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Coronation Street may be sold off to an independent production company due to severe cutbacks at ITV, it was claimed today.

The Sunday Express reports that the long-running soap may no longer be produced by Granada Television because ITV is struggling to cope with the impact of the recession.

It has also been alleged that, as an "interim measure", Emmerdale may start to be made in Manchester rather than by Yorkshire Television in Leeds in the near future.

An insider told the newspaper: "It's fairly certain that Leeds will be closed and Emmerdale will be run from Manchester, which is effectively the end of Yorkshire TV."

Last week, ITV's executive chairman Michael Grade admitted that the financial state of commercial television had been "severely challenged" by the economic downturn.

"I have seen the cycle come and go over the years," he explained. "I have never seen anything quite as dramatic or quite as profound as this in terms of the effect on advertising revenues."

An ITV spokesman confirmed that the broadcaster is currently holding talks over its future, but dismissed claims that its production wing would be closed altogether.

He said: "As you know, operational reviews are taking place to ensure that ITV is in the best shape to meet the unprecedented challenges facing the economy, but there are no plans to drastically scale back, or shut, ITV Studios."

spratt89

A new series of Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway made an impressive start on ITV1 yesterday, according to overnight figures.

The variety show - now into its ninth series - averaged 7.33m (31.7%) for the channel between 7.45pm and 9pm. The figure is up significantly on the first episode from the last series, seen by 6.13m (25.9%) on February 16, 2008.

Takeaway was the second most-watched programme of the day on any channel. Harry Hill's TV Burp - shown just before at 7.15pm - fared marginally better with an average of 7.35m (31.7%).

Most of the audience stuck around after Takeaway ended for Dancing On Ice: The Story Of Bolero. The documentary, about Torvill and Dean's infamous perfect score performance 25 years ago, interested 7.21m (32%).

ITV1's news bulletin followed with an unusually high 5.89m (28.5%) over 15 minutes.

National Lottery gameshow In It To Win It, which has topped the Saturday night ratings in recent weeks, was down to 6.07m (26.8%) for BBC One at 7.35pm.

A new episode of Casualty took 5.59m (23.9%) from 8.25pm, then comedy The Old Guys dropped to 2.62m (11.7%).

ITV1 climbed from an average share of 18.7% in primetime to a massive 29.4%. Conversely BBC One fell from 27.1% last week to 20.5%.

BBC Two's Arena: Tony Bennett - The Music Never Ends documentary brought in 1.49m (6.5%) between 7.30pm and 9pm, then the second episode of Iran and the West interested 905k (4%).

On Channel 4, a repeat of Grand Designs managed 1.1m (4.7%), then a screening of the Tom Cruise thriller Collateral kept 1.38m (7.1%) until 11.15pm.

Five's NCIS rerun drew 1.14m (4.9%) from 8.15pm, after which a new episode of CSI: New York appealed to a decent 2.35m (10.6%). Law & Order closed primetime with 1.51m (9%).

Five finished third in primetime with an average share of 6.5%. BBC Two was next with 6.2%, leaving Channel 4 last with 5.1% (+1: 0.4%).

spratt89

Michael Vartan has signed up to star in an upcoming medical drama from TNT.

The actor will feature in Time Heals alongside Jada Pinkett Smith, who will play director of nursing Christina Hawthorne at a North Carolina hospital.

Vartan, who portrayed Michael Vaughn in Alias, will play director of medicine Tom Wakefield, whose relationship with Hawthorne may go beyond their working environment.

The Wakefield character was originally played by Jeffrey Nordling in the pilot of the show.

spratt89

Former Men In Trees star James Tupper has joined the cast of NBC's drama pilot Mercy.

The comedy drama revolves around the relationship between three nurses at Mercy Hospital as they face the challenges of juggling their personal and professional lives.

Tupper will play Dr. Chris Sands, a new recruit to the hospital who discovers that he had an affair with one of the nurses while stationed in Iraq.

