Pop Buzz UK

Oh God, here we go again, the Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne story has gone public again, this time with the former England footballer being sectioned under the mental health act, after being arrested at a hotel in Gateshead.

It seems not a few months can go by without some story or event happening in the life of Gazza, and drag his name, kicking and screaming, back in to the media.

For those that are too young to remember, Paul Gascoigne was one of the most talented soccer players England has ever known, and when he was on form, for both his various clubs, and country, he was up there with the best in the world.

Unfortunately, he was also very highly strung, and didn’t seem to be able to switch off between games. When he was injured just after signing for Lazio in a career making move to Italy, he descended in to a downward spiral of boozing which meant the second half of his career never matched up to the first. Basically, he had a touch of the George Bests.

This latest twist to the saga that is his life, started after he stayed at a hotel near his home town of Newcastle to recuperate from a hip operation.

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It seems the marriage between Katie Price aka Jordan, and Peter Andre isn’t the dream that they make out it is in public. In fact, things got so bad at one point that the big breasted model actually contemplated suicide.

Jordan and Australian pop singer (former) Peter Andre famously got together and fell in love after both being stars on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here in 2004. They then got married, and had a child together, but despite acting in public as if life were 100% rosy, behind the scenes was another matter entirely.

The revelations have have come out as a result of Katie Price finally writing her long awaited (although not by me) autobiography titled Jordan: Pushed To The Limits. I’m guessing the title refers to her mental well-being rather than her bra cups, but I could be wrong.

The News Of The World newspaper has printed some exclusive previews from the book, and it reveals quite a bit of anguish for the couple over the past few years.

Firstly, after having the couple’s first baby together, Junior Savva Andreas in 2005, Jordan suffered from post natal depression, which drove her to thoughts of suicide.

She struggled to bond with Junior, and eventually ended up in The Priory clinic and was prescribed anti-depressants.

Then after going home again, she went completely off sex, and refused all of Andre’s sexual advances. I can’t say I blame her, as he is a creepy guy, but then again, I didn’t marry him did I.

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It looks as though the divorce battle currently being fought at the Royal Courts of Justice in London is set to continue on to a second week, with no sign of any divorce settlement being offered.

The messy break up, and ensuing divorce battle between Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills finally neared its end this past week, when they both finally showed up to court to thrash out a settlement, but after five days of behind the scenes talks, no deal is anywhere near forthcoming.

Both the 65 year old McCartney and the 40 year old Mills have refused to talk to the press while the hearing has been continuing. Mills, in a move which further reflects her mental state, has been representing herself, while McCartney has an expensive legal team.

A settlement is expected to be made before too long, but it seems neither Mills or McCartney is willing to budge an inch from their long held positions.

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One of my favourite programmes on British television when I was growing up is being axed by the BBC after 30 years of being on air, simultaneously making me feel old, and rather sad at the demise of yet another British institution.

Grange Hill began on February 8th, 1978, less than a year after I was born, so it’s a programme which has been there nearly all of my life, whether I was actively watching it or not.

Although a children’s programme in essence, it’s hard hitting subject matter, and at time brilliantly acted plots made it a family favourite. I know myself that I watched it right up until I was about 21, when despite the story lines not being aimed at me any more, I found myself watching religiously in the same way I’d watch Eastenders and Coronation Street.

The BBC has now announced, in its infinite wisdom, that the series which will air later this year, will now be its last.

CBBC controller Anne Gilchrist paid tribute to the show and said:

“[It is] sad to say goodbye to such a much-loved institution. The lives of children have changed a great deal since Grange Hill began and we owe it to our audience to reflect this.”

The show’s axing has been announced as part of a wider shake up of the Children’s BBC programming schedule, but is definitely the biggest news to come out of the whole re imagining of what today’s kids want to watch on television.

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Daniel Radcliffe is the star of Harry Potter, no hang on, he IS Harry Potter, and so is one of the most eligible bachelors in the UK right now.

In fact, Prince William himself is probably the only young man more in demand. So there’ll be cheers around the world to the news that Radcliffe has split up from long term girlfriend Laura O’Toole.

Radcliffe is 18, and worth about £20 million at least, with the promise of a further £25 million from the final two (or could it be three) Harry Potter films, so as well as being a good looking guy, he’s minted in to the bargain. Quite a catch then.

Unfortunately, it seems him and O’Toole just couldn’t make it work between them.

The couple met during the West End production of Equus at the beginning of last year. Radcliffe was playing the lead role of Alan Strang, while O’Toole was the understudy for the part of Alan’s girlfriend in the play.

Despite Laura being four years older than Radcliffe at 22, or maybe because of it, they fell for each other quickly, and started seeing each other. The play ended in May, but the pair were spotted enjoying each others company for at least six months afterwards.

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Not down together again, no that just be a bit too weird at this late stage in the game. No, it finally looks like Paul ‘Macca’ McCartney and Heather Mills (formerly McCartney) may be ready to talk about an out of court divorce settlement, and therefore do away with the need for a lengthy, drawn out, expensive and media frenzied High Court battle.

