Recently named ‘the most powerful person in British theatre’ by The Stage, David Ian is one of the most successful and prolific producers in British theatre today.

His smash hits include some of the best loved and most talked about productions of the last 20 years including Guys And Dolls, The King And I, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Anything Goes and The Producers, to name but a few!

David’s career in theatre began as an actor in West End roles such as Rocky in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Joseph in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was while appearing in The Pirates Of Penzance, at the London Palladium, that he met Paul Nicholas and together they began producing shows.

In 1993 David took his biggest gamble, taking out a second mortgage to finance the West End production of Grease. The gamble paid off and 13 years later the show is still playing to sell-out houses across the world.

David was appointed Chairman of Global Theatre for Live Nation in 2005. His role there encompasses the running of production activity worldwide, overseeing the programming of over 50 theatres.

David, co-producer of The Sound of Music, was one of the judges behind the BBC’s successful series How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

He has once again decided to work his magic as a judge and has signed up for the US and UK version of Grease Is The Word, the search to cast a Sandy and Danny for Broadway and the West End.

The New York Post reported that after the NBC debut of Grease: You’re The One That I Want, the Grease production on Broadway sold $1.3 million of tickets in just two days.

On ITV2 ten celebrities face the daunting challenge of producing a weekly glossy magazine under the editorship of Fleet Street legend Janet Street Porter and the big question is: can they hack it?

Australian Darryn Lyons founded the paparazzi photo agency Big Pictures and will be making sure that the celebrities get great pictures for the magazine.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to create a magazine that has my own stamp on it. It takes me back to the days when I was working on newspapers. I was at the Daily Mail for some time but I’ve been my own boss for a number of years now. I employ more than 250 people around the world. So it will be a very interesting experience to see how I cope back in-house!

“I get on really well with Janet. We have a great mutual respect. But having said that, there are bound to be clashes between us because we’re both used to being in charge and we’re both big personalities. But I’m sure we’ll work it out. The one thing I’m not looking forward to is the incompetence of the celebrities. I don’t think many of them will be able to cope with actually working for a living!”

Sex in Court is a frank, funny and highly original factual entertainment series, examining bedroom politics within modern relationships. Tonight’s first show features mother of two Rachel, who brings her husband Guy to court over a clash of lovemaking styles.

The second case, Joanna and Ashley, sees Ashley charged with filming a filthy flick of the two of them having sex on his mobile phone and then showing it to his friends, all without her consent. Veteran sex guru Dr David Delvin is also featured on the show providing expert witness advice. Just how will the jury react when they hear the evidence of both cases and what will be the Sex in Court judge’s final verdict?

E4 Thursday 29 March 2007

Ten celebrities face the daunting challenge of producing a weekly glossy magazine under the editorship of Fleet Street legend Janet Street Porter and the big question is: can they hack it?

The former editor of the Independent on Sunday will be keeping a watchful eye on the celebrities and have overall control over the magazine.

“I thought it was a really original idea. I’m asked to do lots of these sorts of shows. I’ve trained to be a midwife and a teacher and driven a taxi on reality TV shows before. But this is one I’m really qualified for because I’ve edited a national newspaper and a magazine. I really liked the idea of working in an area I know a lot about.

“I really know what is required with this sort of magazine because I’ve been on both sides of the divide. I’ve been an editor, but I’ve also been ambushed by the paparazzi and had snotty things written about me in the press. What particularly appealed about this was that it was a really challenging project. Read more & comment »

Sally Morgan: Star Psychic is a new smash hit television show which features the astounding medium that is Sally Morgan. A psychic since she was nine months old, Sally has decided to unleash her talent onto the ITV2 audience. A close friend of the movie stars, the Royals and ordinary people alike, Sally leaves those she reads for utterly gobsmacked. Join Sally as she uncovers the real truth and gossip within the lives of celebrities, past, present and deceased. From television stars to radio presenters, musicians and soap stars, Sally discovers the juicy secrets that were supposed to remain hidden – until now! Read more & comment »

The Sun is running a story today, claiming that Jadine Johnson, a contestant in this years The Apprentice on BBC1, is too fragile to take part in the show.

Jadine, who will come under intense scrutiny during her time on the show, is reported as a former mental health patient who was sectioned under the mental health act four years ago.

Some mental health charities have spoken out against the BBC’s choice of contestants, A MIND spokeswoman said: “We would want to ensure that proper psychiatric assessments are carried out on the show.”

But a spokesman for the BBC1 show was adamant that all the contestants had been properly screened.

She said: “As a part of the selection process all candidates are seen by an independent qualified psychologist to assess their suitability for participating in the programme.”

The Daily Star has reported that John Travolta, the best known Danny Zuko ever, is hotly tipped to be attending the launch party for ITV’s Grease Is The Word tomorrow night.

Now I really am furious! Brad and I were invited to the party in London, but I opted out and Brad is going alone. I had no real desire to meet David Gest, Sinitta or Zoe Ball…..but John Travolta? I would have paid money to shake his hand or maybe even dance the Greased Lightnin with him. Gutted!

NICOLA T BECOMES MANAGER OF THE OPPOSITION

The girls latest challenge ‘Yummy Mummy’ is revealed by Isabelle Oliver. Charlotte Meares is sick and unable to attend. Each team has to stock and promote 100 items of maternity wear. They are only allowed to sell between 9am and 6pm on Friday 23rd March. The team that makes the most profit wins.

The shop managers are chosen: Better Half= Jadene and Bows= Nicola.

