The 9 0'Clock News – Wed 8 Oct

Posted by heatworld on Wednesday 08 Oct 2008

Filed under: Amelle Berrabah, Ashley Tisdale, High School Musical, Paul McCartney, Simon Cowell, Sugababes, The X Factor, Tom Jones, Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron

8,000 fans turn out to see Zac Efron!
Did any of you hear a strange sound early yesterday evening? Well, it could well have been the sound of 8,000 – yes, eight THOUSAND, fans screaming for their idol Zac Efron. The hunky actor joined his co-stars Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale and Corbin Bleu for the glittering premiere of High School Musical 3: Senior Year in London's Leicester Square – but we think even he was shocked by the scenes that greeted him. Line upon line of screaming and excited female fans lined the pavements, with many dressed as cheerleaders and some who had waited for hours in the drizzle to catch a glimpse of the lovely Zac. There were also banners everywhere proclaiming "I love Zac Efron". The actor himself looked stunned as he took in the reception, proclaiming, "It's crazy and insane here. It's a reality check when we get such a reception." Even Gordon Ramsay, who brought along his four kids as a treat, was impressed. "It's great for the kids to have such positive role models," he said. Are you a HSM fan, or maybe you're simply a Zac Efron fan...? Will you be rushing out (with your ten-year-old niece, to style it out) to see the film?

Simon hasn’t seen his contestants in a month
According to reports, Simon Cowell hasn't been paying too much attention to his group of X Factor finalists this year. With the first live show just a few days away, Simon is said to only keep in touch with Scott Bruton, Austin Drage and Eoghan Quigg through his personal assistant, while fellow judge Cheryl Cole has had her singers Diane Vickers, Alexandra Burke and Laura White over for dinner and spends hours with them on the phone. A show source said, "He's not exactly been hands on. Simon is busy, but he could have called to make them feel special." And one of Simons hopefuls, Scott added, "He's always in LA doing promotion for American Idol, flitting here and there." But, an X Factor spokesperson said the music mogel's acts were not missing out, saying, "Simon has been away but has a team of experts, who he is in constant contact with, working with singers."

Sugababe Amelle is NOT happy with Tom Jones...
He's famous for reducing ladies to knicker-hurling wrecks, but it seems Tom Jones may have finally lost his touch with the girls. Sugababes Amelle, Heidi and Keisha were not impressed with the Welsh crooner's behaviour when they met him at Monday's Q Awards. "He's so rude," Amelle complained, after explaining that Tom had snubbed the band backstage. "I saw him at the awards and as he walked past I said 'Hi' and gave him a wave. He just looked at me like, 'who are you?'" Amelle continued. Heidi later tried to speak to the singer at the pub after-party, but again found herself totally ignored. "He thought she was a groupie," said Amelle. Only when someone explained to Tom who the girls were did he turn on the charm, but by then the damage had already been done. "He's just a rude old man!" blasted Amelle. Oh dear... Maybe they're being a bit hard on him. The guy is, you know, pretty ancient now, and we're not sure our grandad would know one Sugababe from another, either.

Sir Paul’s rep: “McDonalds are morons”
Sir Paul McCartney, a vegetarian campaigner, is majorly furious with McDonalds after they hung a photograph of him in one of their stores. Sir Paul’s portrait appears alongside band mate John Lennon and fellow veggies Ringo Starr and the late George Harrison. Sir Paul’s spokesperson said, "What sort of morons do McDonalds think Beatles fans are? It's ridiculous and insulting to use images to peddle hamburgers. Fans should boycott McDonalds – and not just in Liverpool." The Beatles star and his late wife Linda campaigned for animal rights, and Linda even had her own range of vegetarian food, but McDonalds claim the snap is simply there to recognise his great work. A spokesperson adding that the pictures were to "acknowledge the outstanding contribution the Beatles made to both local and global culture."