The witch is dead, long live Big Brother! Alexandra De-Gale has been booted out of the Big Brother house ahead of her inevitable eviction on Friday after she is said to have threatened some of the house mates.

This is the first Big Brother post I have done since launch night so I have yet to have my say on the woman that will always be remembered for thinking “Memba, I tol’ you” was a suitable way to prove her point, and end an argument. And arguments are what Alex spent most of her short time in the house engaging in.

She was booted out last night at around 8pm after having a conversation earlier in the day with various house mates. She had recently found out that she was up for eviction along with Mario the fake Italian, and clearly took it badly.

She reportedly spoke to fellow house mate Darnell about the forthcoming eviction and her hope that Mario would be going. According to The Sun, she said:

“This is three months, do you know what I mean? Three months in a house. Everyone’s got to come outside the house. I’ve got a very, very, very, very, very strong team outside the house. Strong, so solid, strong.”

“I look forward to whatever the result. If I get out first, I get out, make the plans. Everyone’s got to come out after that. Every single one of you comes out afterwards, remember I told you. Like I say, my team is strong, so strong.�

“I just can’t wait to see my mans and them and see what their plans are, who they got . . . I’m not talking about those mans, I’m talking about my gangster friends.�

“If you go you get to make all the plans that you wanna make. When you’re in here you can’t do certain things. In my life I’m used to doing certain things. You know people piss me off and I do something, like. I can’t actually do that while I’m here.”

“But like I say, I get to go out, see everyone’s friends. I get to see their family. I get to do the shit that I wanna do. Pow, pow, pow.�

It is actually unbelievable to read what Alex supposedly said as they amount to basically threats on people’s lives, or at least physical violence in some form. To mention gangsters in the same sentence as talking about housemates friends and family certainly implies that the people who she didn’t get on with in the house would have to fear for not only their safety but the safety of other people close to them too.

She clearly needed to go after this outburst, which was just the latest in a string of cases of bullying and intimidation in the house. While I accept that Channel 4 made the right decision, it does mean that not only do we not get to vote her out ourselves, and see her get booed on Friday, we have also lost the most interesting and ultimately watchable HM of Big Brother 9.

This story has two brilliant elements to it: the loss of who was surely the best judge on The X Factor, and the fact that the hiring of Cole as her replacement could bring about a premature end to Girls Aloud.

For starters we have lost Osbourne, who despite my misgivings about last year as she and her fellow judges dominated the headlines instead of the contestants that are meant to be the stars, remained my favourite judge. Now that she has gone we are left with Simon Cowell who has become a pantomime caricature of his former self, Louis Walsh who tried to be controversial but is just a camp Irishman at the end of the day, and the useless lump that is Dannii Minogue. Great, I can’t wait for the new series.

Cheryl Cole isn’t actually a bad choice, although it now means we have two young judges who know next to nothing about music and managing a singers or singers in her and Minogue. At least Osbourne had experience on her side, though I suppose the fact that Girls Aloud actually formed as a result of Popstars: The Rivals should stand her in good stead.

However, according to Heat Magazine, and reported here via Digital Spy, the rest of the girls in the group aren’t too happy with Cole’s new role, and are jealous that she seems to be getting all of the success outside of the confines of the group.

“The other girls are very put out that Cheryl has landed the judging role. They knew she really wanted it, but some of them found the news hard to handle, especially Nadine (Coyle).

“At the end of the day, all the girls are talented, but Nadine has got the best voice and as it’s a singing contest she should be the one for the job.”

“Sarah and Cheryl both wanted to get into TV, but it seems Cheryl is moving closer to that before her. Sarah booked a magazine deal with her boyfriend Tom (Crane) when Ashley and Cheryl were all over the press and now she’s really envious of Cheryl’s X Factor deal.

“It’s getting really competitive. Sarah always thought that she’d be the TV girl in the group, not Cheryl.”

Jealousy is a nasty old business, and I can see this getting worse and worse and eventually breaking up the group. It’s not as though Girls Aloud are exactly strong anyway, with rumours of break ups and arguments occurring almost every week.

Cheryl Cole deserves some praise for turning what is only a smidgen of talent in to a career in a best selling pop group, a part on one of the biggest shows on British TV and a marriage to a premiership footballer.

