She may have been booted off X Factor - Battle Of The Stars for having a throat infection, but her exit from the show certainly hasn’t harmed Ex Coronation Street star, Nikki Sanderson’s career.

In fact the show raised her profile so much that her agent is working day and night fielding enquiries and job offers that are flooding in for Nikki.

Carol Godby, Nikki’s agent said

“She was offered a recording contract six months ago and also a different one 12 months prior to that but her real passion is acting, that’s the way she really wants to go.

“I know that the office has been inundated since her appearance on the show, from press and casting agents and there may well be some more music offers there, so watch this space.”

The X Factor show has just ended with Lucy Benjamin belting out the classic hit ‘Last Dance’, deliriously happy to have been crowned the winner of the X Factor - Battle Of the Stars.

Matt Stevens narrowly missed out on winning by only a few percent, and actually looked quite upset to have lost.

I am a bit surprised by how seriously some of the celebrities took the competition. It was never a real singing competiion, due to the fact that most of them (no matter how entertaining) couldn’t actually sing.

All the celebrities have careers already established, and somehow I can’t see Matt Stevens or Paul Rankin quitting their day jobs to become a full time pop singer.

All the celebrities that is, except for the detestable Rebecca Loos and almost as horrid James Hewitt. I hope they disappear into the abyss of has-beens and never grace our television screens ever, ever, ever agin!

I think that if Chris Moyles couldn’t win then Lucy was the next best thing, and to be honest it was nice to see a woman winning for a change. Maybe it’s a sign of things to come for the next series proper!

Radio One DJ, Chris Moyles was the favourite to win the series of X factor - Battle Of The Stars. Both the judges and the public loved him, so why is he leaving the show tonight?

Chris was obviously gutted when he heard the news, he made no secret of the fact that he wanted to win. He was even reluctant to give his final performance to close the show.

Chris brought an excitement to the series that wouldhave been missing had he not taken part. Also I predict that this won’t be the last time we see Chris on our TV screens. This show could have really launched his telly career in a BIG way!

IOL reports

Magician Paul Daniels and his wife Debbie McGee launched an attack on reality television today as they spoke of their joy at appearing on the new X Factor show.

Mr Daniels, who with his wife became the first celebrity crooners to be voted off the new X Factor show last night, said he had enjoyed a “great three weeks� of preparing as it had been “laugh, laugh, laugh all the way�.

He said: “We are professional entertainers, that is what we do for a living and our job was to go in and make that studio jump and we did, it was just sensational.�

Ms McGee said they had a “great time� and the reaction they had received had been fantastic.

She said: “We are really glad we got booted off as they put it in the papers because we got so much sympathy from everybody.�

Asked whether there were other television shows he would like to take part in, Mr Daniels said he believed reality TV programmes such as Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity were the “most boring shows on television�.

He said: “Nothing happens. I am not really interested in people getting into bed with each other because I know people do that – big deal.�

He added that such shows were just “boring TV�.

“I switched on the other night and within minutes of me channel hopping I heard some guy on about his buddies and using four letter words.

“I thought, there is no fun in this, there is no entertainment in this. This is just people being disgusting. They are the bottom end of the market. Where do they find them, you know.�

He said the comedian Joe Pasquale who appeared on I’m A Celebrity was a “great entertainer� but all he had been asked to do was appear in situations such as having a box of rats running over him.

Ms McGee, said she had heard from friends who had appeared on Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity that you do not get fed very well on such shows.

Mr Daniels said one of the big surprises on appearing on the X Factor show had been how nice Simon Cowell had been.

He added that he and Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles had also got on very well.

Mr Daniels and Ms McGee had been impressed by Mr Moyles’ performance and they said they believed he could win the show.

Mr Daniels said Mr Moyles had the tremendous back-up of appearing on Radio 1. He said the other celebrities they hoped might win were ex-Coronation actress Nikki Sanderson, and England and Bath rugby player Matt Stevens.

Mr Daniels said he believed Rebecca Loos and James Hewitt could be the next to be voted off the show.

The new version of the popular ITV1 show, which began last night, will run every night until next Monday.

Tonight we finally saw the last of ‘You Are What You Eat’s’ Gillian McKeith on the X Factor - Battle Of The Stars. Gillian managed to ruin ‘The Shoop Shoop’ song and Sharon rightly pointed out that if you are what you eat, then Gillian’s performance was like Salmonella!

The bad news is that Gillian has been invited back to perform The Pussycat Dolls hit single ‘Dont ya wish your girlfriend was hot like me’ on the Battle Of The Stars finale.

The thought makes me feel distinctly nauseous.

Many celebrities wanted to be part of this first series of X Factor - Battle Of The Stars, but one that got away was Mr Ignorant himself, John McCririck.

