J. Lo, Marc Anthony Run Out the Clock at Awkward 'Q'Viva' Panel

J. Lo, Marc Anthony Run Out the Clock at Awkward 'Q'Viva' Panel

Think it's awkward when you and your ex show up at the same party? Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez have no sympathy.

The newly split couple had to appear together before a roomful of reporters Saturday morning for a panel about their new Univision musical reality show, "Q'Viva! The Chosen," which they host and produce.

Anthony and Lopez used a tried-and-true strategy for avoiding any uncomfortable questions about their personal lives: running out the clock.

It was only a mixed success.

The former couple managed not to look awkward together or make any tabloid-fodder comments as they sat side-by-side on-stage. As the assembled press watched carefully for any sign of discord, they displayed none. At one point, Anthony held Lopez's hand to look at the four huge rings on her fingers. After he let go, she briefly stroked his arm.

But that doesn't mean there was no awkwardness: It arose from the obviousness of the efforts to run out the clock. As the panel wore on, it became the second elephant in the room, even larger than the original elephant.

The reporters reacted to the attempt to shut out questions as if the state of the J.Lo-Anthony dynamic was -- how to put this delicately? -- important. It didn't help that it occurred at the cranky hour of 7:30 a.m. -- and started late -- on the 12th day of the 13-day Television Critics Association winter press tour. The circumstances made for the second most-awkward panel of the tour.

It wasn't as if the assembled press were trying to delve into the panelist's personal lives as Univision struggled nobly to keep the focus on the show. A sizzle reel previewing the series, shown at the start of the panel, asked, "What would you do to bring Marc and Jennifer together again?"

That reel ate up some of the allotted time for the session, and the panelists devoured several more minutes by questioning each other.

But then Philadelphia Inquirer veteran Jonathan Storm (affectionately dubbed "Stormy" by some of his colleagues) decided he'd had enough. Calling out from his seat, he demanded to know when reporters would be allowed to ask questions.

It was an edge-of-your-seat moment, but the panelists relented, and allowed Storm to ask his question, which was this: Will the show translate to English speaking audiences?

The answer: Yes. It features English, Spanish, and Portuguese speakers, and will appeal to all of them.

That established, Anthony tried to defuse the tension.

"This is a tough crowd," he said. "It's too early for this."

Added co-host Jamie King: "I feel like we're being roasted."

The next question, for Anthony and Lopez, delicately stepped on the very ground the panelists were so obviously trying to avoid: Can you talk about working together? And will the show be back for a second season if it succeeds?

Lopez seized on the second half of the question, ignoring the first: "It will be successful and there will be a season two."

Then the panelists and Univision organizers apologized that time was running short, ending the questions. But there was still time for another sizzle reel, the music of which cut out abruptly, and an eight-minute musical number.

As Lopez and Anthony remained on-stage, talented musicians and dancers performed some of the music from the show. The number including some intense swing dancing that featured three female dancers clinging to one male one by their thighs as he played the buttocks of the first two women like drums. It was impressive.

Then the panel was over. But during the butt drums, one heroic journalist (full disclosure: me) had maneuvered to the front of the stage to ask Anthony and Lopez the oh-so-pressing question of the day:

So, um, what's it like to work together again?

Lopez spoke into her microphone so the whole room could hear her answer.

"Same as it was any other time we worked together," she said. "We have a great time working together."

As the reporters filed out, several questioned Univision spokeswoman Monica Talan about why there were so few opportunities for questions. She took the bullet for her stars, saying the panel had started late because of technical difficulties.

"Why did you not dispense with your own canned questions?" one reporter asked. "This is a press conference. That's where the press asks questions."

She said the panelsts took as many questions as time allowed.

Another reporter said the schedule should have been adjusted.

"You're right," Talan said. "We made some mistakes due to trying to adjust to the technical difficulties."

But Univision had done one thing right: Lopez and Anthony had made their way backstage, guided by a large bodyguard, their privacy intact.

Not that anyone necessarily would have asked about their divorce anyway.

'Work It' Pulled By ABC After 2 Episodes -- Could 'Cougar Town' Replace It?

'Work It' Pulled By ABC After 2 Episodes -- Could 'Cougar Town' Replace It?

"Work It," the cross-dressing comedy despised by transgender activists and critics, has been pulled from ABC's schedule after just two episodes.

The show followed Tim Allen's "Last Man Standing" on Tuesdays at 8:30. "Last Man Standing" repeats will air in the show's place for now.

The show's absence could create an opening for the third season of ABC's "Cougar Town," which does not yet have a place on the network's schedule. Its executive producer, Bill Lawrence, tweeted Friday night: "Hoping CT's premiere date will be announced Tuesday. Fingers crossed..."

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocates objected to "Work It" even before it aired, taking out an ad in Variety that said it would hurt transgendered people.

