benhewis.com
Me, Myself and Ibuprofen!
Andre releases statement on affair claim….
Oct 21st
Peter Andre has responded to allegations that he had an affair with his manager Claire Powell when he was still with Katie Price.
The glamour model said in a recent interview with Now magazine that she felt like she was in a relationship with “two people” during her marriage to the popstar.
“It was like Pete was married to two women, Claire and me. And it just suffocated me,” she said. “If I’m going to blame anyone for the end of my relationship with Pete, I’d have to lay some of the blame with Claire.”
Responding to the Price’s comments, Andre said: “I am making this statement to put the record straight regarding the outrageous claims and lies that have been put into the public domain by my ex-wife about my relationship with my manager Claire Powell.
“I wish to make it perfectly clear for the record that my manager Claire Powell, who I have known for the past 16 years, is my manager and a personal friend. She has never betrayed me or done anything other than support me, which is more than can be said for my ex-wife.
“I have said once before that if anybody slanders my name I will not hesitate in taking legal action and that is exactly what both Claire and I will do.”
Price is rumoured to have accused Andre of sleeping with Powell during a recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show.
Daniel Radcliffe expands property empire…
Oct 20th
Daniel Radcliffe has splashed out almost £4 million on a New York home.
The ‘Harry Potter’ star – who already owns two other lavish properties in the US city – has spent the enormous sum on a five-bedroom townhouse in the West Village, which boasts four luxury bathrooms, six fireplaces and a 39 ft “beautiful” garden.
The estate agents brochure reads: “The property is on one of New York’s most picturesque tree-lined landmark cobblestone blocks.
“The 18 plus-foot-wide house faces south, and is soaked in sunlight throughout the day. The sizeable open garden and backyard is cooled by beautiful old trees and landscaping.”
The house – which includes a separate apartment on the ground floor and cost £3.76 million – is one of three adjoining properties built in 1847 by a sea captain for his daughters.
The 20-year-old actor’s property empire is now worth over £10 million.
Daniel, who fell in love with the city when he starred in the Broadway theatre production of ‘Equus’, rents out his two other properties in New York.
In 2007, he splashed out £3.2 million on a fifth floor apartment in the SoHo district, for which he is believed to get £3,000 a week.
Later that year, he spent another £3 million on a three-bedroom condo in the city’s West Village with plans to move into the 11th floor apartment while he appeared in ‘Equus’.
Daniel is expected to return to New York once he has finished filming ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ and will appear in Broadway show ‘How To Succeed In Business Without Trying’ next year.
Gately’s last interview published…
Oct 20th
Stephen Gately patched up a decade-long rift with his mother in one of his final acts before his death, his final interview has revealed.
Stephen Gately patched up a decade-long rift with his mother in one of his final acts before his death, his final interview has revealed.
The pair had quarrelled since 1999 when his mother gave an interview to a tabloid newspaper on the day he came out as gay, with their relationship particularly strained over the last five years.
But in an interview with Reveal magazine, given two weeks before he died, the former Boyzone singer said he flew to Dublin to make peace with his mother.
Stephen told the magazine: “There were tears and I told her I loved her very much and I’d always be there for her.
“I told her I was wrong and I should never have let it get that far.”
Stephen said he was “ashamed” that he wasn’t getting on with his mother and the arguments had started over “the silliest thing”.
The Irish singer spoke candidly about coming to terms with depression after Boyzone split and how he rejected anti-depressants because they made him feel like a zombie.
But it was finding husband Andrew Cowles that eventually helped the singer get his life back on track and the pair had even discussed starting a family together.
Stephen died of a cardiogenic pulmonary oedema two weeks ago in the home he shared with Cowles on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
The full interview appears in this week’s edition of Reveal.
Cheryl set for record single sales…
Oct 20th
Cheryl Cole’s first solo effort is set to become the biggest selling single of the year, the Official Charts Company said.
Cheryl Cole’s first solo effort is set to become the biggest selling single of the year, the Official Charts Company said.