Blackadder was one of my favourite television shows growing up in the 1980s. Featuring Rowan Atkinson as Edmund Blackadder, and Tony Robinson as his sidekick Baldrick, the show also had the cream of British comedy talent providing back-up, including Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, now a huge success playing House in America.

Now, it could be about to make a comeback, with Tony Robinson revealing the possibility of the show returning to our screens in 2010. Before that happens though, the cast are meeting up later this year to celebrate he 25th anniversary of Blackadder II - I assume they just forgot to celebrate the first series last year…

According to Digital Spy, Baldrick told Teletext:

“We always had a fantasy of doing it again in 2010, so we’ll be having that conversation. I would love to do it and suspect Rowan Atkinson would too.”

However, it seems Atkinson may not be as keen as Robinson had hoped because it has now emerged that he is refusing to attend the reunion, which was to form the basis for Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga and Blackadder’s Most Cunning Moments, two shows set to be aired on UKTV Gold.

Writers Ben Elton and Richard Curtis have already agreed to take part, along with Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Miranda Richardson. But the shy and retiring Atkinson, who very rarely takes part in interviews or press, is so far not willing to appear.

A UKTV Gold source said:

“It was a shame that Rowan wouldn’t join appear on the reunion shows as all his friends were delighted to join us. But he sent his apologies. Rowan is very private, he doesn’t do interviews and he rarely makes public appearances.”

The shows, designed to celebrate the four series of the show, will feature interviews with the cast and crew, and never before seen behind the scenes footage of the programme which encompassed different periods of history before finally bowing out in the Second World War.

I would love to see Blackadder back on our screens although I do wonder what time period they could set their sights on next. Maybe they should just bring it back up to date and see what a 21st century Edmund Blackadder would be like?!

Alexandra

My least favourite house mate on first impressions. She thinks she is it. Was proud of getting pregnant at 15, and seems to think getting a job is something she should be applauded for. The new Charley?

Rex

yet another vain show-off, but I actually think a lot of it was just show to get in the house. If he settles down and let’s his natural personality shine through, he could be okay. But on first showing, it’s a big if.

Mohamed

A black guy with an afro, which is always good. He’s a Muslim who isn’t practising except when he’s at home, which means he isn’t a Muslim surely? Seems to be quite settled, able to have fun, without being annoying.

Rebecca

My second least favourite house mate on first showing. She’s too loud, too common, and far too annoying. It would be like living with Vicki Pollard for 3 months, which would be a nightmare.

Darnell

A black albino. Yes, you heard me right. He’s very strange looking, and also very strange sounding with a half American, half English accent. He actually seems like a nice guy though… if you can see past the criminal record.

Jennifer

An opinionated idiot who think she is right on every single issue, be it abortion, or illegal immigration. She looks a little like Cheryl Cole, which I’m not sure is a good thing.

Kathreya

A zany Thai lady who went in wearing the worst pair of shoes ever, gold platforms. Once in the house, she was very nice to Michael, which may win her a few votes. Otherwise, she’s just too weird to win.

Lisa and Mario

They both seem to be very fake, and indeed her breasts are. They grew on me once in the house for an hour, as they came across as terribly shallow and obsessed with their looks in their audition footage.

Luke

A bit of a freak, but I actually quite like him. He might start to grate on the nerves a bit after a few weeks, but it’ll be good to watch as he annoys his house mates so much they want to leave.

Stephanie

A horrible girl who seems to think she’s the hottest, most intelligent person ever to have walked the planet. She’s not. She’s an average looking blonde bint who walked the wrong way when she got out of the van.

Rachel

Probably the best looking of the female house mates, but she talks far too much, and far too quickly. However, she pales in to insignificance compared to Rebecca, which means she’s actually pretty normal.

Dale

The women will love him. Me, as a guy, older, not as good looking, less confident and less successful absolutely hates him. I can’t help it, he’s one of the guys you avoid when you go on a night out. But he’ll do well as females will vote for him to stay in droves.

Sylvia

Quite nice. Full of herself but only enough to get her in the house. She could end up being a bitch or a gem. Only time will tell, but first impressions are good.

