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Last Updated: Saturday, 24 December 2005, 10:25 GMT

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Entertainment review of the year

5 January, 2005

Jude Law and Sienna Miller announce engagement

8 January, 2005

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston separate
Hollywood golden couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston announce their separation after seven years. "We happily remain committed and caring friends with great love and admiration for one another" the couple say in a joint statement.

16 January, 2005

Elvis scores 1000th number one
Elvis Presley's rereleased single One Night makes history by becoming the 1000th number one and his 20th UK chart topper.

31 January, 2005

Michael Jackson goes on trial for child abuse
The world's media decamp to the small Californian town of Santa Maria as jury selection begins in the trial of pop icon Michael Jackson who faces 10 counts of child abuse and conspiracy.

3 February, 2005

Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty arrested

9 February, 2005

Scissor Sisters triumph at Brit Awards
US band Scissor Sisters lead the winners at the UK music industry's Brit Awards walking off with three prizes.

10 February, 2005

US playwright Arthur Miller dies
Playwright Arthur Miller whose awardwinning works include The Crucible and Death of a Salesman dies in New York at the age of 89 after months of poor health.

21 February, 2005

Maverick writer Hunter S Thompson commits suicide
American counterculture writer Hunter S Thompson is found dead at his home in Colorado. The pioneer of 'gonzo journalism' reportedly shot himself while on the telephone to his wife.

27 February, 2005

Million Dollar Baby beats The Aviator to top Oscars
Clint Eastwood's boxing drama Million Dollar Baby beats Martin Scorsese's The Aviator to win best film and best director at the Academy Awards. Eastwood's leading lady Hilary Swank wins best actress while best actor goes to Ray star Jamie Foxx.

16 March, 2005

US TV star Robert Blake is cleared of murdering his wife
Former Baretta star Robert Blake is found not guilty of murdering his wife Bonny Lee Bakley in May 2001 following a criminal case that lasted nearly four years.

20 March, 2005

Crooner Tony Christie in chart comeback

31 March, 2005

Actor Christopher Eccleston quits Doctor Who
Actor Christopher Eccleston quits as the ninth Doctor Who less than a week after the first episode of the revived BBC series is screened attracting an audience of 10 million.

2 April, 2005

La Scalas Riccardo Muti resigns over staff hostility.

16 April, 2005

Casanova star David Tennant named new Doctor Who

17 April, 2005

Legal downloads join revamped UK singles chart
The first official UK singles chart to count legal music downloads is launched following the rapid growth in the popularity of songs bought over the internet.

20 April, 2005

World premiere of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Arthur Dent makes his big screen debut as the longawaited film of Douglas Adams' cult radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy premieres in London's Leicester Square.

23 April, 2005

Veteran British actor Sir John Mills dies aged 97
Actor Sir John Mills whose extensive film repertoire included Great Expectations and Ryan's Daughter for which he won an Oscar dies at his Buckinghamshire home following a chest infection.

15 May, 2005

The final instalment of the Star Wars saga premieres in Cannes
Stormtroopers line the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival as director George Lucas attends the world premiere of prequel Revenge of the Sith the final film in the Star Wars series that began in 1977.

17 May, 2005

Singer Kylie Minogue diagnosed with breast cancer
Australian pop star Kylie Minogue 36 postpones a worldwide tour and cancels a headline appearance at Glastonbury to begin treatment for breast cancer. "Hopefully all will work out fine and I'll be back with you all again soon" the singer says in a statement.

23 May, 2005

BBC staff strike over plans to cut more than 3000 jobs
Strike action severely disrupts some BBC TV and radio networks after staff walk out over plans by new director general Mark Thompson to cut 3780 jobs.

13 June, 2005

Michael Jackson cleared of child abuse
Pop star Michael Jackson is found not guilty of all 10 charges at the end of his fourmonthlong child abuse trial. His lawyer Thomas Mesereau says "Justice was served. Michael Jackson is innocent."

17 June, 2005

Tom Cruise annouces his engagement to actress Katie Holmes
Hollywood star Tom Cruise 42 proposes to actress Katie Holmes 26 at the Eiffel Tower in Paris less than three months after they began dating.

24 June, 2005

Glastonbury Festival disrupted by floods
Heavy rain causes chaos on the opening day of the Glastonbury Festival with lightning knocking out power lines and dozens of tents lost under water.