ABC entertainment president Paul Lee was one of the show's few defenders. He said at the Television Critics Association winter press tour this week that he "didn't get," the objections to the show, comparing it to "Tootsie."

"I thought there was room personally for a very, very, very, very silly show," he said.

It was unclear whether the network will air the remaining episodes of "Work It," perhaps by burning them off in the summer. It scored a 2.0 rating in the 18-to-49 demographic in its debut last week, and slipped 20 percent in its second airing.

Matt Lauer Mocks Ryan Seacrest 'Today' Speculation

Matt Lauer Mocks Ryan Seacrest 'Today' Speculation

Matt Lauer doesn't seem to be taking the talk of Ryan Seacrest replacing him very seriously.

The "Today" host joked about Seacrest joining the show at a celebration Thursday celebrating its 60th anniversary.

“The people in the room right now, their names are so closely associated with the 'Today' show,” Lauer said at the party, according to the New York Post. "Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters, Tom Brokaw and Jane Pauley, Deborah Norville, Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric . . . Ryan Seacrest."

The room exploded in laughter, the Post reported.

NBC executives have said they hope Lauer will remain with "Today" at the end of his contract. But the Wall Street Journal reported in December that NBCUniversal was courting Seacrest as a possible replacement for Lauer if Lauer gives up his "Today" job.

Seacrest already works for NBCUniversal company as a host of E! News. At a panel for "American Idol" last Sunday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, he declined to comment on the "Today" report.

Though his contract with "Idol" is up after this season, he seemed eager to return to the Fox show.

"I can't imagine life without 'American Idol,'" he said.

Melissa Rycroft Doesn't Expect Long-Term Fame

Melissa Rycroft Doesn't Expect Long-Term Fame

Melissa Rycroft is the rarest of rarities in the world of reality television: a star who doesn't want to act or record an album, and doesn't expect reality fame to last forever.

Her new CMT series, "Melissa and Tye: A New Reality," finds her and husband Tye Strickland managing a commuter marriage: While she pursues a TV career in Los Angeles, he travels to Dallas to build his insurance company -- because the couple considers his work crucial to their long-term success.

"This world out here is really silly to us," said Rycroft, speaking at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena on Saturday. "His job is our long-term income, if you will. ... I'm a reality TV girl, and I think we've all seen that it comes and then it just falls right out from under you. So I think it's silly to say I've so got this in the bag and this is my career for the rest of my life."

Strickland says he has more faith in her long-term TV career than she does. Rycroft is also a correspondent for "Good Morning America," but joked during the session about releasing an album -- and said she has no desire to act.

Rycroft and Strickland, who are new parents, first dated before she became famous on "The Bachelor." Jason Mesnick proposed to Rycroft before dumping her for his initial second choice, Molly Malaney. Mesnick and Malaney are now married.

Strickland said he watched only the first and last episode of Rycroft's season on "The Bachelor."

"It just absolutely crushed me," he said, "and so I didn't watch any more of that. But on 'Dancing With the Stars,' I just couldn't have been more proud of her."

"Melissa and Tye: A New Reality" debuts in April.

'Call The Midwife' Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart Q&A: 'You will wince'

'Call The Midwife' Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart Q&A: 'You will wince'

Sunday nights are all about comforting drama, so start preparing the sofa now for brand new BBC One show Call The Midwife!

Yes, things are about to get a lot more maternal at the weekends as the show - based on the memoirs by Jennifer Worth - follows the lives of a group of midwives in 1950s East London.

Stars Jessica Raine, Helen George, Bryony Hannah and Miranda Hart recently chatted to reporters after a screening of the first episode, so read on to find out whether the show made them broody, who found the prosthetic babies "spooky" and why they ended up eating a lot of cake...

Did you get to meet or speak to Jennifer Worth before she passed away?
Jessica: "No, I was really upset about that. I think it was the day after it was locked into place and it was definitely going to happen and I was really excited about it, and along with that news was the news that Jennifer had passed away. So it was a really odd feeling. I was so looking forward to meeting her because I had read the books years before I knew this was going to be made into a TV series... I was upset not to meet her, but meeting her family was good."

Miranda, Jennifer Worth picked you, didn't she? How was that?
Miranda: "Amazing. She sent me the book and said, 'When I first saw you on telly, I thought Chummy'.' I thought, 'Ooh, that's intriguing' so I flipped straight to Chummy's entrance in the book. You would, wouldn't you? And I thought, 'I really hope I get to play this'. So I was thrilled."

Jessica, the part of Jenny must have been highly sought-after. Did you have to audition for the role?
Jessica: "I auditioned for it... I got one phone call going, 'Can you ride a bike?' I thought, 'A bike? What does that mean?' and then heard nothing for another week or so, so I was climbing the walls. Then I found out and I was just very excited and then scared."

