So here we are tonight for the final of Superstar and everyone was in their finery – Amanda Holden was dressed like an extra from Starlight Express, Jason had a tux on, Dawn was wearing a lovely sparkly top and Andrew had one too many buttons on his shirt. The opening song this night was Hosanna from Jesus Christ Superstar and it was good to hear the boys sing a song from the show but once again I feel that Roger has the presence to play Jesus but at this point I feel it’s definitely going to be Ben.

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Ben Forster
The Story So Far: Sunderland’s own Ben Forster, a former musical star who got through to boot camp on the X-Factor back in 2009, has impressed throughout the competition. Mel C in particular has praised his honest performances while Andrew Lloyd-Webber has complemented him on his consistency.
Best Performance: Ben’s performance of R.E.M’s Everybody Hurts bought Mel to tears and it made her say that she really wanted to act beside him in the production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Worst Performance: Ben’s performances have universally been praised by the panel however his first night performance of Gotye’s Somebody That I Used to Know was criticised by Andrew as he didn’t think Ben connected with the lyrics.
What are his chances?: Ben is one of only two never to have been part of the sing-off before so he obviously has a lot of audience support and the judges’ unanimous praise also adds to the fact that he goes all the way. I personally think that at the moment he has to be the favourite as the combination of positive comments and viewer votes usually add up to the winner of the show.
My Thoughts: While agree that Ben has been consistent, he really doesn’t do anything for me and I really couldn’t picture him as Jesus. Read more & comment »

There are some programmes that I feel have been talked about for months before they finally appear and Superstar is one of those shows. If you’ve been living under a rock it sees Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber try to find a leading man for his new arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar which already has a big name cast attached to it including Mel C, Tim Minchin and err… Chris Moyles. Despite casting Radio 1′s most notorious DJ, Lloyd-Webber describes the casting process as deadly serious as he could make the career of one of these young men or at least they could follow in the footsteps of Joseph star Lee Mead and marry the female member of the panel, so maybe if their lucky Mel C will be looking for a new man.

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Former Neighbours star and teen heart-throb, Jason Donovan, has opened up  on Piers Morgan, admitting he is still tempted by drugs.

The former I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here contestant was heavily involved with drugs during the nineties, and escaped death after being helped saved by INXS singer Michael Hutchins, the man his ex Kylie Minogue left him for, after he collapsed outside notorious LA hotspot, The Viper Rooms.
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While recording an edition of Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, Jason Donovan – who of course shot to fame in Aussie soap Neighbours – revealed that his one time co-star Kylie Minogue “chased” him for sex.

He added, “She chased me and then I guess I gradually gave in. The next thing you know we were working and having this relationship.

“At the time it was great. We cemented it in a Sydney Travelodge.

“There were a number of promotional trips we would do each weekend and the Travelodge was the place. Travelodges in those days were posh places.

“I did not lose my virginity to her though. I knew I was in love with her when she became successful on her own. It was a jealousy thing.

“I could see her slipping away. I am sure it happened before that but it was not until I could see her going off in one direction I thought I was going to lose her…” Read more & comment »

Jason Donovan has admitted that he would quite like to join the cast of Eastenders.

The ‘Especially For You’ hitmaker has ample soap experience, having started his showbiz career on long running Australian series Neighbours and speaking to Bang Showbiz admitted that he would love to walk the streets of Walford, but thinks his cockney accent would be severely lacking.

The blonde crooner said:

“‘EastEnders’ could be a fun move but to be perfectly honest, my east end accent is terrible.

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ITV may have cancelled Echo Beach, but Jason Donovan who played Dan Marrack in the soap is said to be returning to make a guest appearance on its sister show, Moving Wallpaper, which did land a second series.

Ben Miller who stars in the show revealed: “Apparently, we hope, Jason Donovan is going to come and play himself in a little bit and just do a scene at the beginning of the series. Basically swear a bit for five minutes,” he said.

As I have always fancied (*blush*) Jason Donovan, I am going to bore you this afternoon with three clips from Jason Donovan on ITV’s This Morning today. Watch him talk music, Echo Beach and much more…..

Enjoy!

ITV have revealed that it intends to commission a second series of Moving Wallpaper, it’s Friday night behind-the-scenes sitcom.

But it’s not such good news for Echo Beach, the actual soap affiliated with the comedy. A Source told The Sun:

“Moving Wallpaper is returning. We made the call to Kudos Productions on Saturday after reading TV Biz. But we’re not sure what will happen to Echo Beach. It will either have a few episodes or run on the internet.”

I have watched most episodes of most shows, and like many others I much preferred Moving Wallpaper. I loved Jonathan Pope’s cutting wit, coupled with his absolute stupidity. Echo Beach should have been brilliant. It had a cast containing some very seasoned and talented actors, the involvement of Jason Donovan, Martine McCutcheon and Johnny Briggs should have guaranteed it more success than it acheived. Read more & comment »

Jason Donovan has revealed that he is very happy with his role in new ITV soap opera, Echo Beach, as it is ‘very him.’

Speaking to the Daily Record Jason said:

“It’s the beach, it’s me, it’s surfing, it’s blonde hair and blue eyes. It’s very me.

“I’m nearly 40. I look back with fond memories. There’s not a day when I can escape those references to Neighbours or Kylie but why would I want to? I’m proud of all that. Life’s short, f****** enjoy it. I think you should never start taking yourself too seriously.”

Echo Beach will run alongside behind the scenes comedy, Moving Wallpaper.

He said: “I read Echo Beach and thought, ‘yeah’ and then I read Moving Wallpaper and thought, ‘this is for me’. They work very well together but can stand up on their own. It’s a potent mix. Read more & comment »

“The concept of Moving Wallpaper really made Echo Beach very attractive to me. I haven’t been on British television as an actor for a long time and I was looking to try and explore that avenue. But it’s difficult to cast an Australian, someone who has worn a technicolor dream coat, and sung a few hit singles in their time, or for people to get over the image of the Neighbours boy. I managed to manipulate that better in Australia but it’s tough to cast me as anything other than, say, an Australian in Casualty… I certainly wouldn’t cast me as a Geordie. It needed something like this to break the mould, so it seemed like the perfect vehicle. And to take the mickey out of yourself, as we all do in Moving Wallpaper, is healthy. When I read Echo Beach I liked it and when I read Moving Wallpaper, I rang my agent straight away. It just sounded really, really good fun. Read more & comment »