Throng

Michael Sheen has confirmed that he will be making an appearance on Doctor Who this year.

The actor made the announcement during a visit to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama but no details of his role have been made public yet.

Writer Neil Gaiman also confirmed the news, saying he wrote the episode that Sheen will be featuring in.

Suranne Jones will also make an appearance in the same episodes, the fourth of the new sixth season run.

Source: Digital Spy

The producer of Merlin, Johnny Capps, has announced that the new season of the fantasy drama will be extended to 13 weeks.

Previously the BBC One series was scheduled for only 10 new episodes, but Capps has since revealed three extra episodes will be made.

Capps told SFX: “There was talk there would be 10 [episodes] but there will be 13. We were very lucky with series three [because] it was hugely successful and we built our audience throughout, so I think the BBC now sees [Merlin] as one of their most important Autumn dramas, especially for a Saturday night.”

Capps also said that the new fourth season will open with a two-part special.

Source: Digital Spy

Christopher Dean has confirmed a number of changes to the final of Dancing On Ice taking place this weekend.

Dean talked to Jeff Brazier on This Morning about the changes, which include the scrapping of the high-wire performance.

“The flying has gone away,” he said. “We’re doing a showcase routine. The celeb gets to decide the routine with all the professionals, all the lighting and the costumes. It will come down to how they entertain the audience.

“The two best entertainers will get to go head-to-head and skate the bolero.”

The final screens on ITV1 this Sunday at 7.40pm.

Source: Digital Spy

In BBC One’s EastEnders, Tanya, her mother and sister reunite in Walford this spring but will they bury the hatchet or will they ‘Cross’ swords once again?

Tanya’s life seems as though it is all going well after the rollercoaster of the past two years. However, just as she gets ready to wed again, she is set for a big shock when her mother descends upon Walford.

Cora Cross is nothing like her daughter, Tanya. She is brash and says exactly what is on her mind no matter who she offends.

Cora’s arrival in Walford takes Tanya completely by surprise when husband-to-be Greg secretly invites her to their wedding. When Cora sees Tanya in her new surroundings it is clear that Cora thinks Tanya has done very well for herself considering her background but she also thinks that her daughter has become a snob.

Cora also arrives on the Square with a secret mission in mind, to build a bridge between Tanya and her sister, Rainie.

Rainie hasn’t seen Tanya since she fled Albert Square last year following her drug-fuelled fling with Phil Mitchell but now she’s cleaned up her act and is ready to make amends with her family.

Tanya is not impressed when Rainie turns up unexpectedly at her hen night but Cora vouches for her daughter, stating that she has turned over a new leaf. Tanya soon softens towards Rainie and her mother but will the harmony last between all three women or will past problems cause the women to cross swords once again?

Cora Cross will be played by Ann Mitchell, the award-winning classical actress who has appeared in numerous films, theatre and television roles. Ann is due to appear in The Stock Da’wa, directed by Kathy Burke, at Hampstead next month and features in the upcoming remake of The Deep Blue Sea, directed by the great Terrance Davies.

Ann says: “As a lifelong fan of EastEnders I am thrilled to join the cast. I am a great fan of June Brown’s and am looking forward to sharing some scenes with her.”

Bryan Kirkwood, Executive Producer of EastEnders, adds: “I’m very excited to have the much-loved Ann Mitchell joining us. Cora Cross is a formidable woman, cut from the same cloth as many glorious Walford women of the past, and Ann Mitchell is just perfect for the role.”

Tanya Franks will be reprising her role of Rainie Cross. Tanya has appeared in numerous films and television programmes including Skins, Ashes To Ashes and Pulling.

The 157th Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge takes place on Saturday 26 March and for the first time every stroke will be available to viewers in glorious high definition TV, as well as radio, online and mobile.

Coverage starts at 3.45pm on BBC One and BBC One HD with the race taking place at 5.00pm. BBC Radio 5 Live will have all the build up as part of 5 Live Sport’s output from midday and live commentary of the race at 5pm.

Action will be streamed online and available to watch again for seven days on the BBC iPlayer. The Xchanging Boat Race will also be broadcast internationally with distribution to over 150 countries, and will be seen by millions around the world on BBC World News and BBC America.