Why scared?
Jessica: "I'd spoken a bit in the audition about how I hadn't done much filming before and I was a bit scared of the camera, and overcoming that would be a great thing. And then getting the role and going, 'OK, I'm going to have to overcome it!' It was just terrifying, but everyone was very supportive. Me and Bryony were in the same drama school, so that was great. And then there was this group of experienced actresses with Miranda in the middle bridging the gap, making everyone laugh. It just all clicked."

Bryony, you've done a lot of theatre work. Did you notice the difference between theatre and television?
Bryony: "There were lots of things like hitting marks which are quite simple when you know what you're doing, but at first you're not thinking about the acting, you're just thinking, 'Move here, stand there, pick that cup up'. Especially the dinner scenes - they were hilarious with this awful onion soup. On the first take you'd really go for it - you'd have loads of soup, bread, sandwiches, pouring tea. And then for the next take, you're thinking, 'Oh God, what order was everything in?' And three hours later you're stuffing sandwiches down you. But you learn as you go!"

Did you have midwifery lessons?
Jessica: "We had a week of blocking the births and also being introduced to the 1950s equipment. It was quite scary looking, like the glass enema. I watched a lot of One Born Every Minute! What struck me was how different the births are and also how amazing midwives are. Jenny's so inexperienced and acts calm but is like, 'Oh God, I don't know what I'm doing'. You realise how responsible you are in that situation. I don't know if I could really do it!"

Become a midwife or have a child?
Jessica: "Either now! It's too much information."

Did you do any research?
Bryony: "My niece is training to be a midwife, so I went to her hospital. They were so excited - they knew the books and they were delighted it was being made. They were just thrilled about it and they showed me a real placenta! It was nice to have the privilege. It's huge! I'm so broody - it's unbelievable. One Born Every Minute is sort of terrifying, but absolutely enlightening in the best way. Yeah, I'm well up for it!"
Helen: "A lot of my friends are having babies so I did all my practice on them and measured their bumps. I said I could deliver all their children, which I probably couldn't! It hit home the sense of responsibility, because I'd never really thought about it."

What was it like working with the babies?
Bryony: "It was wonderful. There's a story about a white mother who has a mixed race child with a white husband, which is so moving. I got to do it and I couldn't believe it. My boyfriend is black and we would have a mixed race child and it was just... holding him, so beautiful. And doing the birthing sequences we realised we'd feel quite faint because we got so involved. You sort of forget to breathe a bit! It was such a privilege to be trusted to hold them."
Jessica: "We don't get to handle babies unless they're your own anymore really because families have moved, so I'm pretty inexperienced. At the beginning I was a little like, 'Agh!' and then sort of felt this massive ease by the end. You could just sort of scoop them up! That was really nice."
Helen: "We had these prosthetic babies the whole way through and we were taught to treat them as if they were real babies, so we had a practice with them before we had the real thing. They were so wonderful and so real looking."
Miranda: "I found them quite spooky! They're really real, and they're very heavy... It was quite terrifying learning how to deliver a baby. Quite intense."

Did you get broody, Miranda?
Miranda: "No, I was too in the moment. And one [baby] did p*ss in my glove... no thanks!"

Do you think this will be compared to other period dramas?
Helen: "I don't think there can be that many comparisons. Yes, it's a period drama, but it is fundamentally about midwives and there's nothing really for my money that does that... It's about time they should be celebrated. Yes, it happens to be a story set in the '50s but I don't think you can compare them. It's very different from Downton and all those projects.

Did any of the conditions in the show shock you?
Jessica: "When I read the script, I thought, 'This can't be true'. It's extraordinary. I cannot fathom the conditions they lived in. All of the women have a resilience and humour."


Are there any similarities between you and your characters?
Miranda: "We look alike! It feels entirely different, actually. I suppose you could say in terms of characters I've played before, that sort of fish out of water, plunged into a world that she doesn't really fit into. But not personally."
Jessica: "It was a weird parallel, because I was scared and Jenny doesn't know what she was doing and I didn't know what I was doing! That experience was similar. And she's quite private and doesn't really want to talk about the big love in her life. I suppose I'm quite private in a similar way."
Bryony: "I think Cynthia's more like a younger me - quite optimistic and hard-working. I've gone off! It wasn't one where you create an imaginary suit and step into it - I suppose it was more of a little side step."

Miranda, we see you struggling with a bike. Was it hard for you to pretend not to be able to cycle?
Miranda: "I thought, 'That's an acting challenge' because apparently once you've learnt to ride a bike you don't forget. But it turns out - no offence girls - I was by far the best! They were really heavy old bikes with no gears at all. So actually it worked out. Though I say it myself - and here's a showbiz exclusive - I'm a natural cyclist. I had the confidence to wobble about whereas Helen would actually have fallen over. It was quite fun - I call it stunt work."

