A traditional paint, flour and egg fight got the festival started

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of west London as the Notting Hill Carnival gets under way.

Dancers in colourful costumes began parading along the three-and-a-half-mile route at 0900 BST.

Floats and dancers are partying to music from more than 40 independent sound systems.

The carnival, Europe’s biggest street festival, is the climax of months of preparation.

The event began with the customary paint, flour and egg fight.

Chris Boothman, director of London Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, said: “This weekend is the highlight of the year for not only the Caribbean community, but also for the many visitors from London and the rest of the country.

“We have already had some fantastic events including the costume shows and the calypso shows, which showcased some of the best talent in its area.

“This weekend is the culmination of all those events, bringing together all the sights, sounds, tastes and experiences which make carnival the great experience that it is.”

The carnival began in 1966 and is held every August Bank Holiday.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “This weekend London will be filled with visitors from across the world eager to have some fun at the ultimate free street party.

“Our legendary Notting Hill Carnival highlights the richness of Caribbean culture and is the perfect summer celebration.

“As a former Ladbroke Grove resident, I feel a particular affinity to the pulsating steel pans and colourful floats as simply nothing rivals the spirit and energy of carnival.”

The policing operation is costing more than £6m.

Police arrested 101 people in a crackdown on troublemakers ahead of the Notting Hill Carnival.

Raids which took place throughout August led to several weapons being seized, including knives and firearms.

Officers from Operation Razorback also confiscated £64,000 in cash, along with drugs including crack cocaine and cannabis.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Obviously it’s very early days.

“But it’s all going swimmingly at the moment.”

Matt Taylor, from the BBC weather centre, warned of rain later in the day.

He said: “There is a high likelihood of some afternoon downpours, before brighter skies return late in the afternoon.

“It will be quite windy and pretty cool with the showers as well.”

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Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman won wide critical acclaim for their performances

Crime drama Sherlock is to get a second series, the BBC has confirmed as part of a raft of new commissions.

Its three-part first series, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in a contemporary take on the classic detective, attracted around nine million viewers.

Creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat have promised “baffling new puzzles, old friends and new enemies” in three new episodes due in autumn 2011.

Luthor, starring Idis Elba, will also return for two hour-long specials.

BBC One controller Jay Hunt said: “Sherlock was the hit of the summer, Luther the most memorable new detective on the block.

“I am delighted they will both be returning to BBC One.”

A two-part adaptation of Sebastian Faulks’s acclaimed novel Bird Song, set during World War I, will be brought to the screen by award-winning writer Abi Morgan, while Welsh comedian Rhod Gilbert is to present his own comedy panel show.

Meanwhile, the BBC has announced that the next series of Doctor Who, in 2011, will be split into two separate runs with the first block in spring ending on a cliffhanger.

The next block will begin in the autumn.

On BBC Two, the Edwardian ghost story Oh, Whistle And I’ll Come To You, My Lad, is given a modern reworking.

Wine expert Oz Clarke and comedian Hugh Dennis will set up a bar serving only local UK produce in Oz And Hugh Raise The Bar.

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Musical comedy Glee is nominated in 19 categories

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has been saluting this year’s nominees for US TV’s most prestigious honours, the Emmys, at its annual garden party in Los Angeles.

The afternoon get together was an opportunity for British and American TV stars and executives to relax, gossip and schmooze before the big night.

“Just having a little tea and luncheon is really delightful,” said Andrea Bowen, who plays Julie Mayer on Desperate Housewives.

“During Emmys week, it’s nice to have an event that’s a little lower key, when everything is so manic,” she said.

“It’s a celebration of all of the Emmy nominees,” said Nigel Lythgoe, BAFTA-LA’s chairman and party host.

“The Television Academy here in Los Angeles is going to reward a select few with those beautiful golden statues – but before then we’re selecting all of them and giving them a nice cup of tea.”

Lythgoe, who recently returned to American Idol as the show’s executive producer, said he was still involved in negotiations over the show’s judging panel, following the departure of Simon Cowell and Ellen Degeneres.

Lythgoe is executive producer of American Idol

But Lythgoe, known during his stint as a judge on Pop Stars as Nasty Nigel, ruled himself out as a member of the panel.

“It isn’t within the realms of possibility,” he said.

“I’ve always said I don’t want to follow Sean Connery into the part of James Bond. I don’t think that we want to replace Simon Cowell with someone similar to Simon Cowell – it doesn’t need another caustic Brit.”

Lythgoe acknowledged that after a decade on the air, American Idol needed “revamping” but he added that as long as the show “continues to make dreams come true” it would continue to be successful.

Lythgoe said he was heartened to see a range of new shows, such as Glee, in contention at the Emmys.

The high school musical series has 19 nominations, including one for best comedy.

“It’s good to see comedy coming back again – certainly the musical comedy of Glee is fabulous. The comedy of Modern Family is tremendous and I think those two are going to be fighting it out.”

Modern Family, which revolves around three interrelated families, earned 14 Emmy nominations.

“It’s been a pretty mind-blowing year for us,” said Steven Levitan, the co-creator of Modern Family.

“We are certainly enjoying the ride.”

For the past three years, the comedy category has been won by 30 Rock, which is again in contention. It is likely to be a close race.

“We still feel like outsiders,” said Dante Di Loreto, executive producer of Glee.

“It wasn’t that long ago that people thought it was a pretty crazy idea – luckily a lot of people saw the potential for the show,” he added.

Glee’s second series will include a guest appearance by Britney Spears, who recently filmed her scenes with the cast.

“It was fantastic, we were so happy she was there and the cast was in awe,” said Mr Di Loreto.

“There are going to be some great surprises in that episode – you’re going to see some people singing and dancing that you’ve never seen singing and dancing before, and they are amazing.”

Mad Men, the best drama at the Emmys for the past two years, is a favourite to win the title again.

The Bafta luncheon is an annual event

“It’s all down to the writing,” said Bryan Batt – who plays Salvatore Romano on the period drama.

“We do not deviate from one syllable on the script, it’s that well written. It also leaves an intelligent audience member room to think.

“You’re allowed to interpret the script as you watch the show.”

The Emmys will be handed out on Sunday evening in Los Angeles.

Iqbal Theba who plays Principal Figgins on Glee says he’s trying not to think about it too much.

“I’ll go, I’ll have fun,” he says.

“We’ve been nominated for 19 Emmys, we’ve won Golden Globes, Screen Actor’s Guild Awards, we’ve been to the White House, you just name it. So I think we can relax and just enjoy it, rather than worrying about whether we’re going to win or not.”

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Jordison is noted for simultaneously playing two bass drums

Joey Jordison, who plays with masked metal band Slipknot, has topped a vote on the best drummers of the past 25 years.

Jordison beat off competition from Nirvana and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl and Phil Collins to win the poll for UK magazine Rhythm.

The 35-year-old is strapped into his seat during live shows as he performs on a spinning stage which tips to a 90-degree angle.

He said he was “at a loss for words”.

“This is beyond unbelievable. Something like this reminds me every day why I continue to do this,” he added.

Second on the poll, which drew 100,000 votes, was Mike Portnoy of US prog-metal band Dream Theater and third spot was Gavin Harrison of Hemel Hemstead rockers Porcupine Tree.

Rush’s Neil Peart came fourth in the vote with Foo Fighters’ Grohl, a former member of seminal grunge band Nirvana and drummer for Them Crooked Vultures, rounding out the top five.

Former Genesis drummer Phil Collins made the top ten, coming in at number nine with around 0.3% of the vote.

Editor of Rhythm magazine Chris Barnes praised Jordison’s “mind-blowing technicality and ability to bolster any project with his unique sound and style”.

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Lennon used the lavatory between 1969 and 1972

An overseas collector has paid £9,500 for John Lennon’s toilet at an auction in Liverpool.

The porcelain lavatory was used by the music legend during the three years he lived at Tittenhurst Park, Berkshire, between 1969 and 1972.

Lennon gave it to builder John Hancock, telling him “to use it as a plant pot” after he installed a new toilet.

It was expected to sell for £1,000 but the investor broke the estimate at the 33rd Beatles Convention in Liverpool.

Fab Four expert and auction organiser Stephen Bailey said: “It is unbelievable.

“We had bids coming in from all over the place but it went to a private overseas buyer.”

The sale took place in the The Paul McCartney Auditorium at Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts (Lippa).

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Josie Long, Greg Davies, Sarah Millican, Russell Kane and Bo Burnham are nominated for the Best Comedy Show award

The winner of the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards will be announced later.

There are five acts nominated for the Fringe’s top comedy prize, which is now in its 30th year.

The shortlist includes two women for the first time – Sarah Millican and Josie Long – and the youngest-ever nominee, 20-year-old Bo Burnham.

Also on the list is one of the tallest men in comedy, 6ft 8in Greg Davies, and Russell Kane, who is nominated for the third consecutive year.

The awards, which have been running since 1981, were formerly known as the Perriers and the If.Comeddies.

They have launched the career of most major comedy stars of the past three decades, including Lee Evans, Frank Skinner and Steve Coogan.

“Star” names, who have already had a TV series or can perform in a 500-seat venue under their own name, are not eligible for the award.