His previous screen credits include a four-episode stint on Samantha Who? and the independent movie Me And Orson Welles alongside Zac Efron.

spratt89

Paul O'Grady has admitted that he wants to leave his Channel 4 chatshow "on a high".

The 53-year-old TV host hinted that he may not renew his contract with the broadcaster at the end of the year, claiming that he would not continue working if his heart was no longer in it.

O'Grady said that he started considering his long-term future while on holiday in Barbados with Cilla Black.

"My contract with Channel 4 comes up at the end of this year," he told The Sun. "I'm not sure what will happen after that. Funnily enough, Cilla asked me what I'm going to do and I just don't know.

"I never do TV for money or fame and I always like to go out on a high when everything is going really well. I always think one morning I'll wake up, the penny will drop and I'll just stop."

The presenter claimed that he had similar feelings about his comedy drag act Lily Savage. "I had a diary full of events but I decided not to play her anymore, so who knows!" he said.

A Channel 4 spokesperson added: "We remain committed to The Paul O'Grady Show - and it continues to perform strongly."

spratt89

Denise Richards has admitted that she is "terrified" about her upcoming stint on Dancing With The Stars.

The former Bond girl, who was confirmed as a contestant on the eighth series of the show last week, told Access Hollywood that she has never danced before.

"I'm so terrified and scared," she confessed. "I was kicked out of a tap class when I was three years old because I was really bad and had two left feet so I've always had this fear with it."

Richards added that she has been bombarding former participant and fellow Bond girl Jane Seymour for advice, saying: "We can't stop chatting."

Seymour, who competed in the fifth season of the ABC show, said: "I've been trying to give her sort of a reality check about what it's like and what it's about, and basically I told her it was the most fun I've ever had."

The dance contest, which is hosted by Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris, kicks off in the US on March 9.

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Rapper MC Hammer and his family have signed up to star in a new A&E reality show.

The '90s popstar, who lives in Oakland, California with his wife and five children, will feature in 11 half-hour episodes. The series has been described as an "unscripted version" of The Cosby Show.

Hammertime will start shooting next week and is expected to air later this year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"MC Hammer is an iconic figure in American pop culture, but many people only know him for his music and fashion sense," said A&E senior VP Robert Sharenow. "Now A&E takes an unprecedented look behind his larger-than-life personality and into his life as a devoted husband, father and business entrepreneur."

Executive producer J.D. Roth added: "Here's a dad with five kids, married to the same woman for more than 23 years, living in the same place where he grew up and going to church every Sunday.

"He's had his ups and downs, and it's what makes him such a character you root for."

spratt89

Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas has worked his Rolodex hard, tapping several former residents of Neptune — Kristen Bell included — to Party Down on his new Starz comedy series about Los Angeles caterers.

"I couldn't be any more excited about working with Kristen again," says Thomas. "Her role in Party Down is the first that we've written for a specific actor."

Apparently it's a delicious role at that. Bell will play Uda Bengt, a former Party Down caterer who now ruthlessly lords over a rival company. Says Thomas, "Too often women and guest stars get stuck playing the straight man [but] in Uda, I think [writer-exec producer] John [Enbom] created a character worthy of Kristen's significant comedic talents."

Party Down premieres March 20 on Starz, and Bell appears in the May 22 season finale.

The series' regular cast includes Veronica Mars alumni Ken Marino and Ryan Hansen, Jane Lynch (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and Lizzy Caplan (True Blood). Mars fans can also expect to spy Enrico Colantoni, Jason Dohring and Alona Tal as guest stars.

Next up for Thomas? Awaiting word on what could be his and Bell's next project — a Veronica Mars feature film, the script for which he is about to pitch to Warner Bros.

redsoxpatriot30

Holy cow! I didn't know Life and Life on Mars were so low...I knew they weren't doing well, but I didn't expect that. I'm surprised that NBC keeps Law & Order...not doin' so hot but of course its peak was a very long time ago.

spratt89

Dollhouse has generated plenty of headlines over the last year, with numerous delays and rumours of artistic differences between creator Joss Whedon and the Fox network. Now that the original pilot has been ditched and a new one assembled, the series has finally hit the airwaves over in the States - but is it worth the wait?

