'Strictly' Bruno Tonioli backs Kara Tointon to replace Alesha Dixon

'Strictly' Bruno Tonioli backs Kara Tointon to replace Alesha Dixon

Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli has backed Kara Tointon to replace Alesha Dixon.

It was revealed earlier this month that Dixon had quit the BBC One show to join ITV1's Britain's Got Talent.

Various names have since been linked to the show and Tonioli has recommended former winners Tointon and Jill Halfpenny for the role.

Speaking of Dixon's departure, Tonioli told the Sunday Mirror: "It's showbiz, these things happen. I was in the Caribbean sunbathing when I heard.

"I think Kara would be very good as a replacement as she is a ­champion and feisty. Jill Halfpenny would also be very good for the same reasons. I don't think a decision will be made until June or July when we have regrouped.

"I'm surprised Alesha quit, but that's the industry and I think she will be great on Britain's Got Talent. We'll carry on and we will come back bigger and better than ever."

Tointon won the show in 2010 with her dance partner and now fiancé Artem Chigvintsev, while Halfpenny danced to victory with Darren ­Bennett in 2004.

It was recently reported that last year's contestant Russell Grant is being considered as Alesha Dixon's replacement on Strictly Come Dancing.

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Karen Hardy and ex-judge Arlene Phillips have also been linked to the vacant role.

Ashton Kutcher eyes 'Two and a Half Men' return

Ashton Kutcher eyes 'Two and a Half Men' return

Two and a Half Men star Ashton Kutcher has revealed that he hopes the show is renewed for another series.

The actor, who replaced Charlie Sheen in the sitcom last year, said that he sees his current movie roles as merely "a hiatus" between series.

Kutcher's debut in the ninth season of Two and a Half Men attracted 27.8 million viewers in September, a record for the CBS programme.

"The deal that we structured for the show was kind of a test deal: Can we get the show up? Can we get it going? The show's outperforming the numbers from before I was here and so I think that people responded to it," said Kutcher.

CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler added that "in spirit and intent, everybody is very motivated" to bring back Two and a Half Men for a tenth series.

Sheen was dismissed from the show in March last year after months of reported drug use and a public row with its creator Chuck Lorre.

'Being Human' is darker, jucier and more evil

'Being Human' is darker, jucier and more evil

"Being Human" is back for it's second season on Syfy and it's going to be much darker. We've got sex, possession, more blood and some seriously scary vampire politics. We're also going to get a look at Aidan (Sam Witwer) and his past.

We chatted with Witwer at the Winter Press tour, where he told us that he's a bit concerned about what the audience is going to think of where Aidan is going. "I don't know what they'll think," he said. "I mean, Aidan has been a bad guy for most of his history. We're going to see more of that and where he comes from in. The last time we saw him in a flashback, in the fifties, he was a bit of a thug. He wasn't always like that. You'll get to see how he got to that point."

Bishop (Mark Pellegrino) was killed last season, but Witwer says he'll be back. He didn't give details, but he implied that it won't just be in flashbacks. "He comes back in a really interesting way. I can't tell you more than that, but trust me, it's going to be cool." Witwer was actually heading off to meet Pellegrino and play video games.

This season, "Dollhouse" alum Dichen Lachman joins the cast as the daughter of the head of the vampires. In the past, Aidan was her second, and he's about to have to deal with this girl who was pulled out of the ground again. Now that he's a "vegetarian," this isn't going to be easy. Witwer said, "Sally (Meaghan Rath) and Josh (Sam Huntington) are going to get more of a look a who he's been and it won't be easy for them."

We can't wait to see how this all plays out. We've seen the first few episodes, and believe us when we say, if you weren't hooked the first season, you absolutely will be this time around. "Being Human" Season 2 premieres tonight (Jan.16th) on Syfy.

Louis C.K. on his FX Comedy: “I Don’t Need this Shit"

Louis C.K. on his FX Comedy: “I Don’t Need this Shit"

The comedian opens up about his success, his freedom as a storyteller and his disgust for award shows and the celebrity humor they traffic in.

If Louis C.K. were running FX, he jokes he wouldn’t have allowed himself the freedom that the network has given him.

“It was irresponsible,” quips the star of Louie during his stop on the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour Sunday. That freedom has entailed Louis C.K. serving as creator, writer, director, editor and star of his comedy, for which he delivers his FX bosses finished copies on an enviably low budget.

But to hear Louis C.K. tell it, he wouldn’t have agreed to do the show any other way. He recalls those initial conversations he had with FX brass, during which he outllined precisely how he wanted to do the series -- or more specifically, how he didn’t want to do the series.

“You have to be willing not to do the show,” he says of his desire for control trumping his desire to get his series greenlit, adding: “If you’re concerned with success too much, you make all kinds of decisions and compromises than you hurt the story that you’re doing.”

Working in Louis C.K.’s favor: he was not only willing but also able not to do the show. “I don’t need this s---, I really don’t,” he deadpans, referencing a hugely lucrative side-career as a touring stand-up comic. “This is the greatest thing that ever happened to me. But I don’t need it.”

That reality became that much more apparent late last year, when the comedian's self-distributed stand-up album earned more than $1 million in a matter of days. He acknowledges that his rising profile –along with his technical aptitude and his relationship with his fans-- played a significant part in making the DIY experiment a success.

