TV

Max Beesley thinks it's "brilliant" that he was able to call on Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson to sing tracks he wrote for US drama 'Empire'.
The 44-year-old 'Hotel Babylon' actor starred in two episodes of the hit E4 show as Guy, alongside his pal Terrence Howard - who plays lead character Lucious Lyon - and said living in Los Angeles has given him the opportunity to get back into music and meet amazing singers.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, he recalled: "I know Terrence. He and I have co-written and co-produced two songs on that series. This opportunity came up and Terrence and I had already worked together on his album. I produced that and co-wrote that so it gave me a little kick start to get back into music. So now we've got a brilliant little black book if you like, and Terrence will sit back and go, 'Who would be good for this' and 'What about Jennifer Hudson here?' And last week Alicia Keys was talking to me about one of the tunes. It's just a different world man."
And Max - who also stars in audio crime thriller 'Passenger 23', which is available now to download from December 17 at Audible.com - said the move to LA was like getting the "best of both worlds."
He added: "Well I've been living there for 10 years, I have my life and my lovely daughter. But it's great, it is like the best of both worlds... it is only luck and being positioned strategically, because there are millions of songwriters in Los Angeles, and everyone always wants their songs on that show, everyone. And so, just by default, Terrence and my relationship, we've got stuff on. I mean they're good songs, obviously, you can't put s**t on there."

Amanda Abbington's TV show 'Cuffs' has been cancelled.
After the final episode of series one of the BBC police drama aired on Wednesday (16.12.15), Amanda took to Twitter to confirm that it had been axed.
She wrote: "End of an era. And we are all gutted. Thanks to a wonderful cast, crew and fans. No series two. Sad day. #bbcCuffs
"Thanks for all your support and tweets regarding #cuffs. You're all so great. Bless ya. We will miss it so much. XxX (sic)."
Co-star Alex Carter added: "Thank u 4all the #Cuffs love. It really was the perfect job & team, such a shame it's not getting a second series. x (sic)."
The BBC has described 'Cuffs' a "fast-paced police drama following a team as they deal with the challenges of front-line policing."
Amanda starred as DS Jo Moffat, who is "diligent and organised, she always does everything by the book and gets results.
"But whilst her career is going from strength to strength, her personal life isn't. Lonely and divorced, Jo is having an affair with Robert Vickers (Peter Sullivan), her Chief Super."

Simon Gregson and his wife have welcomed their third child.
The 'Coronation Street' actor and spouse Emma Gleave - who already have sons Alfie, eight, and six-year-old Harry together - have added another boy to their family this week, Simon revealed on Twitter.
He wrote: "After talking 2 a belly for 9 months, I can now talk to a beautiful little face & know it's not Mr Hanky. Myself & @emmagleave are thrilled (sic)."
Simon also praised the staff at Wythenshaw hospital in Manchester for looking after his wife and son, tweeting: "I can not praise and thank everyone at Wythenshawe Hospital enough,although unbelievably busy,brilliant and lovely. The best x (sic)."
And staff wrote back to say: "Aww you're very welcome, have a lovely Christmas with your new little boy! Xxxx."
The couple previously revealed they were initially expecting twins but Emma miscarried one of the babies early in her pregnancy.
She said: "I wasn't very well at the beginning - I had really bad morning sickness and I just didn't feel quite right.
"I went to the hospital's early pregnancy unit and they checked me out. We found out it was twins - two eggs in different sacs.
"We had to keep going back to the unit, but sadly only one of the twins survived. We're very lucky to have this one."
Meanwhile, Simon was signed off sick from 'Coronation Street' in September for three months.
The star - who has played Steve McDonald on the ITV soap since 1989 - took some time out after depicting his character's battle with depression over several months.
A source said: "He put everything into [the storyline]. It had a big impact on him because it helped to raise awareness of a condition which affects thousands of people.
"He's decided to take a bit of time out and has the support of everyone on the show."

