Pamela Stephenson's biography of her comedian husband Billy Connolly is the year's biggest-selling book.

Stephenson's book �Billy� sold 517,811 copies this year, with Nick Hornby's novel How To Be Good in second place with 477,522 copies.

The third biggest was JK Rowling's Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, which sold 464, 985, according to Nielsen BookScan.

The last three years have seen the list topped by Harry Potter books

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Young wins TV poll

Pop Idol winner Will Young has been voted the Television Personality Of The Year.

He beat Ant and Dec, Graham Norton and Cat Deeley in a poll voted by readers of TV Choice, TV Quick, TV Times and What's On TV.

The 23-year-old has had a remarkable year since winning Pop Idol in February.

His debut single, Evergreen/Anything Is Possible became the fastest-selling single of all time.

It sold over a million copies in its first week.

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Oprah escapes tent collapse

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey narrowly escaped injury when a marquee collapsed during a function in South Africa, injuring 10.

The group, including two children, were hurt when sudden gusts of wind toppled the tent at the Cholphasie secondary school, near Umtata in the Eastern Cape province. Winfrey was outside.

She was in the country presenting Christmas gifts to schoolchildren as part of her charity work with the Oprah Winfrey Foundation.

She is also planning to adopt a poor rural village, where she will feed villagers for a year.

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Reeve to ring in new year

Actor Christopher Reeve will join New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in ringing in the New Year in Manhattan's Times Square.

Reeve, 50, and his wife, Dana, were selected to lead the celebration because of their "combined strength and courage", said Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Business Improvement District.

Reeve has been an activist for spinal cord research since being left paralysed from the neck down in horse-riding accident in 1995.

Last year's celebrations in New York were cancelled after the 11 September attacks on the city's World Trade Center.

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Ross to head FilmFour

Channel 4 head of drama Tessa Ross is to take charge of the broadcaster's film division, FilmFour.

Ross has been involved with dramas and films such as Ken Loach's The Navigators: Stephen Frears' Liam; and White Teeth, the adaptation of Zadie Smith's acclaimed book.

She was formerly head of drama for the BBC's now defunct Independent Commissioning Group.

Channel 4 wants to return to its low-budget roots of films such as My Beautiful Laundrette and Letter To Brezhnev.

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Elliott steps in at ITV

ITV head of drama Nick Elliott is to run the network for six weeks in the new year until new programme director Nigel Pickard starts in February.

Mr Elliott, 58, will step in at ITV1 until David Liddiment's replacement begins on 17 February.

Mr Elliott, 58, who has worked in TV since 1966, has held roles including head of features at LWT, overseeing programmes including The South Bank Show.

Since becoming ITV drama controller in 1995, he has commissioned shows including Cold Feet, At Home With the Braithwaites and Footballers' Wives.

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Leigh backs safety campaign

Director Mike Leigh has made a film as part of a cinema campaign to warn Londoners of the dangers of taking rides in unlicensed minicabs.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone unveiled the short film on Thursday, which he commissioned for his pre-Christmas cinema campaign, Know What You Are Getting Into.

The film will be shown at cinemas all over London warning of the dangers of using illegal minicab touts and promoting safer ways of travelling at night.

The film by Leigh, known for bitter-sweet real-life dramas, centres around a male driver explaining how he cannot get job with a record for sexual assault - but it has not stopped him picking up women in his car.

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Beyonce signs Pepsi deal

Destiny's Child star Beyonce Knowles has signed a deal with soft drinks giant Pepsi.

She will appear in at least two television commercials for the company together with radio and internet ads. The company may also sponsor a tour.

Previous stars to sign deals with the company include Michael Jackson, Madonna and Britney Spears.

Spears' endorsement contract with the company finishes at the end of the year

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Trinny and Susannah sign three-book deal

Style gurus Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine have struck a three-book deal based around their hit BBC Two show What Not to Wear.

Publisher Weidenfeld & Nicholson signed the duo for three more books after their first book from the show became a bestseller.

In the programme, Woodall and Constantine deliver often harsh advice and reprimands to a member of public - generally female - in an attempt to turnaround her (or his) fashion sense, for the better.

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