What was it like walking on to set and into 1950s East End London?
Helen: "The sets were beautiful. They were just incredible. They really took you back. The scenes with all the kids running round in the little ragged jumpers and all the sheets hung up - it was great."
Miranda: "They were the biggest set-ups I'd ever seen. It felt like a film, it was amazing."
Jessica: "It was exactly how I'd pictured it, which I don't think happens very often. You read a book and you've got it in your head. It's just phenomenal and the detail of the set and that kitchen with the Horlicks and biscuits and cakes. I imagine people watching this on a Sunday night thinking, 'I have to have cake!'"
Helen: "It's all we do. Just eat cake."
Miranda: "That's a contractual thing of mine."

There's a really warm friendship between the midwives - does that continue?
Helen: "They're all quite supportive of each other. Fundamentally they are there as a vocation and they're there to get on with the work and yes, there are men coming in and all of those things, but they're friends through and through and there's a strong network of support. Even if there's tension with the older nuns there's still a sense of love between them."
Miranda: "There had to be really."
Jessica: "There's no room for any bitchiness because you're so tired. They're going out on their bikes on eight square miles of East London. And it was rough, there were meths drinkers everywhere. All of them - which I thought was so refreshing - they're so empathetic, not only with each other, but with all of the women. You don't often see that. There's a real heart and a real love."

Were there any moments when you were surprised about how graphic it was? Do you think viewers will wince?
Helen: "I hope so - I want them to wince a bit! Every birth is different. They're not pretty and there's a certain sense of that. It's very modest. Everything's covered up as it was in the '50s. There's no flesh on show, there's no funny shots or anything like that! It's sensitively done."
Jessica: "I remember wanting it to just be real and not prettify it or not make it gruesome and just make it real and... you're going to wince!"

Call The Midwife begins on today at 8pm on BBC One.

'Walking Dead' Writers: We Don't Know What Created Walkers

'Walking Dead' Writers: We Don't Know What Created Walkers

Wondering what caused the apocalypic outbreak of walkers on "The Walking Dead"? Keep wondering. Because the show's writers say they don't know either -- and aren't terribly worried about it.

"Internally, we don't know where the zombie outbreak started, how to cure it, anything like that," show runner Glen Mazzara told TheWrap. "We haven't really discussed it. We're more interested in the continuing storylines."

The comic series that inspired the show doesn't address what caused the outbreak of zombiedom. The show's writers -- including comic book creator Robert Kirkman -- say they won't address it either, even though they feel free to split from comic book storylines.

"That's something that's not really addressed in the book. And that's something that we'd like to keep," Mazzara said. "This show is about our characters. And about them trying to stay alive, hold on to their humanity, find a safe place, hopefully rebuild civilization. Just everything's collapsed. So they're under incredible duress. It doesn't feel right that they would have those answers, and even if they did have those answers, what would they do with them?"

He added: "I think part of the success of the show is that it feels immediate. It feels like we're following the little guys. And they don't have the answers and they desperately need them to survive."

The show's writers spoke Saturday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, where AMC also announced that the series -- its biggest hit -- will get 16 episodes in its third season. The current, 13-episode second season continues Feb. 12 after a midseason break.

Celebrity Big Brother Natasha Giggs: 'Nicola McLean is a great girl'

Celebrity Big Brother Natasha Giggs: 'Nicola McLean is a great girl'

Evicted Celebrity Big Brother housemate Natasha Giggs has said that she thinks that one-time rival Nicola McLean is a "great girl".

The former mistress of Ryan Giggs was the second to leave the house this evening, after losing out to McLean in the public vote. The two had previously had a public spat after McLean commented that Natasha would be "making money from ruining people's lives" if she took part in the show.

After being asked by host Brian Dowling about her feelings toward McLean, Giggs said: "She's a great girl, she really is a great girl. I was so nervous about going in, because obviously we had a little bit of a thing, but she came straight up to me, and we squared it out and we were fine."

When Dowling lamented the lack of a "Dynasty-style bitchfight" between the pair, Giggs elaborated: "There was never a fight - there was just a comment that was made that was blown out of proportion. I answered back, but it wasn't a fight, wasn't an argument.

"I was a bit anxious going in there, thinking I didn't really want to carry it on; not only for us, but because it would have made it really awkward for everyone else. I was so pleased that she came up to me and she straightened it out - I was so grateful for that."

On her flirtation with The Only Way is Essex star Kirk Norcross while in the house, she also played down any hints at a potential romance, saying: "I love Kirk, Kirk is amazing. Anyone flirts with Kirk - Kirk is the biggest flirt ever, and you cannot help but flirt back."

Celebrity Big Brother continues tomorrow night at 8.30pm on Channel Five.