Going forward, what you won’t see Louis C.K. try is to host an award show, unless, he jokes, the show is for movies from the 1970's. “I’d have to go see everything and pretend to give a s---, and I don’t,” cracks the comedian, who says he prefers to spend what little free time he has with his children. What's more, he’s not particularly interested in the more current, rip-on-celebrities style of comedy, a format he has hated since his days working as a late night comedy writer for Conan O’Brien, Chris Rock and David Letterman.

For those who worry that all of Louis C.K.'s success will alter his comedic tone, he will assure you that that won’t happen. In fact, he argues that the first 20 of his 27 years in the stand-up business, which were marked by “suffering,” “poverty” and “ego destruction,” will always outweigh the five good and two great years he’s just had. (For those keeping track, he insists a decline is coming. He jokes, “I’ve got five to eight years where it’ll be great, and then it will start to degenerate, like uranium.")

Still, he’s the first to acknowledge he’s in an incredible place. “I’d be a real a--hole if I didn’t realize what a great life I lead,” he says of his current positioning at the top of the comedy food chain, before adding that even with that success he’s not lacking for fodder: “It’s a weird time to be American and to be a human, so there’s a lot of things to keep me depressed.”

'Justified' Cast, EP Talk Season Three, Missing Margot Martindale

'Justified' Cast, EP Talk Season Three, Missing Margot Martindale

New villains Neal McDonough and Mykelti Williamson admit to being "nervous" about filling Emmy-winner Martindale's shoes.

As the new baddies on FX’s Justified, Neal McDonough and Mykelti Williamson have some big shoes to fill – those of Margot Martindale, whose dastardly Mags Bennett offed herself in the second season finale.

“The first time I showed up on the set I was extremely nervous,” said Williamson at the show’s press tour session on Sunday. “There’s a lot to live up to.”

McDonough, who has four children under the age of six, admitted that he hadn’t followed the first two seasons of the show.

“It’s Teletubbies, Sesame Street and once in a while I’ll sneak in some ESPN,” said McDonough. “When [executive producer] Graham Yost asked me to be a villain on the show last year, I purposely didn’t watch what [Martindale] did last year because I didn’t want to get nervous. Then last week I watched all the episodes and now I’m extremely nervous.”

McDonough (Desperate Housewives) and Williamson (24) both worked with Yost on his critically hailed but quickly canceled NBC series Boomtown. In Justified, McDonough plays a slick Detroit gangster who attempts to bring organized crime to Kentucky and quickly clashes with Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins). And Williamson plays a Harlan County local trying to cultivate his own patch of turf, by any means necessary.

Yost is philosophical about the death of Mags, though he admits it wasn't exactly a difficult decision.

“We can’t just accumulate bad guys and have them all sitting around in a room together like teachers on probation in New York,” said Yost, referring to the New York City school’s so-called “rubber rooms.”

“I don’t regret that we killed Mags,” he added. “I do regret not having Margot around. She’s just a great person and a great friend and has a great attitude and really got a kick out of the part.”

The part also earned Martindale last year’s Emmy for supporting actress in a drama. These days, she's starring on the CBS drama A Gifted Man, which is on the bubble for a second-season pickup.

But Yost still gets to see Martindale every time he turns on his computer. Apparently, Gifted Man executive producer Sarah Timberman, who was an ep on Justified, sent Yost a picture of Martindale that Yost now uses as his wallpaper on his computer. Said Yost: “It’s Margot giving me the finger.”

Celebrity Big Brother Georgia, Michael face eviction

Celebrity Big Brother Georgia, Michael face eviction

The results of this morning's Celebrity Big Brother nominations have been revealed.

Georgia Salpa and Michael Madsen received the most votes from their fellow housemates and will face eviction on Wednesday night.

It's the second time that Salpa has been nominated for eviction, after she previously survived last week's public vote against Andrew Stone.

She was then forced to nominate two housemates for eviction and chose Nicola McLean and Natasha Giggs, resulting in the latter leaving the house on Friday.

McLean and Frankie Cocozza had previously won immunity from eviction in a special task yesterday.

Madsen has clashed with Loose Women star Denise Welch in recent days and accused her of "trying too hard to be entertaining".

Reactions to this week's nominations will air on Bit On The Side tonight at 11pm on 5*.

Laila Morse leaves 'Dancing on Ice'

Laila Morse leaves 'Dancing on Ice'

Laila Morse has become the second celebrity to leave Dancing on Ice.

The EastEnders star was eliminated from the contest following a skate-off with Corey Feldman.

Rosemary Conley, Matthew Wolfenden, Jennifer Ellison, Chico, Sébastien Foucan and Sam Nixon earlier made it through based on viewer votes and judges' scores.

In the judges' vote, Louie Spence chose to save Feldman for having given "the strongest overall performance in the skate-off", while Katarina Witt also chose to send home the injury-stricken actress "for the sake of [her] health".

Head panellist Robin Cousins confirmed that he too would have eliminated Morse, telling the 66-year-old: "I admire your courage for having a go, but I'm quite excited to see what we might see from you, Corey."

Morse earlier admitted to hosts Phillip Schofield and Christine Bleakley that she was not disappointed to land in the skate-off, echoing her previous comment to Digital Spy that she was hoping for an early exit.

Dancing on Ice continues next Sunday (January 22) at 6.10pm on ITV1, with all 13 remaining contestants skating together for the first time.