Ruth travels to Bradford this week, to come to the aid of a £2,000,000 double-glazing business that faces ruin because of its slack salesmen.

She faces an uphill struggle though, with an average of just three customers a day coming into their costly new showroom. But the low volume of potential sales is irrelevant when the salesmen are never at work and, with soft touch MDs who are reminiscent of folically challenged Chuckle Brothers, nobody is doing anything about it. Their idea of taking a hard line is giving somebody a wedgie. Read more & comment »

In another journey of discovery, historian Saul David helps a family uncover the truth about their alleged royal roots. With the help of an incredible journal, the life story of Hannah Harrison Lowe is revealed.

Believing herself to be the illegitimate daughter of George IV, Hannah’s diary is filled with details and dates that appear to corroborate her story. Now Saul and his team must scrutinise the document and establish whether the claims are true.

The investigation reveals a sorry tale of riches to rags and a lonely death in a Coventry workhouse. But a royal connection there may just be…

Sky One Monday 21 May 2007 at 22:00

In this week’s challenge, the remaining designers are asked to do something quite unnatural to them: work as a team.

All 12 hopefuls must create a lingerie line, consisting of three looks, before pitching their vision to judge Heidi Klum. But with only four to be commissioned to move forward with their line, the claws come out as the designers’ true colours begin to show.

With the four team leaders and lines selected, the remaining contestants are divided into teams to create the lingerie. Sparks soon begin to fly in the workroom as tensions reach an all-time high. And in the most dramatic elimination to date, one designer is sent home in an emotional farewell having threaded their last needle on the road to New York Fashion Week.

Sky One Monday 21 May 2007 at 21:00

The Badger heads to rural Norfolk to turn around the fortunes of hapless caravan sellers Greentrees Adventure Store. With a childish team of burping, farting, squabbling salesmen, a boss who doesn’t know what day of the week it is (literally) and over a million pounds worth of stock gathering dust, it’s a mammoth challenge for Ruth.

“Greentrees was an emotional roller coaster. We’ve got the Gordon Ramsay of Norfolk as the owner, we’ve got Vern, who was literally a broken man, Matt who had the biggest attitude I’ve come across in business and Mark, who didn’t show any personality at all. If you want to see conflict and you want to see how to manage attitude, then watch Greentrees.”

Ruth’s undercover filming reveals some alarming practices and with 30 other dealers competing in the area, it’s sure to be one of the Badger’s toughest challenges to date.

Sky One, Tuesday 15 May 2007 at 22:00

The 13 remaining designers are excited when they are told they will be designing for one of fashion’s most important and stylish icons. But the group are left puzzled when they are taken on a field trip to Toys R Us to meet the fashion luminary: it’s Barbie. Read more & comment »

Ahoy there me hearties! Climb aboard Pirate Master - the new, must see reality TV event of the summer. From Mark Burnett Productions, the creators of The Apprentice & Survivor, Pirate Master sees sixteen individual contestants living aboard a spectacular galleon pirate ship, competing to find buried treasure, worth a total of $1 million. The series launches on Sky One, Sunday 10th June at 8pm.

Hosted by dashing Australian actor Cameron Daddo, and shot entirely on location in the Caribbean, the contestants, equipped with just a map and compass as their guide, must embark on intense, physical expeditions and use their wits to solve clues and riddles to find the gold booty.

The stakes are high as the contestants are put into two groups and given a different, gruelling challenge each week. As well as a share of the weekly treasure, the winners have the chance of living in luxury as a Captain or Officer in the Captain’s Cabin, whilst the losers face being banished below deck to a week of servitude and the risk of elimination at Pirates’ Court. Read more & comment »

Ruth Badger knows business inside out and says she can sell anything. But what happens when ‘The Badger’, who admits that she is stubborn, sarcastic and undiplomatic, comes face to face with Britain’s worst sales teams? With clueless staff, hapless managers and little organisation, Ruth has got her work cut out for her when she takes control of some of the worst sales teams in the country. She is the last hope for these failing businesses, so it really is a case of Badger or Bust.

Ruth Badger returns to Sky One to try to turn around the fortunes of struggling businesses. The Badger helps some party planners who are big on parties, but short on planning.

Tuesday 8 May 2007 at 22:00

Road Wars is back with an all-new series, bringing its explosive mix of gritty observational documentary and action-packed CCTV footage together as it follows the Thames Valley Police Proactive Team, as they collar criminals out on the streets. Road Wars also features the best video footage from Britain’s other police forces and from around the world, showcasing the most unbelievable crashes, crimes and craziness caught on camera.

Two officers hit the jackpot in Slough’s biggest ever drugs raid. Meanwhile, a Lancashire Police chopper films cows catching a car thief, cops tackle drunk drivers in Cleveland and officers from Texas have a blazing shootout with armed car-jackers.

Sky One, 8TH May 9PM

Supermodel Heidi Klum joins forces with American Elle magazine to present Project Runway, a red-hot competition set in the most glamorous business in the world: fashion. The inspiration behind Sky’s Project Catwalk, this glitzy series sees wannabe designers compete in weekly challenges, before three finalists face- off at New York Fashion Week.

There’s a nasty surprise in store for the 14 hopefuls when their lavish rooftop party is cut short by the news that they must destroy the clothes on their backs in the latest challenge.

The show kicks off on the 7th May at 9pm.

BADGER OR BUST is a new six-part factual entertainment programme, following Ruth Badger’s fearless attempts to turn some of Britain’s most struggling sales teams into winners. Visiting a different classic sales business each week, such as a double glazing company and an estate agents, The Badger gets very swiftly to the heart of the problem and wastes no time telling the boss where they’ve gone wrong and how to fix it - if she fails, her reputation and their jobs are at stake.