Clare Balding presents the TV coverage with Andrew Cotter leading the commentary. Alongside him will be former Oxford rower and coach Dan Topolski and former Cambridge President Wayne Pommen, who will be based out on the water travelling alongside the crews.

Sonali Shah will be out and about reporting from among the crowds and four time Olympic gold medallist Sir Matt Pinsent will give his expert view on the course, showing viewers where the race can be won and lost. Olympic silver medallist and double Boat Race winning Cox Acer Nethercott completes the team as expert analyst.

Guests include five times Olympic Gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave and former Oxford president and rower Dan Snow, plus Team GB Olympic gold medallists and former Boat Race winners Tom James (Cambridge) and Peter Reed (Oxford).

In addition to great rowing names, guests with links to the waterways and the race will feature during the television programme, including well known waterman Griff Rhys Jones.

The Radio 5 Live commentary team is led by Jonathan Legard, along with the aforementioned Peter Reed. There will be analysis from 5 Live’s rowing reporter and Olympic Gold medallist Martin Cross, with Amanda Davies as reporter.

As well as live coverage of the race itself, the BBC will offer viewers an insight into the technical elements of the race and what is involved.

For the first time we will identify the “ideal racing line” on our 3D map of the course, demonstrating the path of least resistance and giving the viewer an added appreciation and understanding of how the race is unfolding. This map comes up on screen at intervals during the race.

Short films will give an in-depth look into the intense preparation and build-up to this annual event, plus a look behind the scenes at the personalities and stories.

Dan Snow presents The Sewers, taking a look at the major engineering project to rebuild London’s sewers under the Boat Race course and how this might impact on the race in the future.

In Rower For A Day, comedian Ed Byrne will join a crew from one of the Thames rowing clubs to row the course, proving just how hard it is for a novice even with a high level of fitness.

Four international police officers of differing ranks, are coming to the UK for five weeks, in a new series, Police Academy UK, for BBC Three.

The officers are on a fact-finding mission. They have questions they think only the UK has the answers to. They will spend time with three different forces in the UK, chosen for the types of crime with which they deal.

The international officers will live with each other throughout their stay, and get a true sense of the way we order ourselves as a country.

What they see during their stay is a far cry from the police work they do in their home countries of Colombia, Samoa, Zambia and Western Australia.

During their time in the UK, the four international officers gradually get to grips with British culture and crime and at the end of their stay, they return home to implement some new ideas they’ve learned on their mission. But will the British police have more to learn than their international counterparts?

In Essex, the international officers will take part in some drill training; getting taught how to present themselves and march, before hitting the streets. They’ll experience all the ways some Essex people like to have a good time, mostly involving alcohol. Their time with the constabulary will culminate in helping to police a big night out in Colchester.

West Midlands is infamous within the police force for its high level of drug abuse. The international officers will witness what narcotics can do to the abuser. The visiting police will witness football hooliganism at one of the UK’s most dangerous derby matches. On the back of that, they will take part in riot training which will be the hardest test of their careers.

In Newport and its surrounding areas, the international officers will learn all there is to know about community policing. They’ll get around on bicycles, and spend quality time with Gwent’s offenders. They’ll see how cannabis farms are rife in this part of the world and what’s being done to stamp them out.

BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den series is going back to the classroom in a bid to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs across the north.

Year 10 pupils from schools in Bolton, Bradford, Burnley, Lincoln and Sunderland will each be set a business challenge by one of the Dragons.

The pupils will then work together to develop a fully costed business proposition by the end of June. They’ll then take that famous walk up the stairs to face the Dragons in their Den.

But in a change from the usual Dragons’ Den programme, the school pupils won’t find out whether their pitch has been successful straight away.

On 11 July the wait will be over. The pupils will attend a special screening of Dragons’ Den at the BBC’s new home in the north of England – MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. They’ll get the chance to see their performance in the Den on the big screen and find out which of the Dragons are “in” and which are “out”.

No money will be invested in the business propositions, but an award will be given for best idea and best pitch.

Sam Lewens, Executive Producer of Dragons’ Den, said: “The Dragons’ Den production team are all very excited at seeing what the next generation of entrepreneurs can produce, and helping them cope with the pressure of presenting to five of the UK’s most successful business people.”