ITV reports

“Celebrity Big Brother “legendâ€? John McCruick tried to win the odds and wow Sharon and fellow Judges Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh as he crooned a rendition of ‘You’re Just Too Good To Be True’ clad only in his now infamous big white Y Fronts.

McCruick left the audition room to bring in a mirror so he could sing to himself the words ‘you’re just to good to be true I can’t take my eyes off you.’

Sharon commented after the audition ‘I find you intriguing I like your eyes’.”

As well as singing their hearts out and trying to boost their often flailing careers, the celebrities in X Factor Battle Of The Stars are also raising money for a charity of their choice. These are the charities the celebrities are supporting.

Gillian McKeith - National Children’s Home
Lucy Benjamin - Rosie’s Rainbow Fund
Matt Stevens - Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund
Chris Moyles - The Robert Ogden Centre, St. James Hospital Leeds
Nikki Sanderson - When You Wish Upon A Star
Michelle Marsh - The Doctor Kershaw Hospice, Oldham
Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee - The Berkshire MS Therapy Centre
James Hewitt and Rebecca Loos - Save The Children
The Chefs - Action Against Hunger

To be honest I thought they weren’t too bad, Paul and Debbie certainly weren’t the worst contestants on the battle Of The Stars tonight! That prize would have to go to the old lech and young slapper (aka James Hewitt and Rebecca Loos).

But their fun performance of ‘Let Me Entertain You’ wasn’t enough to save them and tonight Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee became the first casualties of the X Factor - Battle Of The Stars series.

I felt a bit sad, as Paul looked so upset and Debbie was obviously disapponited. Even worse the result meant that some crazy people must have actually voted for Rebecca and James….are they crazy? I would be happy if these two were never seen on our TV screens again, especially the tarty one!

Rebecca Loos and James Hewitt may seem like an unlikely pairing, but the fact that they have teamed up to appear on X Factor - Battle Of The Stars should come as no shock. I think the old lech and young slapper are very well suited.

The ruined the song ‘Adiicted To Love’ with James singing completely out of tune and Rebecca prancing round the stage managing to sound good in comparison.

When the time came for the judges to speak, Sharon Osbourne certainly pulled no punches! She asked James Hewitt if he used to be in the army, when he replied that he had she said “well you should be shot for that performance!”. She then turned her venom on Rebecca Loos, who she advised to keep her knickers on tomorrow night as it might warm her voice up. When Rebecca tried to defend herself Sharon replied “You have a very bad vibe”.

Well done Sharon for telling it like it is. Get rid of this team, they can’t sing and they are a despicable pair of human beings!

Diet Guru Gillian McKeith came a cropper last week while having a public row with X factor judge Louis Walsh.

Louis very publicly criticised the star last week, and Gillian saw red when she ran into him at The Princes Trust concert at the weekend. She got so carried away in her rage she slipped, fell over and sprained her wrist.

One onlooker said: “She was absolutely fuming when she spotted him. She yelled that he was being unprofessional and trying to ruin her chances before the show even started.

“Louis couldn’t get a word in edgeways and went redder and redder.” Gillian, famous for publicly analysing fat people’s pooh on her show You Are What You Eat, was eventually dragged away by I’m A Celebrity winner Kerry Katona.

But as she prepared to make an exit, mum-of-two Gillian slipped on spilled wine and crashed into a table covered in empty glasses.

“It was very embarrassing. Gillian sprained her wrist and has been telling everyone who’ll listen how it’s all Louis’ fault,” said the onlooker. Gillian, who suffers from the spinal condition scoliosis, said yesterday: “Louis really hurt me with those comments. To insult someone’s looks is out of order. I gave him a piece of my mind. I was upset when I walked off. I wasn’t looking where I was going and slipped. But my wrist’s getting better. I hope the sling’s off in time for the show.”

Yesterday former Westlife manager Louis tried to play down the incident. “She hasn’t taken me to task about anything,” he insisted, adding mischievously: “There’s no way I’d have any sort of consultation with Dr Gillian McKeith.”

Courtesy Of Wikipedia

Matthew Stevens (born 1 October 1982 in Durban, South Africa) is rugby union player, who plays at tighthead prop for Bath and England.

He was educated at Kearsney College, South Africa. His early representative honours include Western Province, South African Universities and the Junior Springboks at Under 18 and Under 19 level. Matt joined Bath in September 2002.

Matt Stevens burst onto the scene towards the end of the 2002/03 season making five appearances as a substitute and giving an indication as to his explosive qualities. He underlined those qualities with some strong performances coming off the bench for Bath early in the season as the pack dominated all opposition.