The nominations for Best Comedy Show, which has a £10,000 prize, are:

Bo Burnham: Words, Words, WordsGreg Davies: Firing Cheeseballs at a DogJosie Long: Be Honourable!Russell Kane: Smokescreens and CastlesSarah Millican: Chatterbox

The nominations for Best Newcomer are:

An Audience with Imran YusufAsher Treleaven: Secret DoorGareth Richards: Stand Up Between SongsLate Night Gimp Fight!Roisin Conaty: Hero, Warrior, Fireman, LiarThe Boy With The Tape on His Face

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Paris Hilton was arrested by police in Las Vegas

American socialite Paris Hilton has been arrested in the US for alleged possession of cocaine, police say.

Ms Hilton was arrested by Las Vegas police when they stopped a car in which she was a passenger.

Officers found some suspicious powder in the car, which later proved to be cocaine.

She was booked into the county jail and will be charged and released on bail later, police said.

Ms Hilton was briefly arrested in July by South African police who suspected her of smoking marijuana, but she was later released without charge.

She served time in jail for drunk driving in 2007.

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Director General Mark Thompson says that the BBC faces a “moment for realism”

Next year’s licence fee negotiations will be a “moment of realism” for the BBC, director general Mark Thompson has warned.

But, he said, any loss of funding would permanently damage the UK’s capacity to create television programmes.

In his MacTaggart speech delivered in Edinburgh, Mr Thompson also said that Sky should invest more in homegrown TV, which would be “good for the public”.

Last year’s speech saw Sky boss James Murdoch identify the BBC as a threat.

‘Leaner’ BBC

Mr Murdoch said the scale of the corporation’s ambition was “chilling” and railed against the BBC’s “guaranteed and growing” income.

Mr Thompson responded to these criticisms, saying Sky was on its way to becoming “the most dominant force in broadcast media in this country”.

He suggested that the broadcaster was not doing enough to produce its own original content.

“It’s time that Sky pulled its weight… its investment in original British content is just not enough,” he told an audience at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.

Mr Thompson added that going head-to-head in this area would also be “good for the BBC and good for the industry,” and make up a potential shortfall in the UK’s programme-making capacity.

ITV and Channel 4, he said, would need to remain strong to contribute to making “great British television”.

“The total pot of money available to invest in original TV production is shrinking, and unless something changes, may shrink further.”

He emphasised that the UK’s broadcasters would have to “break the habit of a lifetime and actually work together”.

The BBC boss acknowledged that the corporation was facing a tough challenge over negotiations for the licence fee, which begin in around a year’s time.

“For the BBC I believe this will be a moment of realism and a recognition of the scale of the challenge facing licence fee payers and the country as a whole.”

Arguing that “a pound out of the commissioning budget of the BBC is a pound out of UK creative economy,” Mr Thompson said it was unlikely that cuts to the BBC’s funding “could be magically made up from somewhere else”.

The director general also said that making the licence fee work meant the BBC would “have to become leaner than it’s ever been before”.

The BBC remained committed to reducing the management bill, he continued, promising “simpler structures, fewer layers, fewer management boards”.

He added that such reductions would enable the BBC to invest more in its core strength – making original programmes.

Mr Thompson said that “radical and rapid” change would be necessary at the corporation in the coming years.

A BBC should be “fit and ready for this new world” and “do all it can to help the whole industry thrive,” he concluded.

Director General Mark Thompson says that the BBC faces a “moment for realism”

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Stewart Lee won the Malcolm Hardee Cunning Stunt award

Comedian Stewart Lee has won the award for the best publicity stunt at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Lee won the Malcolm Hardee Cunning Stunt award for accidentally promoting Japanese act Frank Chickens, who were not even appearing on the Fringe.

The awards are presented in memory of Hardee, the late “godfather of British alternative comedy”.

Young American comedian Bo Burnham was named the Act Most Likely To Make A Million Quid.

The Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality went to Robert White for his “enthusiastic unconventionality”.

White described himself as “the only gay, Asperger’s, quarter-Welsh, webbed-toed, dyslexic pianist debuting this Fringe”.

Twenty-year-old Burnham, who made his name posting comic songs on YouTube, was also nominated for the Comic Originality award.

The nomination came after his London PR company wrote to the organisers saying he was not driven by making money and would not be comfortable winning the Million Quid Award.

The award judges said “for a modern day stand-up comic not to be interested in money is entirely original”.

Burnham later said he had not known of his own PR’s response.

He told organisers: “I am a large fan of anti-establishment, anti-comedy, so I really wanted to contact you to say that I am a big fan of Malcolm and an even bigger fan of the ideas that you are embracing.

“Yes, I care about money but I do, kind of, hate myself for it.”

Bo Burnham was judged “Most Likely to Make a Million Quid”

Edinburgh veteran Lee won his award for the Best Stunt for his efforts to undermine the vote for a “Comedy God” on the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards website.

Lee complained of the “idiocy” of asking people to choose between obscure acts such as Frank Chickens from 1985 and contemporary household names such as Michael McIntyre.

His message was carried around the blogosphere and thousands voted Frank Chickens their favourite all-time comedy act.

As a result, the 16-strong avant-garde comedy dance troupe performed at the Fringe for the first time in 25 years – at a show promoting Stewart Lee’s new book.

The Malcolm Hardee Award organisers said: “The fact that Stewart did not intend to unleash publicity does not negate his success.”

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The winner of the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards will be announced on Saturday.

The awards, which began in 1981, have launched careers of many famous stars, including Lee Evans, Steve Coogan and Frank Skinner.

Here are the five acts in the running for this year’s title.

Russell Kane – Smokescreens And Castles

Russell Kane knows all about being nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

This is the third year in a row he has been up for the top prize and before that he was in the running for the best newcomer.

The 30-year-old comic says the one downside of nomination is the shows he does in the days after.

“If this was America they would be saying ‘this guy’s got nominated, he’s going to be amazing’,” Kane says.

“Here we are the complete opposite. They say ‘cocky little ass, give him nothing’ – and ‘we paid £12 to get in – make me laugh, if you can!’.”

For the rest of his Edinburgh run Kane does seem to have been making people laugh.

He said his show, Smokescreens and Castles, was the simplest one he had done at the Fringe and not one of his “grand ideas”.

“It is about the council house I grew up in – The Castle. I go room by room and explore my childhood home.”

Kane says there is a “poignancy” and “warmth” in the show which he likes.

He says he has taken on board feedback from fans and reviewers.

“I read all my reviews on 1 September after the Fringe, I would not like to read them during.

“Anything I think ‘good point’ I will try to incorporate it.”

Russell Kane: Smokescreens And Castles is on at the Pleasance Courtyard until 29 August.

Josie Long – Be Honourable!

The 28-year-old Londoner’s show calls on people to Be Honourable!

“It is me ranting about how I did not realise I was so complacent and now I do,” she said.

“My dream would be that people leave and decide to give up their rubbish jobs and train to be nurses and volunteer once a week.”

Long, who won Edinburgh’s Best Newcomer award four years ago, is quick to reassure that the show is funny, though.

“I like to think it is full of jokes,” she said.

“There is a laugh in my show every 30 seconds in general.”

This year is the first time in the comedy awards’ 30-year history that there have been two women on the shortlist.

Long said: “The least people to blame for that are me and Sarah (Millican).

“There have been so many people about for so long. Society is not going to stop being a bit sexist overnight and that is reflected in all elements.

“There are loads of brilliant women comedians out there but gender has nothing to do with the art you are going to produce or how funny you will be.”

Josie Long: Be Honourable! is on at the Just The Tonic At The Caves until 29 August

Greg Davies – Firing Cheeseballs At A Dog

Greg Davies says his Edinburgh show, his first as a solo performer, is “autobiography”.

“I have cut out anything harrowing and I’m just looking at moments in life where you are completely absorbed in them,” he says.

The “absorbing” moment which inspired the show was when he was “firing cheeseballs at a dog”.

“The dog was not hurt”, he adds quickly.

Davies, perhaps best-known for his role as Mr Gilbert in TV series The Inbetweeners, was once really a teacher.

“Mr Gilbert is the teacher I always dreamt of being really.

“I was a massively ineffective, soft teacher but it is nice to play a screaming psychopath.”

His Edinburgh show is not performed in the guise of Mr Gilbert but he “can get quite animated for a man as out-of-shape as me”.

At 6ft 8in (2.03m) the 42-year-old former member of trio We Are Klang is a comedy giant.

Of his height, he says: “It is not an asset in comedy. It is not an asset at all in life. At concerts, maybe.”

Greg Davies: Firing Cheeseballs At A Dog is on at the Pleasance Courtyard until 30 August

Sarah Millican – Chatterbox

Sarah Millican won the Best Newcomer award in Edinburgh two years ago and now she has been nominated for best comedy show.

“It feels like a progression,” she said.

Famous for keeping Twitter followers informed about her pudding consumption, Millican celebrated with a “raspberry tiramasu”.

“I don’t drink you see and you have celebrate somehow.”

Her show Chatterbox has no theme, a fact she thinks is “very liberating”.

