Xtra Factor host, Holly Willoughby, has revealed that X Factor judge Louis Walsh loves to bitch and that Simon Cowell doesn’t preen as much as one might think.

She told the Sunday People: “Louis is outrageous and likes to bitch. He makes everyone laugh but he can be a bit mean to the contestants.”

On the subject of Simon Cowells vanity she said: “I had heard that Simon was a bit of a diva, that he preened himself in the mirror a lot, but he’s changed. Read more & comment »

Contestants from ITV2 reality TV show, Celebair, threatened to walk out this week after show bosses made them resit a test.

The celebs had all previously passed the Civil Aviation Authority exam when bosses found out that they had taken a long boozy lunch immediately before the test. For safety reasons they then insisted that the exam was retaken by all.

Some of the stars were not too happy at the thought of a re-take and threatened to leave the show.

“They were up in arms because they’d all passed and couldn’t see why they had to bother to do the exam again,” an insider told the Daily Star. “But safety is paramount for the producers and they felt they couldn’t take a chance. They wanted to be sure they knew their stuff. Read more & comment »

Gillian Taylforth (Strictly Come Dancing partner is Anton du Beke)

UPDATE: Gillian Taylforth was voted of strictly Come Dancing 2008 on the 28th September. Read More here.

Gillian is the queen of the soaps with more than 20 years starring in Britain’s most popular TV shows.

She has played Kathy Mitchell in EastEnders, Jackie Pascoe-Webb in ITV1’s Footballers’ Wives and, more recently, Sgt Nikki Wright in ITV1’s The Bill.

Gillian later appeared in the comedy drama Jane Hall and also appeared as a recurring panellist on ITV’s topical chat show Loose Women.

Her brother had a premonition that she was invited to appear on Strictly Come Dancing.

Gillian says: “In his dream I didn’t win the show, but apparently didn’t do too badly, so I’m hoping his premonition becomes a reality!” Read more & comment »

Jodie Kidd (Strictly Come Dancing partner is Ian Waite)

Jodie is one of Britain’s most successful supermodels. Her international modelling career has seen her grace the cover of Elle Magazine in five countries, British Vogue, The Face and Tatler to name a few.

As well as a successful cover model she has also taken to the catwalk for the world’s greatest designers, including Jasper Conran, Matthew Williamson, Valentino, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Givenchy, Moschino and Chanel.

In recent years Jodie decided to take a step back from modelling to pursue a career in television, becoming a pundit and reporter for GMTV and This Morning.

This led to presenting and judging roles on The Ultimate Bikini Guide, Red Bull Air Race, BBC’s Sport Relief and Royal Ascot. Read more & comment »

UPDATE: Phil daniels became the firts celebrity to be voted off Strictly Come Dancing on the 21/09/2008. You can read more here.

Phil Daniels (Strictly Come Dancing partner is Flavia Cacace)

Phil is known to many people as Jimmy from cult film Quadrophenia, whilst the Britpop generation know him as the voice on Blur’s hit single Parklife. More recently, he played Kevin Wicks in BBC One’s EastEnders.

Phil made his acting debut in 1976 playing a waiter in Bugsy Malone. He later did voiceovers for animated films such as Chicken Run and appeared in comedy shows including Sunnyside Farm, Time Gentlemen Please, Gimme Gimme Gimme and Outlaws.

Phil joined EastEnders in 2006 as Kevin Wicks, who brought up his three kids single-handed when wife Shirley ran out on the family. His character died in a car crash in a New Year’s Eve storyline in December 2007. Read more & comment »

Tom Chambers (Strictly Come Dancing partner is Camilla Dallerup)

Tom is best known for playing the hospital lothario in BBC One’s Holby City. His hearthrob status was sealed when his character Sam Strachan romanced, and fathered the child of, his boss, as well as engaging in several relationships with the ward sisters.

A big fan of dance and choreography, Tom has proved that he has his eye on winning Strictly Come Dancing by postponing his wedding and honeymoon plans.

Tom says: “I had to tell my wedding guests that it was because of my Holby filming commitments!”

He adds: “I want to become an excellent mover – I can’t wait to learn ballroom and wear the posh costumes. Hopefully I’ll last longer in the competition than I did on the celebrity Weakest Link where I was voted off in the first round!”

Andrew Castle (Strictly Come Dancing partner is Ola Jordan)

Andrew is very much a housewives’ favourite. The retired British tennis player is currently seen in households across the country each morning as he co-hosts ITV1’s GMTV.