First day sales of the Girls Aloud and X Factor star’s first single – Fight For This Love – have already surpassed last week’s record-setting No 1 Bad Boys by Alexandra Burke, who Cheryl mentored on the TV talent show.
Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot said: “Her first day’s sales are just amazing and put her in pole position to top the Official Singles Chart on Sunday – she is likely to set the sales standard by which everyone will be judged for the rest of the year in the run-up to Christmas.”
Cheryl performed her new song on Sunday night’s X Factor results show with a sexy, Cold War-themed routine.
Supporting her from the audience was husband and Chelsea defender Ashley Cole and her bandmates from Girls Aloud, along with a peak TV audience of 14.8 million viewers.
However, the Geordie star attracted criticism for miming some of her vocals and relying on a backing track.
Katie Price up for Mum of the Year….
Oct 20th
WTF, isn’t this like offering Osama Bin Laden the Nobel Peace Prize?? Anyway, here is what Yahoo had to say about it:
Katie Price has been shortlisted for Celebrity Mum of the Year, despite her very public marriage break-up.
The controversial glamour model was nominated by the public alongside 19 other celebrity mums for this year’s Bounty Celebrity Mum of the Year.
It has been a turbulent year for Katie – she split from pop star Peter Andre, her husband of three-and-a-half years.
She also ran a marathon, published a best-selling novel, was dropped by her management company of five years and caused offence with insensitive comments about her breast surgery scars.
Price is up against Samantha Cameron who had to deal with the tragic death of her son Ivan earlier this year.
Mrs Cameron, who supported husband David at the recent Conservative party conference in Manchester, also has to look after her two young children.
Other nominees include three former Spice Girls Mel B, Emma Bunton, and Geri Halliwell.
However, there is no room this year for Victoria Beckham who might have slipped off the nation’s radar since her move to Los Angeles.
Last year’s winner Suzanne Shaw joins Myleene Klass, Tess Daly, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Charlotte Church on the shortlist.
Kerry Katona – who was dropped by supermarket Iceland after she was exposed taking drugs by the News of World – failed to make this year’s shortlist.
Criminal Charges To Be Filed in Balloon Boy Case….
Oct 18th
Apparently the police were not amused by balloon boy or his high-flying hoax.
Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said his office will file criminal charges in the case, according to the LA Times.
While the sheriff did not reveal what the exact nature of the charges would be Saturday evening, he did say parents Richard and Mayumi Heene were not under arrest but deputies were seeking a search warrant for their home.
More information is expected to be released in a news conference Sunday…
Although Richard Heene has tried to dash claims that the saucer-looking lift off was for publicity, six-year-old Falcon’s slip-up of ”you guys said that we did this for a show” during a CNN interview sparked a controversy.
If the infamous balloon boy stint was all “for a show”, it wouldn’t be the first time the Heenes tried to cash in on the reality-family mania.
And we’re not talking Wife Swap.
The balloon-flying Heenes shopped around a reality show centered around their family to several networks just months ago, including TLC, according to Us Weekly. None of the networks, however, were interested.
Boyzone sing at Stephen Gately’s funeral “In This Life”….
Oct 18th
Here is Boyzone singing ‘In This Life’ at Stephen’s funeral:
And here is Ronan’s touching tribute to his ‘brother’:
Madonna sued over loud music….
Oct 18th
One of Madonna’s New York City neighbours has said the superstar’s loud music and frequent dance sessions are causing a commotion.
Karen George, of Manhattan, lives above Madonna in a building on Central Park.
She said in a lawsuit filed on Friday against the building’s co-op board that the Material Girl is using her apartment as a rehearsal studio, forcing neighbours to endure “blaring music, stomping and shaking walls,” for up to three hours each day.
Ms George complained about “unreasonably high-decibel, amplified music” and vibrations pouring through walls, ceilings and radiators.
The building’s board says it has already threatened to evict Madonna.
