Fan Fare
Entertainment behind the scenes
Big Brother – will you miss it?
So farewell, Big Brother. You have been on British screens every year for the last decade, but 2010 will be your last, unless someone else can be persuaded to pay production company Endemol for a show that has seen i
ts ratings slump.
Channel 4 announced it is ditching the reality TV series, which in its prime enjoyed audiences as big as 10 million Britons but now is viewed by less than two million. Some pundits say it is tired and dull. Others say it never recovered from the 2007 race row when Jade Goody was accused of bullying Indian housemate Shilpa Shetty, prompting tens of thousands of complaints. Justice was seen to be done when Goody was evicted and Shetty went on to win.
Endemol, which makes Big Brother, has not given up just yet, and may seek another broadcaster to buy its ground-breaking show.
Whether the ratings slump is part of a broader disenchantment with reality TV remains to be seen. Certainly talent shows, from Strictly Come Dancing to Britain’s Got Talent, continue to thrive in. But as for Big Brother, will you miss it? Has it passed its sell-by date? Is Channel 4 right to ditch it?
Dr Who???
After months of hype, speculation and guesswork, the new Dr Who has been unveiled. And the response was, aptly enough, a deafening “Who?”
In recent months, tabloid newspapers have run numerous ”beats” and “exclusives” on the identity of the next actor to play the British television time lord who travels in the space-bending Tardis. Among the candidates, supposedly, was actor David Morrissey, standup comic Bill Bailey and two female actresses — Catherine Tate and Meera Syal.
“Gossip Girl” Meester TV’s hottest star, “Kath & Kim” a bomb-FHM
Actress Leighton Meester, best known for her role as Blair Waldorf in the TV show “Gossip Girl,” has been named as FHM Online’s hottest star on TV this fall — while comedy “Kath and Kim” has topped its list of shows most likely to be axed.
The 22-year-old actress who was born in a Texas prison, beat Hayden Panettiere from “Heroes” and Madeline Zima from “Californication” for the title.
