New series of My Big Fat Gyspy Wedding

CH4’s My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, the series which documents the lives of Irish travellers, English Gypsies and Romany Gypsies, will return to our screens early next year.

Like the first series, next year’s episodes will take the same style and go into more detail around issues around work and money, life on the road, family, health, prejudice, education, cultural differences and the relationship between the different travelling communities living in the UK.

The show will also feature some familiar faces, including dressmaker Thelma Madine, Irish traveller Paddy Doherty and some of the brides from the first series, along with new families.

The Apprentice- Felicity is fired

Logic’s PM Felicity was axed on last night’s show for, according to Lord Sugar, ‘A disastrous task and not being decisive.’

‘There’s no way I could have gone into business with her’, Sugar told his advisers Karen and Nick. ‘If you did you would have to make all the decisions’, replied Karen.

Last night’s task challenged the two teams, lead by Felicity and Zoe, to choose two beauty products/treatments to sell in Birmingham. Zoe’s team-Venture, choose a spray tan and cold pedicure, while Felicity’s team, Logic, also chose the spray tan, which they lost to the other team, so went with a blow dry bar and a hot shell massage.

Venture spent £734 on products and made £937, a profit of £203.01. Logic spent a massive £924, made £677, which is a loss of £246.28.

PM Felicity blamed the failure of the task on team mates Ellie and Natasha, who she took in to the boardroom with her. Ellie she said had sat back and not shown any enthusiasm, while Natasha she claimed failed to sell any treatments, just products.

Lord Sugar questioned Ellie, whose job in the task was to give treatments, about what she had done for the three hours she was upstairs in the team’s treatment rooms without any customers, and asked her why she hadn’t called her colleagues downstairs to see what was going on. ‘It’s a very serious issue’, he said. However Sugar decided to give Ellie the benefit of the doubt and told her in future to come forward.

To Natasha, who Karen warned him was all talk, Lord Sugar asked why she had only been selling the products rather than the treatments. In which she replied that there was no strategy to sell treatments, Felicity claimed this was not true. ‘You didn’t catch on to the fact that the idea of the task was to sell treatments (the money maker)’, said Sugar. ‘I’m not looking for a receiver. I’m looking for someone that does something.

But it wasn’t only the loosing team who got a telling off. Lord Sugar told Venture that their profit was exactly great, particularly as they had Susan on their team, who sells beauty products for a living. Susan agreed with him, however the rest of the team blamed her for their poor result, with Zoe claiming that she had trusted Susan’s word in the amount of products they should buy. But Susan denied that it was her fault.

Next week the teams have to design and make a new brand of dog food. Don’t they say never work with children or animals?

Jamie's Food Revolution: LA's Schools Board doesn't play ball

Jamie recruited a small army of kids on last night’s episode of the Food Revolution, in an attempt to get the LA Schools District on board, and allow him to make changes to school meals.

But despite making some allies, he was still refused entry to the city’s elementary schools. That is until he found a loophole in the system, a school owned by the LAUSD but run by contractors LMA, who welcomed him to the school, but warned him they needed results as going against the board could mean the school looses funding and they loose their jobs.

To keep the LAUSD sweet, the school made Jamie pose as a cookery teacher, giving him the chance to teach the children, half of which are obese, about the importance of eating good food. He shown a small group who take culinary skills how to make burritos and learnt that most of them fear becoming ill from being overweight. One girl, Sophia, told Jamie how her 13-year-old sister and parents have type 2 diabetes, and she worries she is next. Jamie’s plan- to get the group to act as his crusaders and come up with a healthy alternative to school meals.

However, the LAUSD got wind of his ideas and forbid him from talking to any of the children about school meals. Even peering through the window into the cafeteria Jamie got a telling off. ‘In the land of the free I can’t talk to children about the food they eat everyday. It makes me angry, and as Americans it should make you furious’, said Jamie.

The celeb chef’s luck didn’t improve when he made a return visit to see Deano, who runs a fast food restaurant. Jamie told the owner that he could double his takings, and asked for full control of the menu for two weeks.