But she adds: “It is rehearsed. It is not just me talking off the top of my head.

“I could do that obviously, that’s why I’m called Chatterbox.”

Despite her popularity, selling out her entire run before she even arrived in Edinburgh, she is at The Stand, a venue which seats just 140 people.

“It is one of my favourite comedy rooms that I have ever played in across the world,” she says.

“It feels like family.”

The Geordie comedian is looking forward to a holiday in a place with a hot-tub, or as she calls it, a “bath outside”.

The 35-year-old will then embark on her first national stand-up tour.

Sarah Millican: Chatterbox is on at The Stand until 29 August

Bo Burnham – Words, Words, Words

Bo Burnham turned 20 during his run at the Edinburgh Fringe.

He ended a sell-out month with critical acclaim and a nomination for the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

Burnham, from Massachusetts in the US, got his first success posting comedy songs on YouTube at the age of 15.

His first was entitled My Whole Family Thinks I’m Gay.

His various “politically incorrect” online offerings have been watched about 60 million times in total.

He cites Tim Minchin, Bill Bailey, Hans Teeuwen, Tim Vine and David O’Doherty as influences.

Burnham said this was why he wanted to perform at the Fringe.

“So many of my heroes got their start here,” he said.

“I knew I was going to be a better comic if I came here.

“I thought I had more of a European sense of humour than the average American comic.”

Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words is on at the Pleasance Dome until 29 August

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Last Night also stars Sam Worthington and Eva Mendes

Keira Knightley film Last Night is to open the Rome Film Festival, organisers have announced.

The film, which also stars Clash of the Titans’ Sam Worthington, is described as “a romantic tale of sexual attraction, betrayal, and jealousy”.

Nicole Kidman’s latest film, drama Rabbit Hole, will also be screened at the festival, which is in its fifth year.

The event runs from 28 October to 5 November.

There will also be a spotlight on Japanese cinema and culture including an event dedicated to film-maker Akira Kurosawa on the centenary of his birth.

It will feature a restored version of his 1950 film Rashomon.

The festival’s children’s’ film section host the premiere of the first Italian film in 3D, Winx Club, based on a cartoon following five teenage girls living in a magical universe.

Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore will head up the jury deciding the Marc’Aurelio awards including for best film, actor and actress.

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Matthew Pritchard needed hospital treatment following the attack in Toftwood

A man has been jailed for five years for stabbing a star of the MTV show Dirty Sanchez.

Mark Edward Smith, 43, was found guilty on 13 August of wounding Matthew Pritchard, 37, with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm.

He lashed out with some car keys after Mr Pritchard, from Cardiff, pushed him out of a shop in Dereham.

Smith of Charles Close, Toftwood, near Dereham, was sentenced at Norwich Crown Court.

Mr Pritchard, who needed 20 stitches after the attack, is one of the presenters of Dirty Sanchez.

They take part in dangerous stunts on the show.

The court was told Mr Pritchard threw Smith out of the store for being abusive towards staff when he tried unsuccessfully to cash a giro cheque without identification.

Smith admitted in court that he had been “obnoxious” in the Co-Op in Toftwood.

He said: “I had recognised Mr Pritchard and thought my life was at risk after seeing what he does on TV.

“I had no intentions of hurting him.”

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The couple have five children together

Spanish singer Julio Iglesias has married Dutch model Miranda Rijnsburger, his partner of 20 years.

The 66-year-old singer, whose hits include To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before, announced the marriage in a statement to Spanish newspapers.

The ceremony, held in Marbella, was attended by two witnesses and the couple’s five children.

Iglesias was previously married to Isabel Preysler, with whom he had three children – including singer Enrique.

The Rev Roberto Rojo Aguado told the Associated Press news agency the couple were married on Tuesday.

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Mr Ryan was accused of hitting his fiancee in a car in London’s West End

An assault charge against boy band star Lee Ryan has been dropped at the request of his fiancee Samantha Miller.

The Blue singer denied attacking 26-year-old Ms Miller, the mother of his son.

The assault was alleged to have happened while the couple were in a car in the West End of central London on 18 August.

The 27-year-old, of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

After the assault allegation was read out by the clerk, prosecutor Laura Tams asked for the charge to be officially withdrawn.

She said: “I have this morning been handed a withdrawal statement dated 25 August signed by Samantha Miller.

“Having taken further instructions there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. I ask the court therefore to withdraw the charge.”

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The Stig’s identity has kept viewers guessing for years

The executive producer of Top Gear has launched an attack on publisher HarperCollins over a book that reveals the true identity of The Stig.

Andy Wilman wrote on the show’s website the BBC had a right to protect Stig’s anonymity “from a bunch of chancers” who were “hoping to cash in on it”.

Both sides appeared at the High Court earlier this week as the corporation tried to halt publication of the book.

The BBC said the planned book would breach confidentiality obligations.

However, HarperCollins said it would “vigorously defend” its right to publish the book, adding it was “disappointed that the BBC has chosen to spend licence fee payers’ money to suppress this book”.

In a blog post entitled “The Stig. He’s ours”, Mr Wilman wrote: “I feel the urge to add my ten penn’orth about how we see things down at the Top Gear office.”

Responding to HarperCollins’ comments, he said: “The BBC has the right to spend money on protecting the intellectual property it created.

“The truth is that all that stuff – the Stig, the Tardis, the Blue Peter dog – does belong to the licence payer, and not to some opportunists who think they can come along and take a slice when they feel like it.”

HarperCollins was not immediately available to respond to Mr Wilman’s blog post.

‘Issue of trust’

Mr Wilman argued that the reason why The Stig, who test drives the cars featured on the show, never removes his helmet was to protect the character’s mystique, which the audience finds entertaining.

“HarperCollins have decided none of that is as important as their profits,” he wrote.

“So if you get your Christmas ruined by one of the best and most harmless TV secrets being outed, you can rest easy in the knowledge that by contrast, HarperCollins’ executives will be enjoying a fantastic Christmas.”

He also made an apparent dig at the driver who wears Stig’s helmet, saying: “It’s an issue of trust. Everyone who’s ever worked on Top Gear has kept the Stig thing a secret, and the person who wears the suit has signed confidentiality agreements to do the same.

“So talk about what you like in your own life, but not the bit you agreed not to. Your word is supposed to mean something.”

He concluded by saying he would continue to fight the case because the Top Gear team had “worked bloody hard for many years to make the Stig something worth caring about, and that includes protecting it from a bunch of chancers”.

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A Top Of The Pops Christmas special is still produced every year

The BBC has started “discussing” ideas for a new pop music show to succeed Top Of The Pops, which was axed in 2006.

According to The Times, the corporation has approached independent production companies asking for help to develop a “Top Gear for music”.

In a statement, the BBC said: “We are constantly discussing new ideas for pop music”.

However, it added: “We currently have no plans to announce [a new show] for any of our television networks.”

The statement also reiterated that there were no plans to bring back Top Of The Pops.

According to The Times, the BBC has approached record labels in the hope of securing video exclusives and other material to populate a new show.

It speculates that the show is “most likely” to air on BBC Three, and could be launched to coincide with a planned Top Of The Pops season on BBC Four.

Top Of The Pops ended four years ago, after viewing figures fell from a 1970s peak of 15m to around 1m.

It was first broadcast in 1964, from a converted church in Manchester and the final edition was shown on 30 July, 2006.

Since it was axed, record companies, politicians and artists including The Pet Shop Boys The Ting Tings have called for it make a comeback.

One-off specials for Comic Relief and Christmas have kept the brand alive, while editions of Top Of The Pops 2 – which uses archive performance footage – are often created to accompany seasons like Synth Britannia on BBC Four.

Newspaper tycoon Richard Desmond is also said to be keen to launch a Top Of The Pop-style programme following his acquisition of TV channel Five.

In theory, he could acquire rights to the TOTP brand from the BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, but the cost is likely to be prohibitive.

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Shane Dawson has won awards for his comic skits

Comic acts dominate a new list of the biggest-earning independent video makers on YouTube.

US satirist Shane Dawson made $315,000 (£203,000) from his films, which have amassed 431.7m hits in the past year, according to tracking site TubeMogul.

Other self-made comedy acts on the list include The Annoying Orange, at two, and a teenager behind helium-voiced character Fred.

Their incomes are made through advertising revenue on the website.

TOP INDEPENDENT YOUTUBE EARNERS 2009-10

1 Shane Dawson – $315,4292 Dane Boedigheimer – The Annoying Orange (pictured) – $288,3753 Ray William Johnson – $278,0484 Phil DeFranco – $181,7065 Ryan Higa – $151,203Source: TubeMogul

The top 10 earners all come from the US apart from Australian Natalie Tran, whose most popular video to date has been How To Fake A Six-Pack.

The seventh-placed earner was Greg Dawson, creator of comedy channel Mediocre Films which has made $116,000 (£74,800) and amassed more than 159 million views in the past year.

Dawson is best known for the Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine series, produced three years ago with his wife.

Their earnings are small compared to established mainstream stars, but creating homemade videos and uploading them onto the internet has become a bankable art form.

Some of the most successful video-makers are heading for greater success, with Dane Boedigheimer – the creator of The Annoying Orange – reportedly in talks to make a TV pilot.

