News

Alastair Stewart Mar 2, 2017

Arguably, British tech ensemble Bugs paved the way for the likes of Spooks, Sherlock, Torchwood and more...

It feels a long time ago that watching Saturday night TV with the family was the norm, but back in the 1990s, millions crowded around the box for the likes of Noel's House Party, Due South, The Generation Game, and of course, Bugs. The latter ran for four series between 1995 and 1999 and arguably holds the distinction of being embryonic of later, more intensive, tech-heavy UK shows including Spooks and Sherlock.

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The general Bugs premise involved a team of crime-fighting gadget experts facing a range of modern (now charmingly redundant), technology-centred threats. The main triptych of regulars included Nick Beckett (Jesse Birdsall), Ros Henderson (Jaye Griffiths) and Ed (Neighbours alumnus Craig McLachlan in series...

Alastair Stewart Nov 21, 2016

Anthony Horowitz's Crime Traveller deserves to be better remembered in the history of British sci-fi...

The 1990s are Doctor Who's lost decade. Although the eponymous Timelord found a brief home with Paul McGann's American pilot in 1996, the revival was never picked up. So began an even longer winter on the long road to 2005's regeneration under Russell T. Davies with Christopher Eccleston. The rest, as they say, is history.

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What is seldom remembered, however, is that while the failed reboot had proven the franchise hadn't recovered from 33 years worth of plot, nor had there been any marked improvement on the production, the entire exercise had given a...

Jenny Morrill Jun 12, 2017

Jenny has a few tips for successfully rebooting some classic gameshows...

Game shows are one of the few formats that can withstand being rebooted. Some people might even argue that game show reboots are becoming necessary, given the calibre of new ideas being farted out onto the screen. For every Pointless, there's Dale's All Star Celebrity Family Kerplunk On Fire (actually I'd watch that).

See related Doctor Who: Moffat on budget issues, advice for Chibnall Doctor Who: Phoebe Waller-Bridge is now the joint favourite

There are certain shows that could make up a stellar, unbeatable game show line-up, and they should all be brought back immediately. Some brave souls have tried to bring some of these shows back, with varying degrees of success. In some cases perhaps the execution needed a bit of tweaking, but the decision to reboot was the right one.

When a...

On the Buses and Last of the Summer Wine star Stephen Lewis has died, aged 88.

His family has confirmed to multiple media outlets that Lewis passed away on Wednesday (August 12) at a nursing home in East London.

Lewis's niece Rebecca told the press that the actor remained in "high spirits" in his last days, adding: "He was always singing and joking."

Through more 50 years in front of the camera, Lewis was best known for portraying Cyril 'Blakey' Blake in the ITV comedy On the Buses and its three spinoff films.

Lewis would later become a regular presence on UK television on The Generation Game, Oh, Doctor Beeching! and more recently Last of the Summer Wine from the 1970s through to the 2000s.

The London-born actor was also an accomplished screenwriter, having penned the Barbara Windsor and Roy Kinnear-starring 1963 film Sparrers Can't Sing.

Lisping, camp and effeminate … do gay men really talk in a certain way? One film-maker investigated the phenomenon – and came to terms with his own voice

There’s an old expression in the gay community about a macho-looking man who opens his mouth and “a purse falls out”. This sort of “looks Tarzan, sounds Jane” is particular to the gay male community where a high-pitched, lisping voice has been a huge part of the stereotype of what gay men were like ever since Charles Nelson Riley delivered saucy double entendres on The Match Game (or his UK equivalent Larry Grayson exclaimed “Shut that door!” on The Generation Game).

Usually this “gay voice” isn’t regarded as a positive, either by homophobes making fun of the lisp (usually accompanied by a wrist limper than day-old pasta) or the gay men who notice effeminate tones coming from the mouth of a potential suitor.

Sir Bruce Forsyth admits 'Strictly Come Dancing' isn't the show he ''thought it would be''. The 87-year-old entertainer stood down from his role as co-host of the BBC One ballroom dance contest last year and has now admitted he doesn't miss it because it never lived up to his expectations. He said: ''I don't miss doing Strictly. It's not the show I thought it would be. ''I thought it would be a comedy show, me getting amongst the contestants and showing them how to dance, them all falling all over the place, it was a different show.'' The former 'The Generation Game' host confessed...

