The 9 0'Clock News – Fri 25 Jul

Posted by heatworld on Friday 25 Jul 2008

Filed under: Amanda Holden, Christian Bale, Peaches Geldof, Piers Morgan, Russell Brand, Simon Cowell

Peaches faces sack from iTunes:
Peaches Geldof is reportedly in danger of being sacked from her job as host of ITV2's iTunes Festival, after bosses from Apple learned of her alleged drug overdose. The 19-year-old wannabe, who has been presenting the show with cheeky chappie Dave Berry, has apparently enraged the top brass at Apple with her latest antics. A source said, "They were furious and have been in talks with ITV chiefs over whether to sack Peaches. They are a massive worldwide brand. If your audience is thousands of teens, you've got to be careful." Despite the speculation, Peaches returned to work yesterday after ITV had allowed her a few days off in the wake of the suspected overdose. She also, rather bizarrely, was wearing a ring on her engagement finger, but admitted to photographers that it was "just a joke" and that's she has no plans to get married. Okaaay. Peaches has yet to officially comment on the overdose reports, but has been quoted as saying recently that all she cares about is "music and love". Maybe she should add "health" to that list.

Russell Brand to host MTV awards
Russell Brand has landed a top TV job – he will host the MTV Awards in September. The comedian, who has wowed the Americans with his witty charm, will scoop a whopping $1million for the gig and will be the first Brit to ever present the show. Russell has spent a year in the States and it has paid off – he was named one of the top ten comics to watch in the Hollywood bible Variety and has even landed himself a role in the sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall as well as a part in an Adam Sandler film. Sandler has also agreed to produce a film co-written by Brand and his BBC radio partner, Matt Morgan, about a conman posing as a priest. A source said: "The MTV gig is a huge deal for Russell. He will be beamed into living rooms right across America – everyone will know who he is by the end of the night. It's going to be tough, but he has handled live awards shows before. And his stand-up gigs in America have gone down a storm so he should get some encouragement in that."

Christian Bale speaks about assault
Batman star Christian Bale spoke out for the first time yesterday about his mum and sister's alleged assault – and claimed it was a "deeply personal matter". The 34-year-old actor, who is also famous for his roles in American Psycho and The Machinist, is alleged to have "pushed and shoved" his mother Jenny during a row over money. It is claimed that Jenny asked her son to loan £100,000 to his sister Sharon, 41, to help her bring up her three kids, but Bale refused, sparking a nasty argument. Christian has denies the allegations through his lawyers, Questioned about the incident while promoting The Dark Knight in Barcelona yesterday, Bale told reporters firmly, "I would ask you to respect my privacy in the matter." The actor is said to still be struggling to come to terms with his pal Heath Ledger's death, especially as he's now promoting the film they worked on together. He has also admitted before that he can be an "a**ehole" to work with. Christian was bailed by police over the incident, but must return to London in September.

Rossy slags of Piers
Jonathan Ross has laid into Piers Morgan, saying the Britain's Got Talent judge was "sculpted from lard". But it wasn't only Piers that got the barbed end of Ross' tongue on Charlotte Church's chat show. Amanda Holden also got a blasting, with the funnyman saying, "Simon (Cowell) knows what he's talking about, but Amanda and Piers... they're just a waste. What's she ever done? I'm not a fan of the show." Sigh, heatworld loves it when celebs slag each other off!