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The Conservative party has breathlessly announced the fact that Coronation Street star William Roache (aka Ken Barlow) has backed their opposition to Labour’s “death-tax” plans. This comes a mere 24 hours after David Cameron (in the words of the Evening Standard) “hit out at Lily Allen’s ‘unsuitable’ pop songs”. I don’t know if readers agree, but I am so pleased at the way in which this

There’s an extraordinary attack on Martin Amis by Anna Ford in the letters pages of The Guardian today. She claims he “smoked” during a hospital visit to her dying husband, the late Mark Boxer, and chastises him for failing to give their daughter — and his goddaughter — any money. She concludes that he suffers from

10.13 And that, gentle reader, is the end of that. What have we learnt, would you say? 1) The Brits might be better without a presenter altogether. Perhaps just a narrator. The studio audience didn’t notice Peter Kay was speaking, and the audience at home simply wished he wasn’t. 2) Lady Gaga deserved her awards for the excellent

Ben Stiller will only use twitter for “sensible” issues. The ‘Zoolander’ star has his own page on the networking site but unlike other celebrities, he doesn’t want to give away every detail about his life but does accept it can be used for good causes.

In some newspapers and magazines at the moment there’s a frenzy of stories about the footballer Ashley Cole and the TV presenter Vernon Kay, both of whom, it seems, have been sending naughty text messages to ladies other than the ones they’re married to (respectively, the X Factor judge Cheryl Cole and the Strictly Come

Check out what celebrities were spotted at the NBA All-Star Game last night! See more pics below…   Recording artist Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges (R) and girlfriend in the audience during the NBA All-Star Game held at Cowboys Stadium on February 14, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Singer Shakira performs during the NBA All-Star Game held at Cowboys Stadium on February 14, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Singer Alicia Keys performs onstage during the NBA All-Star Game held at Cowboys Stadium on February 14, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Usher performance Music producer/songwriter Jermaine Dupri and rapper/music producer Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in the audience during the NBA All-Star Game held at Cowboys Stadium on February 14, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Chris Tucker TV personality LaLa Vasquez and actress Gabrielle Union in the audience during the NBA All-Star Game Drizzy Drake   Pic’s source: Photo by Jason Merritt/ Getty Images North America Share and Enjoy:

Check out what celebrities were spotted at the NBA All-Star Game last night! See more pics below…   Recording artist Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges (R) and girlfriend in the audience during the NBA All-Star Game held at Cowboys Stadium on February 14, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Singer Shakira performs during the NBA All-Star Game held at Cowboys Stadium on February 14, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Singer Alicia Keys performs onstage during the NBA All-Star Game held at Cowboys Stadium on February 14, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Usher performance Music producer/songwriter Jermaine Dupri and rapper/music producer Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in the audience during the NBA All-Star Game held at Cowboys Stadium on February 14, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Chris Tucker TV personality LaLa Vasquez and actress Gabrielle Union in the audience during the NBA All-Star Game Drizzy Drake   Pic’s source: Photo by Jason Merritt/ Getty Images North America Share and Enjoy:

Three cheers for Goldman Sachs if they did, indeed, try to rig the “Robin Hood tax” vote. Because, firstly, it’s an internet vote, not a general election, and most of the people who voted yes have the economic literacy of a stone age Amazonian tribesman. More importantly, the Robin Hood Tax is the stupidest idea thought

Lady Gaga feels too shy for Hollywood. The eccentric ‘Poker Face’ singer doesn’t think she fits in with other celebrities and claims she has struggled to make new friends since finding fame because she is so focused on her career.

Bill Nighy and his chums have picked on add time to launch their proposal for a new tax on bankers. Among other things, the Robin Hood Tax would be used to “fund crucial action against climate change”. Like what, exactly? A PR campaign to restore the battered reputation of the IPCC? A bail out for

A Single Man, Tom Ford’s debut film as director, may be “a thing of heart-stopping beauty”, as a critic quoted on the poster calls it, but it’s beautiful in a self-adoring way that doesn’t involve the viewer: we can admire it but it doesn’t engage our emotions. It’s based on Christopher Isherwood’s novel and set in