One of my happiest memories of TV as a child was the Stars In Their Eyes grand final night. The Matthew Kelly years of the show may look rather quaint in an era of spinning chairs, dancing celebrities and X Factor shoutiness, but it was actually ahead of its time as an entertainment format.

From turning Reg the butcher and Barbara from accounts into stars for five minutes, to public phone votes for the winner, it was in many ways a proto-Pop Idol and X Factor.

The key difference between Stars In Their Eyes and what followed was the complete absence of cynicism or profiteering. It probably helped Basil from Basingstoke raise a few more quid with his George Formby covers act, but there was never any pretense that the show would be life-changing.

Like most Saturday night shows in the pre-Popstars/Simon Cowell/Big Brother era, the heart...

Jim Davidson has criticised the BBC for having a left-wing bias and said that there isn't enough working class comedy on TV anymore.

The Celebrity Big Brother winner and stand-up comic, who hosted primetime BBC shows such as The Generation Game and Big Break in the '90s, said that modern TV is dominated by university-educated talent.

Watch Jim Davidson talk about political correctness, the BBC and Dappy:

"The BBC are all lefties really. If you sliced the BBC in half, the Guardian newspaper would fall out," he told Digital Spy.

"There was a time when I was growing up, when comedy came from the working class streets of the big cities. Billy Connolly, me, Jasper Carrott, Jethro. All working class lads. And now, they all come from universities and all us old guys are old hat."

Davidson added: "And who is the worst? Me. Since Bernard Manning died,...

Miranda Hart is searching for families of all ages to take part in a new BBC game show.

The comic actress has been rumoured to be in line to front a new version of The Generation Game on BBC One, but this has yet to be officially confirmed.

The BBC announced today that Hart is looking for different family groups to apply for an upcoming entertainment show.

"We're looking for all types of family set-ups," the announcement reads. "This can be mother/father and children, nan, aunt, son and partner or could even include 'Auntie Pat from down the road'... who is really just mum's best friend from the bingo.

"When choosing your family/team please remember that we're looking for teams of all ages with at least two generations and the team must also include both male and female contestants. The generations could be nan and grandson, mum and son's partner Sue,...

Miranda Hart has downplayed rumours that she will host a rebooted version of The Generation Game for the BBC.

The classic game show, which has previously been presented by the likes of Sir Bruce Forsyth, Larry Grayson and Jim Davidson, was reported earlier today to be returning next year for the first time since 2002.

The Miranda star was rumoured to be in talks for the role earlier this year, and appeared on a one-off special of the show for Comic Relief in 2011.

BBC One controller Charlotte Moore told The Guardian: "It will be a modern reinvention of The Generation Game. Miranda will bring a very different flavour to it.

"Her wit and spirit behind it will naturally move it into the modern era. Miranda is brilliant at engaging with people, she loves that interaction. She'll be brilliant."

Moore added of the new Generation Game: "I promise you it won't be predictable.

Miranda Hart is to host a rebooted version of The Generation Game for the BBC.

The classic gameshow, which has previously been presented by the likes of Sir Bruce Forsyth, Larry Grayson and Jim Davidson, will return next year for the first time since 2002.

The Miranda star was rumoured to be in talks for the role earlier this year, and appeared on a one-off special of the show for Comic Relief in 2011.

BBC One controller Charlotte Moore told The Guardian: "It will be a modern reinvention of The Generation Game. Miranda will bring a very different flavour to it.

"Her wit and spirit behind it will naturally move it into the modern era. Miranda is brilliant at engaging with people, she loves that interaction. She'll be brilliant."

Moore added of the new Generation Game: "I promise you it won't be predictable.

"It will feel absolutely rooted in the present day.

The Great British Bake Off's move to BBC One could have gone badly wrong.

Fans of the quirky, bunting-filled BBC Two smash were understandably horrified at the prospect of the show getting an X Factor-style makeover, replacing soggy bottoms and sponge cakes with sob stories and Simon Cowell-esque melodrama.

Great British Bake Off: Did the right baker go home?

Thankfully, judging from the opening episode of the show's fifth series, the change of channels is purely logistical. An audience of 9 million plus viewers on BBC Two is too big to be ignored and Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood earned the Wednesday night upgrade.

Sensibly the producers have remained firm with their recipe for success and haven't attempted to adapt the show for a more mainstream crowd - there are no 'sexy bakers' or barking mad fame whores, and Mel and Sue haven't been replaced by some dashing...

