Ross Kemp.
Being a famous actor on the UK’s most popular soap opera and married to a tabloid editor was not enough for the burly, balding scowl-meister.
He decided that such achievements were not enough.
So he became a presenter of serious, factual programmes on Sky. He played a tough guy in EastEnders, and seemed to act the [...]
Entries from December 2009
December 31, 2009
Ross Kemp: Saviour Of Factual Television (According To Him)
December 30, 2009
The Queen’s Speech: Freedom Of Speech Not Allowed
We spotted a curious story in The Guardian today about the sacking of comedian and BRMB radio DJ Tom Binns.
Binns, presenting a Christmas Day slot on the Birmingham-based radio station, found that the Queen’s Speech was mistakenly broadcast instead of a news bulletin.
Alone in the studio, and unsure of how long the speech would last, he [...]
December 29, 2009
Now Archaeology Programmes Go Celebrity-Mad
First there was Extreme Archaeology, Channel 4’s attempt to make archaeology sexy and exciting, featuring predominantly young and female archaeologists in precarious positions, trying to excavate things.
Time Team it wasn’t. And we don’t mean that in a good way.
But now, TV bods are trying again to make archaeology less about, um, archaeology, and more about [...]
December 28, 2009
Is Jeremy Clarkson The New Judith Chalmers?
This isn’t such a bizarre question as it might first appear. OK, we know that Jeremy is neither permatanned or the parent of Mark Durden-Smith (shudder), but we have had a realisation about his similarity to the former goddess of ITV.
We watched Top Gear last night (27 December, 7.45pm, BBC Two). In fact, we enjoyed [...]
December 27, 2009
The Michael Winner Of Oxfordshire
One of The Oxford Times‘ most experienced journalists is Christopher Gray, a man who is erudite and poetic – if sometimes rather unnecessarily wordy.
Now, Mr Gray regularly writes restaurant reviews for the paper, a la Michael Winner’s in the Sunday Times, the difference between them being that the former’s are about Oxfordshire restaurants.
These reviews are [...]
December 22, 2009
Daily Mail Denies Married Women An Identity
The Daily Mail has today proved that it still has the values of 50 years ago – as if we didn’t already know.
On page 5 of the 22 December print edition, the main story is about chef Robert Cusworth pleading guilty to stabbing teaching assistant Sally Garwood to death whilst she was walking her dog.
That [...]
December 21, 2009
When Is An Exclusive Actually An Advertorial?
There is sometimes a fine line between a magazine feature and an advertorial. There may be an “advertorial feature” in small text at the top of the page, but the advert may be in the same format and style as the other features, or even written by a member of the magazine’s editorial staff.
A piece [...]
December 21, 2009
The Cheryl Bookazine: Offensive On Two Counts
Take a look at this item, spotted in our local WHSmith’s this week.
We have two issues with this choice product.
Firstly, what is this term “bookazine”? It seems to be the in word this year to describe what publishers think of fondly as a cross between a book and a magazine.
They’re often the lovechild of OK! [...]
December 20, 2009
Local Radio: Does It Encourage Violence Amongst Gardeners?
In the old days of local radio, we remember unfortunately common slips of the tongue from DJs that led to some entertaining moments. The DJ equivalent of Colemanballs, for those Private Eye readers out there.
Nowadays, standards of presenting on local radio have, generally, gone up. Sometimes, the programmes can actually be listened to without squirming. [...]
December 15, 2009
Move Like Michael Jackson: Please *Dance* Off.
Oh my word. We were just channel surfing and found Move Like Michael Jackson on BBC Three.
It’s the semi-final, which means we’ve missed the first couple of episodes of this dire “dance contest”. Tonight, then, we find a load of over-made-up girls, and a solo bloke, flail around a studio, to be judged by Jamelia [...]