Dennis

He’s a dancer, and very camp. I’d suggest he’s gay but I don’t think he said whether he was or not. Very egotistical, but fun with it. His time in the house will depend on whether that inane fun and jollity becomes annoying or not.

Michael

The rumours of a blind guy entering were true, which I find amazing. It’s a brave decision by the producers, but one I applaud. He’ll be very reliant on the other housemates, which some of them may find a chore.

Britain’s Got Talent finally came to an end last night with 14 year old dancer George Sampson winning £100,000 and the chance to perform in front of Prince Charles at the Royal Variety Performance.

The final was a huge success, both in terms of showcasing the talent we do have in this country and in the size of the television audience who watched the series come to an end. However, the big question I am left with is how on earth did George win?

I know he’s a young kid who hasn’t had the best of starts in life, and I know he is talented to a certain degree, but did he really deserve to beat the much more naturally gifted Faryl Smith and Andrew Johnston?

Sampson’s act consists of nothing more than dancing a bit. That’s it, oh and they cleverly made it rain on top of him for a bit while a dance remix of Singing In The Rain played in the background. Whoopee doo. I wasn’t impressed at the audition stage, I was even less impressed when he reached the semi-finals, and was then completely flabbergasted when he ended up winning the whole damn thing.

I’m not saying he’s a bad dancer, but I’ve seen much better than him. However, I haven’t seen a better 12 year old singer than Faryl Smith, or than 13 year old Andrew Johnston for that matter. Either of them could and should have won the contest. I wouldn’t have even placed George in the top 3.

Last year saw Paul Potts crowned the deserved winner, and he went on to achieve great success. I can;’t however see any way in which George Sampson will be able to do the same.

The final was televised on the same night as the final of I’d Do Anything, the BBC rival in which Andrew Lloyd-Webber endeavoured to find a new talent to star in Oliver! However, Britain’s Got Talent won the ratings battle by a huge margin with 14.4 million viewers against 7.3 million.

When television shows end, it can be hard on the viewers, especially if the show ends in an unsatisfactory way, with plot holes left unfilled, and strands left open. And it’s not me saying this, but the British public who responded to a poll by Tiscali TV.

1,586 people were questioned in the poll over their favourite programmes, how they felt when it came to an end, and how they felt toward the characters.

According to Digital Spy, 22% of British viewers suffer what is called TV Trauma when a programme comes to an end. Amongst the younger generation of 16 to 24-year-olds, the proportion rises considerably to 32%.

If that wasn’t bad enough, 29% of respondents claimed to have fallen in love with a TV character, including 50% of the younger generation. The most popular choices were Doctor Who’s Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) and Cold Feet’s Adam Williams (James Nesbitt).

Psychologist Dr. David Lewis said of the findings:

“TV personalities generate a powerful emotional bond with some viewers through seeming close, yet being unobtainable. This combination creates a strong attachment, which can be more potent than the one held with their own friends and family.”

The top ten most-mourned TV shows in full:

1. Only Fools and Horses
2. Friends
3. Fawlty Towers
4. Cold Feet
5. Sex And The City
6. The Office
7. Cheers
8. West Wing
9. The Sopranos
10. The OC

Even just looking at that list, there are a few shows that I felt some sadness for when they ended, particularly Friends. However, I can’t say I’ve ever fallen in love with a character before, maybe because I’m too sensible to fall in love with someone who is merely a part being played by an actor!

There is also a current generation of programmes on which may be included in this list in the future, with Heroes and Lost certainly leaving a big hole in my life when they finally come to an end. The only positive thing to remember is that the chances are a new show will quickly replace a finished or cancelled one.

Davies was the man charged with, and credited with managing to, bringing the cult show back in a new updated format for the 21st century. He has now decided to leave, a decision which after the mediocrity of this latest series I am actually quite pleased with.

Moffat will now take over his duties from the end of this series, and foresee the development of the next full Who series, due to hit our screens in 2010. Moffat was already an integral part of the Whoniverse having written some of the best episodes from the first four series, including the brilliant Blink, with the strangely scary weeping angels, and the two-part The Empty Child which had one of the most endearing catchphrases in “Are you my mummy?”.

Steven Moffat told BBC News:

“My entire career has been a Secret Plan to get this job. I applied before but I got knocked back cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven. Anyway, I’m glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it’s a huge honour to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television. I say “toughest” cos Russell’s at my window right now, pointing and laughing.”