Miranda Hart is said to be in talks to host a revival of The Generation Game for the BBC.

The sitcom actress and comedian is tipped to follow in the footsteps of previous presenters Sir Bruce Forsyth, Larry Grayson and Jim Davidson in the reboot of the classic family programme, which originally launched in 1971.

The show - which last aired in 2002 - saw four teams, each consisting of two family members, compete against each other in a series of challenges in a bid to win prizes.

The BBC has confirmed that the revival is on the cards but insisted that nothing has been confirmed.

A spokesperson said: "It's in the early ideas stage at the moment. Nothing is confirmed and no series [is] planned."

Call The Midwife actress Hart revealed her love of The Generation Game when she interviewed Forsyth for BBC One special When Miranda Met Bruce last year.

"Bruce...

Feature Alex Westthorp 9 Apr 2014 - 07:00

In the next part of his series, Alex talks us through the film careers of the second and fourth Doctors, Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker...

Read Alex's retrospective on the film careers of William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee, here.

Like their fellow Time Lord actors, William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker also shared certain genres of film. Both appeared, before and after their time as the Doctor, in horror movies and both worked on Ray Harryhausen Sinbad films.

Patrick George Troughton was born in Mill Hill, London on March 25th 1920. He made his film debut aged 28 in the 1948 B-Movie The Escape. Troughton's was a very minor role. Among the better known cast was William Hartnell, though even Hartnell's role was small and the two didn't share any scenes together. From the late Forties, Troughton found more success on the small screen,...

Review Louisa Mellor 6 Apr 2014 - 22:00

The Crimson Field pretties up Wwi just enough to make it palatable for the Sunday night slot. Here's Louisa's review of the first episode…

This review contains spoilers.

Sunday night on BBC One is the cosy-blanket-and-Horlicks slot, a time when audiences don’t expect to witness anything much more traumatic than Judi Dench’s bonnet falling into a puddle or Minty from Eastenders opening a tin of fusty spam. How, without causing indigestion, can a main course dealing in the profound horror and loss of Wwi follow on from an Antiques Roadshow starter and Countryfile amuse-bouche?

With a deft balance of light and dark, writer Sarah Phelps shows us. The Crimson Field blends the Girls’ Brigade pep of Call The Midwife with the violence and gore of Ripper Street. It’s palatable but not oversweet, and unlike period rival Downton Abbey, doesn’t make a pantomime of Wwi.

Benefits Street: Channel 4, 9pm

Channel 4's final visit to James Turner Street is not to be missed. In the last episode of the controversial TV documentary that has sparked heated debates across the nation, we will be bidding goodbye to the likes of White Dee, Fungi and Smoggy.

Jim Davidson: At Least I'm Not Boring: Channel 5, 9pm

After a rollercoaster few years, Celebrity Big Brother winner Jim Davidson is back on Channel 5 for this one-off special. Davidson will be shedding light on the highs and lows of both his personal and professional life, from hosting Saturday night classics such as The Generation Game to his 2013 arrest. Expect a refreshingly honest commentary from the comic whose life has been anything but boring!

The Walking Dead: Fox, 9pm

Season four of the American zombie drama returns after a shocking mid-season finale which didn't end too well for Hershel.

The rumour mill has closed down, we now know the full lineup for the latest Celebrity Big Brother, and we at Digital Spy are rather chuffed, as we got quite a few of them right in our predictions!

There are a couple of surprises in amongst the usual dose of models you'd never heard of, American stars who have probably never heard of Big Brother, and talent from yesteryear desperate for some kind of comeback.

While the celebs get used to their new surroundings, here follows a quick guide to your new friends for the next couple of weeks.

Casey Batchelor

Say it with me now. 'Whooooo?' Here's your token glamour model that you're totally forgiven for never having heard of, unless you're a regular reader of Nuts or Zoo magazine.

Apparently, according to the Channel 5 press release, Casey is "most known for her 34GGs". Most likely in there...

BBC shows which have never been adapted for Australia or have long since disappeared from our screens could be re-activated under a new co-venture between FremantleMedia Australia (Fma) and BBC Worldwide Australia & New Zealand.

Among the formats that could emanate from the partnership are current BBC shows Mastermind, Bargain Hunt and Antiques Roadshow and, from the Beeb.s vaults, The Weakest Link, The Generation Game, Last Choir Standing and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

The deal also covers Dancing With the Stars if that show is commissioned by the Seven Network or another Australian broadcaster next year.