David Birch, from TubeMogul, said: “It’s pretty amazing that some of these guys are making a decent living.”

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Imran Yusuf was nominated for the Best Newcomer award at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards

Imran Yusuf must be the hardest-working comedian in Edinburgh.

During his 25 days on the Fringe he has totted up more than 100 shows.

But the 30-year-old Londoner’s labours have certainly started to bear fruit.

Yusuf is the first act from the “free fringe” scene to be nominated for the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

He is up for the best newcomer award despite appearing as part of the Laughing Horse Free Festival, where the acts perform for free with the prospect of a contribution from an appreciative crowd.

Yusuf is also the only Muslim comedian to be nominated.

He is currently observing Ramadan so he is fasting during the day despite his punishing schedule.

As well as his own show, he comperes a Laughing Horse show each night at 11.30pm and takes every open mic and guest spot possible.

“Hard work is the only way to greatness,” he says.

And hard work has helped him overcome the perceived obstacle of performing at a free venue.

“It just goes to show,” he says.

“Even if you don’t have the profile or the budget or the right people in the right places, if you have a dream and you follow it through with passion and hard work, you can get this far.”

Yusuf’s breakthrough has been an “arduous journey” though.

His first foray into comedy ended in “personal depression” and 18 months away from the circuit.

He returned three years ago with a desire to “attack” the comedy scene.

Yusuf draws inspiration from US comedian Chris Rock who said the route to success was to “gig,gig, gig”.

According to Yusuf, Rock is “not only a great comedian but also a spokesperson for some of the issues which don’t get tackled successfully”.

These are issues of race and religion and “contrived” cultural differences which divide people, he says.

Yusuf says he wanted to build bridges and connect people.

He says he has a “strong spiritual foundation” and is happy to have grown up in a culture which “inspired me for all the right reasons”.

However, he does admit he has always been the odd-one-out.

In a massive extended family everyone else is a “number-cruncher”.

Yusuf, the youngest of three brothers who grew up in Hackney and Harrow, has always been the “maverick”.

This made it easier for his parents to accept his unusual career path.

“If I was doing this and not being successful it might be more of a problem,” he says.

Yusuf, who is set to appear in the next series of Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow on TV, said his recent success had blown his mind.

He said: “I am hoping tomorrow I get the phone call that I’m going to be in a movie with Jackie Chan. Then I can retire.”

A future movie deal seems a possibility but for Yusuf to stop working seems very unlikely.

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Notting Hill Carnival has grown to become Europe’s largest street party

When a feather-clad cast of several hundred danced to calypso beats through west London’s streets for the first Notting Hill Carnival in 1964, few would have thought the event would develop into the vast and vivid expression of multiculturalism it is today.

“Can you imagine not having anything that is culturally yours in a country?” asked former carnival chairman Alex Pascal.

“We were still new to Britain and there was nothing more vibrant and exciting than the Notting Hill Carnival.

“It was the theatre that federated the Caribbean in Britain and the theatre that gave colours, creeds and races the opportunity to be together.”

The carnival has grown from an essentially Trinidadian template of mobile steel bands, into Europe’s largest street party, with performers embracing cultures from the Caribbean and beyond.

But most people agree it is still essentially Caribbean in nature.

“It’s a Caribbean celebration, but also a welcoming place,” said the Mercury Prize winning rapper Speech Debelle.

“It’s a carnival of a Caribbean nature, that takes in the spectacles of all other cultures,” said Mr Pascal.

And he encourages people from all backgrounds to join the mas costumed bands.

“Don’t come to the carnival looking for mas. Come to carnival playing mas. Be part of it.”

One area of the carnival that has certainly diversified in is its musical output.

From steel bands playing the sounds of calypso and soca, it has grown to embrace everything from soul and rap to house and funk.

Norman Jay, who has been running and DJing the Good Times sound system for 30 years, introduced the clubbing experience to carnival.

“In those days carnival was calypso and reggae music. I came there playing gay disco, jazz funk and John Coltrane records,” he said.

“I crashed into Cambridge Gardens in 1980, set up my tiny sound system, put the first track on and the rest is history.

“Come one, come all. No matter your race, your colour, your creed or your sexual orientation, you are included.”

Following the Notting Hill Carnival riots of 1976, organisers have worked more closely with the local authorities and the police.

But some feel too much policing may have dampened the carnival spirit.

“The authorities have a bit too much control now,” said Keith Franklin, who has been running the KCC & Rocking Crew static soundsystem for 20 years.

“It seems like the participants are last on the list of their priorities.

“Security is needed but at times it can be a bit of an overkill.

“It can feel like you’re having a party in front of your parents.”

But Metropolitan Police carnival silver commander Mick Johnson, who will be working his 30th carnival this year, said: “The police and carnival organisers sit down together, to try to make it as safe and trouble free as possible.

“We give advice to the floats and they have to take it on board to be licensed.

Rapper Speech Debelle has been going to the carnival for 13 years

“The health and safety culture that society has driven has meant we can’t have too many pedestrians near the lorries.”

Speech Debelle, who has been going to the event for 13 years, said: “We used to dance next to and hold on to floats with wheels as high as we were.

“You can’t do that any more but I can understand the security reasons.

“Things have to change but they will still live on in people’s memories.”

Mr Pascal, who has been attending the carnival since its inception, said: “For all its sins, there is nothing else that offers this togetherness of people as the carnival.

“It’s a credit to those who created it.”

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Larry Flynt created Hustler magazine

The porn film industry has come under fire from Aids campaigners, who have filed a complaint against adult entertainment mogul Larry Flynt.

The Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has submitted an official complaint in California because Flynt’s actors are not required to use condoms.

AHF president Michael Weinstein said it was “our duty to pursue action on the issue of safety in the workplace”.

A spokesman for Mr Flynt said he delivered “what the consumer wants”.

Michael Klein, president of Larry Flynt Productions, said: “We won’t budge when it comes to condomless productions.”

Federal law requires that all porn actors are tested for HIV 30 days before the start of filming.

Mr Klein said the company adhered to those standards and that none of the actors they used had ever tested positive.

The AHF said it had studied 100 films made by Mr Flynt’s company and a condom was seen to be used in one single scene.

It said the movies demonstrated unsafe, “potentially life-threatening” behaviour.

It has submitted a complaint to California’s workplace health and safety watchdog.

“We see it as our duty to pursue action on the issue of safety in the workplace – in these instances, unprotected sex acts taking place in albeit non-traditional workplaces,” Mr Weinstein said in a statement.

According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, workers in the adult film industry are 10 times more likely to be infected with a sexually-transmitted infection than members of the general public.

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Paint shop assistant Lee DeWyze won this year’s American Idol

American Idol bosses say they have never used “auto-tune” technology to improve contestants’ vocals.

They were responding to the recent furore surrounding the use of pitch-correction technology on ITV’s X Factor to enhance performances.

“We have never, nor would we ever, use auto-tuning during the American Idol competition,” producers said.

X Factor producers said on Thursday they would no longer use sound filters to correct contestants’ voices.

“American Idol viewers can attest that contestants have been regularly scolded for ‘pitchiness’,” the statement added.

X Factor bosses admitted using auto-tune in post-production after fans complained it had been used during the first episode of the new series, which began on Saturday.

American Idol judge Simon Cowell left the show earlier this year to head up a US version of X Factor for 2011.

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DiCaprio was said to have suffered “great bodily injury” in the incident

A woman accused of attacking Leonardo DiCaprio with a broken bottle at a Hollywood party in 2005 has been ordered to stand trial in Los Angeles.

Aretha Wilson, 40, faces one count of assault with a deadly weapon. Her lawyer said he expected the case to begin within 60 days.

DiCaprio required a dozen stitches to his face and neck after the party.

The judge, who saw photographs of the star’s injuries, said he did not consider them “trivial or moderate”.

The photographs, showing cuts to the actor’s ear and neck, have not been made public.

The star of Titanic and Inception was not in court for the hearing.

Extradition

Ms Wilson has remained in jail since pleading not guilty to the charge earlier this month after failing to secure bail of $150,000 (£96,600).

She had previously been ordered not to contact or come within 500 yards (457m) of DiCaprio.

Ms Wilson could face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

She is accused of sneaking into a party hosted by Paris Hilton’s former boyfriend, Rick Salomon.

According to police, she mistook DiCaprio for a former boyfriend and attacked him with a bottle.

DiCaprio later filed a formal criminal complaint and a warrant was issued for Ms Wilson’s arrest.

Ms Wilson fled to Canada afterwards and had to be extradited to the US last month to face charges.

Her next scheduled appearance in court is on 9 September.

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Jean lives in the US, but says he has been a roving ambassador for Haiti

Haitian hip-hop star Wyclef Jean has released a song to local radio stations criticising officials who have banned him from running for president.

The track, performed in Haitian Creole, translates as Jail for the Provisional Electoral Council and accuses President Rene Preval of engineering the singer’s disqualification from the running.

“It’s not Wyclef that you have expelled, it is the youth you have denied,” the 40-year-old sings.

Mr Preval has not commented.

His spokesman said he had been told of the song’s existence.

