Posts from — December 2011

Well it appears the celebrities are losing weight on Excess Baggage.

Here is a photo of Kevin Federline over the Christmas break on holidays with his kids at the snow.

Even with winter clothes on it looks like he has dropped the kilos.

See more photos from the Daily Mail here.

Excess Baggages starts on Channel Nine in the New Year.

I was conflicted about whether to post this video, for a number of reasons, one was I have some personal prejudices about the Duggars and their lifestyle choices, however that does not mean that I think that the loss of their latest child should be one that should be mocked.

However I do question her need to continue to get pregnant particularly as her last viable pregnancy resulted in a premmie baby and the loss of this one must indicate that her body or at least her uterus has had enough.

Is she continuing to have babies because of the reality show 20 Kids and Counting  and the resulting publicity her pregnancies receive or is it because of religious reasons?

Either way I felt uncomfortable listening to her some of her words in her memorial video above to Jubilee Shalom Duggar. Some things she say are from the heart, others I felt was being mildly critical and judgemental of other peoples reasons for having kids or their feelings about them.

Also is this memorial all to public? But then maybe the Duggar fans are also grieving.

However I will say it is a lovely photo and moving.

If you comment please be aware some readers may have lost babies or suffered miscarriages so might be particularly sensitive to this issue.

Channel Nine’s answer to The Biggest Loser but with celebrities will be shown early in the ratings series. I hope it is not going to go head to head with Loser, as people will have weight loss overload in the one night.

The show will be hosted by Kate Cebrano and each celebrity his partnered with an overweight non-celebrity. I presume there will be some cracker back stories to these people.

Here is one of the promos – Who else thinks Ajay Rochester is channelling Bo Derek from Ten?

As you can see the celebrities are  Kevin Federline, Christine Anu, Kate DeAraugo, Gaby Millgate, Darryn Lyons, Brant Webb, Ajay Rochester and Robert “Dipper” DiPierdomenico.

No news on an exact start date for Excess Baggage on Channel Nine.

The Biggest Loser will kick off the reality TV year for Channel Ten and this year it is all singles or as I am calling it The Biggest Loser – ‘Fatties and Fornication’ season. This year all the contestants are single, so hopefully there will be some romance in the house.

In fact if you know of any romances contact me….

Michelle,24, already is attractive so after she loses some weight she is going to be a stunner. All four trainers will be back this season with Tiffany Hall again joining Michelle Bridges, Shannon Ponton and Commando to make them work up a sweat.

No news yet on an actual premiere date.

Shanina Shaik is home in Australia with her boyfriend Tyson Beckford, let’s hope the family didn’t see Tyson’s interview at the Victoria Secret show as things could be a little awkward over the dinner table. (Source: Herald Sun)

Go to Callum’s from Masterchef Australia season 2 website if you want to see a sneak peek of his cookbook The Starter Kitchen.

Timomatic say’s Australia’s Got Talent has propelled him to fame. He has a single rising in the charts and he has been doing a lot of gigs. Also he is still going out with So You Think You Can Dance winner Talia Fowler. (Source: Herald Sun)

This is for Survivor addicts only – Reality Blurred has linked to a site which has analysed data of all the winners of the series and ranked them in order of worthiness.

Shear Genius host Camila Alves has become engaged to long time partner and father of her children, Matthew McConaughey. (Source: Daily Telegraph)

Rumour has it that the US host of The X Factor, Steve Jones, is going to get fired. (Source: Reality Blurred)

Danny Gokey from American Idol is engaged, which is nice news as his first wife died three years ago. (Source: The Boot)

American Idol judge Steve Tyler is engaged, and like any good rock star he has made sure his new fiancee is 25 years younger then him. (Source: Huffington Post)

Lowes has removed its advertisments from the show All American Muslim, and here is an article that outlines why they made this controversial decision. (Source: Huffington Post)

Jill Zarin from Real Housewives of New York is continuing her reality TV career as a judge on Iron Chef America. See her a summary of her performance here.

 Snooki from Jersey Shore has lost a lot of weight, if interested in seeing how she looks click here.

American Idol contestant and now actress Jennifer Hudson shows off her mega weight loss in a Weight Watchers advertisement. (Source: Daily Mail)

Guilana Rancic is back at work two weeks after having a double masectomy. (Source: Daily Mail)

Former Australian Idol host Andrew G has separated from his wife Noa Tishby.