The multi-year agreement was announced by Ian Hogg, Fma Regional CEO Australia/Asia Pacific, and Jon Penn, Managing Director of BBC Worldwide Australia & New Zealand.

Explaining the rationale for the alliance, the Bbcw tells If,. .BBC Worldwide owns some great entertainment formats but we do not currently have the production expertise and resource...

Sir Bruce Forsyth has revealed that he thought Strictly Come Dancing was a comedy show after initially being pitched the concept.

The 85-year-old, who co-presents the BBC1 show with Tess Daly, also revealed that he believes he fronted "too many" game shows in the past.

Speaking to Miranda Hart on When Miranda Met Bruce last night (September 21), Forsyth revealed that when first told the premise of Strictly Come Dancing, he believed it would be a more lighthearted and slapstick programme.

"When they pitched it to me I thought it was a comedy show. People would dance and fall all over the place and I would be around there like The Generation Game, helping them.

"But I forgot there is no-one more competitive than a ballroom dancer, so it became a different show. More competitive, and it just worked."

Forsyth, who previously presented shows such as The Price is Right, Play Your Cards Right...

'The Generation Game' is making a comeback. A new version of the cult programme is expected to return to ITV late next year, with a pilot episode heavily based on the family favourite game show being filmed next month. A source told The Sun newspaper: ''The format will essentially be about young people taking on older ones. ''It's very early days for the show as the pilot is yet to be filmed then, if we like the finished product, we'll film a series that can go out late in 2014.'' 'The Generation Game' was hosted by TV legend Sir Bruce Forsyth and saw two...

Talk about your titanic assertions. Following impressionist Francine Lewis' standing-ovation-worthy audition on Britain's Got Talent last week, The Sun reported that the married mother of two had a one-night stand with Leonardo DiCaprio after meeting him in a London bar back in...1999! Lewis was a hostess on the long-running U.K. game show The Generation Game at the time of their supposed encounter and was dating someone else at the time, according to the tabloid—which also supposedly quoted her saying that she would totally go on a date with Simon Cowell if he asked. Well, Lewis took to Twitter Saturday to flat-out deny the report. "I'm in shock...

Britain's Got Talent star Francine Lewis once had a fling with Leonardo DiCaprio, it has been reported.

The impressionist, who wowed the judges on last night's (April 20) show, spent the night with the Hollywood actor after meeting him in a London bar in 1999, The Sun reports.

She was a hostess on The Generation Game when she went back to DiCaprio's suite at the Metropolitan Hotel. Although she later claimed they didn't sleep together, it ended her relationship with childhood sweetheart Sacha Tropper.

She is quoted as saying at the time: "I'm so sexy no one man can satisfy me. I'm a friendly girl and I can't say no to anyone! I like to make eye contact with a guy and if he gives me that little smile back I know I'm in there."

Lewis, who appeared on The Big, Big Talent Show in 1996, last night called the story "old news...

Britain's Queen Elizabeth was 'surprised' Sir Bruce Forsyth had been working as long as she has. The 86-year-old monarch presented the 'Strictly Come Dancing' co-host with a knighthood in 2011 and she had a 'good laugh' with the 85-year-old star - who has fronted popular shows such as 'The Generation Game', 'The Price is Right' and 'Play Your Cards Right' - about him working in showbusiness for 70 years. He explained: 'When I met the queen she said, 'You must have been entertaining us for a long time.' And I said, 'Yes, Your Majesty, next year, on my birthday, I will have been in showbusiness for 70 years.' 'I think she was surprised that someone had been...

Simon Cowell is developing a new Saturday night entertainment show, a tabloid report claims.

The TV and music mogul is working on a new format for ITV that will "mash-up" classic TV shows such as The Generation Game and Noel's House Party, according to the Daily Star.

Cowell's latest TV project - the Carol Vorderman-hosted cookery series Food Glorious Food - launches on Wednesday night (February 27).

He is currently working on a new series of Britain's Got Talent and is expected to revamp the X Factor lineup and format for its upcoming tenth series.

Cowell's last new UK TV project, gameshow Red or Black?, flopped on ITV and was dropped after its second series.

The millionaire's Got Talent co-stars and friends Ant & Dec returned to Saturday night TV with Saturday Night Takeaway at the weekend and pulled in over 7 million viewers (including +1) for the first episode.

