I was chatting to a fan of this blog at the opera last night - no, it's true; I do have some fans - who was unaware that I was also blogging here for The Sunday Mail. If you, too, haven't caught on to the ie blog yet, it's the one where I write about the arts and entertainment scene, with updates on stories in the Inside Entertainment liftout and further arts and showbiz-related news as soon as it comes to hand (or as soon as I can get to a computer). The blog you are reading now also has some showbiz content, but it's a little more opinionated sometimes and it often ties i

American crooner Freddy Fender has joined the great heavenly chorus. There's more at my Celebrity Deaths Archive.

"Market research is crap. It doesn't tell you what people are going to like, it tells you what they already like. What you want is bold, fresh ideas. You will never get that from advertisers, commercial people or businessmen." So said the obviously still feisty former ITV boss Sir Denis Forman, 89, in an interview conducted before university media and communications students. He also said: "In the 50s, we had at least two quiz shows in the top 10 ITV programmes, made for absolute peanuts. Now that's the way to run a TV service." Read more here.