Russell T. Davies meanwhile remarked:

“It’s been a delight and an honour working with Steven. I can’t wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night!”

Russell has done wonders with bringing the show back from the dead, and reinvigorating what was in my opinion a very tired franchise. It’s now become must-see Saturday night viewing not only in the UK but for fans around the world.

However, I have loves Moffat’s work on the series so far and think his episodes have been probably the stand outs in every series so far, so who better to take on the mantle than him. I’m just gutted that this series has been a bit disappointing so far, and we’re then going to have to wait a whole year before the Doctor makes a triumphant return. Let’s just hope David Tennant stays in the role!

Stories about the Beckhams are like London buses, there’s none for ages, and then 3 come along at once. One is about David Beckham, one is about Victoria, and one is about that shadow on their marriage, Rebecca Loos who David allegedly had an affair with a few years ago.

We start with David, who has apparently agreed to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for children’s charity UNICEF. The 19,340ft African mountain is now on Becks agenda after U2 front man Bono is reported to have badgered him in to climbing it to raise money.

No date has been set for the climb, with Becks having commitments with LA Galaxy and insurance issues needing to be worked out. It’s thought the climb will take six days, and Beckham will have to be at the height of fitness to even attempt the feat.

Meanwhile, proving their life isn’t all about football and charity, Victoria Beckham has revealed that she likes to get drunk all the time.

She told Jamie Theakston on his Heart FM radio show:

“All the time! We went to Napa for my birthday. David organised a surprise and we all got drunk and had a laugh. You know I might look like a stony-faced pain in the arse cow but in actual fact, I like to have a laugh.”

“I do like to have a drink and a have a laugh, that kind of thing. I really don’t take myself too seriously, contrary to what people think. I think it’s really important.”

I just can’t imagine Posh totally blotto and having a good laugh. As even she admits herself, when she goes out in public she looks like a right miserable cow, and can never even bring herself to smile for her fans.

Last but not least is Rebecca Loos, the woman who nearly ended the Beckham’s marriage when she came out in public to accuse David of having had an affair with her behind Victoria’s back when she was his personal assistant in Spain.

She has now claimed that she was offered a six-figure sum to star in her own sex tape. She also claimed to have her own collection of pornography, and particularly enjoys watching lesbian porn films.

Loos revealed all of this in her new show Generation Sex which airs for the first time tonight on Fiver.

Catherine Tate is currently appearing in Doctor Who, and some would say ruining the show. Although I’m still enjoying the series, it seems to have been turned in to a combination of a bad sitcom and a bad Sci-fi show since Tate’s arrival. And what is it with all the running? I know David Tennant is fit, in more ways than one, but does he really need to run in every episode?

But Tate may soon be returning to her comedy roots, as reports suggest Mathew Horne and James Corden want her to appear in their newly commissioned sketch show for BBC Three. Horne and Corden are the two geniuses behind Gavin and Stacey, and Horne also appeared as a multitude of characters in two series of The Catherine Tate show, including the grandson of the sweary grandma.

Mathew said:

“I would love to find Catherine a role and I’m sure she would do it,”

Meanwhile, Corden has denied the rumours that Lily Allen, his new love interest/best friend (no-one is quite sure whether they’re together or just playing with the press) will be involved in the show. Having seen Allen’s own BBC Three show, which while having some good ideas, fell down due to Allen’s own crappy presenting style, I personally hope she isn’t involved.

As for Gavin and Stacey, the award winning sitcom starring Corden and Horne, the town of Barry in Wales where it is set has reported a massive rise of 25% in the tourism trade thanks to the show.

Glamorgan Council tourism and marketing officer Claire Evans even claims the show has put the town on the map.

“Considering it’s a BBC Three production, the profiling has been amazing. The cast of Gavin & Stacey are doing for Barry what Doctor Who and Torchwood have done for Cardiff.”

“We’ve even had callers quoting Nessa’s famous line - ‘what’s occurring’.”

And so it all comes back to Doctor Who. For some reason the BBC loves to use Wales as a location for its shows, and both Doctor Who and Gavin and Stacey have made the towns in which they are located more famous than they once were.