Watch Cowell and...

Revisiting 18 years of pop culture, from the Strokes to the early hipster, plus lots of Charlie Brooker

2000: Nasty Nick

Charlie Brooker's first Screen Burn "Hate your job? Weep yourself awake each Monday morning? Spend the working day toying with your desktop icons while nonchalantly contemplating suicide? Ever considered doing something – anything – else? Then whatever you do, don't look to the coming week's television for inspiration. Tucked away in the schedules are four glaring examples of the very worst careers imaginable this side of "oil-rig bitch". First up servile pandering, or "being a butler", as it's commonly known..."

Macy Mania Macy Gray has a (fleeting) moment. "The latest craze is precisely what Macy Gray has become. The first bona-fide pop phenomenon of the new millennium. Right now, the world and its uncle appear infatuated with her. She's bigger than big. And getting bigger all the time."

2020 vision Danny Leigh...

When Doctor Who returned to our screens in 2005, I was genuinely excited. Despite having grown up in the period following the cancellation of the classic series, I quickly became a fan through watching the repeats and collecting the stories on video cassette. Many a dark evening was spent watching this or that thrilling adventure (and some truly awful ones) in time and space with the Doctor, his companions, and his foes.

Despite the fact that many of the stories I watched were from the 1960s, '70s or '80s, and constructed on what was obviously a shoestring budget, I was not put off; I was captivated. By the sense of danger and adventure. By the bold ideas and the characters. By the horror and the action. By the sometimes humorous, sometimes cantankerous anti-establishment lead character. As a child I was very much under the impression that, if this was...

Sir Bruce Forsyth has no plans to retire yet. The 84-year-old TV host - who has worked on shows including 'The Generation Game', 'Play Your Cards Right' and most recently 'Strictly Come Dancing' - will know when is the right time to step back from his presenting commitments because those close to him will tell him. He said: ''I will know, my loved ones, my darling wife, my agent, manager Jan and Ian they will tell me, I've always told them if I look as though I'm over the hill you know just tell me but I think I'll know myself.'' Bruce...

Sir Bruce Forsyth has no plans to retire yet. The 84-year-old TV host - who has worked on shows including 'The Generation Game', 'Play Your Cards Right' and most recently 'Strictly Come Dancing' - will know when is the right time to step back from his presenting commitments because those close to him will tell him. He said: ''I will know, my loved ones, my darling wife, my agent, manager Jan and Ian they will tell me, I've always told them if I look as though I'm over the hill you know just tell me but I think I'll know myself.'' Bruce...

If you've ever seen the classic 1973 Christmas Special of The Goodies (called The Goodies And The Beanstalk), then you'll probably remember that bit at the end when the down and out trio come across an abandoned lamp in the street. As soon as they rub the lamp – bingo! A puff of smoke and then John Cleese in a turban. Cleese then bellows “Kids' Show!” after the Goodies tell him to clear off.

I suppose that some people regarded The Goodies as the crazy younger brother of the more adult Monty Python's Flying Circus – on the surface, with its speeded-up action sequences, giant kittens, Dougals and Zebedees, I suppose you could say it's a show that's targeted towards younger ones. But then how do you explain the satirical swipes at the Royals, advertising commercialism, talent shows or apartheid?

Which neatly brings me on to Doctor Who. I was wondering this the...

Hold on. There's something missing. Normally, at this time of year there's some TV programme that's supposed to be heading back to the small screen. Oh, that's right – Doctor Who.

Alas, for Who fans, the wait's a bit longer, with rumours of six episodes surfacing in Autumn or Winter. But hey, never mind, you can console yourself with the much-touted weapon in the BBC's ratings armoury called The Voice. In which Lord Thomas of Jones and co attempt to find the country's best singing voice, a quest that hasn't been heard of since last December when Little Mix squealed and sobbed the water out of their bodies in The X Factor. But hold on, apparently there's a twist – in The Voice, the judges sit in these great big Star Trek swivel chairs so that they can't see the singer, and only whizz round if they like what they hear. Clever,...