‘Two weeks is too long’, claimed Deano. ‘I have a wife and kids. I’m concerned because you are English and wasn’t born in America. You don’t know what a milkshake is.’ Deano’s comment referred to last week when the chef adapted his milkshakes to make them healthier using yoghurt instead of ice-cream and fresh fruit instead of syrup, a drink which the fast food owner said was more like a smoothie.

In the end Deano agreed with Jamie to split the menu in half, the old originals vs Jamie’s three new healthier burgers with less than half the calories, and his lighter milkshake. All appeared to be going well, with the customers giving Jamie’s burger the thumbs up, until the chef posed as a customer and ordered a shake from the drive through, only to see Deano add ice-cream and syrup to his healthy milkshake.

‘I thought it needed something’, was Deano’s excuse.

And it seems next week Jamie is in for an even tougher time. Will the chef ever get a break?

TOWIE- Arg and Lydia back together?

If anyone else saw T4 last weekend, you'll know that Mark and Arg from the Only Way is Essex co-presented the show. During their stint the boys revealed that before starting the show Arg was basically in the gutter, fat, unemployed, single and living in Spain. James also let slip that him and Lydia have started seeing each other and have been on several dates. He confessed that it's early days, but there's a possibility the pair could get back together. Bet Lydia's mum Debbie isn't too pleased with her daughter's decision, particularly after James was sick in her car at the TOWIE wrap party. Not the best way to impress your future mother-in-law. At least Darcy the pig will have his daddy back though.

New series from the Embarrassing Bodies team

Dr Christian Jessen, Dr Dawn Harper and Dr Pixie McKenna are back this month with CH4's new programme- Diagnosis Live from the Clinic. The programme, which starts on Wed 25 May at 8pm, sees the doctors diagnose patients who consult with the team via a web cam.

The series will also see viewers test leading, readily available products that are used to treat everyday conditions such as thrush, hayfever, athletes foot, acne and head lice.

The Apprentice: Gavin is the third person to be fired

It was third time unlucky for Gavin Winstanley last night, after Alan Sugar decided he wouldn’t be returning to the boardroom again.

The salesman, who nominated himself as PM for Logic, now made up of male and female contestants, was fired for not taking charge of the task, which saw the team only loose by £8, but secure just six out of the ten items from a shopping list for the Savoy Hotel. They spent a total of £1,389.20, from a possible £2,000, minus a fine of £312.68 for their missing items.

‘According to Karen you set guidelines but no-one took any notice, why’, said Alan to Gavin? ‘I don’t know’, he replied. ‘Your resume says you’re a good manager of people, you’re words not mine’, claimed Sugar.  The business mind also brought up the fact that the team, under Gavin’s guidance, had wasted three hours after the brief at the hotel faffing about, rather than going out to source items, some which they failed to identify, believing, at one point, that a cloche was a mini greenhouse.

‘Because the task was out of hand, Gavin you’re fired’, said Lord Sugar.

Zoe and Vincent, who Gavin took to the boardroom with him, had a lucky escape. Despite Vincent being blamed for the failure of the task, having sourced items but not picked them up, and for his despicable management style, which saw him undermine his team mates, something which Alan said he didn’t like, he was sent back to the house. Whereas Zoe, who failed to make any negotiations and said the problem was logistics, not having time to travel from one location to another, was told by Sugar to do more. ‘I’ll be watching’, he said.

Team Venture, who were treated to a circus style performance at a London bar for winning the task, got nine out of ten goods from the list, and spent a total of £1,381.69. However, they paid over the odds for most items, buying tea for £400, originally priced at £999. The problem? Going to expensive stores in pricey areas. We wanted the best quality for the hotel, reasoned Susan, the PM.

‘Where are your brains’, said Lord Sugar. ‘How can tea be worth £999, it must have given you a clue when they accepted £400?’

Next week, the teams must become beauticians in a race to sell treatments to the unsuspecting public.

Jamie's Food Revolution:the chef's celeb status fails him in LA

Jamie’s likability and Essex slang just doesn’t translate in LA, as shown on the first of last night’s Jamie's Food Revolution, LA on CH4. In a desperate attempt to fit in, Jamie even attempted some American slang and vocabulary, using phrases such as ‘Gee Whizz’ and calling burgers patties and referring to data as dat a.

