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Sky Reduces ITV
Stake
BSkyB announced tonight that it would not fight a court
ruling ordering it to reduce its stake in ITV from 17.9 per cent to below 7.5 per cent.
The satellite broadcaster, 39.1 percent owned by News Corporation, appointed
Morgan Stanley to sell approximately 10.4 per cent of its stake, or 404
million shares.
BSkyB bought its 17.9 per cent stake, or 696 million ITV shares, for £940
million in 2006, writing down the value by £801 million to 20p a share over
the past two years.
A BSkyB spokesman said: "Sky will not pursue a further appeal in relation to
its investment in ITV. We have entered into undertakings with BIS [the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills] and we can confirm that
Morgan Stanley is acting as sole book runner on the placement of
approximately 10.4 per cent of ITV."
21:30
February 08
2010 - waveguide.co.uk
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New
Comedy Panel Game For Sky 1
Sky 1 today announced details of a new comedy panel show - A
League Of Their Own.
The series stars James Corden with team captains Jamie
Redknapp and Freddie Flintoff plus regular guests Georgie Thompson and John
Bishop.
A League Of Their Own will see James Corden referee and host
preceedings.
Corden said: “I'm thrilled to be hosting A League Of Their
Own and can't wait to start. I’ve never hosted a show like this before and
I’m really looking forward to it.
"I’ve come to the conclusion that as I spend most of my time
sitting around with my mates talking about sport, I might as well get paid
for it.”
The programme sets two teams of comedians, celebrities and sports stars
against each other in a test of their sporting knowledge.
Other guests due to appear throughout the series will come from the worlds
of sport, comedy and entertainment and will include tennis lover Jimmy
Carr, Strictly presenter Claudia Winkleman, Olympic boxing champion Amir
Khan, Mock The Week host Dara O'Briain and reigning Formula 1 World Champion
Jenson Button.
The ten-part series starts next month.
19:30
February 08
2010 - waveguide.co.uk
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New ITV Drama
ITV has announced a new three-part thriller series, Kidnap
and Ransom, which will star Trevor Eve and Helen Baxendale.
Kidnap and Ransom has been written by Patrick Harbinson, who has penned
episodes of 24, Law and Order and ER, and will film in South Africa this
spring.
Trevor Eve will play an international hostage negotiator, Dominic King, who
gets involved in the case of a businesswoman (Emma Fielding) who is
kidnapped in South Africa.
But when the release is botched and they strike again in Britain, the
motives of the kidnapper, Willard (John Hannah), become far more sinister.
With trouble brewing at home with his wife, Sophie (Natasha Little) and
teenage daughter - and his team, boss Angela (Helen Baxendale) and ambitious
assistant Carrie (Amara Karan) pushed to the limit, King must draw on all
his reserves to bring the victims home alive.
17:00
February 08
2010 - waveguide.co.uk
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Neil Gaiman Writes Doctor Who Episode
Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman has said he is to write a
forthcoming episode of Doctor Who.
Gaiman, the author of Stardust and Coraline which were both adapted for the
big screen, revealed the news at a sci-fi convention in Sussex.
The episode, with the working title of The House of Nothing, will air in
2011, the writer said.
Gaiman previously wrote the fantasy TV series Neverwhere which aired on BBC
Two in 1996.
16:15
February 08
2010 - waveguide.co.uk
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Coronation Street - Keith Duffy
Boyzone's Keith Duffy has said he feels more confident about
his role in Coronation Street the second time around.
Duffy originally played Ciaran McCarthy from 2002 until 2005. Recently he
has returned to the role and believes he is far more experienced than he was
when he first joined the show.
Speaking to the Daily Record he said "Seven years ago I was coming out of a
job I had been in since I was a kid. I was travelling round the world with
four other guys and had a great sense of security.
"Going out on my own and doing a job like Coronation Street
which is in so many people's living rooms four nights a week - especially my
own family's - was daunting. This time round, there's no comparison. There's
a massive difference in experience, ability and understanding of the trade.
I thought I could give the job a better crack this time."
He said he sought advice from his fellow Boyzone members before returning
saying "The decision to come into Coronation Street wasn't a decision I took
on my own. I sat down with the lads and told them what I wanted to do and
they gave me their blessing. We've lost a member of the band and I don't
think we could go any further if the four of us weren't all in agreement.
"I love being in the band but I love being on Corrie. I need this. This is
the individual, independent part of my life and we all need that."
09:15
February 08
2010 - waveguide.co.uk
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I'm A
Celebrity Rat Fine
ITV has been fined after pleading guilty to animal cruelty
during the making of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Of Here.
Two contestants, including last year's winner Gino D'Acampo, killed and ate
a rat on camera while the programme was being filmed in Australia.
A court in Sydney heard that although the rat was initially stabbed with a
knife, it took a minute and a half for the animal to die.
Magistrate Mark Buscombe said that unnecessary pain had been inflicted, and
the company should have taken greater care.
In documents presented to the court the RSPCA said that initially D'Acampo
stabbed the rat, then Manning picked up a second knife and attempted to kill
it with three separate cutting motions, while D'Acampo used his knife to
restrain it.
Mr Buscombe asked ITV's solicitor Chris Lawson whether the men had any
experience in using knives, and was told that D'Acampo was a celebrity chef.
He and fellow contestant Stuart Manning had originally been charged with
animal cruelty.
Those charges have now been dropped because ITV admitted that production
staff had given the go-ahead to their request to kill the rat.
Producers had only taken into consideration whether the rat would make the
contestants ill, rather than whether they were breaking any laws.
In mitigation Mr Lawson submitted a Wikipedia article on brown rats, which
showed that the brown rat was not indigenous to Australia, and there were
probably more rats than humans on the planet.
He said the death of the rat was an "oversight" rather than a deliberate
act.
The company was fined the equivalent of £1,600 and ordered to pay around
£1390 in costs.
An ITV spokesman said: "ITV has apologised for the mistake which led to the
incident.
"The production was unaware that killing a rat could be an offence, criminal
or otherwise, in New South Wales, and accepts that further enquiries should
have been made."
The spokesman added: "This was an oversight, and we have since thoroughly
reviewed our procedures, and are putting in place a comprehensive training
programme to ensure that this does not happen in future series."
07:30
February 08
2010 - waveguide.co.uk
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