Pop Buzz UK

The new series of Doctor Who begins on British television this coming Saturday, with the first episode showing at 6.20pm on BBC One.

There’s been debate over whether the BBC have done the right thing in moving the cult series from its 7pm timeslot. I personally think it’s a bad move, especially when you consider it’s only been done to allow the God awful reality show I’d Do Anything to nab the prime time slot instead.

Regardless of when it’s on however, I and millions of others will be glued to our screens week after week for the next few months, so here is a short preview of the upcoming series.

David Tennant once again returns as the Doctor, although he does have a new assistant in the form of Donna Noble, played by Catherine Tate.

I wasn’t too keen on her character, and performance in the Christmas special but having seen previews of her in the new series at the cinema over the last few weeks, I think she’s upped her game, and become more of a traditional assistant.

Martha Jones, the Doctor’s last full-time assistant will also be making an appearance in a few episodes, as will Rose, played by Billie Piper, after she somehow manages to bypass the previously closed void between her and the Doctor.

Also returning for brief appearances will be Captain Jack, and Sarah Jane Smith, as well as Rose’s mother Jackie Tyler, and the lovable Mickey Smith.

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This week saw Leona Lewis hit number one on the US Billboard charts with Bleeding Love, becoming the first solo British female music artist to do so in 21 years, and only the fourth ever. Not bad for a winner of a reality television show!

Londoner Lewis won The X-Factor back in 2006, beating Ray Quinn in a final which was pretty much already decided before it even began. Where is Quinn now? I’m guessing on a cruise ship somewhere impressing old ladies with blue rinses with his generic brand of Rat Pack style swing music.

Leona meanwhile is on the cusp of a brilliant career, which with this success in the States will probably see her earn a huge pile of cash, although it’s not yet enough to buy a house in her home town of Hackney.

The Americans may be a bit slow on the uptake with how good Lewis is, as before hitting the top spot in the US, she’s already done it in many other countries around the world, including of course, the UK, where she spent 7 weeks at the top at the end of last year, and bagged the best selling single of 2007 in to the bargain.

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I’m a big fan of The Apprentice, both the US and UK series actually. Donald Trump has his hairpiece, while Alan Sugar has a face more wrinkly than a bulldog’s backside.

The British version of the series which sees a collection of supposedly the best candidates in the country competing for a job with Sir Alan returned on Wednesday night, and it is already set to be an explosive year.

First we got to meet the sixteen new candidates, although some were so lacking in personality, I couldn’t tell you their name, where they were from, or what they contributed to the show.

They are all very good looking this year though, with the producers seeming to have started picking people as much for their dress sense and grooming as their business acumen.

The teams met Alan, and were then set their first task even before being shown the house they will be sharing for the next few months.

As is traditional, they were separated along gender lines to begin, although that will likely change in a few week’s time. The men called themselves Renaissance, while the ladies opted for Alpha.

The task was as simple as anything, at least in theory: The teams being given £600 worth of fresh fish and being told to sell them at a market for as much profit as possible.

Unfortunately, both teams went off half-cocked, with very little preparation meaning that pricing, and even labelling were all wrong.

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Noooooooooo, please say it ain’t so! When I posted last week about the end of the marriage between Paul McCartney and Heather Mills with a high court judge awarding the one-legged model $48 million, I thought that would be it, end of the matter.

I was hoping beyond hope that I could avoid talking about the whole sorry mess ever again here on Pop Buzz UK. Unfortunately, my plan has come crashing down after just six days, and here we have another post on the topic.

It’s not my fault, it’s Heather Mills fault, as she just won’t shut up about it all. Instead she seems intent on keeping herself and her many tales of woe in the public eye for as long as she can.

According to The News Of The World, she is bitter about the divorce ruling, and only receiving $48 million, rather than the $250 million she was asking for. And so is hatching plans get revenge on Paul, his lawyer (who has already had a glass of water thrown over her) and the high court judge who branded her a liar.

She has allegedly told a friend:

“He’s a Beatles fan. His ruling was so one-sided. It just shows that when you’re a Beatle you’re untouchable. The ruling shows an element of Beatle worship. The judge is just another person who idolises Paul McCartney.”

Rubbish, the high court judge just gave his opinion. Just because it wasn’t an opinion in your favour doesn’t mean that it was wrong or for any other ludicrous reason.

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Gordon Brown became Prime Minister on June 27th of 2007 when Tony Blair retired from his position as head of the British government.

Since then, the economy has taken a jolt, and there have been numerous problems for the dour Scot to overcome. But would the Beckhams really do a better job?

According to a survey commissioned by Current TV, the British people, or at least the 2,000 odd who gave their views on Britishness. would rather see David and Victoria lead the country than Gordon Brown.

The responders were asked: Who would be the worst people to run the country?

Ex-Big Brother contestant Jade Goody topped the poll with 24% of the vote, while junkie singer Amy Winehouse wasn’t far behind on 16%. In third place was Ex-Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona, with current Prime Minister Gordon Brown in fourth place on 11%.

