Seen in her final episode as feisty EastEnder Bianca on Friday, Palmer will stand in for GMTV's Lorraine Kelly for a week next month.

"It's great to be asked to stand in for Lorraine. I think she does a brilliant job and it is a wonderful opportunity for me to do something a bit different, though I don't plan to give up my acting career," said Palmer.

She will host the Lorraine Live section of the show from Miami, reporting on fashion, lifestyle, health and fitness from 9am on Monday 18 October.

Holiday record for Willis movie

The Sixth Sense has set a new record for the US Labor Day holiday, taking $28.5m (�17.8m) over the four days.

The supernatural thriller starring Bruce Willis topped The Fugitive which set a $17.2m (�10.7m) mark in 1993.

The film joins Titanic as the only movie to gross more than $20m (�12.5m) five weekends in a row.

The Sixth Sense, which also stars Australian actress Toni Collette and British star Olivia Williams, will be released in the UK on 5 November.

Whitney 'wants to play Glastonbury'

Soul superstar Whitney Houston is keen to swap her stadium gigs for a country field by asking to play at next year's Glastonbury Festival, it has emerged.

Organiser Michael Eavis told music paper NME that representatives of the star had approached him about singing at the 2000 event.

Houston is to perform in Sheffield this week, kicking off her first UK tour in six years with a handful of dates.

'Eyes' too steamy for Singapore

Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut might not be screened in Singapore because authorities in the country have refused to allow the film to be shown uncut.

The government-appointed Films Appeals Committee has insisted that a scene involving oral sex between two women be cut.

The panel also said chanting from the sacred Hindu text the Bhagavad Gita - which accompanies an orgy scene - is religiously sensitive and must be "muted or replaced".

Kubrick edited the film for American censors but distributor Warner Bros, has warned it's prevented by contract from showing the film with any further cuts.

British audiences will be able to see the uncut version, starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, when it opens in the UK on 10 September.

Singer Mary J Blige to break into films

R'n'B star Mary J Blige is set to make her acting debut in a new American film called Prison Song.

Elvis Costello and rappers Q-Tip and Fat Joe have also been lined up to appear in the project, with Robert De Niro listed as one of the producers.

The urban musical will trace the journey of a young black man through poverty and a spell in prison.

Shooting is due to begin in New York later this month.

Kidman and Campion to work on new film

Eyes Wide Shut star Nicole Kidman is teaming up with fellow antipodean Jane Campion on a new movie project.

The New Zealand director, who recently finished filming Holy Smoke with Kate Winslet, first worked with Kidman on The Portrait of a Lady in 1996.

Their latest project is based on the steamy novel In the Cut.

Kidman stars as a university professor who becomes involved with a detective investigating the murder of one of her neighbours.

Thai court reopens DiCaprio movie case

A Thai court has reopened the case against movie producers alleged to have ruined an island paradise while shooting Leonardo DiCaprio's new film.

Local administrators allege filming of The Beach destroyed the fragile eco-system of Maya Bay, on Phi Phi island.

A compensation claim has been lodged for more than �1.6m against 20th Century Fox and a local producer.

The court scheduled further hearings for 19 November and 12 December.

Rock band Queen to star in documentary

An evening dedicated to the musical legacy of rock band Queen will be shown on Channel 4 later this year.

Queen For A Night will pay homage to the band formerly fronted by Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991.

A one-hour documentary will include classic archive clips from their two decades as a major force in music.

The band had a string of hits in the 70s and 80s including Bohemian Rhapsody and Radio Gaga.

Hefner life story to hit silver screen

Legendary womaniser and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner is to have his life story made into a movie and wants gay British star Rupert Everett to play the leading role.

The porn mogul says that he decided he wanted Everett to play him after seeing the star in My Best Friend's Wedding and An Ideal Husband.

"I decided that I'd finally seen an actor who has as much charm as I do," he says.