The naked chef, who has made it his life’s mission to make school meals across the globe healthier, came up against a brick wall of authority0the LA Schools District board, who refused to grant him permission to observe food practices in all of the city’s schools.

His back up plan was to round up the parents for support by inviting them to his kitchen, where he revealed the gruesome truth about the meat, if you can call it that, used in school dishes. Meat that is used to make dog food, and which butchers pay to be taken away, and treated with ammonia to kill salmonella. A process only used in America!

His demo may have had an impact on the mums and dads, but the board still refused to allow him access to the schools. And at a board meeting Jamie, who was promised a slot with the head of food, was palmed off with his communications manager, who told him to send an email, and basically jump through many hoops.

No problem, the chef had another trick up his sleeves, trying to convince the owner of an  independent burger joint to swap his poor quality ‘patties’ for the real deal, Angus beef, and milkshakes made from real fruit and yoghurt rather than a syrup substitute.

‘It’s nice’, said owner Deano, when he tried the shake, ‘but not a real milkshake without ice-cream, more like a smoothie.’

And the burger? Deano admitted it was juicer, but at double the price not profitable.

The final nail in the coffin for Jamie, who brought his whole family over to the States, was when only 15 parents turned up to his visual lecture on the evils of giving children flavoured milk in schools. To prove his point, he filled a US school bus with 57 tonnes of sugar (see pic), the amount of sugar from a week’s worth of milk served. But still no word from the board.

‘Ive never had an institution that has shut us down like this’, said Jamie. ‘We’re just dreading water and getting nowhere. It’s a great show on hoe people don’t give a *@!!@***. ‘Maybe LA was a mistake’, admits the chef.

Stuart Baggs stars in Celebrity Five to go

A new series of Celebrity Five go to starts this month, and with participants including The Apprentice's Stuart 'The Brand' Baggs and Christopher Biggins, expect fireworks and classic one-liners.

The show, which follows a group of celebs, who must compete in a series of task to win the title of best holiday-maker, will see the stars travel to Cape Town in South Africa.

Just for your amusement.

Celebrity Five go to starts on 23 May at 5pm on CH4.

Soap Spolier- Coronation Street

Charlotte's parents learn that John, who they believe is called Collin Fiswick, is living on Coronation Street, the scene of their daughter's death. Meanwhile, Steve and Tracy become more worried about Amy's health. Rosie comes onto Tommy and orders hum upstairs and tells him to get his kit off, but what does she have planned? And Eileen organises a blind date for Sean, who is surprised by who the mystery man is.
Elsewhere, Faye tells Owen that Katy is pregnant and he goes looking for Chesney, who has disappeared. Katy thinks he's left her, but John is up to his old tricks again, and has kidnapped him.
At the garage, Tyrone and Kevin continue to not get along. When Kevin installs a new hydraulic lift Tyrone cannot resist tinkering with it, but his actions result in disaster. As Kevin is rushed to hospital, Sally comes to his aid, leaving Jeff sitting in the bistro alone with a ring box for company.
During the week's episodes, David also saves Max from running into the road and tells Becky and Steve it is clear they are incapable of looking after him. And Fiz receives some more bad news, after learning that the real Colin Fiswick is back in the country and they need to leave the street immediately.

The Apprentice-Edward the accountant is the first to be fired

Accountant Edward got squeezed out of the competition after loosing the fruit and veg task to the girls' team.

The project manager's downfall, according to Lord Sugar, was that, despite doing simple maths as his day job he didn't want to use his accountancy skills, and kept his plan in his head rather than sharing it with his teammates. 'That's nonsense', said Sugar. 'There's no shame in being an accountant. Many men in business start off as accountants.' Although, Edward assured him he was more than his day job and his only fault was  that he became too ambitious in the task. 'I admire your enthusiasm, but you had no expertise. You said on your resume you are Lord Sugar's dream candidate, but you're a nightmare', claimed Alan Sugar.

Leon and Gavin joined Edward in the boardroom, for the reason that the accountant simply didn't like Gavin, and that Leon had broken the juicer and cost the team the task, supposedly, as they were unable to make enough stock to sell.