Jean, who has also posted the song on Twitter, sings: “I know all the cards are in your hands. I voted for you to be president in 2006, why today did you reject my candidacy?”

Last week, the Haitian constitution ruled Jean and 14 other contenders out.

The rules require candidates to have lived in the country for five years prior to an election.

Jean lives in the US, but says he has been a roving ambassador for Haiti.

He argues that this exempts him from the residency requirement.

The star appealed against the ruling, but an electoral council lawyer said the decision was final.

Haiti is still recovering from January’s earthquake which killed an estimated 230,000 people and left more than one million homeless.

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Viewers want more access to interactive TV in the future including the ability to influence plots in programmes, a survey has revealed.

The YouGov poll, which questioned more than 2,000 people, found 69% of people wanted live voting to alter storylines in shows.

Viewers are increasingly likely to surf the internet or text as they watch TV.

Using Facebook in front of the TV was popular with 87% of people saying they had posted comments while viewing.

Almost half – 47% – said they would like to access the networking site through their television.

And 21% said they wanted to use internet shopping sites in the same way.

Ivan Ristic, director at Diffusion PR, which commissioned the study, said: “Television programming is heading the same way as traditional print media – the internet.

“Consumers are keen to be more involved with plot direction and want up-to-the-minute information to be able to know what songs are playing and where they can buy their favourite characters’ outfits.

“The trend shows that viewers want instant commentary and recommendation by their family and friends.”

He said people were “currently turning to social networks and text messaging to do this whilst watching”.

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The series was set in the town of Holmfirth for 37 years

The world’s longest-running sitcom, Last of the Summer Wine, comes to an end this weekend. In the Yorkshire town where the series is set, fans are preparing to bid farewell to a TV institution.

On a soggy afternoon in Holmfirth, the Last of the Summer Wine tour bus is almost full. Sightseers peer through the rain-streaked windows at the cobbled streets and lush green fields that are part of sitcom history.

In this picturesque setting, three old friends ambled up hill and down dale – pondering life, plotting harebrained schemes and refusing to bow to the passing years.

For the coach load of tourists following in their footsteps, the journey is bittersweet. After 295 episodes, the summer wine has finally run dry.

“It’s sad to see it go,” says one woman who has travelled from Dorset. “It was funny without being crude.”

Her husband nods in agreement: “There was no bad language, so the whole family could watch. It’s the end of an era.”

The era began in 1973, when the show was originally commissioned as a one-off for the BBC’s Comedy Playhouse. It was a radical proposition – a sitcom about a gang of pensioners with nothing much to do and all day to do it in.

It seemed an unlikely source of humour, but the antics of Compo, Foggy and Clegg were soon a hit with viewers.

Audiences also fell in love with another character – Holmfirth itself. For many watching on a Sunday night, its gentle leafy lanes and unspoilt countryside seemed a comforting throwback to a bygone age.

The town attracts sightseers throughout the year

The show came at a good time for the Pennine town. The traditional textile industry was in decline and tourism helped revive the local economy.

Today, visitors can have a cuppa in Sid’s Cafe, see props in a special museum and even stay the night at Nora Batty’s house.

Some townsfolk resented the disruption caused by tourists and filming, but others welcomed the opportunities the show created.

Ron Backhouse runs the local pub, The White Horse. He got on so well with the production team they gave him a part as the on-screen landlord.

Despite no previous acting experience, he was in the show for 18 years. He recalls it was daunting to begin with.

“I remember the first words I had to say – the tremors were there, and to get this out was unbelievable,” says Ron. “Then I thought afterwards, ‘they’re all my mates now, so why be nervous?’ And after that I took to it like a duck to water.”

At its peak in the 1980s, the programme was attracting 19 million viewers. The current series has pulled in around 4 million – still a sizeable audience in the multi-channel era, but many felt the jokes had become tired.

There was a growing reliance on predictable slapstick gags involving things on wheels going downhill – beds, sofas, roller-skates. The show was parodied by Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer as Three Men in a Bath, in which the three main characters were shown rolling down a hill in a bathtub.

Radio Times readers once voted it the programme they most wanted cancelled.

Even in the town it made famous, many are unconcerned by the decision to scrap the show. A surprising number thought it had stopped years ago.

Some residents are keen to see the area move on and show it has more to offer than cloth-capped Yorkshire stereotypes.

“I remember the first words I had to say – the tremors were there, and to get this out was unbelievable”

Ron Backhouse

Back on the Last of the Summer Wine tour bus, there is no desire to let go of the past.

Tour guide Colin Frost says visitor numbers this summer are up, and – despite the fact the cameras have stopped rolling – he predicts TV repeats and DVDs will win over new generations.

“Ask yourself – how long have the Brontes been dead? And how busy is Haworth?” he grins. “There’s still interest from all over the world. It’ll never die.”

One character will be part of the landscape forever. The actor Bill Owen – who played scruffy Compo till his death in 1999 – is buried in the local church yard.

Long-running plans for a life-size bronze statue in the town centre remain on hold so, for now, this is where well-wishers come to leave cards and flowers.

A pair of Compo’s famous green wellies stand by his graveside, overlooking the alleys and streams and fields where he and his pals entertained millions.

Time has been called on the very Last of the Summer Wine, but for fans it was a fine vintage.

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EMI sold 10 million copies of the Beatles remastered albums last year

The Pensions Regulator has been asked to decide on the funding of the main EMI pension scheme because the trustees and the company cannot agree.

It will be the first time the regulator has decided how much extra cash should be pumped into a company scheme to clear its deficit.

The shortfall in the EMI fund is estimated at between £115m and £217m.

But the company has hinted that if the regulator’s ruling is too harsh it might tip the firm into insolvency.

In its annual report, EMI said the dispute over the size of the deficit – a debt owed by firm to the scheme – was one of the factors that had cast “fundamental uncertainty” over the company’s future.

The EMI pension scheme has only 269 active members and was closed to new joiners in November 2005.

But bridging the deficit could be “the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” according to independent pension consultant John Ralfe.

“The outcome of the [regulator's] determination could conceivably push the company into administration,” he warned.

EMI, home of the Beatles and a host of other pop stars, was bought by the private investment firm Terra Firma for £4.2bn in 2007.

However, the music firm’s subsequent massive losses have plunged it into crisis.

In the year to April 2010, it recorded a pre-tax loss of £624m, after an even bigger loss the year before of £1.75bn.

EMI’s balance sheet shows it now has net liabilities of £636m, which means it is technically insolvent, though it says it has sufficient cash coming in to meet its current debt repayments to its bank, Citigroup.

Even so, the company has warned it is still in danger of breaking its loan agreements with Citigroup, which means its shareholders will have to inject more cash into the business, as they have done in the past year.

If that extra money is not forthcoming, then a breach of the banking agreements could trigger a demand from Citigroup that EMI repay, in one fell swoop, all the £3bn it borrowed to buy the company.

To make matters worse, Terra Firma has been involved in a bitter dispute with Citigroup about the amount of money it was originally persuaded to pay for EMI.

The deficit in the EMI pension scheme has been unresolved since 2007, despite first being referred to the Pensions Regulator in the same year.

Since it was set up in 2005, the regulator has used its powers to issue formal instructions about the running of pension schemes on 52 occasions.

Most of these decisions have been about conflicts of interest involving scheme trustees, or about the finances of schemes that have gone bust.

A formal decision about the funding of EMI’s scheme, known as a determination, would be the first about the finances of a company still trading as a going concern.

The regulator declined to comment on the problems of EMI and its pension fund.

But it is understood to be concerned that using its determination powers for the first time in these circumstances might set an inadvertent precedent for other schemes involved in similar funding disputes with their employers.

Normally, when these funding issues come before it, the regulator persuades the schemes and companies to come to a compromise agreement themselves, without the need for the regulator to make a formal decision.

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An HIV-positive German popstar accused of infecting a former partner with the virus has been given a two-year suspended sentence.

Nadja Benaissa, 28, admitted having unprotected sex and keeping her HIV status secret, but denied deliberately infecting anyone.

The No Angels singer was found guilty of causing bodily harm to one man, and of two cases of attempted bodily harm.

At the trial she said she was “sorry from the bottom of my heart”.

Ms Benaissa had sex with three people without telling them she was infected. One of them was confirmed as having contracted the virus.

Ms Benaissa told the court Darmstadt that she had not told anybody about her disease because she was afraid of the consequences for her career, which she conceded was a “cowardly act”.

She claimed she had been told by doctors that the risk of passing on the virus had been “practically zero”.

Ms Benaissa was arrested in Frankfurt last year, shortly before she was due to perform a solo concert, and spent 10 days in custody.

No Angels were formed in 2000 on the international TV show Popstars, before recording a series of hits and emerging as Germany’s most successful girl band.

They re-formed in 2007 and competed in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 23rd.

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Big Brother 11 winner Josie Gibson has walked out of Ultimate Big Brother, two days into the show’s run.

The 25-year-old left via the fire exit in the garden after deciding the experience was too overwhelming.

She was met by her former housemate and love interest John James, who happened to be visiting the compound.