26 June, 2005

Countdown presenter Richard Whiteley dies aged 61
British viewers mourn as television presenter and journalist Richard Whiteley dies in Leeds General Infirmary days after undergoing heart surgery.

2 July, 2005

Music stars unite around the world for Live 8
Madonna U2 and Pink Floyd are among the music stars who come together for Live 8 a series of concerts around the world which call on political leaders to tackle poverty in Africa.

16 July, 2005

Latest book in the Harry Potter series goes on sale
Parties around the world celebrate the release of Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince the sixth book in the JK Rowling's bestselling series. The wizard adventure smashes sales records selling almost nine million copies in the first 24 hours.

18 July, 2005

Jude Law expresses sincere regret over his affair with nanny Daisy Wright

22 July, 2005

Director Roman Polanski wins libel case against Vanity Fair
Roman Polanski testifying via videolink from Paris to avoid extradition wins XXX50000 libel damages at London's High Court. The US magazine claimed he propositioned a woman shortly after his wife actress Sharon Tate was murdered in 1969.

10 August, 2005

Cult US TV drama Lost debuts on Channel 4

22 August, 2005

The Rolling Stones kick off world tour in Boston

14 September, 2005

Pop star Britney Spears gives birth to baby boy
The 23yearold singer Britney Spears gives birth to her first child a son called Preston following a Caesarean section. "Everyone is happy healthy and doing wonderful" Spears tells fans.

16 September, 2005

Actress Renee Zellweger seeks annulment after four months of marriage
Oscarwinning actress Renee Zellweger 36 seeks to end her marriage to country singer Kenny Chesney citing "fraud" four months after their whirlwind courtship saw them marry on a tropical island.

23 September, 2005

ITV celebrates its 50th anniversary

4 October, 2005

Comedy legend Ronnie Barker dies
Comedian Ronnie Barker best known as half of the TV duo The Two Ronnies dies at the age of 76. "Ronnie was pure gold in triplicate as a performer a writer and a friend" says his onscreen partner Ronnie Corbett.

10 October, 2005

Wallace and Gromit sets destroyed in warehouse fire
Props and sets belonging to the Oscarwinning filmmakers Aardman Animations are lost when a fire breaks out in a Bristol warehouse. The news comes as Aardman's first Wallace and Gromit feature film tops the US box office.

11 October, 2005

John Banville celebrates Booker Prize win for his novel The Sea

13 October, 2005

British playwright Harold Pinter wins the Nobel Prize for literature

14 October, 2005

Actor Daniel Craig unveiled as the new James Bond
Britain's Daniel Craig the 37yearold star of Layer Cake promises a "tougher grittier" 007 as he becomes the sixth official James Bond. The 21st Bond movie Casino Royale is due to start filming in January.

11 November, 2005

Photographer Lord Lichfield dies aged 66 following a stroke

15 November, 2005

Madonna launches new album with intimate UK gig
To celebrate the release of her new album Confessions on a Dance Floor fans queue overnight to hear Madonna play a live gig at the north London club where she first wowed British fans 22 years ago.

21 November, 2005

New Harry Potter proves most successful film in UK cinema history
Directed by Britain's Mike Newell Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire the fourth film in the boy wizard series breaks UK box office records making �XXX14.9m in three days says its distributor.

25 November, 2005

Hit nineties boy band Take That announce reunion
Four members of charttopping boy band Take That announce plans to reform for a reunion tour next year 10 years after they split up but solo star Robbie Williams will not be involved. The band add 18 new dates after the first 11 concerts sold out within 30 minutes.

5 December, 2005

King Kong and Narnia shape up for blockbuster battle
The battle of the blockbusters warms up as Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong premieres in New York a day ahead of Disney's big screen Chronicles of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

13 December, 2005

Brokeback Mountain leads Globe nominations
Ang Lee's cowboy romance Brokeback Mountain dominates the Golden Globes awards shortlist with seven nominations including best film drama best director and best actor for Heath Ledger.

21 December, 2005

Elton John weds longterm partner David Furnish
Singer Elton John celebrates his civil partnership to David Furnish his partner of 12 years at a ceremony in Berkshire. The couple are among the first to take advantage of new legislation making gay civil partnerships legal in the UK.