The Daily Telegraph reports Andrew G has announced the split via Twitter as you do these days.

The article states:

In his first tweet, Gunsberg wrote: “@noatishby & I are sad to say we’re mutually and amicably ending our marriage. We thank you for support and ask for privacy and respect”.

Secondly, he added: “Thank you for your love and understanding. Please accept that we will have no further comments on this matter.”

Andrew G nearly cracked the big time in the US when he hosted a reality show Just Dance with Paula Abdul, however it bombed. But 2012 could be a better year for him as he is hosting Photo Finish – a reality TV show  on photography on the ABC.

Medical student Sophie won Survivor South Pacific last night getting more votes from the jury then Coach and Albert.

Personally I found all of the final three, actually make that the final five unlikeable. However Sophie did play a strong game both physically and strategically. Coach was never going to win, as he his always gibbering about code and honour but he was instrumental in eliminating quite a few of the jury.

Ozzy he has been sitting at Redemption Island for most of the series beat Brandon to get back in, however the alliance Coach had with Ozzy was extremely fragile as he was eliminated again…..

the other lowlight of the finale was the return of Russel Hantz giving his opinion about Brendon’s game play, OK giving up the immunity necklace was stupid, but genetically there are not a lot of brains in that family.

Who do you think should have won?

Here is Jeff Probst’s take on the finale.

Also here is an interview with Coach bitching about Ozzy, and interview with Ozzy who is probably bitching about Coach. Also here is a interview with winner Sophie.

This series started off well out of the gates, but ended with a bit of whimper as the only people left were quite unlikeable.

Every reality TV show needs a villain to create controversy and get the viewers talking, and 2011 gave us some crackers. In fact the field was so strong for the Top 10 that Australia’s Next Top Model villain Simone Holtznagel, Sun from Masterchef Australia, and Celebrity Apprentice’s Max Markson just missed the cut.

Tell me what you think of the list, and who you think should have been included in it. Please note it is an Australian only list.

1. Deni Hines – Celebrity Apprentice

Deni the diva was THE villain of Celebrity Apprentice Australia. From her caustic put downs of Polly ‘Poppy’ Porter, to refusing to write and sing a jingle in the KFC challenge. She gave such good reality TV she was brought back to assist in the final episodes to whip up more drama and controversy.   She continued to talk down to Jesinta Campbell, was precious about her singing as she is an “artist” and to cap it off grabbed the microphone from Shane Crawford to talk to the crowd in the final challenge. She was reality TV gold.

2. Chris Pselletes – The Amazing Race Australia

Dating couple Chris and Anastasia fought throughout The Amazing Race Australia, though sometimes it was just Chris screaming at her. He appeared to have a hair trigger temper and she would be at time in tears. The episode where they had to transfer wine from vats into barrels was particularly memorable. It was not surprising to hear the couple broke up shortly after show was aired.

Here are some of Chris’s classic lines:

“If you cannot have the womaness or the kindness for not realising where you went wrong and say look babe sorry for not listening then I don’t know.”

“The reason the tap didn’t work is because it was bad karma by you.” [Chris]

“Daddy never spanked you when he should have” [Chris]

“You should have say ‘sorry for pushing you over the edge’ and I am going to say ‘I am sorry for screaming’ that is the order.” [Chris]

3. Matt Beyer – Masterchef Australia

Matt Beyer who was portrayed as sullen and grungy in Masterchef Australia was  confirmed as the series bad boy  when he was caught with a phone in the house. This contravened the rules of limited contact with family and friends. Also there was concern because it was a smart phone he may have been able to access the internet which may have given him an advantage over the other contestants. He denied that he used the phone to cheat, however he was kicked off the show.

4. Josh and Jenna – The Block

This couple polarised fans of The Block, with a lot of viewers loving their design style but not liking the way the couple interacted. Both were feisty, however Josh tended to yell, whilst Jenna sulked. It culminated in one memorable scene in Mitre Ten when they were deciding what plants to buy for their back yard. They also attracted criticism for not hanging out with the other three teams. It was predicted this relationship would not last, however Josh proposed on TV the night of the auction and Jenna tearfully accepted.