'TOWIE' dedicated its Christmas special to Nanny Pat following her death on Wednesday (16.12.15).
The 80-year-old reality TV star - whose real name is Pat Brooker - passed away following a short illness and Wednesday's festive episode, 'The Only Way Is Essexmas', was dedicated to her memory.
A voiceover said before the show: "This episode of 'The Only Way is Essexmas' was recorded before the sad passing of Nanny Pat so please join us for a glass of the mulled stuff."
And a message, below a picture of Nanny Pat, showed up on screen at the end with the words: "In loving memory, Patricia Joan Brooker, 'Nanny Pat', 1935-2015."
Meanwhile, Pat's grandchildren Mark and Jess Wright led the tributes to their grandmother following her death.
Mark tweeted: "My heart is broken but so overwhelmed by your support. To know good ole Nanny was loved by so many is the best feeling in the world Thankyou (sic)."
Jess added: "Heart broken does not even come close to how my family & I are feeling. Thank you so much for your support my Nan was so loved an angel (sic)."
Former 'TOWIE' star Maria Fowler also wrote: "So so sad to hear that Nanny Pat has passed away, such a wonderful sweet, fun and kind lady,it was a pleasure working with and knowing you.x (sic)."
And current star Lewis Bloor tweeted: "My thoughts are with the Wright family today sorry to hear this terrible news," while Harry Derbridge added: "I can't believe it, RIP nanny Pat. You was the biggest legend ever and you will continue to be, my thoughts go to the all the Wrights (sic)."
Ricky Rayment, who previously dated Jess wrote: My heart goes out to all the Wrights. Having to say goodbye to a truly incredible lady."
Dan Osborne said: "RIP nanny Pat. Such a lovely lady, always had a smile on your face! Thinking about all of the Wright family," and former 'TOWIE' star Charlie King wrote on Twitter: "Gutted to hear about the passing of Nanny Pat. My thoughts with all the Wright family, Nanny Pat was one of the sweetest ladies ever."

Gary Beadle and Charlotte Crosby are planning a Las Vegas wedding.
The 'Geordie Shore' stars - who have had an on/off relationship since the show started - recently rekindled their romance and are already talking about marriage.
However, the wedding will only take place if their beloved football team, Newcastle United, loses its upcoming match to Sunderland Football Club on March 19, 2016.
And Gary is already preparing for the inevitable, telling Star magazine: "I've looked up annulments and they cost £6,000, so I've done my research! But it would be funny to get married in Vegas."
This isn't the first time the pair have discussed marriage, with Gary saying last year: "We probably will end up getting married to be honest with you, just not yet. Five years time...or thirty."
Despite already discussing marriage, Gary - who announced his split from his girlfriend of a year Lillie Lexie Gregg last month - claimed that they're planning to take things slowly.
He explained: "Me and Charlotte are in a really great place. We're both single and going to have a little bit of fun. What's the harm in that? You know what I mean? There's no harm in that.
"Yeah, we're going to go on the odd date for maybe the next few weeks."

George Shelley "isn't man enough" for Ferne McCann, according to her 'TOWIE' co-star Danielle Armstrong.
The Union J singer and the reality TV star struck up a flirty friendship in the 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' jungle and even shared a "cheeky snog" after the show but Danielle doesn't think George, 22, is the right guy for Ferne, 25.
She told The Sun: "I don't think George is the one for her. I don't think he's man enough for her - he's not her usual type."
And Danielle tipped Spencer Matthews - who was axed from 'I'm A Celeb' after three days when producers discovered he'd been taking steroids - as the right man for Ferne.
She said: "I think if Spencer Matthews had stayed in something would have happened between them."
However, Spencer could have some competition as Danielle believes Ferne's ex Russell Brand - who she previously dated - is the perfect guy for her.
Ferne dated the funnyman, 40, with whom she had a fling with in 2009, for three months in the spring of this year after bumping into him backstage at the 'Jonathan Ross Show.'
She explained: "I dated him for three months earlier this year between March and June. We first met a few years ago but we didn't stay in touch, then earlier this year I literally bumped into him backstage at 'The Jonathan Ross Show.' "
However, the loud-mouthed beauty eventually decided to let the romance "fizzle out" because she was put off by Russell's persistent behaviour and extravagant gestures.
She said: "I remember him texting me on Shrove Tuesday saying he would send a horse and carriage to get me and bring me back to his house for pancakes. He was certainly very persistent!"