Josie apologised to producers saying: “They’re all really nice people don’t get me wrong. I’m normal, I’m not a celebrity, I couldn’t handle it.”

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Kevin Spacey and director Sam Mendes are to reunite more than 10 years after working together on the Oscar-winning movie American Beauty.

Spacey will star in Richard III, which will open in February 2012.

“Sam is one of the finest directors I have had the pleasure to work with and to gain this opportunity is beyond my wildest hopes,” the actor said.

The production will open in New York, before touring internationally.

It will show at London’s Old Vic Theatre, where Spacey is artistic director.

“With such a remarkable character before me, I have a feeling this one is going to be a memorable experience,” Spacey said.

Richard III, who battled for the throne during England’s 15th century Wars of the Roses, is one of Shakespeare’s great villains and has been played by both Sir Laurence Olivier and Sir Ian McKellen.

Mendes said it was “a role I think Kevin is born to play”.

The 1999 film American Beauty scooped five Academy Awards, including best actor for Spacey and best director for Mendes.

Since then, Mendes – who separated earlier this year from his wife Kate Winslet – has directed plays and movies, including Revolutionary Road and Away We Go.

The production is the third and final season of the Bridge Project, which brings together British and American actors in classic plays.

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Mourners from the world of politics and academia will pay tribute at the funeral of Scotland’s national poet Edwin Morgan.

They will gather at the University of Glasgow service for the 90-year-old who died last week.

His coffin will lie in the university chapel from 0900 BST and then be taken to Bute Hall for the 1330 BST service.

Former Holyrood presiding officer George Reid will deliver the eulogy and writer Liz Lochead will read a poem.

Glasgow-born Morgan was Professor of English at Glasgow University from 1975 until he retired in 1980.

He was appointed the inaugural Poet Laureate for Glasgow in 1999 and Scotland’s first national poet – or Scots Makar – by the Scottish Parliament in 2004.

Morgan was awarded an OBE in 1982 and was winner of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2000.

He penned more than 60 poetry books and was the last remaining member of the “Big Seven” poets of Hugh MacDiarmid, Robert Garioch, Norman MacCaig, Iain Crichton Smith, George Mackay Brown and Sorley MacLean.

Morgan, who was educated at Rutherglen Academy followed by Glasgow High School, began his studies at the university in 1937.

At the outbreak of World War II he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps before returning to the university in 1946.

The funeral service will be followed by a private cremation.

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Comedian Frankie Boyle has been given his own series on Channel 4 as part of its comedy-heavy autumn 2010 schedule.

Frankie Boyle’s Tramadol Nights is a six-part series described as “no-holds-barred stand up with pre-filmed sketches”.

Peep Show also returns for a seventh series, making it the longest running comedy in Channel 4 history.

One of its stars Robert Webb will also front a show offering an alternative take on the week’s online news.

Comedian Boyle, a former panellist on BBC 2′s Mock The Week, was criticised for several controversial jokes he told on the comedy news quiz.

Unknown comic Morgana Robinson has also been handed a five-part sketch show on the back of a taster tape of her material.

Channel 4′s head of comedy Shane Allen described Robinson as “warm, daft and infectious” with a style of performance “reminiscent of Kenny Everett in his prime, but without the beard”.

Peep Show returns to Channel 4 for a seventh series

The season also features docu-soap Seven Days in Notting Hill, in which viewers will be able to follow the lives of people as they actually happen, and Wedding House, where a team of experts take over a country manor house to host wedding ceremonies for 50 couples.

New drama includes William Boyd’s adaptation of his novel, Any Human Heart, starring Jim Broadbent and Matthew Macfadyen, and Shane Meadows’ TV debut This Is England ’86.

The channel has also bought the rights to screen new US conspiracy thriller drama The Event.

Chef Gordon Ramsay returns with a new food series hunting for the UK finest restaurants and Jamie Oliver will front a new series, Jamie’s Thirty Minute Meals.

Channel 4 documentaries is promising “unprecedented access” to four police forces, a Peter Tatchell profile of the Pope and a four-part Katie Piper series on disfigurement.

Julian Bellamy, acting chief creative officer said: “This is an exciting time for Channel 4 as we enter a period of creativity and innovation with more freedom to try new things.”

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You know you are getting older when the comedians are getting younger.

Bo Burnham turned 20 during his run at the Edinburgh Fringe.

He ended a sell-out month with critical acclaim and a nomination for the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

Burnham, from Massachusetts in the US, got his first success posting comedy songs on Youtube at the age of 15.

His first was entitled My Whole Family Thinks I’m Gay.

His various “politically incorrect” online offerings have been watched about 60 million times in total.

Although Burnham claims that the internet numbers can be “misleading” about his level of success and fame.

However, there is no denying he has had a good run in Edinburgh, culminating in being the youngest nominee for the top comedy award in its 30-year history.

Burnham said the internet had allowed him to fast-track his development.

“I think because of the internet I was able to study comedy from quite a young age and watch a lot of comedy.

“I think that has sped up the learning process a little bit.”

The comedians Burnham watched on the internet all seemed to be Edinburgh favourites.

He cites Tim Minchin, Bill Bailey, Hans Teeuwen, Tim Vine and David O’Doherty as influences.

Burnham said this was why he wanted to perform at the Fringe.

“So many of my heroes got their start here,” he said.

“I knew I was going to be a better comic if I came here.

“I thought I had more of a European sense of humour than the average American comic.”

Burnham said this his first Edinburgh shows had quite a young audience but as the run progressed it began to fill with a “regular” festival crowd.

He said it was “refreshing to get a older audience”.

At 6ft 5in (1.98m) the young American is already a towering figure but the future looks even brighter.

He is waiting to hear if his plans for a “anti-High School musical” with top Hollywood producer Judd Apatow will be made in to a movie.

He also has masses of TV and touring work lined up.

He describes his comedy as “anti-saying something”.

“It is nihilism,” he said.

“The message is silliness and nothingness.”

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Venice’s prestigious architecture festival, the Biennale will open on Sunday with the theme People Meet in Architecture, it has been announced.

Four dozen exhibitors including architects, engineers, artists and studios will participate in the 12th themed event.

Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima – who co-won the Pritzker prize – is the Biennale’s first female director.

The event is scheduled to run until 21 November.

“This show will be a chance to experience the manifold possibilities of architecture, as well as to account for its plurality of approaches, each one of them being a different way of living,” Sejima said.

The British Pavilion was commissioned by Vicky Richardson, Director of Architecture, Design and Fashion at the British Council.

The centrepiece is a 1/10 scale model of a section of the Olympic Stadium for London 2012.

Built by Venetian carpenters Spazio Legno, the structure will be reconstructed on another site in Venice as a lasting legacy of the project.

Albania, Bahrain, Malaysia, Morocco and Rwanda will all be included in the festival for the first time this year.

The pavilions of the Biennale will stretch over Venice’s Arsenal and Giardini areas in the east of the lagoon city.

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US record producer Timbaland has called in to a live radio show to deny reports that he had gone missing and attempted suicide.

Website TMZ reported the 39-year-old’s family called police after apparently finding the producer distraught over the theft of a $2m (£1.3m) watch.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department sent out a “possible suicide attempt” alert.

But Timbaland, real name Timothy Mosley, told host Ryan Seacrest: “The only thing I did was take a drive.”

In a recording of the emergency call obtained by TMZ, a woman who said she was the producer’s mother-in-law said he was near a cliff.

A police helicopter later tracked down the Grammy-winning producer – who has worked with the likes of Justin Timberlake and Leona Lewis – and returned him to his home.

“I don’t know what happened, to be honest with you, I don’t even know what people are talking about,” he told American Idol host Seacrest. “I wasn’t talking, so I guess people got worried.”

When asked about the theft of the watch, Timbaland said something had been stolen, but it was not a watch.

“Why would I commit suicide? I could buy what was stolen,” he added.

The Los Angeles County sheriff’s office said Timbaland reported the theft over the weekend but there was no indication of a break-in at his home.

Detective Vic Paladino added the producer was concerned the alleged thief was someone he knew.

Timbaland reached number three in the UK singles chart in February, with his collaboration with Katy Perry on If We Ever Meet Again.

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Irish band U2′s first Russia concert was marred after police arrested activists from rights group Amnesty International before the gig began.

A police spokeswoman said they did not have permission to hand out leaflets outside the Moscow event.

The head of the human rights group’s Moscow office, Sergei Nikitin, said U2 management had assured them all the necessary permits were in place.

The campaigners have since been released, police said.

News Agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) also reported that police forced volunteers from U2′s own charity fund, the ONE Campaign against AIDS, out of Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium.

Tents set up by Greenpeace Russia were also moved on according to the organisation’s director Ivan Blokov.

“We were not allowed to collect signatures and to talk to people,” he said.

“Our activities were agreed with U2′s management, so we are very much surprised.”

Mr Nikitin added that Amnesty had been present at many of the band’s concerts throughout their European tour.

“I don’t know if Bono knows about what happened to us,” he said.

“It was a typical publicity event, which this organisation has carried out in every city where U2 has performed.”

During the gig, Bono invited Russian rock star turned anti-Kremlin activist Yuri Shevchuk onstage for a rendition of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.

