Bodies

Tense, gripping, darkly humorous and scarily unsettling, the critically acclaimed Bodies, winner of the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Series, concludes with a 90-minute finale.

Rob Lake's (Max Beesley) life has changed beyond recognition since he fought to prevent patients coming to harm at the hands of his incompetent boss, Roger Hurley (Patrick Baladi).

Now Rob is making a fresh start with a new job as a consultant and is expecting a baby with Registrar Polly Grey (Tamzin Malleson).

However, it's not long before Hurley resurfaces – with a police caution, a broken marriage and the same medical skills – and Rob must confront his nemesis one last time.

Will Tony Whitman (Keith Allen) get off suspension and Donna Rix (Neve McIntosh) return to nursing, or will Rob have to go it alone?

bbc.co.uk

Porridge-light leaves a bad taste

Prison eh? Full of, like, criminals, hard-working staff, and eugh, awful smells and that whole overcrowding thing. But guys, why make the clink grim? Anyone remember Rachel Coughlan’s Women on the Edge (BBC Two) in February, which went behind the walls of Styal prison in Cheshire? Man, that was bleak, full of grit and everyday tragedy. In House of Crime, thought BBC Three, we’ll make prison fun. Put it on post-pub, one for the lads.

Chris Rushton’s documentary was garish, flip, and narrated in a stupendously inappropriate, languorous drawl by Max Beesley. You wanted to applaud the programme-makers’ audacity at trying to relate a difficult subject in a fresh, original format, but was it really wise to treat the issue of prison life with the same laddish lightness as an FHM piece on a night out in Magaluf? After all, the issues facing the staff and inmates of HMP Birmingham (Winson Green) are much the same as Styal: “cutters”, attempted hangings, overcrowding, prisoners defecating over cells in “dirty protests”.

Maybe BBC Three has decided to target an audience of right-leaning, reactionary twentysomethings. But when we first encountered the guy smearing his cell walls with faeces, was it editorially sound to tell us he was doing it because he didn’t feel he was getting the right drugs for a leg infection, and extrapolate from that: “Imagine if we did this when the doctor gave us aspirin rather than paracetamol.” Of his cell, Beesley joked: “It’s like one of the cleaner toilets at Glastonbury.”

The documentary not only focused on the prison officers, it took on their perspective. Good guy Phil Chamberlain helped bad lag “Wild Wilko” clean himself up. When one prisoner barricaded himself in the cell, Beesley told us he “saw sense” when confronted by a battalion of officers: “Well you would, wouldn’t you.” Besides the blokiness, there was the clunkingly ironic use of well-known arias from operas including The Magic Flute played over sequences of drudgey prison life. High culture versus subculture, y’see.
Mike Shann, the governor, rode a motorbike. Victoria Jones, his ambitious deputy, wanted her own jail and worried about the possibility of breaking a heel on her new boots if a violent prisoner tried to attack her. More bafflingly, Victoria drove Mike to and from the airport for a holiday to California. They kissed goodbye, kissed hello again and he patted her bum. When the “dirty” protester was moved to a Cardiff jail, Beesley said it would be unlikely if he found work “as a painter decorator”, hoho, and pitied anyone “putting washing out downwind” of his new home. Yes, fresh, original . . . and shallow and unpleasant. Next, Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee go to Iraq.

Timesonline.co.uk

KACEY AND KELLY SIGN UP AS 'HOTEL BABYLON' GUESTS

Audiences are used to seeing her playing downtrodden Little Mo in EastEnders, but Kacey Ainsworth's latest part in hit BBC1 series Hotel Babylon looks set to dramatically change her on-screen profile.

In her first role since leaving Albert Square, Kacey will play a hard-nosed tabloid editor who arrives at the fictional five star hotel in search of the scoop on a pair of "celebrity" guests. The 35-year-old mother of one - she has a daughter Blossom with fiancé Darren Hales - joins show regulars Tamzin Outhwaite and Max Beesley for the episode which will be screened in the New Year.

