News Brief

Lesley-Anne Down’s trans-Atlantic success
“I am so lucky to be doing THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; I thank the Lord every day,” the British actress said of her part as Jacqueline Payne Marone, the vixen who has no qualms about moving in on other people’s property in the mega daytime soap opera.

In real life, she has been happily married for more than two decades. But it was not always so.

Her “personal life went to complete craziness” when she had married a powerful Hollywood figure many years previously, she said. The disaster was very instructive.

“You should never ever get married to somebody that you don’t truly love,” Down said. “It doesn’t matter that you feel that they are successful or that they can offer you things. You should only get married for love. It’s a very bad mistake not to.”

CORONATION STREET's best asset is its writers
"Underneath it all, though, Coronation Street still feels, almost uniquely, about real people, something no-one, surely, has been able to say with a straight face about EastEnders for almost 20 years. It all comes down to the writing: Jack Rosenthal, Jimmy McGovern, Paul Abbott, Russell T Davies, Frank Cottrell Boyce, to name but few, all learned their craft on the Street. There's no reason to doubt the key figures of tomorrow's TV are currently toiling in the Coronation Street writers' room. And happy to be there."

Sophomore slump hits The CW's GOSSIP GIRL
Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret News writes: "Not that there's anything wrong with over-the-top soap opera, which can be good, campy fun. But the show seems to have gone waaaay over the top this season in comparison to the more down-to-earth over-the-topness of Season 1."

GOSSIP GIRL returns with rich wit
Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe has a different take: "GOSSIP GIRL will probably never find its way into a PhD dissertation in English literature. The series does bear some resemblance to contemporary novels about the angst of wealthy, young New Yorkers, which is why it's fitting that author Jay McInerney cameos tonight, as the mentor of aspiring writer Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley). But ultimately, it is a newfangled concoction, with roots in the young-adult novels of Cecily von Ziegesar and THE HILLS-style reality soaps. GOSSIP GIRL also takes cues from celebrity websites such as TMZ, as its jet-set scandals are chronicled by the titular e-tattler with the rapier wit: 'Ain't karma a bitch?' GOSSIP GIRL narrates tonight. 'We know Blair Waldorf is.'"

Former NEIGHBOURS star Jason Donovan plans new album
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian singer Jason Donovan, who made his name alongside Kylie Minogue in the soap opera NEIGHBOURS, is to release his first album in 15 years after a roller-coaster career.

Donovan, 40, said on his website that the album, "Let It Be Me", would be released on November 10 and has a 1950s and 1960s theme featuring a mixture of covers and original songs.

Major Messy NBC Shakeup Ahead
Nikki Finke blogs: "After weeks of checking out rumor after rumor, I'm finally able to pin down details of the long-overdue shakeup that's ahead for NBC when this fall's primetime schedule shapes up to be an unmitigated disaster. Someone has to shoulder the responsibility, and both Ben Silverman and the Reveille development exec he brought with him to NBC, Teri Weinberg, now deservedly have big fat targets on their foreheads."

Television's highest rollers
The list includes ALL MY CHILDREN'S Erica Kane: "From humble beginnings to the queen of Pine Valley. Yes, she is Erica Kane!"

'Doc' Immel dies at 88
Robert "Bob" Miles Immel, known to many as "Doc," passed away Friday. He was 88. Immel, who graduated from Washington High School in 1937, also was a dentist for 53 years. Former clients would come from as far away as California, Michigan and New York to see "Doc Immel." David Canary, star of ALL MY CHILDREN, was a former client and even invited Immel to his wedding.