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At 10.29am on 9 October 2019, Coleen Rooney posted a statement on Twitter. It was crafted with all the narrative tension and dramatic flair of a classic whodunnit. “For a few years now,” it read, a follower on her private Instagram account had been sharing details of her posts with The Sun newspaper. After puzzling over the case for “a long time”, she developed a hunch as to “who it could be” – to prove it, she constructed a simple but dazzlingly effective social media sting operation.

Rooney, the wife of former England captain Wayne, blocked all but one account from viewing her Instagram Stories, then cooked up a handful of fake news titbits: one claimed she was considering flying to Mexico to investigate gender selection treatment, another hinted at a return to TV and a third bemoaned a (fictional) flood at the Rooneys’ new home. These stories made their way into the...

The Word was a magazine-style entertainment show that ran from 1990 to 1995 on the UK’s Channel 4. It was helmed by Mancunian motormouth Terry Christian and a medley of once and future stars, including Amanda de Cadenet, Dani Behr, Katie Puckrik, and Mark Lamarr. The show was the brainchild of Charlie Parsons and Terry Christian, who were tasked with filling the hip, cultural hole left behind by the departure of music-oriented, youth-skewed shows like The Tube.

The Word began life in August 1990 as a tame, tea-time shadow of the fearlessly innovative show it would later become. What saved it from becoming a real-life version of Nozin’ Aroun’ – the spoof youth show so insufferably condescending it prompted Rik to destroy his TV set in the anarchic 1980’s BBC sitcom The Young Ones – was the decision by Channel 4’s Chief Executive Michael Grade to shift transmission from 6pm to late-night. Unmoored from pre-watershed restrictions,...

Lionsgate’s Pilgrim Media Group is building up its portfolio of home and property shows with a first-look deal with Dantar Productions, founded by Dani Behr, former host of iconic British series The Word, and ex-wme agent Tara Joseph.

The deal will see Dantar develop and produce unscripted television series across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. They have kicked off their partnership with multiple series in development in the home and property space.

Pilgrim, which is best known for making shows such as Nat Geo’s Wicked Tuna and ABC’s The Ultimate Surfer, has produced series in the home and property space including A&e’s Zombie House Flipping and TLC’s Making It Home: Greenburg, while owner Lionsgate, whose non-fiction TV business is now run by Pilgrim CEO and Chair Craig Piligian, makes series such as Netflix hit Selling Sunset.

Dantar Productions was founded in 2018 by Behr and Joseph.

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After a shaky start, Challenge TV's now-cancelled Videogame Nation grew into a pretty perfect gaming magazine TV show...

At 10.27 a.m. on the morning of Saturday 4th June 2016 gaming enthusiasts across the land screamed in a collective wail of distress as it was announced that the following week’s episode of Videogame Nation was to be its last ever.

For fans of the

UK

’s only weekly show devoted to games it was a hefty blow. Yet another television programme centred on the world of videogames was meeting its demise after 4 series and an impressive 106 episodes. The outpouring of disbelief across social media was immediate. Fans who felt that the show had finally landed on a fun, winning formula for gaming TV were doubly dismayed.

As emerged in the days following the announcement, Videogame Nation was a victim of circumstance. Challenge TV chose not to renew the...

Revisiting 18 years of pop culture, from Britpop to the Spice Girls, via Father Ted

1994: Mad fer it!

Issue No 1 Previously a broadsheet section in the newspaper, The Guide was expanded into a magazine proper on 27 August 1994. Nobody bothered to archive a copy, though, so the best we can do is show you a Xeroxed reproduction of the cover. At the time we were concerned with the weird state of science shows on TV and had a wander around the Notting Hill Carnival.

Spotted! All Saints From a review of their single Silver Shadow: "Born in the same year and in the same area of London, what else could these girls do but form a swingbeat group? Their debut is a sickly Atlantic Starr cover with an idiotic number of mixes, encompassing every dance style bar Morris. Eternal may rest easy in their Timberlands." Note: swingbeat was a form of...

16 year old Dani Rayner has become the latest hopeful to be eliminated from BBC’s Over The Rainbow.

