The 9 0'Clock News – Mon 19 Oct

Posted by heatworld on Monday 19 Oct 2009

Filed under: Alexandra Burke, Boyzone, Joe Calzaghe, Kristina Rihanoff, Robbie Williams, Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor, Celebrity

Boyzone stars say farewell to Stephen Gately:
Boyzone stars Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham celebrated the life of their "brother" and close friend Stephen Gately this weekend at a wake that lasted 12 hours. The stars forked out almost £50,000 on champagne for 400 guests, with Shane declaring, "We gave him the farewell he deserved. It was a brilliant night, fitting for a brilliant person. We will never forget him." The wake began straight after the funeral on Saturday afternoon, and guests were offered a sit-down meal and drinks all night. Video highlights from Stephen's career were also played, and several close friends made speeches. A clearly emotional Ronan made a speech at the funeral where he said, "The world has lost one of its brightest stars – we have lost our brother." Police have confirmed that the star died of natural causes.

Rikki gets the boot on X Factor – and Simon blames Cheryl
Rikki Loney became the second contestant to be booted off The X Factor last night, losing out at the final hurdle to a shaken Rachel. The pair found themselves in the bottom two – Rachel for the second week running – and Simon Cowell was given the responsibility of deciding who to save. Before choosing to save a tearful Rachel, Simon blasted both Cheryl and Dannii for not providing their acts with the right material. Rikki admitted he was "totally gutted", but oddly managed to hold it together much better than he did during the early audition stages. A blubbing Rachel later told Holly Willoughby on The Xtra Factor that she'd "had enough", weeping, "I can't do this anymore!" Oh dear... There of course was plenty more action during this weekend's X Factor, so stay with heatworld today so we can discuss it all in detail! Do YOU think Rikki was the right act to go?

Joe is out of Strictly, but Kristina's clearly smitten
Joe Calzaghe became the fifth celebrity to leave Strictly Come Dancing over on BBC1 this weekend, despite his hot rumoured romance with dance partner Kristina Rihanoff. Joe, like Rikki, admitted he was "gutted" to be leaving, but Kristina was quick to give him a boost, saying afterwards, "He's the nicest and kindest person I've ever met. I think any woman would say the same thing." Former judge Arlene Phillips said today that she thinks the dance couple's close relationship was in fact their downfall, because they played it out in the media rather than on the dance floor. "The romances this year are out there for all to see," she told The Sun. "So it all becomes meaningless on the dance floor. There is no mystery." Do you think Joe was the right choice to go?

Alexandra goes to Number One – but loses £1,000!
Alexandra Burke stormed into the Number One spot this weekend with her hit Bad Boys – but found herself out of pocket in the process. The X Factor champ had bet Simon Cowell £1,000 that she wouldn't beat Robbie Williams to the top spot, but in fact she sold almost 100,000 copies more than him. Alex will not be giving the cash to Simon, thank God (as if he needs it), but will instead be donating the entire sum to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. We like her more and more. Alexandra, who was "overwhelmed" to hear she'd beaten Robbie, said of the former Take That singer, "Robbie was absolutely lovely when we met in rehearsal – he gave me some great advice. Next time I'm in LA I'd love to meet up with him, hang out, be friends and maybe one day perform together." Um, OK, you're just making us jealous now, love.