He is physically very well developed and his scrummaging is strong. He is a good lifter at the line-out and in open play Matt excels. He has genuine pace, as the New Zealand Barbarians found when they came up against him in a non-cap game in November 2003. Matt combines that pace with great hands and a tricky sidestep, as well as some destructive direct running.

Matt first caught the eye of the England selectors in 2003, when playing for England in the IRB Under 21 World Cup held in Oxfordshire. He was fast-tracked through the England set up and won his first two caps against the All Blacks on the summer tour to New Zealand and Australia. However a knee injury made him unavailable for the Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane.

He was in demand during Bath’s successful 2003/04 drive to the top of the Zurich Premiership table. In March 2004 he was selected as a replacement against Ireland at Twickenham ahead of Jason Leonard.

Stevens came into the England team in the 2005 Six Nations, and was one of the standout performers in England’s disappointing campaign. Athletic and versatile in the loose and powerful in the scrum, he looks set to be the rock upon the English pack is built together with Andrew Sheridan in the post Woodward and Johnson era. Also selected for the 2005 British Lions tour, featuring in six games.

After the 2005-06 season, Matt appeared on the ITV1 show The X Factor: Battle Of The Stars.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Major James Hewitt (born 1958), former British cavalry officer, is famous for being the lover of Diana, Princess of Wales. He has courted controversy by revealing details of their affair.

Diana admitted in her famous Panorama interview that she had committed adultery with Hewitt, saying, “Yes, I adored him. Yes, I was in love with him.” As Diana was then the wife of the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne, this would be high treason, if prosecuted. Although there has been speculation that Hewitt is the natural father of Prince Harry, he claims to have met Diana for the first time in 1986, two years after Harry was born. Hewitt became Diana’s riding instructor, with the affair said to have begun in 1987 and ending in 1992. He retired from the Life Guards in March 1994 after 17 years of service.

In a recent interview, however, Maj. Hewitt admitted under hypnosis that he’d met Diana in 1981 or 1982 and that their affair began shortly afterward, leaving open the possibility that he is Prince Harry’s natural father. [1]

Hewitt made the news by attempting to sell letters that Diana had written to him. On July 21, 2004 he was arrested at a bar in London on suspicion of being in possession of a Class A drug, reportedly cocaine. He was bailed to report to police in September.

James Hewitt lifted 82.5kg in the 2003 weightlifting event of Channel Four’s The Games (a celebrity athletics tournament), setting a record which he held jointly with 2004 competitor Shane Lynch, until this was beaten in 2005 by Philip Olivier. He eventually came second.

In 2003, James took part in the Five reality TV show Back To Reality and eventually won it.

In 2005, he took part in the ITV wrestling competition Celebrity Wrestling.

In 2005 James appeared on Heads Up with Richard Herring to discuss his life, career and his love of poker.

In 2006 he appeared on the BBC show Top Gear as a celebrity guest - He was not recognised by presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who referred to him as “the well spoken man”.

He was then seen on the Sky One show Vroom Vroom, where he accepted the Cat and Mouse Challenge.

In May, Hewitt starred as a contestant in The X Factor: Battle Of The Stars, alongside fellow kiss-and-tell “celebrity” Rebecca Loos.

Wikipedia reports

Early Life and Career

When England football captain David Beckham moved to Real Madrid on a four year contract on 17 June 2003, he and his family needed help moving and settling in. His management company SFX sought out a young, capable, multi-lingual female who could take on the role of personal assistant during the transition period. Loos was the only employee in the SFX Madrid office who spoke English and Spanish fluently, so she immediately began getting Beckham established and comfortable in Madrid.

Beckham and Loos worked closely together both professionally and socially, and Loos claimed that she became an “alternative wife”. As Beckham’s wife Victoria wanted to develop her UK music career, and as she was not initially happy in Madrid, she spent much of her time in England. Loos claimed this resulted in Beckham becoming bored, them spending almost all their time together socially, and that this led to a four month sexual affair.

Loos sold her story to the News of the World tabloid newspaper in April 2004, explaining that they had had a whirlwind affair that included sexy text messages - which were later published. She added to the intense speculation with both revelations mainly about Victoria Beckham and then the announcement of her own bisexuality. The story generated a huge amount of publicity in the tabloid press, launching Loos’s career as an ephemeral celebrity.

Media Career

In 2004 she presented a programme on Dutch television together with Gerard Joling, a singer who represented Holland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1988. Her appearance was unsuccessful and short-lived, partly due to the strength of her English accent when speaking Dutch. She failed to attract the ratings producers had hoped for and was dropped from the show.

In October 2004, she appeared on the reality television programme The Farm, a Channel 5 version of the RTE show Celebrity Farm. At one point she was famously given the task of masturbating a pig and collecting its semen. The broadcast of this provoked controversy, attracted complaints, and generated extra publicity for Loos, who made tabloid headlines once again as a result.

