a genuinely tense boardroom and I really didn't know which way it was going to go. I had a feeling Suralan was always going to go for Yasmina, even though Kate has clearly performed better.

Her chocolates were much nicer. I knew Yasmina knew nothing about the subject when she said white chocolate was her favourite, a sure sign of a pretender who likes childish chocolate like Milky Bars.

Yasmina was also, once again, a huge fibber. "Everyone has given us positive feedback," she said of her Cocoa Electric chocs. What, even the people who spat them out in disgust?

Ben was still harping on with his tacky sex sells projects, while Philip showed he can dance as well as sing. But they were, after all, taking advice from a bloke who still thought Pantsman was a great idea.

Almost as bad as Kate not winning was the bombshell that Margaret is leaving. At least Nick, my favourite, will return next series.

So a disappointing evening, but never mind Kate, Yasmina has to now work with digital signage, which sounds really dull.

Multinational Big Brother could be good

2009-06-04T21:53:31Z

It's like the United Nations in the new Big Brother house, though I'm sure it won't stay united for long.

But what's with the multinational feel to it? There are people from Brazil, Russia, America, Iran, Ireland and India. Don't we have enough freaks in England, then?

And then there's Lisa, the 41-year-old unemployed Brummie lesbian. We can feel so proud.

Actually she's really pretty, with a lovely smile, beneath all those piercings and tattoos. I can't see that Mohican hairdo lasting the course, though.

She is one of several contestants who are unemployed. But why bother getting a job when appearing on Big Brother is a career option in itself?

I can foresee problems with too many names that sound similar - Sophie, Sophia, Saffia. I love Sophia though, she's a bundle of fun. Rodrigo is a cutie too.

Wolverine, sorry Marcus, thinks he's so cool but is just weird. As my friend said, "he's the kind of man I worry about my daughter encountering in the park".

Siavash is Justin Lee Collins crossed with Salvador Dali.

So far, so fascinating. I have a feeling it's going to be a great summer!

Win a date with EastEnders heart-throb Scott Maslen

2009-06-04T14:09:21Z

WIN a date with Soap's Sexiest Man!

Having recently won Soap's Sexiest Male category, Scott Maslen is bringing his charm to Oceana and YOU and a mate could spend a few precious moments in VIP with him!

On Saturday June 13, Scott aka 'Jack the lad from Walford' will be at the club to celebrate Oceana's 'revived, reborn and revisited' new look.

It includes weekly TV personal appearances; a fabulous women-only pink room; just-for-fun casino and a new format of live music entertainment called Bandaoke.

We have one pair of special VIP tickets to give away that includes VIP access, a bottle of champagne AND the chance to meet Scott in person.

To win just tell us the answer to the following question:

Which city is EastEnders set in?

a) London

b) Birmingham

c) Liverpool

By Email: Email your entry to entry@mrn.co.uk using the word 'Mercury Scott' as your subject line, please include a contact phone number

Sunday Mercury and Trinity Mirror group companies may contact you by email, phone or letter with details of goods and services you may be interested in. You will not be charged for these messages.

Terms and Conditions:

Email entries are free. Competition opens 4pm Thursday June 4 and closes 9am Wednesday June 10 2009.

Open to UK residents aged 18/over only. Please ask bill payer's permission before entering.

Prize is for one winner and a friend aged 18 years or over only. Management reserve the right to refuse entry at all times.

Winner will be contacted on Wednesday June 10 2009. If no contact has been made by midday Thursday June 11 an alternative winner will be picked at random.

Check out more information at www.oceanaclubs.com/birmingham or call the club on 0845 402 5390.

Standard Trinity Mirror rules apply see www.trinitymirror-midlands.co.uk/rules.

Why Kate should win The Apprentice

2009-06-03T23:02:54Z

Well, that wasn't too surprising, was it? We knew Kate would make the final of the Apprentice, and Yasmina stood a good chance too.

After all, of the remaining candidates, they're the two with the Midland connections, so of course Suralan would go for them! Yasmina's is more tenuous - her father lived in Kidderminster for several years - so we should be rooting for Cannock Kate.

Especially as Yasmina is such a liar. If Suralan wants to employ a barefaced fibber, he should go for Yasmina. I was amazed when she came out of a terrible interview with Claude, who told her she was talking nonsense, and said: "That was actually enjoyable!" Rubbish!

She has fab shoes but her hairbands annoy me, and, worryingly, they seemed to have spread to Kate during the Final Five documentary.

Apart from the dodgy headgear, is Kate just too good to be true? Who'd have thought it could be such a disadvantage. "You're Little Miss Perfect, aren't you?" said Claude, in that insulting way he has.

It wasn't surprising, but I was sad to see James go, as I'll miss his wonderful metaphors and imagery. This week he talked about not wanting Suralan "kicking me so hard up the arse I've got his toes for teeth". Brilliant!

He should learn to close his mouth, though, as that gormless look really does make him look like the village idiot.