The young singer wowed the judges with her rendition of Dreamgirls hit One Night Only on Saturday night. Charlotte Church excalimed:

“I love that you’re not self-conscious about giving it everything.”

While John Partridge enthused:

“Dani you sold it, it was your strongest performance to date.”

But it wasn’t enough to win the public over and last night Dani found herself in the bottom two alongside Danielle Hope. Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber chose to save Danielle, which surprised us, as we thought Dani was a lot stronger vocally.

On hearing the news, Rayner said: “Just to say thanks so much. I’ve learnt so much through this whole experience, it’s been a long one but a great one. Good luck to all the girls still left in.”

Lloyd-Webber told...

Doc Martin made a decent return to ITV1 last night, according to early viewing figures. The show, which stars Martin Clunes as the disgruntled doctor, pulled in a respectable 7.67m (30.4%) during the 9pm hour. Earlier on ITV1, The X Factor logged 10.52m (41.4%) between 7.45pm and 9pm, improving slightly on the previous night's performance, which was affected by the clash with Strictly Come Dancing. Over on BBC One, 5.37m (20.9%) tuned in for the new series of Antiques Roadshow during the 8pm hour, then Waking The Dead took 6.36m (25.2%) at 9pm. The third episode of Last Chance To See had 1.98m (7.7%) for BBC Two at 8pm, then the audience dropped to 1.7m (6.7%) during the 9pm screening of Dragons' Den: On Tour. Celebrity Come Dine With Me, which featured Dane Bowers, Bobby Davro, Dani Behr and EastEnders (more)...

TV presenter Dani Behr has revealed that she is considering having cosmetic surgery. The I'm A Celebrity... contestant, 34, confessed that she is open to the idea of having work done on her boobs and face. Behr admitted that having two children had reduced her breast size and believes having them enhanced would please her partner Carl Harwin. "I was always a C cup and now (more)...

Martina Navratilova, Joe Swash and George Takei have handed out award trophies to every member of the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! camp. The three finalists gave Robert Kilroy-Silk the 'Conqueror Of The Creepy Crawly' honour for his heroic work, and crowned Dani Behr 'Queen Of The Stir Fry' for her tasty cooking. George Takei said that Carly Zucker was his 'Angel Of The Night' for looking after him when he had trouble sleeping, while the threesome agreed that Timmy Mallett was the worthy recipient of the 'King Of The Cackle' prize. Nicola McLean was given the 'Biggest Boob In Camp' award, Simon Webbe the 'Gentleman Prince' honour and Brian Paddick was named 'The Naked Sheriff' for being the only contestant (more)...

Brian Paddick has become the sixth contestant to be voted off I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!. The former police officer received the least amount of support from the public and follows Robert Kilroy-Silk, Carly Zucker, Dani Behr, Timmy Mallett and Esther Rantzen off the show. Speaking after his eviction, Brian told Ant and Dec that he entered the jungle in order to do something "trivial" after his career in law enforcement and (more)...

Carly Zucker has become the third person to leave the I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! jungle. The personal trainer was on the show for a total of 14 days and left tonight after coming last in the most recent public vote. Carly, who is dating England footballer Joe Cole, told Ant and Dec that she was relieved to be out of the jungle and heading home to her loved ones. "I really struggled. It wasn't exactly how I imagined it would be. I really missed my family and my partner," she said. She added that she had forged strong friendships with Dani Behr and (more)...

The I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! contestants have discussed Robert Kilroy-Silk's elimination from the competition. The Mep became the first campmate to leave the show after earning the least support in a public vote. David Van Day, who claimed Kilroy's bed after he left, said: "He really didn't want to be the first and so when he went out I think he was a bit shocked and he was actually broken up a bit. You could see in his face, he was very emotional." Dani Behr mourned Kilroy's (more)...

Dani Behr has become the second contestant to be voted out of the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! jungle. The TV presenter survived 13 days on the show and exited tonight after receiving the lowest number of votes from the public. Speaking after the eviction, Behr said that she was looking forward to going home. "I just can't wait to see my babies. It's been hard," she told Ant and Dec. "I'm surprised I coped with the living conditions. The boredom for me was the hardest part." (more)...