Peter Salmon, Director, BBC North, said: “Dragons’ Den has been one of the biggest success stories of the last decade for BBC Entertainment in Manchester and it’s great we can use our flagship programmes to engage audiences of all ages. I’m really looking forward to welcoming the schools from across the north to MediaCityUK later this year and wish them the best of luck in the Den.”

The schools will have until mid June to work up their idea with help from the Dragons’ Den team before they pitch them in the Den.

The scheme coincides with the launch of series 9 of Dragons’ Den on BBC Two, with new Dragon Hilary Devey joining Theo Paphittis, Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden and Duncan Bannatyne.

ITV Studios Global Entertainment, ITV Studios, Lookout Point, Global TV and ABC Television Network Present an Epic Television Event

Confirmed Broadcast Partners include : ITV 1 (UK), ABC Television Network (USA), Global (Canada), Channel Seven (Australia), SVT (Sweden), TV3 (Ireland), TVNZ (New Zealand), SIC (Portugal)

ITV Studios Global Entertainment, ITV Studios, Lookout Point, Global TV and ABC Television Network  can today confirm the major television project Titanic, written by Julian Fellowes, is now green lit for production. Distributor ITV Studios Global Entertainment, along with co-production and finance company Lookout Point, has secured broadcast partners in America (ABC), Australia (Channel Seven), Canada (Global), Ireland (TV3), New Zealand (TVNZ) Portugal (SIC),  Sweden (SVT) and UK (ITV1). The television event is scheduled to coincide with the centenary of the tragic event and will simulcast on Global and ABC followed closely by premieres in all other territories.

The epic drama is being produced as a 2 x 90 minute and 4 x 1 hour mini series and will start filming in Hungary this Spring.

Maria Kyriacou, Managing Director at ITV Studios Global Entertainment commented, “The fantastic pedigree of the production talent behind this major series has generated huge interest from our global broadcast clients and we are very pleased to announce these new partners today.  Providing a vividly different experience of the ship’s last hours alongside a definitive snapshot of what was a unique and uncertain moment in history – Titanic promises to be the must-see original drama for this landmark centenary anniversary and gripping primetime content for audiences around the world.”

“Despite its legendary fate, on the whole, the Titanic remains a mystery to most, which explains the public’s never ending fascination,” said Barbara Williams, SVP, Content, Shaw Media (Global). “From the vision of one of the industry’s finest writers, we’re able to delve a little deeper into the grey areas by way of the characters and their unique perspectives. This is an amazing collaboration with our Canadian producers and the international broadcasters, and a befitting tribute to this moment in history.”

Quinn Taylor of ABC Network added: “The tragic tale of the Titanic has retained a powerful hold on people around the world for almost 100 years, and this new miniseries will offer a compelling take on this epic, tragic story. We look forward to bringing this remarkable series to our viewers.”

Interweaving multi-arc action, mystery and romantic plot lines and featuring fictional and historical characters, Titanic will focus on different characters ranging from steerage passengers to upper class guests.  Each point of view will culminate in a cliff hanger as the ship begins to founder, building to an explosive conclusion which draws together each of the stories.   Viewers will be taken on a heart wrenching journey through Titanic’s last hours, as the drama reveals which of the characters they have come to know so well will survive… and who does not.

ITV Studios is partnered with Deep Indigo Productions and Lookout Point in the UK, Sienna Films Inc in Canada and Hungary based Mid Atlantic Films to produce this UK-Hungary-Canada co-production. Titanic is written by Julian Fellowes, the Oscar winning screenwriter of ITV1’s hit costume drama Downton Abbey as well as Gosford Park and The Young Victoria and produced by the multi-award winning Nigel Stafford-Clark (Bleak House, Warriors, The Way We Live Now) and Chris Thompson (Love Actually, No 1 Ladies Detective Agency).  The drama is executive produced by Lookout Point’s Simon Vaughan (Ben Hur, Coco Chanel, The Hot Zone (working title)) together with ITV’s  Kate Bartlett (Marchlands, Identity, Vera), Sienna Films’ Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny (Diamonds, The Hot Zone (working title)) and Mid Atlantic Films’ Howard Ellis and Adam Goodman (The Borgias, Pillars of The Earth) and David Collins of Samson Films, Ireland.