The former Beatles singer is rumoured to have made several phone calls to his former, estranged wife, and had conversations ahead of their five day hearing in February.

Macca is thought to be more keen on an out of court settlement now that Mills is thought to be representing herself. She split with her lawyers from legal firm Mishcon de Reya last year.

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Anyone who regularly reads Pop Buzz UK will know I’m a massive fan of the current incarnation of Doctor Who. Not only do I try and write about the big news on the show, I read, comment, and link to Watching Doctor Who whenever possible.

So today’s news/announcement is virtual music to my ears, and ensures I will have some reason to turn the television on for the next few years at least.

Russell T Davies, the head honcho and chief writer behind the new Doctor Who, has reportedly promised fans that the series will be around for years to come.

He said:

“I reckon the long-term future of Doctor Who is safer now than any other drama on telly.”

“A secret history of phone calls, dinners and face-to-face conversations had led me to feel sure of its place on British TV.”

“For Doctor Who, there are many New Years to come. And that’s a promise.”

That’s quite a promise, and great news for the legions of Doctor Who fans who have been worried by the constant and unyielding rumours over the last few months that the sci-fi show may be canned for the second time in its history.

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Tonight should have seen the launch of the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother, but due to the race rows which blighted last year, that has now been replaced by Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack.

The new format launches tonight at 9pm on E4, and features 12 housemates between the ages of 18 and 21.

The celebrity part comes from various celebrity guests who will play the part of Big Brother, and going on the most recent reports, also play an active role in the show itself.

I previewed the show in full a few weeks ago, but since then some new details have been revealed, and some definite changes have been made to the original format.

First of all we have the 12 housemates, all young, all gifted, and all chosen to argue and fight in the same way as every normal Big Brother housemate is.

We have seven boys, and five girls, which includes circus performers, a boxer, a beauty queen, an entrepreneur, a racing driver and a politician.

Some of the celebrities have also been revealed, with the show kicking off under the guidance of Little Britain star Matt Lucas. Others to be given a role include art critic Brian Sewell and comedians Jimmy Carr and Joan Rivers.

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All of us loyal Dr Who fans only have a few days left before we can watch the Christmas special, starring Australian pop tartlet Kylie Minogue as the Doctor’s assistant.

Titled Voyage of the Damned, it follows the Doctor trying to persuade passengers on a ship of his magical powers, and in the process saving them from a meteorite storm.

Nice story, original, fun, and it should be exciting to watch. But wait, what is that there on the horizon? It’s some religious zealots who assume once again have taken to assuming everything is about them.

Unbelievable as it may seem, some Christian groups have criticised the programme’s makers for allegedly insinuating that the Doctor is the second messiah. Oh dear God, how the hell did they come to that conclusion.

It’s true that there have been some threads of storyline, and dialogue which have hinted at the fact that the Doctor may be more than just a mere mortal, but that’s because he’s a timelord, not a human. No-one has ever said that the Doctor is the reincarnation of Jesus!

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Amy Winehouse may be about to be made a suspect in the trial fixing plot which her husband Blake Fielder-Civil already finds himself in jail for. If this is the case, and she gets found guilty in a future trial, she could end up facing life in prison.

Fielder-Civil was arrested back in November for the alleged plot to pervert the course of justice. Along with another man, he is accused of trying to persuade a man he allegedly beat up, from giving evidence at the trial.

The police case revolves around a sum of £200,000, which was allegedly offered to the victim for him to withdraw his complaint, and fly out of the country instead.

It’s that large sum of money which is where Winehouse herself becomes involved. The police seized mobile phone records, bank details and computer software when they raided the couple’s house in Camden, London, and this is thought to contain evidence that Winehouse was involved in the plot.

Although it was thought that Winehouse was just being regarded as a witness, the News Of The World claims that her status could change to suspect this week.

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Philip Pullman is the best selling author of His Dark Materials, the trilogy of which The Golden Compass is the first book.

That has obviously been turned in to a big budget movie, which opened in the last week over in America, as well as the UK.

Newsround, a British children’s television news programme spoke to him about it, and during the interview he revealed his love for the new version of Doctor Who, the main writer Russell T. Davies, and David Tennant.

Even more interestingly, he expressed an interest in maybe writing an episode of the cult show for the BBC:

“[Penning a story for the show] sounds like enormous fun.”

“Since Russell T. Davies came back and started having a hand in it, [it] has been wonderful. I’ve really enjoyed it. David Tennant is terrific. Billie Piper was wonderful as Rose.”

He’s right of course, the show is brilliant, especially the new incarnation, with some brilliant writing, amazing special effects, and acting talents which were never even got close to on the original show.

I would love to see Pullman write an episode, as he’s an awesome writer, and his style would fit perfectly with the show. I just hope Davies saw the interview, or is even maybe reading this, and gets in touch with him to discuss the possibility.

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The Spice Girls long awaited reunion (or is it goodbye) tour around the world kicked off in Vancouver, Canada last week, and was feted as a triumph, with very little going wrong.