The Irish singer called his Russian counterpart a “great man”.

On Sunday, Mr Shevchuk appeared at a banned concert in central Moscow protesting against plans to build a motorway through a forest.

Meanwhile, U2 have been fined by Spanish authorities for playing too loud at their gigs in Barcelona.

The group, who performed at the Nou Camp Stadium in June and July last year, have been told they must pay £14,723 for exceeding noise limits.

The fine was also imposed for rehearsal time running late and missing the midnight deadline.

The gigs were part of their 360 tour, which helped make them last year’s biggest-selling band in the world.

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Coppola won four Oscars for his Godfather films

Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola is to receive a lifetime achievement Oscar later this year.

It will be the sixth Academy Award for the 71-year-old – four of them were for his films about the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family.

Honorary awards will also be given to French director Jean-Luc Godard, actor Eli Wallach and film historian Kevin Brownlow.

The awards will be given out at a ceremony in Los Angeles in November.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science said Coppola's Irving Thalberg Memorial Award was given to "a creative producer whose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production".

Through his American Zoetrope studio, which he established in 1969, Coppola has produced more than 30 films, including The Black Stallion, The Outsiders and Lost in Translation, which earned his daughter Sofia an Academy Award nomination for best director.

Godard, 79, a key figure in the French New Wave movement, started out writing about cinema before impressing audiences and filmmakers with his influential first feature, Breathless.

Long-time character actor Wallach, 94, appeared in The Magnificent Seven, The Misfits and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. He is also in Oliver Stone's upcoming Wall Street sequel.

"Each of these honourees has touched movie audiences worldwide and influenced the motion picture industry through their work," said Academy President Tom Sherak.

"It will be an honour to celebrate their extraordinary achievements and contributions at the Governors Awards."

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Louis Armstong recorded Weiss's most famous song, What a Wonderful World

US songwriter George David Weiss, who helped write chart-topping tracks such as Can't Help Falling In Love and What a Wonderful World, has died aged 89.

The musician died of natural causes at his home in Oldwick in New Jersey, his wife Claire said.

Weiss also co-wrote songs which were recorded by Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Elvis Presley.

He collaborated on several Broadway musicals including Mr Wonderful and Maggie Flynn.

A talent musician, he played piano, violin, saxophone and clarinet.

However, his mother was always against his chosen career in the music industry and tried to persuade him to train as a lawyer.

Weiss was a military bandleader in World War II, but it was at songwriting that he began to excel.

Some of the other notable compositions he wrote or co-wrote included The Lion Sleeps Tonight, which was recorded by the Tokens and Oh! What It Seemed to Be, which was sung by Frank Sinatra.

But his most famous song was What a Wonderful World, which he wrote in 1967 with Bob Thiele.

Louis Armstrong's version of the song was a worldwide hit and was used in the 1987 film Good Morning, Vietnam.

In 1984, Weiss was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and became president of the Songwriters Guild of America until 2000.

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The original Kermit the Frog has been donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington.

The muppet was donated by creator Jim Henson’s widow Jane, along with nine other characters from the 1955 TV show Sam and Friends.

Some of the other muppets in the collection include early versions of Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch.

Henson’s oldest puppet, Pierre the French Rat, was also donated.

Jane Henson said the original characters provided five minutes of fun each night after the local news where they mostly mimed to popular music.

“I think people realized that if you put Kermit’s face up there, it was just as powerful – we were mostly just doing it to entertain ourselves,” she said.

The Smithsonian already has a familiar Kermit the Frog puppet made famous on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show.

But the original Kermit looked more like a lizard, made with ping-pong ball eyes and green felt from an old coat thrown out by Henson’s mother.

Museum curator Dwight Blocker Bowers said the muppets would be a boon for the museum’s collection.

“It certainly shows the muppets at the beginning of the career of a large family of entertainers,” he said. “More than anything, I think it shows the genius of Jim Henson.”

Bowers said the museum plans to have the original muppets on display by November in the pop culture gallery.

The Hensons are also to give the Smithsonian more puppets in the years to come, possibly including a Miss Piggy to join her amphibian boyfriend.

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Wolf Mankowitz was said to discuss Marxist theories with friends

The man who wrote the screenplay for a James Bond film was himself suspected of being a communist agent, newly released Security Service files show.

The MI5 file on Wolf Mankowitz, a “convinced Marxist,” shows he was monitored for more than a decade.

Mr Mankowitz wrote the screenplay for the unofficial Bond film Casino Royale in 1967 and was also involved in the film Dr No.

The files are available at the National Archives in Kew or online.

Mr Mankowitz, who died in 1998, introduced film producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman to each other.

He was subsequently involved in writing the script for their first Bond film together, Dr No.

Born in London’s East End, Mr Mankowitz attended Cambridge University where he joined the University’s Socialist Society and met his wife Ann, a Communist Party member.

MI5 first became interested in Mr Mankowitz in 1944, when the couple were living in Newcastle.

A letter mentioning the pair from suspected communist David Holbrook was intercepted by MI5, prompting the agency to ask Newcastle police to investigate them.

Mr Holbrook wrote that the couple were “avoiding National Service and doing themselves well” earning £6 a week lecturing for the left-wing Workers’ Educational Association.

Reporting back to MI5, Newcastle police said Mr Mankowitz “is known to frequently discuss the theories of Marxism with his friends whilst in lodgings”.

Despite surveillance by the authorities, Mr Mankowitz was able to enlist with the Territorial Army.

His commanding officer described him as a “highly strung individual of nervous temperament” who was awaiting an interview with a psychiatrist.

The MI5 file contained surveillance photos of Mr Mankowitz

But he doubted he was a subversive influence.

“Even if he possesses communist views I do not think he has the personality or strength of character to pass them on to his fellow soldiers,” the officer wrote.

“There is no evidence that he has attempted to air these views whilst with this unit,” he added.

In 1948 Mr Mankowitz applied for a job with the Government Central Office of Information but was blocked from joining the organisation.

In a letter, MI5 told the COI he was “known to be the husband of a Communist Party member and himself a convinced Marxist”.

In 1951, Mr Mankowitz was commissioned by the BBC to translate the Chekhov play The Bear. MI5 warned the corporation of Mr Mankowitz’s communist past but suggested his working on the translation did not pose a threat.

Mr Mankowitz was still of interest to the security agency into the mid-1950s,particularly after he visited Moscow in 1956 as a guest of the Soviet Union.

He visited the World Youth Fair in Moscow during a 10-day visit and announced to the press on his return his ambition to set up a “British Soviet co-film production”.

But interest in Mr Mankowitz tailed off after he cancelled a follow-up visit to Moscow, choosing to go to the West Indies instead on film location.

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The Man Who Fed Butterflies has its UK premier at the King’s Theatre on Sunday

The International Festival’s director said two shows he has brought to Edinburgh which use projectors and raw action are not a substitute for cinema.

Jonathan Mills said Sin Sangre and The Man Who Fed Butterflies use an “ingenious” blend of live performance alongside widescreen cinematic images.

The effect leaves the audience wondering who on stage is real and who is a projected image.

The Teatro Cinema shows are from Santiago in Chile.

Mr Mills said the effect on stage was so good, the technique could either make you feel the room was empty or full.

He told the BBC Scotland news website: “It is not a substitute for cinema. It uses film but it absolutely relies on live performance to make it work.

“There is a simplicity that you don’t get in cinema. It can strip itself away and then fill itself up again using the cinematic vistas. It plays with scale.

“It is so ingenious and the technique is impeccable.

“People do however get caught up with technology. Technology doesn’t get you anywhere. You also have to have something to say.”

Sin Sangre, at the King’s Theatre from Saturday, uncovers how, as witness to the killing of her father and brother by three armed intruders, Nina is discovered by one of the assassins under a trapdoor.

Sin Sangre is the first show in a trilogy from Teatro Cinema

He decides to spare her life. Years later the two meet again and their shared past uncovers secrets, deceit and vengeance.

The Man Who Fed Butterflies receives its UK premiere on Sunday at the King’s Theatre.

It is the second in the trilogy following Sin Sangre and shows how an old man feels the urge to carry out a forgotten ritual taught to him by the only survivor of an extinct and forgotten tribe.

They believed each recently hatched butterfly was the spirit of a dead warrior searching for his kingdom.

Every year at the same time the sacred men stood on a cliff, their arms open, palms covered in nectar, waiting to feed the butterflies as they set off on their annual migration.

The third show in the trilogy is yet to be made.

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Crocodile Dundee actor Paul Hogan has been barred from leaving Australia over an unpaid multi-million dollar tax bill, his lawyer has said.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) served the US-based actor with the order when he returned to Sydney recently for his mother’s funeral.

The 70-year-old is alleged to have put AUS$37.6m (£21.4m) of film royalties in offshore tax havens.

Hogan denies the claim, saying he had “paid plenty of tax” in Australia.

The order prevents the actor from leaving Australia until any alleged tax debts are paid or arrangements made for the tax liability to be discharged.

Lawyer Andrew Robinson said Hogan was “stunned and very disappointed the government could treat him as a flight risk”.

“He denies the liability asserted by the ATO and has filed objections which have not been the subject of any response.