The former British number one in both singles and doubles became professional in 1986 and later a key member of the BAFTA-nominated BBC tennis team covering Wimbledon, The Artois Championships at Queen’s Club, The French Open, Australian Open and The Davis Cup. Read more & comment »

Christine Bleakley (Strictly Come Dancing partner is Matthew Cutler)

Having co-hosted the BBC Two talent show Let Me Entertain You, Christine became a household name due to her role on BBC One’s The One Show.

After working through the ranks, training as a floor manager and runner to an assistant director, Christine appreciates all the efforts that go in to a television production.

Her break on The One Show came when the producer asked if she could step into Myleene Klass’s shoes after Myleene unexpectedly went into labour.
Read more & comment »

LIVING2 brings viewers an exclusive new show that aims to remove the sting from the tail of America’s meanest girls.

Fascinating reality series Queen Bees follows seven young primadonnas, who are used to getting their way by backstabbing the opposition, as they are given a personality makeover. America’s Next Top Model winner Yoanna House guides the girls through weekly challenges, while psychologist Dr Michelle (The Tyra Banks Show) is on hand to offer them some much needed advice.

The first edition is packed with dramatic twists as the girls arrive in LA under the impression they’re about to take part in a competition for the title of biggest diva. As they settle into their new house, Yoanna arrives to inform them that they’ve actually been nominated by fed-up friends and family members who think the young ladies are in dire need of an attitude check. Read more & comment »

Tired of seeing ladies dressed in tracksuits, fleeces, trainers and parka jackets they want people to embrace a little bit of glamour in their wardrobes and their lives.

Recruiting five ladies who have lost their sparkle, Trinny and Susannah set about glamorising them for a night on the town and showing them how they can retain their new look everyday. Then it’s time for a bigger challenge as they revamp the wardrobes of an entire team of factory workers to prove to the nation that a little bit of glamour can go a long way.

The girls invite 100 women from across Britain, who feel that they have lost their sparkle, to a famous London night spot to find out why they no longer like to dress up. Read more & comment »

Jack, the youngest of the Osbourne clan, is set to make a documentary about his dad Ozzy, in a bid to dispel the negative image the public have of him.

“My dad’s not an idiot – he’s nothing short of a genius,” Jack told Rolling Stone. “He does have huge flaws, and we’re trying to really paint an honest picture of that.

“I think The Osbournes, to a degree, tarnished the public’s perception of my dad as a bit of a senile, funny, bumbling guy. Read more & comment »

BBC Three has commissioned a third series of Celebrity Scissorhands to air in Autumn 2008, from Brighter Pictures.

Renowned British hairdresser Lee Stafford returns to take the helm at the Celebrity Scissorhands Hair & Beauty Academy and attempt the impossible – to turn a group of celebrities in to fully-fledged hair and beauty experts in just three short weeks.

Presenter George Lamb (Make My Body Younger, Big Brothers Little Brother) is back to host the hour-long primetime show from inside the purpose-built state-of-the-art academy in Camden, London.

The second series of Celebrity Scissorhands was a ratings success, peaking at 646,000 and averaging at 380,000 viewers throughout the series. Read more & comment »

Sky One have announced that they have axed fashion TV show, Project Catwalk from their schedules next year.

Project Catwalk was a reality television show focusing on fashion design. The show follows a group of fashion designers as they compete against each other to avoid being “the next fashion victim” and win the competition. It is based upon the US reality show Project Runway.

The first series of the show was presented by famous model, Liz Hurley. The second and third was presented by Kelly Osbourne.

The show leaked viewers during the last series acheiving an average of just 110,000 viewers per show, so Sky says it’s looking for some ‘female-friendly’ replacement shows. Read more & comment »

Is anyone else finding this recent story about X Factor hopeful, Alan Turner more than a little confusing.

First Alan appeared on the show last Saturday, crying, speaking about his life in foster care and begging his real parents to get in touch. Then this weekend, Alan’s father spoke out and claimed that Alan has always known him and called him dad and claimed that he was brought up by his grandmother and not a foster parent.

Now in another twist Alan has spoken out today claiming that he is not a fake, yet failing to clarify who he was brought up by.

The X Factor team have released a statement saying: Read more & comment »

The long lost sister of X Factor auditionee, Rachel Hylton has put out a plea for her to get in touch.

The sisters lost touch when they were just children, but Rachel’s sister Leanora Lynch has spoken out about her desire to meet up again.

“Rachel and I were really close as little children, but the link was our dad and that ended,” Leanora told the Daily Star. “He was the unifying factor until I was eight years old, then our mothers fell out fighting over him.

“That was almost 23 years ago and we never saw each other again. I’ve tried to track her down through MySpace and Facebook, but she’s not on there. She is an auntie now who has never seen her nephew or niece – my children – and I have never seen her children.” Read more & comment »