Fans of Buffy and Firefly will be fully aware that when the words 'Written and Directed by Joss Whedon' flash up on the screen at the start of any given episode, it's a surefire sign of quality. Sadly, this is not the case for Whedon's handling of the opening Dollhouse episode, which is largely an uninvolving mess. It's hard not to feel like a passive bystander to the onscreen events, such is the lack of any compelling dramatic hook, and the show looks like little more than an excuse for lead Eliza Dushku to play dress-up and make believe.

The former Buffy star plays Echo, an operative for a mysterious, non-government agency called Dollhouse, who frequently has her mind partially wiped and new personas and memories implanted for the sake of a new 'engagement'. Later on, an FBI Agent investigating the Dollhouse suggests that this identity erasure is tantamount to murder. An interesting premise on paper, but the pre-credits scenes - so vital in the structure of a pilot episode and selling the show - fails to sufficiently build up the intrigue. The rest of the show is hardly an improvement.
A cryptic chat between Echo and her stiff upper-lipped boss (Olivia Williams) opens proceedings and hints at a compelling backstory. Yet then we're quickly whisked off to a couple of painfully long sequences featuring Echo racing round on a motorbike and dancing around to Lady GaGa on a dancefloor with the man of her dreams. These happy memories are soon erased when her team extracts her from her location.

The problem here, and the rest of the episode, is that there's no reason to care for Echo's predicament or fate. A few hints about her and the 'Dollhouse' organisation's circumstances are thrown in along the way, but are simply not compelling enough to hook viewers into the on-screen events. Alongside failing to successfully establish the show's premise, a self-contained story featuring the abduction of a 12 year-old girl fails to impress.

It all feels rather laboured as Echo, in her new guise as the facilitator of the exchange of the girl for the $5 million ransom, has guns pointed at her and has some painful childhood memories (not hers) come back to haunt her and help her tackle the kidnappers. Again, this is all depicted in such a subdued and undramatic manner that it's hard to greet these developments with more than a shrug. Where is the wit and punch so abundant in Buffy?
Dollhouse throws up plenty of questions, but fails to make us crave answers in the same manner that a vaguely similar show like Alias managed to do in the space of its opening few minutes. It's early days for Joss Whedon's new show and it deserves time to develop and expand upon its central ideas, but the omens are not good given its soulless opener. One can't help but wonder how vastly superior the original pilot that Fox rejected is.

spratt89

Primatech wasn't the only thing that went up in flames at the end of the previous 'Villains' chapter in Heroes. It appears that much of the storyline planning was razed to the ground as well, with the series undergoing yet another reboot to address falling viewing figures. Apart from one glorious final scene though, there's little to suggest that the opening episode of 'Fugitives' will send ratings soaring.

It seems as if Heroes showrunner Tim Kring is constantly reacting towards the criticism of the previous chapter beginnings. Volume Two rightly received stick for being slow and meditative, then Volume Three came along and was unfairly slammed for being frenzied and action-packed, and now 'Fugitives' appears to be an uneasy mix of new and old, largely failing to merge an unravelling story and action in a successful manner.

The decision to start from scratch is arguably annoying to those who have invested their time and patience in Heroes, as plenty of narrative strands from 'Villains' have been unceremoniously dumped. Peter is now a paramedic, Mohinder a cabbie and Daphne and Matt (or 'Daphtt') are shacked up together. Fortunately they don't potter around enjoying their newfound status for too long before Nathan Petrelli's swat team capture them, although it does feel a lot longer due to the languid pacing.
'Fugitives' also moves backwards in a bid to do some crowdpleasing, with Noah Bennet resuming his ambiguous baddie role from the first season and Sylar regressing to the menacing murderer in search of a parent (this time his daddy). At one stage Claire remarks: "I know he's out there, I can feel it in my gut". Perhaps her stomach has a serious sense of déjà-vu, like much of the viewers. Still, while falling back on old hits might not bode well for the new material, these tried and tested characters are always compelling to watch.

