The 9 0'Clock News – Tue 25 Aug

Posted by heatworld on Tuesday 25 Aug 2009

Filed under: Alesha Dixon, Amy Winehouse, Arlene Phillips, Blake Fielder-Civil, Craig Revel Horwood, Mark Owen, Michael Jackson, Strictly Come Dancing, Take That

Michael Jackson – it was homicide:
The death of Michael Jackson is being treated as homicide, it was revealed last night. A Los Angeles coroner has ruled that the pop superstar was killed illegally, after dangerous levels of powerful sedatives were found in his body. Now the star's personal doctor Conrad Murray is facing some tough questions, as legal sources in the US hint that he may be charged with manslaughter any day now. Dr Murray has already admitted to police that he gave Jacko a cocktail of drugs to help battle his insomnia, and it was the last of these, Propofol, that is thought to have caused the fatal cardiac arrest. The powerful drug is usually only used to put patients to sleep before operations in hospital, and experts say it's highly unusual to find it in private homes. As well as investigating Dr Conrad Murray, police have asked to see the records of three other doctors who had treated the star in the past. The Jackson family are said to have "total confidence" in the police discovering the truth about what happened.

Strictly Craig blasts new judge Alesha
Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has blasted new colleague Alesha Dixon, saying she'll never be as good as axed Arlene Phillips. "A celebrity contestant can never match someone who has been dancing their entire lives," he says. "It's going to be different because Arlene and I argued and had a lot of banter." Arlene, meanwhile, will now be featuring on the show after all – but as a choreographer rather than on the judging panel. She will be in charge of dreaming up the big group dances, and is also expected to have a regular slot on the BBC2 spin-off show It Takes Two. Later today the brand new line-up of celebs for this year's series will be announced, but early rumours hint that Hollyoaks' Ricky Whittle, Natalie Cassidy, The Bill's Ali Bastian, Crimewatch's Rav Wilding, EastEnders' Ricky Groves (Garry), Jo Wood, Zoe Lucker and actress Lynda Bellingham are among those about to pull on the Lycra and sequins.

Mark Owen plans November wedding
Take That's Mark Owen is set to marry his long-term girlfriend Emma Ferguson in November, it has been revealed today. The 37-year-old, who already has two children with Emma, will tie the knot at a castle in the Scottish Highlands, and friends say the ceremony will be private. All Mark's Take That pals are expected to attend, as is Robbie Williams. One source said last night, "It will be the perfect way for Mark to end what has been a perfect year." Awwww! Congratulations guys!

Amy is going to sue Blake’s mum!
Amy Winehouse is reportedly planning on suing her former mother-in-law, after a love letter she wrote to Blake was sold to a newspaper. Amy is said to be furious that her ex-husband's mum Georgette made money from the private letter, and she now wants compensation amounting to over £500,000. Oh dear. We thought she was doing everything she could to get back with Blaaaaakey at the moment? Just a thought, Amy, but we're not sure suing his mum is the best way of going about it. On the other hand, we don't want that to EVER happen, do we? Um, go for it, Amy!!