Throng

Looks like everyone at the BBC is defecting to ITV these days.  Joining Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley, Jonathan Ross' band, Four Poofs and a Piano, have signed a deal to sing on GMTV revamp show, Daybreak.

The four lads are going to sing the news and will also appear every Friday with a topical song based on weekly events.  The group said in a statement, "We can't wait to work with the lovely Adrian - and of course Christine."

Daybreak replaces GMTV and kicks off on Monday 6th September.

Abrams developing Alcatraz series

J.J. Abrams is currently developing a new drama series based around the infamous prison island Alcatraz. Abrams will team up with a former Lost producer on the project who will also write the pilot episode.

Strictly not to clash with X Factor

The Strictly Come Dancing launch show will not clash with ITV’s The X Factor like it did last year, with the BBC scheduling it for 6.25pm on BBC One. A smart move considering Strictly lost out in the ratings to The X Factor last year when they screened at the same time.

Celebrity MasterChef victor Lisa Faulkner has been offered a cooking job by hosts John Torode and Greg Wallace which the actress said she is tempted to take.

Faulkner has been offered a role in one of the chefs’ kitchens and said she is eager to learn about working in a professional kitchen.

She told Absolute Radio: "Well they said that I could come and work in their kitchens, so I'd love to take them up on that, but I'm hoping that it doesn't mean just chopping veg or washing pots!

"I think the thing is that I'm desperate to just keep learning, because I've got this whole passion for cooking and I just want to keep doing it, and so they've said 'Come and work in the kitchens if you want to do that', because I just go into restaurants now and go, 'Can I come and see the kitchen, can I do some work in there?' because it's just amazing." 

Dancing On Ice has confirmed that the new season of the show will be filmed in a new location following a disruption with the original arena.

As we reported earlier in the week, the Dancing On Ice arena had been claimed by another production for the period when the reality show was supposed to shoot.

Now it has been confirmed that the show will film in a new arena at Shepperton Stuios where two new ice rinks are being built for practise and the studio.

It has also been confirmed that all the judges will return to the show for the new season which will also be shot in HD.

Hard Times are coming to Britain – and to Sky News. In a day of special programming from 0700 on Tuesday 7 September Sky News: Hard Times will ask where the cuts are already biting and find out whether the public is yet engaged.

Sky Presenter Dermot Murnaghan, the man who got on his bike to check out the Economic Cycle in 2009, will travel from Scotland to the South West of England to offer a snapshot of how Britain is adjusting to an age of increasing austerity, talking to the businesses bracing themselves for what’s to come.

In Edinburgh, Dermot will present live from inside the HQ of the Royal Bank of Scotland – the bank 83% owned by the taxpayer. He’ll speak to one of those involved in the rescue of RBS as well as Iain McMillan, Director of CBI Scotland, about his Manifesto for Scotland and the recommendations he is making to the Scottish Government on industry matters.

LIVING HD launches today on Sky, meaning that Sky has now confirmed all 50 High Definition (HD) channels that will be available by Christmas, in line with its promise to customers.

Good Food HD launched earlier this week, and HD channels including Eden HD, ITV 2 HD, ITV 3 HD and ITV 4 HD will follow Living HD, which becomes the 46th HD channel on the Sky platform. More HD channels will be announced in the coming months.

The announcement coincides with the news that Sky has now attracted more than three million HD subscribers, meaning that today over 30% of customers chose to pay for our best viewing experience. In the three months ending 30th June , Sky increased its HD customer base by 429,000, bringing twelve month cumulative growth to 1.6 million.

Danny Cohen, Controller, BBC Three announces new drama series, Touch, has been commissioned for the channel at the Edinburgh Television Festival today.

From acclaimed theatre, film and TV writer Jack Thorne (Skins, The Scouting Book For Boys, Cast Offs) comes an edge-of-the-seat supernatural thriller, made by BBC Drama Production.

In Touch the vengeful dead walk on Earth and only uber-geek Paul can save the living from a fiery Armageddon.

Paul is an ordinary young man from an ordinary town who discovers an extraordinary ability – he can see the dead. As he comes to terms with a nightmare reality he meets others who share his powers and share a horrifying secret – the spirits are waging war on the living. Mankind will be destroyed.

But the most terrifying twist is yet to come – Paul discovers that only he holds the key to the world's salvation.

The daredevil drivers are returning to HISTORY™ in 2010 for a fourth series of Ice Road Truckers as they transport oil across the hazardous ice roads of the Dalton Highway.

This series follows the team across Alaska to Prudhoe Bay, hauling huge loads over the most dangerous of terrain imaginable. Tensions run high as they race to deliver the goods. The race is on - the bigger their load, the bigger their pay and everything is at stake.