5. Joe Challenor – The Biggest Loser

Joe had a cut throat approach to The Biggest Loser, and was prepared to do over his family to get further in the game. He nominated his nephew Nathaniel for elimination even though he would have benefited being on the show longer, however the most treacherous act was when he won two extra kilos before a weigh-in, and he had to give one away, instead of giving it to his brother Damien he gave it to a person from a different team. This ensured his brother was up for elimination.

6. Mel from My Kitchen Rules

Melanie attracted the vitriol of fans with the patronising way she spoke to her husband James. She turned the use of the word babe from a term of endearment to a condescending and patronising put down. James normally responded to Mel with a peck on the cheek. Her control freak ways also continued in the challenges where she bossed him around and talked down to him. They were eliminated before we saw James grow a backbone.  Unfortunately some fans forgot this was just a reality TV show and sent the pair death threats.

7. Richard and Joey – The Amazing Race

This intense pair whose motto was ‘focus, believe, achieve’ went on the race to win. In one leg the pair were helped by Mel with a puzzle challenge and they agreed to give them a two minute start to the pitstop, however after only waiting 30 seconds, that is the length it took to read the clue, they set off and beat Mel and Alana to mat who were very nearly eliminated. However the teams got revenge in a following episode when the pair were bogged in the 4WD and none and the other teams drove past them. Karma is really a bitch.

8. August – The Renovators

August emerged as The Renovators series villain towards the end of the show. He relied on the skills of his female team mates to do most of the grunt work in the Marrickville shop they were renovating. In fact Christie even had to fix the toilet roll holder for him.  He also was quick to kick Natalia off the team as he saw her as a threat. However after she was gone he struggled to finish the kitchen and accused her of taking the instructions, however later in the episode he was holding them in his hand. He also went AWOL a few times to get coffee while his female harem were working away. As Christie once sighed “I have to put up with August”, and no wonder she was peeved as one challenge where she had done most of the work, he exclaimed “We make a great team”.

9. Mitchell Calloway – The X Factor

The bad boy with the tattoos and the dodgy past was called out for having an attitude problem by Guy Sebastian. The X Factor judge told him “You’ve got to have the right attitude to this competition, you’ve got to be focused and to be honest, not be rude to people and have the work ethic,” and ”For you to not learn your lyrics and for you to at times be rude to crew, you really have to pull that in and rein that in because you won’t last long in this competition or this industry if you do that.”

There were also rumours online that he bullied fellow contestant Declan Sykes. After a pre-performance montage where he was shown moaning about song choice and not being 100% co-operative with the choreographers he was voted off.

10. Dani Venn – Masterchef Australia

Dani was a villain by default. She received a lot of screen time because she showed more personality them most of the other season three contestants. She laughed a lot and also was willing to give strong opinions about the other contestants. However she also showed some dodgy cooking moments. This resulted in conspiracy theories that producers wanted her to get as far in the competition as possible when she won two immunity pins. The one against Olympic swimmer Eamon Sullivan towards the end of the series was particularly controversial.

Picture from Huffington Post

Simon Cowell has gone to his favourite place in Barbados again, and each year the paps get a shot of him on a jet ski, if there wasn’t the hair on his chest I would swear it was the same photo as last year.

He has had a great year with his The X Factor launching in the US, and after a shaky start it ended up rating very well indeed and was picked up for another season. The Mirror reports he made 28 million pounds this year.

So he deserves a little R & R as does his ex-girlfriend Sinitta who we recently saw on our screens on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. The Daily Mail has reported that she has flown into join him in his luxury villa. It is unclear whether Simon Cowell’s fiancee is Megzhan Hussainy has joined them as well. However they all spent Christmas together last year.

There have been rumours that the engaged couple had split as they were last spotted together in September 2011.

Donald Trump this year ruled out standing as a Republican candidate for the US Presidency, however rumours are again going into overdrive that The Apprentice host may run.

The Daily Telegraph reports he has changed his political status from Republican to Independent, which means he could run for President with no party affiliation. Ross Perot was the last person to do this got a respectable 20 per cent of the vote, but it is highly unlikely that he will win.

However he won’t be able to start campaigning until May as he is filming the show up unti then.