In the first episode of the new series of The Apprentice, the girl's team Venture, and the boy's team Logic were given £250 to buy and sell fruit and vegetables to the public.Those who made the most profit won.

The girls, led by Melody, chose to make pots of fruit salad at £2 each to sell to workers for breakfast, and a vegetable pasta for lunch. While their pasta wasn't very popular, having missed the lunchtime rush, city workers in Canary Wharf went mad for their fruit salad. The boys made orange juice and tomato soup, although, much like the girls, missed breakfast time, and only began to start to sell their OJ at 11am to female workers in offices.

Venture, despite only spending £170 of their money to buy produce at New Covent Garden Market, took home a tidy sum of £592.00 plus the money left over, while the boys only took £432.13. 1-0 to the girls!

Film Review: Water for Elephants

Forget R Patz, the star of this show is Rosie the loveable elephant, who not only creates most of the drama in the film, but is the only character (?) big, brave and tough enough to take on and win against the movie’s baddie, circus owner and ringmaster August, leaving the protagonists, Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, to dance off into the sunlight together for a happy ending. 

For the rest of the film, it really is your typical romantic drama with all the usual stereotypes of the genre that negatively portray the 1930s travelling circus. The first is evident even in the opening of the film, when an old man, supposedly Patterson, goes back in time to tell the story of his life to a random stranger. Sound familiar?

Then there are the characters, there’s the bad guy, August, played by Christoph Waltz, who gives a truly believable performance as an arrogant, greedy and violent man, beating his wife and anyone who undermines him, including the animals. The good guy, or girl, in this case is his wife, Marlena (Witherspoon), who is in contrast angelic, has a special relationship with the circus’ zoo, and puts up with her husband’s beatings for stardom and the chance to belong, after being abandoned as a baby. Then there is the have a go hero, Jacob (Patterson), who by chance climbs aboard the Benzini Brothers travelling circus, train, lands himself a job as a vet then bull trainer looking after Rosie, and becomes best friends with the boss, only to betray him and steal his wife from under his nose. He (Jacob) might have studied at a prestigious college, but clearly they didn’t teach him common sense. Despite this, his actions win him the approval of the circus company, who actually forgive him for getting many of the circus’ company killed for having anything to do with him.

My thoughts? If you liked The Notebook or Moulin Rouge then you’ll love Water for Elephants, which provides perfect viewing for a Sunday afternoon as not a lot of thought is required. R Patz fans may also be disappointed for the lack of topless shots, bearing in mind the film is only a 12A. If it wasn’t for Rosie the elephant or Christoph Waltz’s portrayal of August I would say to leave this 1930s based movie in the past.

Breaking News: T4 and New Look to launch new fashion show

Channel 4 and New Look have teamed up to launch a new show called -New Look Style the Nation this summer.

The series, fronted by Nick Grimshaw, will celebrate the style and creativity of ‘everday’ girls and guys across the country, with one lucky stylista bagging a dream job as a New Look stylist.

A style panel, made up of award winning Brit designer Giles Deacon and New Look Group Creative Director Barbara Horspool, will scour five cities-London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, in May, looking for the uber stylish to compete for the London based stylist job, creating looks for the fashion chains’ TV, print and online campaigns.

The six week series will also see the Style Panel, along with celeb guests, give their critique as participants compete in a head to heads catwalk competition. The winning collection will be decided by T4 viewers in a live vote, with the winners from each region battling it out at a national final.

New Look Style the Nation airs on T4 from Saturday 4 June.

The Only Way is Essex-Mick ditches Gemma

Gemma was left in tears on last night's episode as Mick took a bottle of champagne over to Lauren’s sister, Nicola, rather than her. Hours earlier Mick had told son Kirk that he had bought the champagne for the lady he fancies, but wouldn’t tell him who it was. Kirk presumed he was talking about Gemma and even gave her his blessing, but did later say to his girlfriend Popey, when he saw Gemma crying, that his dad hadn’t led her on.