For the most part though, the plot plods along with the capture of the 'heroes' lacking in any visual or dramatic impact, although Bennet snaring Mohinder in a car park is fairly well done. The interaction between Hiro and Ando, which used to offer a nice tonal balance to the darker story elements, has now gone from amusing to annoying. It's about time Ando turned against his pal, as it's been plenty of time since we saw Hiro's shocking glimpse into the future in which Ando attacked him.
Just when hopes in 'Fugitives' were fading, out pops a stunning reminder that Heroes is still capable of delivering stylish, spectacular sequences that transcend the confines of mere television. The attempted 'breakout' on the plane by the heroes, lavishly shot in slow-motion and bathed in emotive music, plunges us into the tense environment of the characters as they cling on for dear life. As the plane plummets to the ground the dreaded 'To Be Continued...' flashes up, and the great cliffhanger makes us crave its resolution.

It's like sitting through a stale football match, which is 0-0 and petering out into a drab draw until a stunning 30 yard volley hits the back of the net in the 87th minute. No prizes for guessing what will be the main talking point once the final whistle blows. One moment of genius has the power to salvage a great deal.
Perhaps Heroes just needs to adopt the Lost and Battlestar Galactica strategy and announce a fixed end date in perhaps 2011. This could give the show some added focus and fully develop the various characters and plotlines towards a satisfying conclusion, rather than this frustrating chopping and changing that leaves hardly anyone satisfied. It's about time Heroes had faith in its own superpowers.

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NBC is looking to adapt I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! for the US, according to Hollywood Reporter.

The network is in talks with Granada America for another US version of the UK format. The show was first launched in America six years ago by ABC, but ran for only one season.

NBC is to order at least 12 episodes of the show, which are expected to be stripped on weekdays.

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! - which has run for eight seasons in the UK - has gained international popularity. The UK original sees celebrities living in harsh tropical conditions and competing in challenges to earn rewards such as food and other basic comforts. One by one, the players are evicted.

NBC is reportedly looking at a summer launch for the show.

gyki98

hip hop legend in a tv show.i think its awsome.cant wait for the show

spratt89

Me either as I think he is a good actor and would fit the part very well

spratt89

As downtrodden Pauline Fowler with her beige cardigan, laundry bags and bottle-blonded efforts at glamour, Wendy Richard, who has died aged 65, was one of Britain's most recognisable actresses.
Ruling over her East End family with a will of iron and occasionally kitchen utensils, Pauline was, until 2006, one of only two characters to remain in the series from the very first episode in 1985.
Ian Beale, played by Adam Woodyatt, was the other.
During nearly two decades in the soap, Wendy Richard's character buried her husband, mother and brother, supported her daughter's teenage pregnancy, and coped with her son's HIV-positive condition.
Such episodes were no more traumatic than events in Wendy Richard's own life. Her parents ran a pub where Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, used to drink.
Richard's father committed suicide when she was 11, and her mother died 17 years later. Left without any family, Richard also suffered three divorces, blaming her stressful career for the third.
Comedy credits
Born Wendy Emerton in Middlesbrough but raised in London, she had originally wanted to be an archaeologist. She left school at 15, though, and worked in the fashion department of luxury Piccadilly store Fortnum and Mason.

Richard teamed up with Bill Treacher for EastEnders in 1985
She headed off to drama school and soon changed her name to "something short and neat".
Her leggy, blonde looks soon secured her a role in the Albert Finney film Gumshoe, and on television she appeared in The Likely Lads, Dad's Army and Please Sir.
Other credits included Bless This House, Help and On the Buses. And she carried on with Sid James and his team in the hit films Carry On Girls and Carry On Matron.
Richard also enjoyed chart success in 1962. She went to number one with Mike Sarne, who continually pleaded with her to Come Outside. She was having none of his charm, though, famously telling him to "give over".
Before EastEnders, she was best known as Miss Shirley Brahms, the glamorous but dippy shop assistant, in the long-running BBC sitcom Are You Being Served?
Downtrodden doyenne
From 1973 to 1985, Richard was the resident sexpot of Grace Bros department store and comic foil to the indomitable Mrs Slocombe, played by Mollie Sugden.