Johnny Robinson has revealed that he would love to bring The Generation Game back to TV. The popular long-running gameshow, which was hosted at various points by Bruce Forsyth, Larry Grayson and Jim Davidson, last aired in 2002, but the X Factor contestant told Digital Spy that he would be the ideal candidate to revive the franchise. "Maybe I could bring The Generation Game back," he said. "I'd be the Larry Grayson, 'Scores on the doors!' 'Cuddly toy!'" However, Robinson insisted that he was a "realist" when it came to his showbiz future, admitting that he would be returning to his bedsit tonight. "I'll (more)...

Simon Cowell must be rubbing his hands together with glee, because today it has been revealed that two of his very own TV shows have become the most watched in the UK.

Trade journal Broadcast has released the names of the top 30 Saturday TV shows of the last five years and though the BBC can boast to have aired 16 of those hit formats, ITV claim the top two spots with Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor.

Researchers examined viewing figures of all shows aired on a Saturday night since the beginning of 2006 and found that Britain’s Got Talent brought in the highest ratings for their 2009 final – which saw worldwide singing sensation Susan Boyle losing out to street dance crew Diversity – after it attracted 18.3million viewers.

The X Factor meanwhile drew in a whopping 15 million viewers for it’s final in 2010, in which Matt Cardle triumphed over Rebecca Ferguson,...

Queen's honours list also includes CBEs for oscar-winner Colin Firth and singer Bryan Ferry, and OBEs for Ashes heroes

A collective sigh of relief will be heard across Britain, quickly followed by a suitably awful pun: "Knight to see you, to see you knight." At 83 the evergreen entertainer Bruce Forsyth has finally got his long-predicted knighthood.

The nod comes in the Queen's 2011 birthday honours list – one of 965 people whose diverse services to society, including David Cameron's "big society", are recognised on Saturday.

But after years of speculation, gossip and tabloid outrage against the tardiness of Whitehall and Buckingham Palace, Forsyth's gong is the eye-catcher. The entertainer, who is enjoying a renaissance as host of BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing, started his career at 14 and fronted countless game shows, perhaps most memorably The Generation Game. He admitted that he feared the day might never come but said the elation...

Bye bye Chris. It's as if we never knew you.

Yes, already after just one season, Christopher Eccleston was hanging up his leather jacket to move on to pastures new. The news of his departure was leaked just a few days after Rose had transmitted to rave reviews and excellent viewing figures. Unsurprisingly, the fans were a bit concerned about the longevity of Who – only a few more incarnations left, and that's your lot. There was also the great big cloud hanging over the season finale. Would Eccleston get his very own regeneration scene, and more to the point, would modern-day viewers be able to comprehend such a drastic change?

Luckily, the answer's yes, since Bad Wolf / The Parting Of The Ways (which will from now on be referred to as Bad Ways, just for the sake of not having to type out the whole damn thing again) ticks all the boxes,...

From man-eating beds to killer clocks, cinema’s full of evil in unexpected places. Here are ten of our favourites…

There are spoilers ahead for some of the films we talk about!

As several decades of cinema have informed us, evil takes many forms. Aside from all the serial killers and ancient demons waiting to either leap out of the shadows and murder us or simply scare us into a weeping ruin, movies are also full of killer cars, malevolent dolls and rampaging animals to contend with.

Given that entire lists could be generated from those menaces outlined above, we’ll be dealing with more obscure manifestations of evil here. The sort of demonic objects you might win on The Generation Game if it were presented by the Devil, or the kind of unlikely scenarios you'd encounter if you were the star of a horror film directed by Benny Hill.

David Walliams has spoken of the successful completion of the UK's first 24-hour panel show. The Little Britain funnyman starred alongside a mass of celebrities including Miranda Hart, Paul O'Grady and Barbara Windsor in the 24 Hour Panel People Challenge - which paid tribute to classic game shows such as The Generation Game and Blankety Blank - but was the only famous face to endure the entirety of the marathon event. Speaking about the Comic Relief spectacular, which was broadcast live online from midday Saturday, Walliams remarked: "I'm descending into madness! It does take its toll on you just physically... it was as tough as I thought it would be, particularly at the end just having to keep the show together, being so exhausted and not being able to think straight any more." He added: "I just couldn't really (more)...

Jim Davidson has launched a bitter verbal attack on Strictly Come Dancing presenter Bruce Forsyth.

The comedian and former TV star has obviously been influenced by the green eyed monster, as during an interview with The Sun he branded the 83 year old star a “miserable old b*****d” and claimed that the BBC only continue to employ him, so they can deny that they are an ageist organisation.