Professor Green will present a documentary on homelessness.
The rapper - who previously made the BBC Three programme 'Suicide and Me' about his father's suicide - is set to team up with the channel for two more documentaries; one about youth homelessness and the other about dangerous dogs.
Speaking about 'Professor Green: Sleeping Rough' and 'Dangerous Dogs', which will both air on the BBC in 2016, Pro Green - whose real name is Stephen Manderson - said: "I want to do more to explore the issues that we often don't know enough about, which is why I can't wait for everyone to see these new projects I'm working on for BBC Three.
"The difficult subjects that we're bringing attention to this time will take me on another eye-opening journey and I hope to raise awareness around two big social problems that will only continue to grow unless we tackle them head on."
Damian Kavanagh, controller of BBC Three, said: "'Suicide and Me' was exactly the kind of thought-provoking film I want on BBC Three and we aim to have a similar impact with Stephen's films on homelessness and dangerous dogs.
"Stephen has a natural rapport with people and I know he can bring this skill to highlight issues that matter to young people and bring them to wider attention. Highlighting issues like these are exactly what BBC Three will be doing in the future. I'm proud Stephen wants to be part of new BBC Three."

Anton Du Beke "sees himself as the star" of 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
The 49-year-old TV personality - whose real name is Anthony Beke - is considered by producers to be a crucial part of the show's success, but he is reportedly less popular among the "rank and file" members of staff who work on the programme.
An insider told The Sun newspaper: "Anton is very popular with the powers that be but less so with the rank and file.
"He sees himself as the star and expects the best from everyone.
"He can be very, very demanding to work for."
Despite being one of the most popular dancers on the show among viewers, Anton reportedly craved the presenting role vacated by Sir Bruce Forsyth.
However, he was ultimately overlooked for the coveted job in favour of Claudia Winkleman, who previously hosted the 'Strictly' spin-off 'It Takes Two'.
A source said: "Anton never kept it a secret how much he wanted Bruce's job.
"He was absolutely devastated when he got passed over and it left a massive dent in his ego."
More recently, however, Anton has been tipped to replace Len Goodman as the show's head judge.
Len said last month: "Anton would be perfect to take over from me if the time comes."
However, he recently clarified his statement, saying: "What I said was 'a good replacement - Anton, [former Strictly pro] Karen Hardy' - and it would be good if it was somebody whose roots were ballroom and Latin."

Danny Dyer says he was fighting for his life while filming an underwater scene for 'EastEnders'.
The 38-year-old actor's character Mick Carter jumps into icy cold water during a huge bust up with his brother Dean Wicks [Matt Di Angelo] in the forthcoming episode and Danny admitted that at one stage he started to panic when he couldn't find his way to the surface.
Asked if he did his own stunts, he said: "Yeah I done all my own stunts, don't worry about that. We went to Pinewood and we did it properly, I was actually fighting for my life, in real life, because I couldn't quite find the surface."
Referring to the action-packed scene with Dean - who raped Mick's wife Linda earlier this year - Danny said: "We do this big heavy battle me and Dean, it's a sad sad story, he is my [on-screen] brother. It could have been so different and it tailed off into this madness. "
Danny also revealed he had to have his ear syringed after filming at Pinewood studios.
Speaking at London's Soho Hotel for BBC's 'EastEnders' Christmas Launch, Danny told TV presenter Gabby Roslin: "I had to have my ear syringed. You know there was a lot of lake in my ear. But we are committed to it, you've got to commit. We are all committed as actors, we love the show."
Meanwhile, Danny teased that the forthcoming Christmas and New Year storylines will be "very heavy", but there will be some funny moments too.
He added: "It's incredibly heavy. The beauty of 'EastEnders' is that it is dark and we do dark so well that when we have these light-hearted moments, which are quite rare, we relish them."