Richard left EastEnders in 2006
The cast reunited for the 1990s sequel Grace and Favour, and Richard even called her own dog Miss Brahms.
But it was as the damaged but undefeated Pauline Fowler that she will be best remembered.
She took no prisoners with her sharp tongue and even resorted to the frying pan when she discovered her husband Arthur's infidelity.
Like the best matriarchs of soap tradition, Pauline's hot temper belied a warm, loyal heart. For nearly 20 years, she was brought to life by Wendy Richard, who said of herself, "I am not a hard person. I cry very easily and my feelings get hurt."
For her contribution to entertainment, she was awarded an MBE in the Millennium Honours List.

spratt89

Martin Sheen has admitted that he misses starring in The West Wing, reports PA.

The actor played President Jed Bartlet in the critically-acclaimed NBC drama from 1999 until it ended in 2006.

Speaking to reporters at the premiere of his latest film Echelon Conspiracy, he said: "I still miss The West Wing, very much so. And the guys.

"You know it's ten years this summer that we did the pilot, and started on the air in the fall of '99. Hardly seems possible, but it's ten years."

Sheen received a Golden Globe award, six Emmy nominations and two SAG awards for his portrayal of the Democratic leader.

spratt89

I have said it before, I say it again: The Buffyverse is en fuego these days.

Angel's Amy Acker, who currently is sporting some nassssty scars on Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, has joined ABC's murder-mystery pilot Happy Town, playing the wife of Geoff Stults' top cop.

Elsewhere on the Alphabet network, both Michael Nouri and David Morse have taken residence in Empire State, playing the respectively blue-blooded and blue-collar fathers of a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.

Meanwhile, Eric Christian Olsen (aka Greenatopia guru Kyle on Brothers & Sisters) has landed the lead in an untitled ABC comedy from Family Guy's Ricky Blitt, revolving around a man-child torn between his best bud and the new love of his life and her kids.

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Derek Luke, a breakout young film star as Antwone Fisher, has sewn up a starring role in Trauma, an NBC pilot about a team of EMTs.

Also signing on for the procedural is Kevin Rankin (Friday Night Lights). Jamey Sheridan (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) and Cliff Curtis (Live Free or Die Hard) are in talks to join the cast.

Luke will play a stoic trauma doc, Rankin a paramedic. Sheridan is being eyed for the role of the head of the trauma center, while Curtis would play a genius surgeon.

In other NBC pilot castings, Guillermo Diaz (Weeds) and Diego Klattenhoff  (Men in Trees) are scrubbing in for the dramedy Mercy, playing a male nurse and a nurse's blue-collar husband, respectively.

spratt89

The police chief of Paradise, Mass. is back on duty Sunday, March 1, at 9 pm/ET, in Jesse Stone: Thin Ice, the fifth entry in CBS' TV-movie series based on the Robert B. Parker novels.

Tom Selleck stopped by the TVGuide.com offices to talk up his latest turn as the small-town cop, who this go-around finds his actions called into question by the Boston Police Department's Internal Affairs division.

Selleck also reveals why the series that made him famous, Magnum, P.I., has yet to get the reunion movie it deserves — and why it should not be lampooned on the big screen.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/VIDEO-Tom-Selleck-1003470.aspx

spratt89

Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar is to return to TV in a new comedy - six years after Buffy The Vampire Slayer ended.

Gellar's six year stint on the hit series, which ended in May 2003, earned her several accolades, including a Golden Globe nomination and six Teen Choice awards.

And, according to Variety, the 31-year-old actress is set to return to the small screen in comedy The Wonderful Maladys.

The series will focus on the lives of dysfunctional siblings living in New York as they cope with losing their parents.