Pop Buzz UK

Blake’s 7, the cult sci-fi series which ran on the BBC between 1978 and 1981 is set to be remade by Sky. A revival has been asked for by fans for years, and now that Doctor Who has proved science fiction can work on prime time, Sky are keen to bring it back.

The show was originally launched after the worldwide success of Star Wars, but proved to be a much darker storyline with cynical characters.

In the original show, Blake was a political dissident who formed a gang of rebels (Blake’s 7) to escape deportation to a remote planet. The series ended with the whole crew being massacred. However, Blake, his lieutenant Avon, and Servalan, the Supreme Commander, are all set to be revived as part of the new series.

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Last November, Richard and Judy shocked every student and OAP in the UK when they announced that they would be giving up their daily teatime Channel 4 show. They decided not to renew their contract when it came to an end in 2008, in order to pursue new ventures.

They have since announced a new show on a new look UKTV channel, which sounds like it’ll be exactly the same as their Channel 4 show, which was in turn, exactly like This Morning.

It’s not yet known which channel the new show will be on, but with UKTV already having rebranded UKTV G2 as Dave, a move which I discussed and obviously celebrated last September, it could be an old channel given a brand new face.

Judy Finnegan said:

“When we announced our decision to leave our current television series after seven years, we were very touched by the number of people - friends, family, guests, viewers and broadcasters - who told us how much they wanted to see us continuing making programmes together.”

I’m afraid I won’t be following them over to the new channel, as after 20 years of doing the same dull crap, I think I’ve had enough of the pair, and want to see someone new doing something innovative. But what will be taking over Richard and Judy’s old timeslot on Channel 4?

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We all know Robbie Williams has had his problems in the past, with drink, drugs, and food. He seems to be addicted to everything, including sex. But it seems he may be about to get another problem in to the problem - Gillian McKeith wants to help him deal with his issues. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, even my worst enemy.

McKeith is the nutritionist and dietician, who has made her fortune telling people You Are What You Eat and rifling through their shit. Although she certainly knows her stuff, and offers sensible, healthy advice about eating, the way she does it is to act like a stern headmistress, talking down to grown adults as if they are twelve years old. I can’t see the free-spirited Williams taking kindly to that.

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I’ll tell you right here and now that I am not a journalist. I am a freelance writer, and a professional blogger, and some of my work comes close to be what you’d describe as journalism, but still I would never assume to call myself a journalist. I don’t earn enough from what I do for starters.

However, I am more of a journalist than Coleen McLoughlin ever will be, which makes it slightly absurd to learn that is what she has entered as her occupation on the wedding banns for her forthcoming marriage to England footballer Wayne Rooney.

This is a joke right? Coleen McLoughlin is a WAG, nothing more, nothing less. Good on her for bagging a young footballer who went on to become a great player for Manchester United and England, but I think its time for a reality check.

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The BAFTA Television Awards took place tonight at the London Palladium, and the ceremony was full of surprises, as a series of unexpected winners took home the trophies.

The ceremony is an annual back slapping for the cream of British television, with actors, directors and programmes being awarded for the last twelve months.

The big winners were the cast and crew of Gavin and Stacey, a little sitcom which has built a cult following on BBC Three over the past two years.

The show, currently on its second series, won programme of the year, while its star, and co-writer James Corden, who is rumoured to be dating songstress Lily Allen, won the award for best comedy performance.

The series beat The Apprentice, Strictly Come Dancing and Britain’s Got Talent to the title, while Corden beat such illustrious names as Stephen Merchant (Extras) and David Mitchell (Peep Show).

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Do you remember Big Brother 8 star Chanelle Hayes? You know, the one who thought she was Victoria Beckham, even though she looks nothing like her, and has a northern accent. I know she was pretty forgettable, but rack your brains, as she now has her very own sex tape, and surprise surprise, it’s leaked on to the Internet.