“The process of detaining Paul in Australia away from his wife and child has devastated him and he hopes that discussions between us and the ATO will lead to a prompt resolution allowing him to return to his family,” Mr Robinson added.

The tax office reportedly served Hogan with the tax bill for undeclared income last month after a five-year long wrangle.

A spokesman from the ATO told the Reuters news agency: “As he is an individual taxpayer, we can make no comment.”

A popular Australian TV comedian, Hogan hit international fame as Mick “Crocodile” Dundee in the 1986 film, which went on to become Australia’s most successful film ever.

The actor now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Crocodile Dundee co-star Linda Kozlowski.

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Crocodile Dundee actor Paul Hogan has been barred from leaving Australia over an unpaid multi-million dollar tax bill, his lawyer has said.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) served the US-based actor with the order when he returned to Sydney recently for his mother’s funeral.

The 70-year-old is alleged to have put AUS$37.6m (£21.4m) of film royalties in offshore tax havens.

Hogan denies the claim, saying he had “paid plenty of tax” in Australia.

The order prevents the actor from leaving Australia until any alleged tax debts are paid or arrangements made for the tax liability to be discharged.

Lawyer Andrew Robinson said Hogan was “stunned and very disappointed the government could treat him as a flight risk”.

“He denies the liability asserted by the ATO and has filed objections which have not been the subject of any response.

“The process of detaining Paul in Australia away from his wife and child has devastated him and he hopes that discussions between us and the ATO will lead to a prompt resolution allowing him to return to his family,” Mr Robinson added.

The tax office reportedly served Hogan with the tax bill for undeclared income last month after a five-year long wrangle.

A spokesman from the ATO told the Reuters news agency: “As he is an individual taxpayer, we can make no comment.”

A popular Australian TV comedian, Hogan hit international fame as Mick “Crocodile” Dundee in the 1986 film, which went on to become Australia’s most successful film ever.

The actor now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Crocodile Dundee co-star Linda Kozlowski.

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The awards, which began in 1981, have become renowned for discovering new comedy stars and launching them into the spotlight.

Previous winners who have become household names include Lee Evans and Steve Coogan.

Here is a glance at the five acts who are in the running for the prestigious honour.

Bo Burnham – Words, Words, Words

It was two years ago that the 20-year-old singing comedian began his career by uploading some of his songs to YouTube.

His acts include jokes about Shakespeare, haiku and quantum mechanics and he calls himself a “big nerdy dude”.

He is currently writing a movie musical with Judd Apatow and is considering recording a rap album.

Comedy magazine Chortle called his show “one of the best in the programme”.

Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words is on at the Pleasance Dome until 29 August

Josie Long – Be Honourable!

It was in 1999 that Josie began to make a name for herself after she scooped the BBC New Comedy Award at the age of just 17.

Since then the 28-year-old has not looked back, and was crowned best newcomer for her Fringe debut in 2006.

The Oxford graduate has toured the UK three times, written for Channel 4′s teen series Skins and regularly participates in comedy panel game shows.

Julian Hall wrote in The Independent that she “gorges on indulgence” during her show but she is “much less nervy than she once was”.

Josie Long: Be Honourable! is on at the Just The Tonic At The Caves until 29 August

Greg Davies – Firing Cheeseballs At A Dog

Part of the comedy trio, We Are Klang, the former drama teacher regularly appears in Bafta-winning series The Inbetweeners as the unfair headteacher Mr Gilbert.

The 42-year-old also writes and performs regularly on radio and TV programmes including BBC New Talent, Stand Up Britain and ITV’s Take the Mike.

He has appeared as a guest panellist on Mock the Week, Jimmy Carr’s 8 out of 10 Cats and Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Reviewing his show, The Guardian’s Brian Logan sad: “The show has a big heart, and Davies is a fine comic craftsman, burlesquing his own ridiculousness for our entertainment.”

Greg Davies: Firing Cheeseballs At A Dog is on at the Pleasance Courtyard until 30 August

Sarah Millican – Chatterbox

Two years she went home with the best newcomer award for her debut solo show – Sarah Millican’s Not Nice – at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Since then she has become a TV regular, appearing on shows such as Michael Mcintyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Have I Got News For You, and Live at the Apollo.

The 35-year-old, with her distinct voice and Geordie accent, is about to embark upon her first national stand-up tour.

The Telegraph’s Mark Monahan described her act as “incorrigibly filthy”.

Sarah Millican: Chatterbox is on at The Stand until 29 August

Russell Kane – Smokescreens And Castles

It was back when he was working in an office that Kane, 30, decided to give stand-up a go.

Since then he has embarked upon several national tours, written a play which is being performed at London’s Soho Theatre, and is currently writing a novel.

He has also turned his hand to a spot of presenting on shows such as ITV2′s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Now and E4′s Big Brother’s Big Mouth.

In The Evening Standard Bruce Dessau said: “Some stand-up neurotics become bogged down in onstage over-analysis. Not Kane. The more he analyses his obsessions the funnier he is.”

Russell Kane: Smokescreens And Castles is on at the Pleasance Courtyard until 19 August.

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The nominees for this year’s Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards have been unveiled.

The shorlisted acts include 20-year-old internet sensation Bo Burnham and Greg Davies from TV show The Inbetweeners.

Josie Long, Sarah Millican and Russell Kane are also nominated for the award, now in its 30th year. The winner will be announced on Saturday.

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John Bishop on Edinburgh and what being nominated for a Fringe comedy award did for his career

Previous winners include Lee Evans, Steve Coogan, Al Murray, Frank Skinner and Sean Hughes.

The awards have been the launch pad for a string of new comedy stars since 1981.

“Star” names, who have already had a TV series or can perform in a 500-seat venue under their own name, are not eligible for the award.

US comic Bo Burnham, who was a teenager when he arrived in Edinburgh earlier this month, performs comedy songs on Youtube which have been watched by millions.

But he is making his Fringe debut.

Forty-year-old comic actor Greg Davies, who plays psychotic head of sixth form Mr Gilbert in The Inbetweeners and was a member of sketch troupe We are Klang, is also making his solo Fringe debut.

Geordie comedian Sarah Millican and Londoner Josie Long are both previous winners of Edinburgh’s best newcomer award.

Russell Kane was nominated for the best newcomer award in 2006 and has been in the running for the top Edinburgh comedy prize in the previous two years.

Long describes her show Be Honourable as aiming to provoke people into changing the world.

Millican’s show Chatterbox celebrates her inability to keep quiet.

The nominations for Best Comedy Show, which has a £10,000 prize, are:

· Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words

· Greg Davies: Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog

· Josie Long: Be Honourable!

· Russell Kane: Smokescreens and Castles

· Sarah Millican: Chatterbox

The nominations for Best Newcomer are:

· An Audience with Imran Yusuf

· Asher Treleaven: Secret Door

· Gareth Richards: Stand Up Between Songs

· Late Night Gimp Fight!

· Roisin Conaty: Hero, Warrior, Fireman, Liar

· The Boy With The Tape on His Face

Nica Burns, producer of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards said: “Two fantastic 30th anniversary shortlists which reflect the enormous changes in the comedy landscape.

“For the first time two first-class female comics, Josie Long and Sarah Millican, both Best Newcomer winners, join 20-year-old Bo Burnham in an outstanding Edinburgh debut, Greg Davies from We Are Klang in his first solo show and Russell Kane winning his third consecutive nomination.

“It took a very impassioned, intense debate to select the nominees from an extremely strong and diverse long list.

“2010 will be remembered as a vintage year for comedy.”

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Ex-Happy Mondays dancer Bez has been jailed for four weeks for assaulting his ex-girlfriend – after refusing community service.

The star – real name Mark Berry – had accused Monica Ward of stealing cash before flying into a rage, Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard.

He was at first given a community order but, after protesting his innocence, told officials: “I’m not doing it.”

In response, chair Marie Cash said he would instead be jailed for a month.

The court previously heard that the argument broke out at their flat in Whalley Range on 24 May, the day after they were paid for a concert by their band, Domino Bones.

Bez, 46, who denied the charge, said he was upset because he could not find the takings and accused Ms Ward of taking the money.

Ms Ward, 25, told magistrates he flew into a rage and put both hands around her neck, “looking insane”.

“He told me he was going to kill me before the police arrived,” she said.

Bez, who represented himself, claimed he was acting in self-defence but was convicted of assault on 11 August.

Reacting to his original sentence – which also included an order to pay £450 costs – he said: “I’m not doing it.

“Bothered. I’m going to appeal and take this to a real court.”

After being told he would go to jail instead, he shouted “Victory is in my grasp” as he was handcuffed and led away.

Bez, who is the son of a policeman, was also given a restraining order preventing him from contacting his former partner for two years.

Following the sentence, he instructed a solicitor who was in the courtroom for another case to make a bail application on his behalf.

Later, Peter Etherall, from Howards Solicitors, lodged an appeal and made a bail application, telling the court his client would now like to accept the community order.

Bail was refused and magistrates said Bez would have to appeal against his jail term at crown court, on a date to be fixed.

As he was led away he said: “I can’t wait to win this next fixture.”

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