The incident was viewed by some commentators as an apt example of the depths to which would-be celebrities would go for public exposure, and the lengths to which the producers of reality television would go to humiliate them in order to satisfy the interests of viewers (see also I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!). It was also borderline bestiality. The RSPCA weighed in on the controversy, claiming that the incident, and indeed the whole series, was evidence of an unnatural interest in the sexual aspects of farm animals.

In 2005, Loos appeared on the ITV reality show Celebrity Love Island.

She also starred in The X Factor: Battle Of The Stars, under the “groups” category, singing along with fellow celebrity James Hewitt.

Personal life

Loos was born in in Madrid, Spain, the daughter of a Dutch diplomat and an English mother. Growing up, she was privately educated. After moving back to Madrid in 2002, Loos worked for an American investment bank, looking after bankers.

Shortly after the newspaper coverage of her relationship with David Beckham, Loos came out publicly as a bisexual, saying “I am indeed bisexual and have been ever since I was a teenager” (The Observer).

In 1999 while in London, she had a series of Lesbian lovers, including estate agent and TV presenter Emma Basden with whom she would enjoy a long term relationship. When Loos moved to Madrid, she claims to have seduced a previously straight blonde French au pair called Virginie

In the period before Celebrity Love Island, Loos had her breasts enlarged from 34C to 34D. During the transmissions of Celebrity Love Island in May 2005, Loos kissed Abi Titmuss and then cuddled up to Calum Best in the Love Shack.

In 2005, in protest at America’s laws on Gay Marriage, Loos “married” famous fashion lesbian model Jenny Shimizu for the TV program Power Lesbian UK. It was broadcast in the USA as Power Lesbians on LOGO which profiled successful lesbians in Los Angeles. The two shared a relationship for a period afterwards.

Major Media Appearances

* 2004 - Presenter, Dutch television with Gerard Joling
* 2004, October - Participant on The Farm.
* 2004 - Dream Team, an Sky football-based TV series. She played a bisexual masseuse.
* 2004 - Extreme Celebrity Detox for Channel4. During the Tao ritual session for sexual energy, Loos squeezed an egg-shaped object between her legs - then lifted a bottle of water that was attached to the egg by a piece of string. When asked how she found trying to get in touch with her sexuality live on TV, she responded: I was curious and because we never knew what was coming next, that added to the excitement. But there are some things that should be done in private.
* 2005, Summer - Participant on the ITV reality show Celebrity Love Island
* 2005, Autumn - Presenter of documentary Power Lesbian UK for the Logo (TV channel)
* 2006, January - centre fold model in the Dutch edition of Playboy magazine.
* 2006, April - Participant in the Belgian/Dutch version of the reality show Temptation Island.
* 2006, April - Runner in the Flora London Marathon for the British Red Cross.
* 2006, April - England team member in Sky One’s Celebrity World Cup Soccer Tournament (losing 2-1 vs. Brazil in the final).

Sharon Osbourne is completely puzzled! She thought she was judging the X Factor - Battle Of The Stars, but she doesn’t actually know who any of the celebrities are.

She says “I don’t know who the bloody hell they all are. I’m going to be the same as normal, be very honest. “I’ve never heard of any of them apart from (BBC radio presenter) CHRIS MOYLES, because Ozzy went on his show. I didn’t even know he could sing.

“Unless they’ve made a record or been in a movie, I wouldn’t know them. I’ve been back in LA for a while.”

With the start of X Factor - Battle of the Stars only 2 days away Paddy Power has started offering the opportunity to bet on both the outcome of the show, and also some quirky novelty bets for all you X factor fans.

Even better if you click on the Paddy Power link beneath this article, you will receive a £10 bet on the show or event of your choice!

The bets are as follows:

Which group will the winner come from?

16 - 24’s: 6 - 5

Groups: 6 - 4

Over 25’s: 11 - 4

X Factor Battle Of The Stars Specials

Sharon Osbourne to throw a glass of water over Simon Cowell at any stage on ‘Battle of the Stars 2006′: 2 - 1

Sharon Osbourne to throw water over Louis at any stage on ‘Battle of the Stars 2006′: 9 - 4

Shayne Ward to appear on ‘Battle of the Stars 2006′ as a guest judge with Simon, Sharon and Louis: 4 - 1

|Any one of the participating celebrities to trip and fall on stage during any performance on ‘Battle of the Stars 2006: 10 - 1

Animal lovers Debbie & Paul Daniels to sing holding a Live rabbit on stage: 25 - 1

Paul and Debbie Daniels to divorce in 2006 due to irreconcilable differences following ‘Battle of the Stars: 33 - 1