Executive Producer, Simon Vaughan of Lookout Point commented, “We are delighted to be underway with the production. To produce a drama of this scale required us to bring together more than ten pre sale partners.  This is also the first time in many years that major UK, US and Canadian networks have joined forces on a major mini series drama and we hope this will be the global broadcasting event of 2012”.

Today Sky News announces its plans for their coverage of the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday 29th April.

Hosted by Sunrise’s Eamonn Holmes, Sky News will begin their coverage from 6am with Dermot Murnaghan, and will bring all the regal glory of the day to their viewers across multiple platforms. 

Eamonn will be leading the coverage from a purpose-built studio outside Buckingham Palace where he will be joined by Royal Correspondent, Sarah Hughes. She will be on the ground talking to some of the millions of well-wishers expected to line the streets. 

Kay Burley will head up coverage live from Westminster Abbey, catching the first glimpse of the couple as man and wife.  Alastair Bruce, Sky News’ Royal Commentator, as well as officer of arms to the Queen, will be alongside her.  Alistair’s detailed knowledge of royal protocol will help viewers understand the traditions of the day. 

Sky’s Anna Botting, will be hosting a live screening event on London’s Southbank for public figures, friends of the royal couple, charities and other key opinion formers.  

A host of other Sky News presenters and reporters will be lining the route talking to the crowds as the couple make their way from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.  Sky News will also hear from the public across the UK including St Andrews, where the couple were at university, Anglesey, where they now live and Bucklebury, Kate Middleton’s home village. 

The brand new Sky News for iPad will also offer a unique way of watching the wedding with live coverage, video highlights and state of the art graphics that provide the back story to the royal romance.   Users will be able to rewind the live service as and when they want.   Sky News’ award winning app for the iPhone and Android will also have live coverage and video highlights.   

Sky News has also created a special initiative entitled, Your Royal Wedding.  The channel will be asking viewers to send their experiences of the royal wedding via video, whether in the crowds on the route through London, at a street party in the UK,  or around the world, or in fact ignoring the celebrations altogether.  These videos will form an hour long programme of user generated content to be shown at 9pm on the evening of the wedding.  Other videos will also be shown on skynews.com throughout the day alongside interactive maps, guides and photo galleries.    Presenters and correspondents will be tweeting throughout the day. 

John Ryley, Head of Sky News, said: ‘Sky News HD and Eamonn Holmes will be bringing the Royal Wedding to our viewers in multiple ways across all our platforms, allowing them to choose how to watch the big day.  Our coverage will newsy, celebratory and fun. ‘

Eamonn added: ‘I hope they get the weather they deserve, I hope they get the goodwill they deserve, I hope they get the happy loving life they deserve, but on top of that I hope I can give them and the TV audience the presentation they deserve!”

We were very lucky to be invited to The O2 arena yesterday for an exclusive performance of The X Factor Live with The Sun and even better than that, we got to meet some of the stars of the show.

Celebs including the likes of Katie Price, Keith Lemon, Patsy Palmer, Gail Porter, Lizzie Cundy, Danielle Lloyd and Jamie O’Hara and The Only Way is Essex stars were also in attendance, waiting to meet the X Factor final 9 for the exclusive meet and greet.

Cher Lloyd kicked off the show with her bright red hair and her usual quirky fashion sense; this included a bright pink tutu and later on, a massive black cape a la Dracula for her haunting performance of ‘Stay.’

Aiden, Mary, Paije, Wagner and Katie belted out their most memorable performances from the show before Rebecca gave the audience the chills with her soulful undertones and One Direction gave everyone’s lungs a good workout and included a performance of the track they would have released had they won the show, ‘Forever Young’ and a unseen on the show rendition of the Bruno Mars hit, ‘Grenade.’

Winner Matt Cardle then treated the audience to tracks: ‘Firework,’ ‘Knights in White Satin,’ ‘The First Time (Ever I Saw Your Face)’ and ‘Just The Way You Are’ before finishing off with his winner’s single and the Christmas Number 1 of last year; the cover of the Biffy Clyro classic, and the re-named, ‘When We Collide.’

The X Factor stars then all came together with the final number, a rendition of their number 1 single, Heroes.

Yesterday’s show was the last performance in London.  The tour will finish on Sunday 10th April in Cardiff.

Meanwhile the stars of last year’s show are still making headlines with the latest ones being of trysts and Twitter wars!