Madonna’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anger over Mail column on Gately….
Oct 17th
More than 1,000 complaints have been made about a Daily Mail column on the death of singer Stephen Gately, the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) says.
The PCC said the number of complaints received about the piece by Jan Moir was “approaching a record”.
Moir’s article said Gately’s death struck a blow to the “happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships”.
But in a statement Moir said it was “mischievous” to suggest her article had homophobic undertones.
Marks & Spencer has asked the newspaper to move an advertisement which appeared alongside the online version of the article.
The PCC said it was considering the nature of the comments it had received.
A spokesman said many of the concerns related to the perceived impact of the article on the family.
He said the PCC had sought to make contact with family representatives to establish whether they wish to make a complaint.
The article also attracted angry comments on social networking sites and blogs.
Actor Stephen Fry used his Twitter feed to discuss the article.
He wrote: “The Press Complaints Commission website is down. Sheer volume of traffic. That says something about the strength of feeling I think.”
‘Glamorous routine’
In her column, Moir called the Boyzone singer’s death “strange, lonely and troubling”.
She wrote: “The Gately family are – perhaps understandably – keen to register their boy’s demise on the national consciousness as nothing more than a tragic accident.”
But she continued: “Whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one. Let us be absolutely clear about this.
“All that has been established so far is that Stephen Gately was not murdered.”
She concluded: “As a gay rights champion, I am sure he would want to set an example to any impressionable young men who may want to emulate what they might see as his glamorous routine.
“For once again, under the carapace of glittering, hedonistic celebrity, the ooze of a very different and more dangerous lifestyle has seeped out for all to see.”
‘Not intentional’
In response to the complaints, the Daily Mail released a statement from Moir.
She said: “Some people, particularly in the gay community, have been upset by my article about the sad death of Boyzone member Stephen Gately. This was never my intention.”
She said the point of her column was to suggest that the death raised “many unanswered questions.”
She said she was not referring to the fact of his homosexuality when writing about Gately’s “glamorous routine”.
She also defended her comments about civil partnerships.
She said: “I was suggesting that civil partnerships – the introduction of which I am on the record in supporting – have proved just to be as problematic as marriages.”
Marks & Spencer said it “does not tolerate any form of discrimination.
“We have asked the Daily Mail to move our advertisement away from the article. This is a matter for the Daily Mail,” they said.
Pamela Anderson to star in panto….
Oct 16th
Former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson is to make her pantomime debut as the Genie of the Lamp this Christmas.
The actress and model, best known as CJ Parker in Baywatch, will appear as a guest star in Aladdin for two weeks at the New Wimbledon Theatre in London.
Chat show host Paul O’Grady will assume the role for the final week of the run, his first panto appearance since 2005.
The New Wimbledon Theatre previously signed Happy Days star Henry Winkler to play Captain Hook in 2006.
Kevin Wood, who booked Anderson for this year’s show, said it had not been difficult to persuade her to take part.
“Oddly enough, the Americans actually get the notion of panto quite easily,” he told BBC Radio Five live.
“Panto is one of those situations where people who are used to it don’t give it the respect that it really deserves.
“When you introduce it to new people, and they come and experience it, and they see the audiences, and see how loved as an artform it is, they get it straight away,” he added.
Newspapers have speculated that Anderson will be paid the mimimum Equity wage for her role. Asked about her fee, Mr Wood simply said: “We won’t discuss that”.
The actress will appear on stage from Sunday 13 December to Sunday 27 December.
Different actors will play the genie for the first and final weeks of December, but these castings are yet to be announced.
Brian Blessed will head the core cast in the role of panto villain Abanazar.
O’Grady said: “I am really excited to be back in panto this year having not done one for some time.
“This is also the first time I’ll be playing a goodie as I’ve been the villain in most of my other stage roles.
Having made a living frightening children it’s probably time I aired my softer side. If I can find one in time.”
I am also in pantomime and you can find out more about that here: SMP Website