Gemma, who has made it very clear to the whole of Essex her feelings for Mick, had a quick cry and told friends Chloe and Maria she was over it. She said that she needed to toughen up as she wears her heart on her sleeve and always gets hurt. She also confessed that she would never speak to Mick again.

But will Gemma be able to get over Mick as quickly as she claims? After telling friends in the past that she wants to marry him and have his babies, and Mick is her dream man, Although it appears Chloe thinks Gemma has had a lucky escape, as she said earlier in the episode that she couldn’t understand why a 29-year-old would want to be with someone so much older?

The Only Way is Essex-Arg gets his heartbroken again as Lydia once more tells him it’s over.

 Lydia told James she’s moving on as he went to talk to her after she turned up at the pool party with her date, model Rob. Looks like Arg has fierce competition, as even Lydia’s mum likes the male model.

‘You don’t understand how it felt you turning up to my best mates party with another guy’, James told Lyd. ‘I would die for you. It’s the worst feeling I’ve ever felt in my life.’

Lydia replied by telling him she needs someone to help her get over him and to see how shit there relationship is/was. She told him that he keeps pushing her away and that she never wants to be in that situation again. James told her they are soulmates and belong together, but Lydia just said what’s the point. ‘I won’t fuck up again’, James pleaded. ‘I’ve heard it too many times before’, confessed Lydia.

James also made an enemy out of Amy, who was told by Lydia, when she visited her house to clear the air, that James has told her in the past that he has ‘banged’ her. Amy was furious and apologised to Lydia for not being on her side and sticking up for James before. Lydia forgave her and said she had washed her hands of him. But when Amy confronted James at the party, he told her Lydia was making up lies, despite confessing to Lyd he had said while they were going out he had slept with Amy to wind her up. Amy told James she was pissed off as they used to be mates, and she doesn’t want to be involved in their (Arg and Lydia’s) arguments. James said he would tell Lyd not to involve her. Amy was having none of James’ lies and said to leave it at that.

The Only Way is Essex- Lauren proves she's no push over to Mark

Lauren shown who wears the trousers in her and Mark’s relationship as she turned up to Mark’s Phat pool party on last night’s episode, despite him telling her she couldn’t come.

Lauren made Mark’s party, which he threw to compete with Joey’s Ream party, memorable for all the wrong reasons  by throwing him into the pool in front of the whole party, after discovering him with a group of girls.

‘What you doing?’, said Mark to Lauren when she turned up to the party, following a phone call from her sister telling her to get to the party asap as it didn’t look like Mark was working. And it wasn’t only her who wondered why Lauren wasn’t at the party, as it became the main topic of conversation, even Mark’s mum Carole questioned why she wasn’t there and suggested to Mark that Lauren help him with his parties.

Lauren told Mark that she had been on her own all day, when Mark replied that he was working, but she said that he was making her look like a mug, and asked him if he was satisfied that he had kept her indoors? ‘Don’t you think I’m going to get bored?’, she said. Mark told her it was his business and asked her why she was shouting so everyone could her their argument. ‘What means more to you, your parties or me’, questioned Lauren. ‘You’, said Mark, ‘but what have I done wrong?’ Lauren replied that people don’t realise how shit it is, then pushed him into the pool and calling him a mug, before walking out of the party with a smug look on her face.

But what did Mark expect when he banned Lauren from attending any of his parties. Earlier in the day Mark warned Lauren not to come, but she said she didn’t see what the issue was?  He told her he has to go to the party and get work done, and said if he was a stockbroker she wouldn’t come to his office while he was on the phone. ‘Don’t come to my workplace’, he said. ‘Having my bird there scares girls off.’ Lauren replied that people would think it was odd she wasn’t there. Mark said people knew who she was and thought she was over it?

New ITV show-Poms in Paradise

Next Wednesday sees the launch of new ITV show Poms in Paradise, which follows the lives of Britons who have chosen to up sticks and settle in Australia's Gold Coast, lucky things. The documentary style programme will reveal what the expats' lives are like after they make the radical move and if their new home really is paradise.
One man who has emigrated to Oz is 31-year-old Welshman Stuart Snell (pictured), who is a champion in Surf Life Saving, a fusion of the Iron Man challenges and lifeguarding skills. The show follows him as he prepares for this year's first event, a gruelling 500 metre swim through the surf. The programme also meets Marcus and Lorraine and their daughter Sky, who arrived Down Under a year ago and say they are better off than in the UK, despite doing the same jobs.But Lorraine is struggling with being so far away from her family. Then there is Frank, who moved to Australia from Ireland after a bad break-up, and now works in the tropical rainforest near the Gold Coast, nice work if you can get it.