This week the managers aren’t allowed to nominate themselves for the Yummy Mummy challenge. Manager Jadene decides that Elle and Heather will do the challenge and manager Nicola decides that Julie and Krystell will do the challenge.

The girls have an extra surprise. The managers have to swap teams this week! Manager Jadene moves over to Bows and manager Nicola now works for Better Half. And to add insult to injury, proceeds of every sale they make will go to their new teams. Read more & comment »

Ten celebrities face the daunting challenge of producing a weekly glossy magazine under the editorship of Fleet Street legend Janet Street Porter and the big question is: can they hack it?

The rookie reporters taking part in Deadline are Abi Titmuss, Dean Holdsworth, Chris Parker, Dom Joly, Yvette Fielding, Iwan Thomas, Imogen Lloyd Webber, Lisa I’Anson, Ingrid Tarrant and Blair McDonough .

In Deadline the reporters will have to write the stories, forage for gossip, interview their peers and ‘out-pap’ the paparazzi. But will they able to match the standards required by their experienced editor?

The pressure will be immense as not only are they making an entirely new magazine – it will be inserted into UK’s biggest selling women’s weekly Closer. Read more & comment »

At 5′6″ and 34 stone, Bethany weighed three times the size of an average 19-year-old and was the largest teen in the UK. In a desperate, last-ditch attempt to save her life and restore her body image, Bethany decided to undergo potentially fatal surgery with an operation to remove two-thirds of her stomach and drastically reduce the amount of food she can eat.

The teenager’s story was told in a moving documentary last autumn as part of the critically acclaimed Body Image Season, which gave BBC Three its highest-ever weekly reach.

The season returns this month with a series of new, one-off documentaries, aired over two weeks, examining people’s obsession with their bodies and the way they look, and including an update on Bethany’s story six months on.

This programme revisits Bethany’s story and asks if the surgery she has undergone has been the answer to her prayers. Surgery may have shrunk her stomach but a question remains over whether her relationship with food has changed.

Wednesday 28 March
9.00-10.00pm BBC THREE

The countdown has begun and this Saturday is to be a musical extravaganza with both Any Dream Will Do and ITV’s Grease Is The Word launching on the same night.

The first show of Any Dream Will Do, presented by Graham Norton, charts the journey of the thousands of hopefuls who attended regional auditions around the country in Cardiff, Glasgow, Belfast, Manchester and London, to the lucky 100 who made it to the London call backs.

It follows the progress, hopes and dreams of boys who have settled for day jobs, but secretly harbour a desire to star in musical theatre and now are finally given the chance and support to live their dreams. Viewers meet the boys who have trained their whole lives for a moment like this and who are now given the chance of a lifetime to audition for the Lord himself.

Have the auditions thrown up somebody with star quality, who can get on the stage and perform night after night? Andrew Lloyd Webber’s passion and fondness for musical theatre means he’s forever interfering in the process and changing his mind as only Andrew knows how – so viewers can be sure of a rocky road with plenty of ups and downs along the way.

There have been some damning articles on the internet over the last few days accusing Connie Fisher, winner of the BBC’s hit show, ‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria’, of miming during her recent Sound Of Music shows.

The articles all stemmed from a report in the Daily Mail saying that due to recent throat problems, Connie has been singing along to a backing track and almost miming high notes in order to save her voice.

I personally can’t see the problem. Connie obviously isn’t medically able to sing alone at the minute, but doesn’t want to drop out of the show while her career is still in it’s infancy. It’s not as if she can’t sing, we all know she can. She is certainly no Milli Vanilli! I hope the tabloids see fit to give the girl a break, and let her recover at her own pace, she’ll be back on par in no time.

The BBC have decided to push forward with their reality TV show ‘Any Dream Will Do’, slotting it into Saturday evening and pitching it against ITV’s Grease is The Word.

The two shows run along a similar theme, the BBC is looking for the perfect Joseph for its West End show, while ITV want to find a great Sandy and Danny for their production of Grease.

A source at the BBC said:

“Instead of months to prepare, we’ve had weeks. We’re working long days to get it ready. It’ll be the biggest battle in recent telly history.”

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I detest it when TV channels pitch shows against each other like this…..how on earth can I keep up with both shows if they are on at the same time. Have some consideration!

In second episode of the series, lady of leisure Lisa Johnson goes to Louise Marriott’s ‘Posh’ Nail bar to get glammed up. She gets her eyebrows dyed by Louise and then has a spray tan that leaves her looking a darker shade of brown than she wanted.

“I look like I’ve been down the coal mine. Look, look at the face, it’s black!”, Lisa says.

Leaving Posh Nails the programme meets a fourth ‘belle’, Louise Truelove. Louise works at a local plastic surgery clinic, Mills & Mills, where she spends her days helping people improve their bodies more permanently. In Marbella, plastic is big business. Louise explains:

“Ten years ago people were getting their hair cut, now everyone’s getting their boobs done, facelifts and brow lifts and eyes because they want to feel confident.” Read more & comment »

The Sunday Express reports today that Victoria Beckham’s new reality show, due to be screened in the US, won’t be so real after all.

Each show will be loosely scripted, with both of the Beckhams expected to learn their lines and their bodyguard will actually be a professional actor, hired to spice things up.

I know this reeks of deception but to be honest, I am with the NBC executives on this one. The Beckhams are BORING! Who wants to watch Victoria pout for an entire series, only the insomniacs amongst us I would wager. The end result of this show may not be real, but it might just be fun!