But, it seems that it’s not all going so smoothly behind the scenes, with arguments and in fighting blighting the comeback tour so far.

The News Of the World’s Rav Singh was given exclusive access behind the scenes of the rehearsals in preparation for the tour, and reports all five of the girls were at each other’s throats in the build up to the record breaking concert run.

He reports the following as having taken place:

“Mel B shouted at Geri for mucking up the dance routine for Stop. She yelled: “You’ve got to keep it together, if you spent more attention on your routines then it would be right.”

“Posh had a pop at Mel B for dancing out of time to Spice Up Your Life. She snapped: “Next time we all have to stand in line and get it right.”

“The others rounded on Posh for spending too much time chatting with pals Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes when they turned up to watch rehearsals with baby Suri.”

There’s no surprises there really, as the attention, and expectation on the five girls must be incredible at this stage. Even though they are all older, and (potentially) wiser, you can’t pile stress on people and expect them not to clash with people close to them.

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WARNING: Contains Major Plot Spoilers…

My girlfriend and I went to see The Golden Compass last night and as fans of the book came away slightly disappointed, partly by the amount of changes made from the book, and partly by the fudged ending.

I previewed the film way back in June, when I was super excited about the prospect of seeing one of my favourite books ever be brought to life on the big screen. My review is slightly different…

The casting is pretty much spot on, with Nicole Kidman being perfect for Mrs Coulter, and Ian McKellen doing a fine job as Iorek Byrnison.

Some of the special effects are stunning, with the armoured bears particularly standing out. The whole Iorek part of the story, especially his fight to become king of Svalbard, was the highlight of the film for me, and stopped me walking out in disgust.

The daemons were also well realised, being exactly as I’d imagined them in the books. It must have taken some incredibly detailed work to get so many daemons on screen at one time.

Some of the alterations to the text I could understand, while some I could see no rhyme nor reason for. The ordering of the story is altered substantially, with Iorek becoming king BEFORE Lyra visits Bolvangor.

To people who haven’t read the book, this won’t matter a jot, and the film will probably leave them content. For fans of the book however, there are some glaring omissions, the biggest being the soppy ending.

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The Dr Who world moves at quite a fast pace, and I’m not even talking about when the good doctor is in his tardis travelling through time and space. So here for your pleasure is another round up of the latest Dr Who news!

David Tennant has revealed the secret of the cult show’s massive success, telling The Daily Record:

“The Doctor is unlike any other long-established character, in that you can bring your own ideas and personality to the part. In a way, you have to reset the Doctor to zero every week.”

That’s true, and as the Doctor changes, it becomes a new show each time, keeping it fresh for viewers and actors alike. That’s why I’m hopeful that the show has enough life left in it to keep going for years to come.

Talking to The Stage, Tennant also singled out Russell T Davies, the main man behind the relaunch of the show, saying:

“The standard of the writing and of the stories is extremely high. I might tweak the odd line here or there, but I’d never dream of pointing out to the writers, in that hackneyed phrase, that my character wouldn’t say this or do that. Russell [T Davies] is the best, so why play around with the best?”

High praise indeed, and again he’s correct. The Russell T Davies scripts are always of the highest quality, and the direction he’s taken the show in over the last few years has never failed to impress.

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Pete Doherty has had a video clip of him injecting heroin into a vein in his right arm published by a British tabloid newspaper. As sick as that is, it’s made even worse by the fact that he;s spent the last week claiming to be completely drug free after attending the court ordered rehabilitation sessions.

Yesterday, two stories about the Babyshambles, and former Libertines front man appeared at virtually the same time. The first was an interview which Pete had given to NME, in which he claimed to be “in mourning” for drugs. He said:

“It’s hard work. I think I miss it [drugs] a bit. After years of entrenched drug abuse, you have a mourning period. I know it’s a bit sad, but I’m in mourning. I’m in mourning for an armful.”

“”It’s quite a lengthy probation requirement and drug-testing order. It might have been better to do a couple of months and have it done with, to be honest. But that’s a bit defeatist - it’s pessimistic.

“I don’t want to go to jail, I’ve had enough of all that. But the chances of me not getting arrested once in the next 18 months are quite slim really - the way the Old Bill are.”

That’s quite sad to be in mourning for drugs isn’t it, although there was me at least thinking good on you for sticking with it, and just focussing on your music. And then The Sun newspaper published a video on their website, with stills in the newspaper itself, showing Doherty allegedly injecting a needle full of heroin in to his arm. What an idiot.

The footage was supposedly shot at his home on Friday, after he arrived back from the MTV EMAs. At the awards ceremony everyone was surprised at how genuinely nice Pete was, though now the reasoning becomes clear, he was probably chilled knowing he was a day away from getting a fix.

After the video was published, fans of Doherty slammed message boards and forums on the web claiming that the footage was old, and that he was still free of drugs. But they have been roundly shut up by Pete admitting it was him, and it was shot on Friday.

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