Each trucker must make important decisions to ensure their loads get to their destinations on time and in one piece. One rookie mistake could mean an end to their trucking career and possibly their lives. They have everything to gain and everything to lose as they each tally up deliveries of much needed supplies. As they drive across some of the most remote, treacherous places known to man, the Ice Road Truckers undertake one of the deadliest jobs on earth.

This is you and your family’s chance to win a fantastic weekend in the Forest of Dean “glamping” or posh camping, hosted by Ben Fogle!

Eden Inspires is giving you the chance to get the family outdoors and explore nature and the natural world.

Did you know that a fifth of kids have never climbed a tree and 36% only play outside once a week or less. We, at Eden Inspires, want to change all that!

Eden Inspires is setting up Base Camp Eden in the Forest of Dean on the 25 and 26th September and we want you and your family to join us.

As Simon Cowell slams Strictly Come Dancing, saying it should be on television earlier in the afternoon for its older viewers, the BBC have confirmed that the launch of the dancing show will not compete with The X Factor in the same time slot.

Strictly Come Dancing lost out in the ratings war last year and it looks like they want to save themselves the embarrassment this year.

The launch of the eighth series of the ballroom dancing show will be screened on September 11 and will feature its first ever red carpet event where partners will meet each other for the first time.

Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly will reveal which celebrities will be taking part as well as who they will be partnered with in a one hour special at 6.25pm on BBC.  The X Factor's latest auditions show will not start until 7.45pm.

EastEnders News & Gossip Round Up

Former EastEnders actress, Hannah Waterman, has revealed that she and her ex-husband Ricky Groves – who played Gary Hobbs on the show – do still speak, despite press rumours to the contrary.

In an interview for New magazine, Hannah said, "We do talk to each other, and we do have a bit of decorum for each other.

“It's the best way to be.

“We're not tearing each other's eyes out and we are being grown up about it.

"I saw him yesterday, in fact. It's really sad, as you don't get married to then split up. But, eight months on, and I'm in a better place than I was."

Hannah also took the opportunity to reiterate that the couple’s split was nothing to do with Hannah’s weight loss.

Emmerdale News & Gossip Round Up

Natalie J Robb, who of course plays Moira Barton on the show, has revealed that she’d love for her character to have an affair with Declan!

Declan (Jason Merrells) is of course Natasha Wylde’s on-off boyfriend, but Natalie reckons that if Moira were to ever attempt to get even with hubby John for his kiss with Eve, it’d be Declan that she’d choose to do it with.

Speaking to Inside Soap, Natalie said, "I'd love it if I could actually pick who Moira had a fling with!

“At the moment, I think I'd have to go for Declan - he's quite like John in that manly way.

"Moira likes a fella who's stronger than she is. But I'm sure Declan's got plenty of choice in the village, so Moira probably wouldn't get a look in."

Channel 4 to air Trinny and Susannah show

Channel 4 has picked up the recent Trinny and Susannah web series and will air it as a one-off programme later in September. The series, entitled Trinny and Susanna: What They Did Next, comprised of 16 six-minute episodes in a spoof documentary format.

The Bill finished with 4.4m

Over 4.4 million viewers tuned in to watch the final ever episode of ITV1 police drama The Bill on Tuesday night. The 27-year-old drama series finale ended with a 18.8% audience share in the 9pm hour beating BBC One’s The Deep.

Morgan confirms CNN talks

The BBC has lost its fight to keep the identity of The Stig a secret after heading to court against HarperCollins.

Lawyers from the broadcaster lost out in keeping Top Gear driver Ben Collins’ autobiography under wraps with a judge ruling the publication can go ahead.

The BBC wanted to keep the identity of the infamous Top Gear test driver confidential in order to not disturb the viewers; enjoyment of the show.

They claimed Collins’ book was a breach of contract and subsequently took the 35-year-old driver to court.

Collins is known to the second Stig on the show, taking up the gig in 2003 after original black Stig Perry McCarthy was axed following his identity being revealed.

The BBC is to broadcast comprehensive coverage of the Mercury Prize 2010 across TV, radio and online.

Coverage of the night will be presented live from the event, on 7 September, by Lauren Laverne on BBC Two and Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music.

Steve Lamacq presents 6 Music's coverage of the event from 8pm. Alongside interviews with some of the nominees and the attending great and good of the music industry, the show features live performances from the night and expert analysis of proceedings from Steve, 6 Music News and industry insiders on the build-up to the live announcement of the winner.

Lauren Laverne presents BBC Two's coverage of the awards show, hosted by Jools Holland from London's Grosvenor House Hotel. This live programme, from 10-10.30pm, includes clips of all 12 of the nominated acts performing and the live announcement of this year's winner.