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Sinbad says farewell to Brookside
Brookside actor Michael Starke - Sinbad in the Channel 4 soap - is to leave the series after more than a decade.
Starke, 42, will stay in the soap until September 2000, but is keen to go back to his roots in the theatre and develop other activities in film, TV and music.
He said: "I am excited about the future. I feel the time is right to develop some projects I have been unable to pursue.
"It will be very hard leaving Brookside, but I have another nine months to look forward to."
The unlucky-in-love window cleaner will not be killed off, however.
Phil Redmond, head of Brookside's production company, Mersey Television, said: "We adopt a revolving door policy. We wish Michael the best of luck."
Writer Jimmy McGovern helped create the character of Sinbad, which was instrumental in the Jordache body-under-the-patio storyline which attracted nine million viewers in the mid-1990s.
Sir Cliff on Sky
One of Sir Cliff Richard's charity concerts in Birmingham this month will be broadcast as a pay-per-view television special.
BSkyB will be showing the concert on 19 December at the National Indoor Arena on the Sky Box Office channel.
It could prove to be a triumphant show for Sir Cliff - he will find out that evening if his Millennium Prayer has become the Christmas number one.
The 59-year-old said: "Now that all the dates on this tour have pretty much sold out it seemed like a great opportunity to enable even more people to come and join in the fun from the comfort of their own homes."
All proceeds from ticket sales from the shows - including a gala show on New Year's Eve - will go to the Children's Promise charity.
His current number one single, The Millennium Prayer, is currently outselling its nearest rival by two to one, according to unofficial sales figures.
Eagles fly high with sales honour
Veteran rockers The Eagles have been honoured for producing America's biggest-selling album of the century.
The band were given a commemorative plaque to mark their Greatest Hits 1971-75 collection, which sold 26 million copies.
The Eagles, best known for songs like Hotel California, were presented with the award by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Michael Jackson's Thriller is the world's biggest-selling album.
Special honour bestowed on actor Kirk
Legendary actor Kirk Douglas has been presented with the Spencer Tracy Award for outstanding achievement in drama.
Douglas, who is 83 on Thursday, received the 11th annual honour from Spencer Tracy's daughter Susie in Los Angeles.
Past recipients have included James Stewart, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster and Douglas' son, Michael, who received it in 1990.
Douglas' first film in five years, Diamonds, opens in the US on Friday.
Mr Bean star builds 'garden Dome'
Actor Rowan Atkinson is building a replica of the Millennium Dome in the back garden of his Oxfordshire home, according to newspaper reports.
The Mr Bean star is spending �50,000 on a 40-foot mini-Dome for his own Millennium party, says The Sun.
It adds that the 44-year-old actor's neighbours are not impressed by the on-going construction work. The mini-Dome will be taken down after the party.
Fans mourn Lennon's tragic anniversary
Music fans across the world are in mourning on Wednesday on the 19th anniversary of John Lennon's murder.
The Beatles legend was shot dead outside his New York appartment by obsessed fan Mark Chapman on 8 December 1980.
Lennon's classic song Imagine is being re-released on Monday and is one of the favourites to be the Christmas number one and the millennium's first chart-topper.
Imagine is up against the likes of Westlife and Sir Cliff Richard.
New role for EastEnders star Patsy
Former EastEnders star Patsy Palmer is to star alongside Ballykissangel star Tony Doyle in a one-off drama for the BBC - her first role since quitting the soap.
The 27-year-old will play Doyle's rebellious daughter in McCready and Daughter, focusing on a family detective business in north London.
"It's very different from the part of Bianca and I am thrilled to be playing opposite such a great actor as Tony Doyle," Palmer explained.
Filming is due to begin in February.
Blair Witch duo: Horror's not our forte
The two directors of hugely-hyped horror movie The Blair Witch Project have confirmed their next film is a comedy.
Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez say Heart Of Love will be "Monty Python meets Airplane", according to the US trade paper Daily Variety.
"It's the film we probably would have done first if we'd had the money," Myrick told reporters in Sydney. "We don't want to be pigeonholed as horror directors because it's not our forte."
I'm not just a pretty face says Hurley
Liz Hurley has hit out at critics who claim her only talent lies in looking good at celebrity parties.
The 34-year-old face of Estee Lauder turned up for a bash at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art this week in another revealing number.
But she insisted: "I get livid when people who've never set eyes on me write unjust and pathetic things about me."
She added: "If I go to a premiere I will put on a dress, that's fair."
Young to host ITV version of Crimewatch
Newsreader Kirsty Young is to be the sole anchor of an ITV version of the BBC's Crimewatch.
The 30-year-old presenter, who recently joined ITV from Channel 5, will do a one-hour pilot of the show in the New Year.
If the programme is deemed successful, it will be rolled out into a series.
"While it is similar to Crimewatch, it will have its own unique features," a senior ITV executive said.
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See also: | |
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 | 22 Nov 98 | Entertainment |
| Patsy Palmer to leave EastEnders |
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| 06 Dec 99 | Entertainment |
| Race is on for McCartney tickets |
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| 27 Oct 99 | Entertainment |
| Mr Bean crashes sports car |
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| 11 Aug 99 | Entertainment |
| Hurley steals Hugh's limelight |
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| 06 Dec 99 | Entertainment |
| Veteran Douglas is still a knockout |
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| Instant Karma! Lennon fan site |
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