"Kacey is unrecognisable from her days as a downtrodden doormat in Walford," a show insider told a UK newspaper. "She's fiesty and fiery and not altogether likeable."

Also putting in a guest appearance in another episode is former Celebrity Love Island presenter Kelly Brook. Billy Zane's fiancée will adopt aristocratic airs for her role as Lady Catherine Stanwood, a former hotel receptionist who, having found herself a Lord, wants to start organising charity balls.

Other well-known faces lined up to appear in the series include Little Britain's David Walliams, Cheri Lunghi and Russ Abbot.

Source: hellomagazine.com

Five Stars Scanner Appeal

Friday October 6, 2006

All aboard the Orient Express for a glamorous, magical journey with a murderous twist!!
The Five Stars Scanner Appeal will transport you back to the elegant era of Agatha Christie's 1920s. Cocktails will be served on the platform before you and your guests board The Orient Express Northern Belle. In the sumptuous surrounding of your carriage you will dine on superb cuisine and fine wines. A murder will take place during the evening and with help from some of our celebrity guests, you can help to solve the murder mystery. All money raised from the evening will go towards reaching the £1 million target for an MRI Scanner for The New Children's Hospital, Manchester. The Five Stars Ambassadors; Max Beesley, Chris Bisson, Ryan Giggs, Richard O'Brien and Samia Smith are all lending their support to the appeal.For more information or to book your seats please call 0161 798 8821 or e-mail wendy@fivestarsappeal.co.uk.

New blog

Hello everybody!

As it seems that myblog.de is having some troubles with their servers, I decided to move the whole blog to blogger.com!

Hope there will be a lot of news to come :D

Take care everyone!
*hugs*
Denise

Celebs tee it up for charity

You'd be hard pressed to find a professional footballer who doesn't enjoy a round of golf now and then. Ryan Giggs is no different. Taking time out from pre-season training, the Welsh winger teamed up with British actor Max Beesley to organise a charity golf day to raise funds for the Five Stars Scanner Appeal.

The event, held on the Brabazon course at the De Vere Belfry, featured 24 teams of four with a celebrity on each team. Star names included Robbie Williams, Mark Hughes, Simon and Yasmin Le Bon, Ray Winstone and James Nesbitt. The winning team was captained by Tony Camilleri.

In total £80,000 was raised which will go towards the £1 million pledged for the development of the new Royal Manchester Children's Hospital due to open in 2009.
Tickets for next year's event are available from wendy@fivestarsappeal.co.uk For more information visit www.fivestarsappeal.co.uk or call 08709 770 055.

Source: GOLFmagic.com

Hotel Babylon gets sexier

THE new series of hit BBC show Hotel Babylon is to be raunchier and more drug-fuelled than ever.

The show - set around the saucy shenanigans of a top hotel - stars Max Beesley and Tamzin Outhwaite.

And author Imogen Edwards-Jones, who wrote the original book which spawned the programme, has been drafted in to write an episode of the new series.
Imogen promises more sex and more drugs than ever before in some of the most shocking scenes to hit BBC1.

Imogen said: “It’s so exciting - I’ve written episode two of the new series. And I can promise you that I’ve brought more sex and drugs to it than ever before! It’s going to be dynamite.”
The second series is being filmed at the moment and airs in January.

Source: thesun.co.uk

MOYLES IN SOAP ROLE

CHRIS Moyles has landed his first acting job - playing himself - in BBC drama Hotel Babylon.



The motormouth DJ was filming yesterday with Big Brother winner Chantelle, who plays his girlfriend.

The show stars Max Beesley and Tamzin Outhwaite and follows the exploits of staff and guests at a posh hotel.

In the storyline, to be screened next year, the Radio 1 star meets manager Rebecca Mitchell (Outh-waite) to book a party.

Moyles told listeners to his breakfast show: "I already feel confident about my 20 words. I might ad lib around it but I don't want to come across as cocky."

Source: mirror.co.uk