Jim, who stepped into Brucie’s shoes as host of The Generation Game in 1995, said:

“He’s hanging on. No one really wants Bruce on there, do they? Not really.

“But they have him there so they can say, ‘How dare you say we’re ageist? Moira Stuart is wrong!’.

“Look at Bruce – he needs ironing before the show! There’s a bit in my new play where someone says, ‘You only watch Strictly Come Dancing to see if Bruce drops dead...

Miranda Hart, Stephen Fry and Barbara Windsor are among the celebrities who will take part in David Williams's 24 Hour Panel People in aid of Comic Relief. As previously revealed, the event will see the comic take on the roles of host, team captain and panellist alongside the rotating special guests, while paying tribute to a range of popular panel shows. Highlights include Walliams and his mother taking on Miranda Hart and her on-screen mother Patricia Hodge in The Generation Game and Paul O'Grady hosting Blankety Blank as Walliams competes against Barbara Windsor, Stacey Solomon and David Tennant. The Come Fly With Me star will also join Russell Tovey, Sue Perkins and Sean Lock will be joined by Stephen (more)...

Strictly Come Dancing host, Bruce Forsyth, has told the Radio Times that he regrets hosting some game shows.

However, he added that hosting some shows was, “money for old rope”.

82-year-old, who has hosted dozens of game shows, including Play Your Cards Right, The Generation Game and Bruce’s Price Is Right, described himself as the “laziest person in the world”.

He added that often, it was possible to film an entire series of a game show in just two weeks, “then take as much time off as you like”.

But he added that doing so meant he could spend more time with his wife, the former Miss World, Wilnelia.

Bruce said, “I regret doing so many game shows, but I started when I met Wilnelia, and we love spending time together…

“You can do a series in two weeks. Then take as much time off as you like. Money for old rope.

Shamed star Michael Barrymore is set to appear in an upcoming episode of Come Dine With Me on Channel 4.

The former Big Brother star will compete with Pat Sharp (Fun House), Jenny Powell (Wheel of Fortune) and Anthea Redfern (The Generation Game) to see who can throw the best dinner party.

The programme will air later this month on Channel 4.

Related posts:Michael Barrymore Returns In Celebrity Big Brother 2006Should Chantelle and Preston Slow Down?Michael Barrymore For I’m A Celebrity?Michael Barrymore Makes His Comeback On Channel Four’s Friday Night ProjectMichael Barrymore Returns To New ZealandCopyright © Unreality TV 2009 | Celebrity Big Brother Updates

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Remember when the Fourth Doctor was dismembered into several pieces on a giant floating bubble screen? Just suppose that as the camera zoomed in on the Doctor's screaming mouth, from out of nowhere, a badly Cso-d, disembodied Larry Grayson head popped up, urging viewers to tune into the brand new series of The Generation Game.

Now just suppose that Peri, fresh from auditioning for Right Said Fred, has apparently been blasted into oblivion by King Yrcanos. The Doctor is angrily determined to get to the truth when all of a sudden, Roland Rat bounds on to the screen shouting "Yeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!! Raaaat Faaaaans!! Tune into my crap show in two minutes time!!! Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!"

Ok, neither of those would have happened back in the day, but in 2010, anything goes, especially when faced with one of the Doctor's deadliest enemies.Yes, Graham Norton, who turned up in cartoon form to fingerpaint all over...

BBC Worldwide has revealed plans to create mobile gaming apps for some of its classic TV formats, including The Generation Game and Mastermind. Last month, it emerged that the BBC's commercial arm wants to turn its major content franchises into video games for console, mobile and handheld platforms.

As part of the new initiative, Worldwide recently hired former Electronic Arts and Yahoo executive Robert Nashak to become its new executive vice president of digital entertainment. Worldwide now wants to transform some of its vintage programming formats into casual games for mobile platforms, such as the Apple iPhone. Speaking to The Guardian, Worldwide's director of content partnerships Simon Danker said: "We're looking at taking our entertainment brands and developing games around them. (more)...

Declan Donnelly has confirmed that he and Ant McPartlin are currently recording a pilot show for a new family-based gameshow. The presenter told The Sun that the ITV programme would be like "Family Fortunes meets The Generation Game". Donnelly said: "It's great fun as we're recording it up at Pinewood on a massive sound stage. It's quite a physical show - really different to what we normally do - so we need the space. "It's (more)...