Mariah Carey is to star in hit US TV series Ally McBeal next year, it has been reported.

The globally famous singer, who recently made a comeback from an emotional breakdown, is to guest star in an episode on 6 January, the Hollywood Reporter said.

She is expected to sing Lead the Way, from her new album Glitter, and feature in the show alongside fellow singer Jon Bon Jovi, who is reportedly joining the cast as Ally's new love interest.

Carey recently appeared on TV in a telethon tribute for the victims of the US attacks, and performed at the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards.

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Tarrant to keep mouth shut

TV presenter and DJ Chris Tarrant is to keep quiet for a whole 24 hours - including during his Capital FM breakfast show - as part of a charity silence.

The presenter is among stars who have pledged to support a �1 million fundraising drive for homeless charity Centrepoint.

Newsreader Kirsty Young - who like Tarrant is a Centrepoint ambassador - is also taking part by working in the kitchens of the London club Soho House, which is owned by her husband Nick Jones.

The aim of the fundraising campaign, Who Wants To Be?, is for members of the public to become Centrepoint Challengers and raise �1,000 by coming up with unusual sponsored events.

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Crystal Gayle enters Hall of Fame

Country music singer Crystal Gayle has been inducted into the Native American Music Awards hall of fame.

Gayle, who is part Cherokee, performed her Grammy-winning song Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue, at the ceremony in New Mexico.

"This is such an honour just being out here and being part of something that I feel so much a part of," she said.

She also performed a new song called Back when Times Were Good, a chronicle of the struggles of American Indians through history.

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Midori awarded Avery Fisher Prize

Violinist Midori Goto is to be award the Avery Fisher Prize at a ceremony in New York on Monday.

The former child prodigy joins past winner such as cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Lynn Harrell, and pianists Garrick Ohlsson and Murray Perahia.

Goto became an international star in July 1986, after a scintillating performance of Leonard Bernstein's Serenade for Violin and String Orchestra with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

She made her professional debut with the New York Philharmonic when she was 11 years old.

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Science centre wins architecture award

An interactive science centre built inside a former South Yorkshire steelworks has won one of the UK's most prestigious architecture prizes.

The Magna Centre in Rotherham, which opened in April, was awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects' Stirling prize, and �20,000, in London on Sunday.

The Centre, designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, is a hands-on attraction that explores the themes of earth, air, fire and water.

"It is the most spectacular and eerie place in Europe to go into and kids and adults learn more about how the world works than from any other museum in the world," local MP Denis MacShane said.

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Burke 'to quit acting'

Film and TV star Kathy Burke is to stop acting because she is "losing the buzz", according to reports.

"I directed earlier this year and it was the happiest I've been for ages," she said, according to the Sunday Mirror newspaper.

Burke, 37, was named Best Actress at Cannes in 1997 for her role in Nil By Mouth, and has also starred in Love, Honour and Obey and Elizabeth as well as Harry Enfield's comedy TV show.

"I've been acting for 20 years but I'm losing the buzz so it's better to stop than carry on for the sake of it," she said.