Sir David Attenborough has questioned the number of lifestyle programmes on the BBC, calling the lack of serious programmes a "scandal".
Attenborough, giving a speech on the future role of Public Service Broadcasting, discussed the proliferation o
f fashionable programmes which he said were clogging up the network.
He questioned whether it was necessary to have so many shows about gardening, makeovers and celebrity chefs.
LENNOX PRAISEDSinger Annie Lennox will be honoured by the British Red Cross for her "outstanding" humanitarian work and her efforts for families affected by HIV and Aids.
She will receive the charity's Services to Humanity Award to recognise the significant humanitarian role she has played throughout her career.
The award will be presented by James Cochrane, chairman of the British Red Cross. Previous recipients included the late Luciano Pavarotti.
GANDALF SAFESir Ian McKellen has said he will reprise his role as Gandalf in the two-film adaptation of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit.
The Lord of the Rings star told Empire magazine he would definitely be back for more.
"Yes, it's true," he said, when asked if he was set to return. "Obviously, it's not a part that you turn down. I loved playing Gandalf."
OSAMA SON PLEAOne of Osama bin Laden's sons is planning a legal challenge in the UK after being refused permission to live with his British wife, she said.
Omar Ossama bin Ladin was told his visa application had been turned down at the British Embassy in Cairo because of suggestions he could still be loyal to his father, the most wanted man in the world. The 27-year-old lives in Cairo with his wife Zaina Alsabah-bin Ladin, formerly known as Jane Felix-Browne, a 52-year-old grandmother-of-five.
STAMP SPLITActor Terence Stamp has been divorced on the grounds of his unreasonable behaviour. He did not contest the "quickie" divorce granted to his wife, Elizabeth O'Rourke, pictured below.
The star of films including Far From The Madding Crowd and Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert was 64 when he married his 28-year-old bride in London on New Year's Eve 2002.
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