Well, I say sex tape, when what I really mean is a sad 40 second clip of her cavorting on a bed in underwear. If this isn’t a faked sex tape which has been purposely leaked on the Web in an effort to become more famous, I’ll eat my hat, and yours too.

I can’t put the video here on Pop Buzz UK, because it hasn’t appeared on YouTube, or any of the other sites which offer embedding , quite yet, but it is only a matter of time. Until then, you can view it on The Sun newspaper’s website, although if I were you, I really wouldn’t bother… it’s not worth the effort.

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The story of Mark Speight and his fiancée has taken a terrible final twist today after his body was found hanged at London Paddington train station.

Mark Speight was the TV presenter of children’s programmes such as SMart, Scratchy & Co. and History Buster, who in January, found his fiancée’s body in the bath of the North London flat they shared together.

At first he was arrested on suspicion of murder and supplying Class A drugs. He later admitted the pair had been partying all night, but was cleared of murder, and released on bail.

The BBC then cancelled SMart for the foreseeable future, and Speight quit as presenter.

An inquest, which was opened in January, records Collins’ death as one by misadventure after high levels of cocaine and sleeping pills were found in her blood. The results were made public on April 2nd, by which time Speight is said to be depressed.

On April 7th, Speight was reported missing after failing to meet Collins’ mother for lunch. Today, six days after he disappeared, his body was discovered hanged at Paddington station in London.

This is an absolutely unbelievable ending to a tragedy which has ended up taking two lives away, and affecting many others.

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Britain’s Got Talent started very ropily last year, but was saved when Paul Potts came on stage and blew everyone away. This mild mannered mobile phone salesman got over his crippling lack of confidence to win the final by singing opera like an Italian tenor.

Since then Potts has gone on to have a best selling album and is playing venues around the world. But that was last year, and we need another winner of his calibre. Unfortunately, based on the first episode which has just aired on ITV, that ultra talented individual is going to take a bit of searching.

Don’t get me wrong, there were some good performers on show tonight. The dog was talented, the Christina Aguilera-alikes were nice in their own right, the electric string quartet called Scala were brilliant, and beautiful too. And last but not least there was the Pie Jesu singing 13 year old bully victim.

They were all very good, and the latter even made the hairs on the back of my neck tingle in the same way that Potts managed 12 months ago. However, his voice will break, and then he’ll just become another average singer who Simon Cowell will abuse till kingdom come.

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With the first news on the next UK Big Brother just being revealed, it appears that Poland is just about to dose of Big Brother 3, after programme makers Endemol sold the series lock, stock and barrel to the Polish broadcaster TVN.

While we in the UK are looking forward to the ninth series of the biggest and best reality television show, Polish people are just about to experience what is rightly considered the best ever series.

If you need a reminder, BB3 was the one where Jade Goody, the most successful Big Brother contestant ever, appeared, and showed off her flabby body for all to see in a late night drunken game.

She didn’t end up winning it though, with Kate Lawler proving to be the most popular house mate at the end of the 12 week series.

Endemol has until now just sold the rights to the show’s format rather than a whole series in its entirety, so this is an unusual move on their part.

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Regular readers of Pop Buzz UK will already know of my love for Big Brother, the granddaddy of all reality television shows. This is about the time of year when the rumours start flying about the next series, with fuzzy shots of the house, and countless false unveilings of the new contestants.

There’s not been much of that so far this year, but there are some concrete facts that have now been revealed, making it prime time we had our first preview of the forthcoming series, Big Brother 9.

The biggest news is that for the first time ever the series won’t begin its summer run in May, having had its start date put back to Thursday June 5th.

This is a clever move on the part of Channel 4 bosses, as it prevents it from overlapping with the second series of Britain’s Got Talent, the Simon Cowell led talent show which got huge ratings last year when amateur opera singer Paul Potts finally emerged victorious.

Davina McCall will once again be back to do the main presenting duties, which will please and anger a fairly equal amount of people I guess. She’s not the best interviewer in the world, but Big Brother just wouldn’t be the same without her, and she is at least also a huge fan of the show.

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