Ruth Badger said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be working with Sky One again in a brand new show, the difference is this time I put my money where my mouth is in Badger or Bust. This is the real test for me, I claim to be able to increase sales in any business!

“So, in at the deep end, any business that is struggling, I roll my sleeves up and ensure that they perform. Either way, kicking or screaming, I get results!”

Badger or Bust will air from Tuesday 8th May, 9pm, Sky One

As Kate Middleton’s relationship with HRH Prince William continues to flourish and speculation of an imminent engagement reaches fever pitch, Kate: The New Diana? examines the media whirlwind surrounding the enigmatic woman who’s bagged the world’s most eligible bachelor - and whether she can cope with the pressure.

Over 20 years, Diana became the most talked about and photographed woman in the world…a fairytale princess. But the storybook lifestyle unravelled, ending in tragedy in 1997. 10 years on and Kate Middleton’s 25th birthday in January saw a media scrum outside her house – the images made for uncomfortable viewing and a stark comparison to the life Diana was forced to lead. Young, beautiful and in love with a handsome prince, the UK has gone Kate crazy. But what does fate have in store for this princess in waiting? Is Kate Middleton our new Diana? Read more & comment »

The Beckhams Go To Hollywood will examine what the future holds for the Beckhams as they quit Madrid for a new life in Hollywood. The Beckhams are moving to LA, but in the city of a million stars just how high is theirs in the firmament? Have the Beckhams achieved A-list status or do they have a bit of a way to go before they make the grade? Comedian Iain Lee is on a mission to find out. With the help of the UK’s best Beckham look-a-likes, Andy Harmer and Camilla Shadbolt, and with advice from Hollywood’s top society experts, Iain will be posing as the Beckham’s PA in their new-found home-city in an attempt to find out how LA feels about the Beckhams? Will they love them, loathe them or will they not have a clue who they are? Are they really power players in their new home, or just another immigrant couple trying to buy into the dream in the city of angels? The Beckhams Go To Hollywood will broadcast exclusively on Sky One on Monday 30 April at 10.00pm.

“David and Victoria will be welcomed with open arms by LA. We’re nothing but gracious to new stars. We love them, but we eat them up and spit them out.”

Jeffrey Jolson, Editor, Hollywood Reporter

Across the hour Iain pulls out all the stops to test the Beckhams A-list star power, including some good old fashioned cherry knocking, a 15-seat stretch hummer and a 10-strong celebrity entourage which seems to deliver the superstar sucker-punch on the streets of Beverly Hills. Does the Beckham name open doors or get them slammed shut in their face? We’ll find out as Iain attempts to shut down a store for some personal shopping Beckham style, purchase a $300,000 Lambourghini and get a table at The Ivy for the Beckhams and their entourage, all at a moments notice.

The Beckhams Go To Hollywood takes us from the paparazzi garnished sidewalks of Beverly Hills to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and from the mean streets of Carson City to the velvet rope of LA’s most exclusive nightspots. Iain will push things to the limit with his superstar celebrity demands.

The Beckhams Go To Hollywood will include interviews with Hollywood’s top society experts including image consultant Genelle Brooks, paparazzi David Aguilera and Patt Shipp from The National Enquirer.

The Beckhams Go To Hollywood will broadcast exclusively on Sky One on Monday 30 April at 10.00pm.

Project Runaway is presented by supermodel Heidi Klum and selects a cast of fifteen talented fashion designers from thousands of hopefuls to compete for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show in the world-renowned Bryant Park tents during New York’s Fashion Week.

Project Runway will provide the opportunity for the budding designers to break into the notoriously exclusive fashion business. The US phenomenon and Emmy-nominated reality series has proven to be one of television’s most talked-about shows and produced some of TV’s most memorable personalities and unforgettable moments.

Klum heads a panel of industry luminaries, including top women’s and men’s wear designer Michael Kors and Elle Magazine fashion director Nina Garcia, who will serve as judges and industry mentors charged with selecting and moulding the budding designers. In addition, each week will feature a special guest judge based on the specific challenge given to the participants. Tim Gunn, Chair of Fashion Design for Parsons The New School For Design, will return to guide the contestants through each of their challenges. The fifteen contestants will be whittled down to only three finalists who will face-off in front of an audience of movers and shakers at New York Fashion Week.

Project Runway can be seen on Sky One from Monday 30th April at 9.00pm.

The Sun reports:

‘NASTY’ Nigel Lythgoe’s wine show Corkscrewed has been axed by Sky One because of falling ratings.

Just 53,000 viewers tuned into the second episode on Monday night and the remaining two shows will be shown on Sky Three.

It’s a big blow for Nigel, 57, executive producer of American Idol and one of the men behind Popstars and Pop Idol.

The four-parter follows Nigel and his pal Ken Warwick, also an executive producer on American Idol, as they try to make a go of a Californian vineyard.

Sky One’s average audience for its key 9pm slot is normally 295,000.

‘Nasty’ Nigel and Ken get a sobering taste of reality as the tables are turned in…CORKSCREWED

‘Nasty’ Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, from childhood friends in Liverpool to the hottest television producers in America, take on unfamiliar territory as they try their hands at the wine business in Corkscrewed. This four-part observational documentary follows their trials and exploits as they make a major investment in a lifelong dream - owning their own vineyard.

Originally planned as a consortium of buyers including Simon Cowell, Simon Fuller, Ryan Seacrest and Randy Jackson, the investors, one by one, pulled out, leaving Nigel and Ken to go it alone. With little horticultural knowledge and no experience in the field they’re facing their toughest challenge yet. They can make idols, but can they make wine? Read more & comment »