Editor There aren’t any great music shows on TV any more. Nothing in the style of Channel 4’s The Tube or The White Room or, further back, Ready, Steady, Go! These shows celebrated music in its raw, live state and gave it a platform fans could respect and identify with. Even Top of the Pops – … Read more
Writing can take you to some unexpected places. A little while back, I was one of nine writers invited to participate in a workshop at the home of the late Kenyan poet and author, Khadambi Asalache. The event was organised by Lambeth Council’s Literary Festival and The National Trust. At around the same time, I was … Read more
Time to get nostalgic. It’s almost thirty years since The Tube, the chaotic Channel 4 music show, first aired. I loved it. It came from Newcastle, and that’s where I’m from. The bands were great and it was live and you never knew what to expect. Even when it all went wrong no one seemed … Read more
Back in Control is the frank and inspiring autobiography of Tina Malone, star of Channel 4’s Shameless. If ever there was someone whose life could truly be described as a rollercoaster, it’s Tina. She has battled drugs and alcohol addiction and for years struggled with her weight. She worked hard, played hard, piled on the … Read more
Jennifer Worth is known to millions as the best-selling author of CALL THE MIDWIFE, an extraordinary and evocative account of her experiences in the East End of London during the nineteen-fifties. In THE MIDWIFE’S SISTER, Jennifer’s sister, Christine, describes a childhood in which both girls suffered neglect and cruelty. and chronicles their lives and enduring … Read more
Selfish Little Cow is the evocative and moving autobiography of skincare guru, Jenny Harding. Following the deaths of her parents in shocking circumstances days before her seventeenth birthday Jenny went downhill fast. Convinced she was to blame, and consumed by grief and guilt, she tried to take her own life. Vulnerable and isolated, she became … Read more
The true story of how a poor girl from Grimsby became a queen. In a bleak northern town where there was little work, the best that Angie Beasley could hope for was a grim job at the local Findus factory. But aged 16, Angie decided she was destined for bigger things. After seeing a TV … Read more
View Post A hundred years ago humorist and storyteller Mark Twain travelled the world. Zig-zagging sedately along the Equator he dropped anchor in Hawaii and Fiji, Australia and New Zealand, in India, Mauritius and South Africa. He encountered a world painted red, a British Empire upon which the sun never set. A hundred years later … Read more
It is 1890 and Harry Selfridge is about to marry society debutante Rose Buckingham. Showman that he is, Harry is determined that their big day will be flamboyant – the talk of Chicago for years to come. He has more on his mind than the wedding, however, and so, it seems, does Rose. Both are … Read more
Popstars: The Making of Hear’say follows the trials and tribulations of becoming a superstar – from the very first auditions through the painstaking selection and refining of the chosen band, to the release of a single and album. The official story of the creation of the Popstars band and the making of what was a … Read more
How does it feel to be plucked from obscurity and thrust into the public eye? What is it like to star in a smash-hit TV show – as yourself? And what price instant fame? Hear’say’s Danny, Kym, Myleene, Noel and Suzanne know only too well. They dreamed of being in a pop band and the … Read more
The official companion to the hit TV series. Packed with photos and anecdotes, this is a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of a much-loved show and takes readers from audition to makeover and sees contestants make their entrance in full-on star mode through billowing smoke and those famous sliding doors … Publisher: Andre Deutsch LtdISBN: … Read more
The last thing on Harry Selfridge’s mind was falling in love. Work was his mistress and allowed precious little time for anything, or anyone, else. Then a chance encounter with debutante Rose Buckingham changed everything. Rose proved a perfect match for Harry. From the first moment they met the pair seemed destined to be together. … Read more