Peter Andre and Katie Price received 9% of the votes while 6% felt the Beckhams would be the worst leaders of the UK. So by default, we’d prefer to have an over the hill footballer and a woman who has made a career out of not being able to sing in charge of the country rather than Brown himself!

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Well thank God, disguised in the form Judge Hugh Bennett, that that is all over! These divorce proceedings between Heather Mills and Paul McCartney have been going on for far too long, and got far too bitchy, but finally they are at an end.

The celebrity couple, well an ex-Beatle and a one legged ex-model at least. split up over two years ago, but it has taken this long for the pair to settle on a financial deal, and then only because a high court judge decided the outcome for them.

Mills has ended up with $48.6 million, which is broken down in to a lump sum of $33 million to add to the assets she already holds (basically, property, cars, furniture etc) which she already holds. On top of that, the couple’s 4-year-old daughter Beatrice will receive $70,000 per annum, as well as McCartney having to pay for the child’s nanny and school fees.

While McCartney retained his dignity (what little he had left after this charade) by remaining silent at the end of the court proceedings, Mills called an impromptu press conference to express her delight at the outcome.

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Just a year after moving out to Los Angeles, it looks like the Beckhams American dream could be about to end, as rumours emerge of a desire to leave LA and head back to the UK.

Last January it was announced that David Beckham had signed for the LA Galaxy, ending his successful stint at Spain’s Real Madrid, and signalling a future in the States for the footballer and his untalented wife.

At the time, Beckham secured a five year contract worth £120,000 (about $250,000) a week, but seeing as he spent most of his first season “playing” at the club on the bench, I’m not sure that was such a good investment.

The celebrity couple were welcomed to LA by Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, who threw a massive party for their new showbiz mates… although it didn’t work and Becks hasn’t signed up to become a Scientologist.

Now, according to a source speaking to OK! Magazine, Becks is eyeing a possible return to the UK, stating he would be happiest if someone bought out his contract with Galaxy, enabling him to play in England while still earning the same sort of money.

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The X Factor Judges are at it again, trying to upstage the acts as usual, and this time, surprise surprise, it’s over money. For once Simon Cowell isn’t actually involved, as he’s sorted. He’s currently in the middle of a three year contract with ITV which sees him get paid £20 million. Nice work if you can get it.

The rest of the vultures though, Dannii Minogue, Sharon Osbourne & Louis Walsh, are after more money because they’ve been asked to work an extra day a week during the next series. Yes, that means 2 days a week instead of one… ah diddums.

Basically, because of the unexpected success of the BBC1 show, Strictly Come Dancing, the next series of The X Factor will run over two days a week instead of one, with the results show being moved from Saturday night to Sunday.

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The Spice Girls brought their comeback to a stuttering halt last month when they played their last concert together in Toronto, Canada, on February 26th. The tour was meant to carry on of course, but the girls had earlier announced that they were cutting the tour short.

There have been many arguments put forward as to why this happened. The Spice Girls official explanation was that “family and personal commitments” had forced the group to abandon the tour, despite having already promised to play places such as Beijing, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires. The fans in these places were expected to just accept that reason, but a lot didn’t.

What most people believe is that the girls just simply couldn’t stand to be together any longer than absolutely necessary, and stopped the tour at the earliest available opportunity, although Mel C has denied that any great rift happened to cause the group to split for the second time.

She told Rolling Stones magazine:

“All of us have really enjoyed getting closer again. The whole atmosphere on the tour [was] very fun and there hasn’t been time for any bickering or the fighting that’s always reported about the Spice Girls. It’s just like a big family. There’s been more laughing than anything else.”

“We’ve been through something so unique together that even if we don’t see each other for a few months, we get together and it’s been like no time has passed at all.”

There’s a reason these reports keep cropping up though, because there’s evidence to back them up, with sources close to the girls reporting constant arguments. There’s never any smoke without fire. Egos probably pay a huge factor in that, with each of the five girls thinking they are the bigger star.

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On Thursday, it was revealed that Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, was fighting in Afghanistan. The British press had kept it quiet due to a media blackout, but The Drudge Report, an American website famous for breaking the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky story, revealed the truth.

Prince Harry was then immediately brought back to the UK, due to the MOD deciding that it would be too great a risk to keep him out in a war zone fighting the Taleban.

Harry arrived home on Saturday morning, landing at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire at 11.29am with around 170 other soldiers. Two of the men he was travelling with were severely injured, which prompted Harry to insist “”Don’t call me a hero, those are the heroes.”

He spoke to the media about his experiences in the war torn country, saying:

You do what you have to do, what’s necessary to save your own guys.

“If you need to drop a bomb, worst case scenario then you will, but then that’s just the way it is.

“It’s not nice to drop bombs but to save lives that’s what happens. You do what you have to do to save your own guys.”

He also insisted that he’d be more than happy to go back, claiming he wants to sit down with his colonel and talk through various options.

It was also revealed that Prince William could soon be serving with the navy, as he will soon be commissioned and serve on a frigate or destroyer in one of the world’s trouble spots.

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