Poms in Paradise is on at 7.30pm on Wednesday 11 May.

The Only Way is Essex- Mark plans his comeback

Mark told Arg he's planning a 'phat' pool party for his return to the night club scene now that Joey has got a bit too comfortable.

Mark said his pool party will be like the one he holds in Marbella, which Lauren isn't invited to, with loads of topless girls and champagne. 'There will be london and Essex girls at the party', he told Arg, who seemed concerned with taking his top off in front of anyone other than Mark.

Earlier in the episode, Mark told fiancee Lauren that he has to get back to the club scene as it's what he does best. 'Mark Wright is missed in Essex', he said. Lauren asked what she will get out of it? Mark replied cars and watches. 'I'd rather live in a shed' (than Mark go back to club promoting) she said. But she confessed she knew he would do what he wants regardless of how she feels.

Her sister echoed her concerns, telling Lauren she was worried their relationship, her and Mark, would go back to how it used to be. Lauren reassured her she trusted Mark 100 per cent now and that it was him who wanted commitment. Her sister said she hoped she was right.

The Only Way is Essex- Lydia confronts Amy about her feelings for Arg

Lydia made a surprise visit to Amy's salon on last night's episode to find out the truth about the salon owner and her ex James.

Earlier in the day, while on a run in the park, Lydia told friend Ellie that she wants to get to the bottom of things as the rumours about James cheating are eating away at her, and needs to get it straight from the horse's mouth, the horse being Amy.

Lydia told Amy that she is 'sooo confused' as she doesn't know what is going on with her (Amy) and James, claiming that they are very tactile and flirtatious with each other. Amy admitted that she has a soft spot for James and she does flirt with him, but she flirts with everyone.

'You don't like it as it's another girl with Arg', Amy told Lydia. 'He needs a bit of flirting', she said. Lydia seemed surprised Amy had confessed to having a soft spot for James and said she came to speak to her to get some answers.

Amy said she doesn't fancy Arg, but Lydia said she was 'rubbishing things', by tweeting that she had dinner with James the other day. Lydia said James knew she would read it so he re-tweeted that he had dinner with Amy and everyone else.

'It shows how immature yous two are', said Amy. 'I'm glad I'm not immature.' 'You obviously are', replied Lydia and walked out of the salon.

However, it seems Lydia's luck may be turning as she bumped into a mysterious guy outside an Essex bar when leaving. Is this the dream man that Gemma promised her?

The Only Way is Essex- Is the honeymoon period over for Joey and Sam?

Just when the well matched (?) pair were getting on so well, a spanner in the works hit last night as Sam told Joey he had been a shit boyfriend during his Ream party the other night.

'You only spent half an hour with me, and the rest of the night with the Ream girls', she told him on last night's episode. Joey asked her is she was 'jeal', when Sam replied that he was 'so drunk and so annoying' that night.

Their conversation then turned to Sam's girlie trip in the summer to Marbella. Joey told her as they are boyfriend and girlfriend now he thinks he should go with her. 'I'm going one hundred per cent', he said, 'But I wanted to go with you.' 'It's a girl's trip', said Sam.Joey replied by telling Sam that he was going car shopping with Harry, despite the 17-year-old not having a licence yet. Sam accused him of stealing her friends. 'We're boys', he said. 'Whatever', said Sam.

Later on in the episode, Sam spoke to sister Billie about Joey asking to go to 'Marbs' with her and the girls. Sam raised concerns that she thought her and Joey are moving too fast as he's around her house all the time and now wants to go on a girl's trip with her. Billie said that with Joey always being there, the relationship is becoming too comfortable, and said if they spent more time apart then when they saw each other there would still be butterflies there.