Dani Behr reportedly spent £15,000 on beauty treatments to make herself look youthful in the jungle. The TV presenter, 37, made the investment because she was concerned about looking old alongside Nicola McLean and Carly Zucker on I'm A Celebrity..., according to the Daily Star. Behr's treatments allegedly included dermabrasion, electric current therapy and muscle-tightening. "The electrotherapy is hardcore," said a source. "You put the pads on your face and crank (more)...

Dani Behr has encouraged Carly Zucker to leave I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! after she said she was feeling homesick. She told Carly to go home "if you feel like you've had your experience" when the personal trainer broke down in tears. "Don't worry about anyone in here. No-one's going to say: ' can't believe she left.' They'll say: ' can't believe she didn't leave earlier,'" (more)...

Robert Kilroy-Silk has told Dani Behr that he does not like some of his I'm A Celebrity... campmates. The former talkshow host revealed that any current hostility in the camp is only going to escalate. "There are people I don't like very much but I try not to rub them up and keep out of their way. It's going to get worse. If I was going to offend someone I would have said you're a such-and-such," he said. Kilroy also criticised Joe Swash's (more)...

Dani Behr would like to resurrect Channel 4 magazine show The Word, claims her husband. Carl Harwin said Behr wanted to move back to England after completing her stint on I'm A Celeb... and begin presenting TV shows again. "Dani's done the baby phase," he said. "She's loved every minute of it but we've had it with nappies. "Dani wants to get back into TV, which is mainly why we're moving back to England - she'd love to get The Word (more)...

Dani Behr has told her fellow I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! contestants about her wedding. The television presenter married restaurateur Carl Hewin in Malibu in 2005. She said that she appreciated holding the service abroad as it gave her more control over proceedings. "Jewish weddings are usually huge. I didn't want bridesmaids. It was all about me. I didn't want children at the ceremony. (more)...

Nicola McLean has told her fellow I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! contestants that it has been one year since she had her breasts enlarged. The glamour model came to the realisation during a chat with Esther Rantzen, Carly Zucker and Dani Behr. "What day is it? Is it Wednesday? It's their birthday," she said. She then asked (more)...

George Takei has flown Down Under to become the oldest contestant on the British edition of I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here. “I’m physically fit. I used to run marathons, now I work out every day,” he told the Daily Mirror.

Of the grueling challenges awaiting him in the Outback, he noted, “I’m Japanese and love sushi. I’ve even eaten live fish. It was delicious.”

His arrival got off to a shaky start when no one from the show was present to meet him at the airport. “I’ve been left wandering the airport for 30 minutes. They assured me there would be someone to meet me,” Takei said. A gaggle of reporters, on hand for the celebrity’s arrival, guided him to his destination.

His fellow contestants include local politician Robert Kilroy-Silk., ex Met deputy Brian Paddick, former tennis champ Martina Navratilova, Carly Zucker,...

Contestants on I'm A Celebrity... are apparently fuming over their pay packets for appearing on the reality show. Nicole McLean, 24, was angered when she realised her £7,500 wage was considerably less than Dani Behr's £40,000 deal, the Daily Mail says. Wag Carly Zucker, who will get paid £10,000, reportedly backed up the former glamour model and threatened to quit until producers pointed out that the exposure could lead to magazine deals. Martina Navratilova, 52, has apparently secured £30,000, while 68-year-old Esther Rantzen (more)...

ITV has confirmed the lineup for this year's series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! Esther Rantzen, Robert Kilroy-Silk and former Blue singer Simon Webbe are among the ten contestants heading to the jungle for the eighth series of the reality show. Joining them will be Wag Carly Zucker; tennis icon Martina Navratilova; TV presenter Dani Behr; ex-EastEnder Joe Swash, former Deputy Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police Brian Paddick; glamour model Nicola McLean and Heroes and Star Trek actor George Takei. Speaking about her decision to take part in the programme, Rantzen said: "I have to face the worst, (more)...

Wag Carly Zucker and ex-Met deputy commissioner Brian Paddick will be on this year's I'm A Celebrity..., say reports. According to The Sun, the duo will be joined by TV presenter Dani Behr and former tennis champion Martin Navratilova, while 1980s popstar David Van Day is on standby. Zucker, who dates Chelsea and England winger Joe Cole, is a personal (more)...