Where have you been for my Matt/Seb chats??? I am 38!!Quote:
Originally Posted by alan45
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Where have you been for my Matt/Seb chats??? I am 38!!Quote:
Originally Posted by alan45
Anita Dobson has revealed she has no regrets about being in EastEnders.
The actress became a household name for her portrayal of emotionally battered and alcoholic landlady Angie Watts, winning record numbers of viewers for the BBC soap.
"I went from being a jobbing actress who was just earning a living to being the second most photographed woman in Britain, next to Princess Diana - but it was exciting too and I wouldn't have swapped it for a second," she said.
"Wonderful things happened to me - I met my husband, I got invited to previews and premieres, I was asked to do fashion shoots, and front covers of magazines. You've just got to embrace it and do the best you can."
Anita, who is now presenting Ration Book Britain: Entertaining The Home Front, reckons her character's sense of humour made her an instant hit with viewers.
"I think it was the fact that she was a survivor and she was funny," she recalled.
"That's what drew me to the character - that she could be on the floor, drunk, weeping buckets, mascara everywhere, then drag herself up the next morning in that old blue dressing gown, tidy herself up and be in the bar that night telling jokes and looking a million dollars."
:: Ration Book Britain: Entertaining The Home Front is on Yesterday on February 24 at 9pm (Sky 537, Virgin 203, Freeview 12).
BBC chiefs have been asked to update the opening titles of flagship soap EastEnders - to include the Olympic Park.
The iconic title sequence features aerial shots mapping East London with the River Thames curving through the area - but was produced before the Olympic Stadium sprung up.
Now local mayor Sir Robin Wales, whose Newham borough includes the Olympic Park, has contacted BBC director-general Mark Thompson, claiming it is time the Olympic Stadium and its surrounding venues in Stratford were put on the map.
Sir Robin, who supported West Ham in their successful bid to move ito the Stadium after the 2012 Games, said: "We're disappointed that there appears to be no plans to update the EastEnders title sequence to include the transformation under way in London's East End."
Sir Robin, a member of the Olympic Park Legacy Board which helps decide what happens to the venues after 2012, said: "A number of key landmarks for the Games are already in place, including the Olympic Stadium, Velodrome and Aquatics Centre.
"The BBC is the Olympic broadcaster of the 2012 Games and I've asked the director-general to intervene to ensure the Stadium and other symbols of East End regeneration on put firmly - and rightly - on the map."
In 2009 the opening sequence got a make-over for the first time in 10 years to include the Millenium Dome, now re-named the 02 Arena which is one of the Olympic venues and will stage the gymnastics.
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London 2012 chiefs have already held talks with ITV and the BBC about using storylines about the Games in popular programmes such as EastEnders over the next year.
Other soaps such as Coronation Street and Neighbours have in the past included topical sporting events in episodes.
Manchester-based Coronation Street pledged its support to the city's bid for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, with resident shopkeeper Norris Cole becoming a fictional steward at the event.
And Aussie hit Neighbours made a series of references to Sydney's hosting of the Olympic Games of 2000.
The Sun
EastEnders bosses have insisted they will not be updating the soap's opening credits to include the Olympic Park.
Local mayor Sir Robin Wales, whose Newham borough includes the iconic Park, wrote a letter to BBC director-general Mark Thompson proposing the change to the iconic title sequence. The credits were made prior to the Olympic Stadium and its surrounding venues in Stratford being built and features aerial map shots showing East London and the River Thames.
An EastEnders spokeswoman said: "A letter has been received and it will be responded to in due course - but we will not be updating the credits.
"We updated them last year for the 25th anniversary and for HD. But the Olympics will be referred to in the show and have already been mentioned several times, and that will be ongoing."
Sir Robin, who sits on the London organising committee for the Games, had asked the soap's chiefs to "update the iconic EastEnders title sequence to include the transformation already underway in London's East End" in his letter.
He wrote: "I would ask that you intervene to ensure that as the Olympic broadcaster of the 2012 London Olympics, the BBC helps to support our regeneration efforts as we look to ensure they inspire people in Newham, across London and beyond. I trust therefore that you will help ensure that the Olympic Stadium and other iconic symbols of East End regeneration are put firmly - and rightly - on the map."
The EastEnders credits were amended in 1999 to include the Millennium Dome, now re-named the 02 Arena, and underwent a makeover in 2009 to include a three-dimensional coloured map and a tweaked theme tune.
PA
Reports in today's News of the World quote BBC sources as saying June Brown has signed a new one year contract for £300000..
Now I think June is a fine actress but that is disgusting. It's well seen that the BBC doesn't give two flying figs about the licence payers
Bit more info:
June Brown has signed a new 'EastEnders' deal to become the show's second-highest earner.
The 84-year-old actress - who plays chain-smoking Dot Cotton - will now be paid a reported £300,000-a-year after bosses of the BBC One soap feared she might leave after a year of controversial storylines.
Her new deal means only Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell) is paid more than her and producers are thrilled she decided to stay on.
An insider told the News of the World newspaper: "June is soap royalty. The BBC pulled out all the stops.
"It's great news for June and 'EastEnders' fans."
A show spokesman added: "Viewers will be pleased to hear they can continue to enjoy June's brilliant work."
In 2009, June admitted she was worried her alter-ego Dot could be killed off in a bid for the show to save money.
She said: "If they want to drop you, most often they will give you a rather unpleasant storyline.
"The public always equate the character to the actor - and then everyone says, 'Oh I don't like him at all - I'll be glad to when he's gone'. They ease it in. You're in the hands of the Gods."
(C) BANG Media International
Just reading below this and it seem beetroot man gets paid more.. what about Ian who has been in it since beginning???Quote:
Originally Posted by alan45
EastEnders star Sid Owen may be taking a break from the soap to focus on charity work, but his former co-star Natalie Cassidy thinks it's about time he focused on becoming a dad too.
The actor, who plays loveable Ricky Butcher, has left the soap temporarily and jetted off to India to help build wells with the Drop 4 Drop charity.
But Natalie - who played Ricky's sister-in-law Sonia Fowler in EastEnders - wrote in her New! magazine column: "It's all very admirable but, Sid, when are we going to hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet? He's been with his partner, Polly Parsons, for years and I'd love to see him become a dad."
She also sought to ease fan's fears that the popular character might be leaving the soap for good.
"For anyone who's worried, the lovely Sid Owen isn't leaving EastEnders, he's merely having a few months off to do some charity work," she said.
PA
Kara Tointon is to make her West End debut in May, in an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion.
The former EastEnders actress and current Strictly Come Dancing champion will take on the role of Eliza Doolittle in the play, which was the basis of musical My Fair Lady.
Starring opposite Rupert Everett, Tointon will portray a London flower girl selected to be transformed into a lady by Everett's Professor Henry Higgins.
Commenting on the news, Tointon's former Strictly Come Dancing co-star Tina O'Brien told the PA: "That is great news. She will make the best Eliza, she will be brilliant."
Pygmalion opens at the Garrick Theatre on May 12, running until September 3.
DS
You know I used to like Natalie Cassidy when she played Sonia, but she's slowly begining to get on my nerves like Kym Marsh. Who is she to say that Sid Owen should start a family. And being honest Sid leaving the soap for a while is not a huge surprise. He always conviently finds an excuse to take a break when Bianca is out of the picture. He needs Patsy there to hang on her coat tails as his acting is useless without her.