Natalie Bassingthwaite married her long time partner and father of her child Cameron McGlinchey. In a refreshing and classy move they did not sell the wedding photos to a magazine.

Above is a video from the Daily Telegraph which shows the bride arriving in her J’Aton gown. Unfortunately for her the weather looked cold in Melbourne something you would not expect for this time of year.

There are lot of rumours in TV land this week. The big one was Sonia Kruger is tipped to be hosting next years Big Brother.

Now the new rumours are about who will replace her on Dancing On The Stars.

The Daily Telegraph is saying Natalie Bassingthwaite will take over the role, however Fifi Box also wants the role.

Which one would you prefer?

The X Factor live shows starts tonight on Seven at 7.30pm.

The theme tonight is judges choice and the songs are:

Young Men Society – Lazy Song (Bruno Mars) vs Price Tag (Jessie J)

Three Wishez – Telephone (Lady Gaga)

Audio Vixen – Viva la Vida (Coldplay)

Tyla Bertolli – Set The Rain On Fire (Adele)

Christina Parie – Since You’ve Been Gone (Kelly Clarkson)

Jacqui Newland – Love Story (Taylor Swift)

Declan Sykes – Uprising (Muse)

Johnny Ruffo – Moves Like Jagger (Maroon 5)

Reece Mastin – Closer To The Edge (30 Seconds To Mars)

Cleo Howman – Jar Of Hearts (Christina Perri)

Andrew Wishart – The Man Who Can’t Be Moved (The Script)

Mitchell Callaway – The Only Girl In The World (Rihanna)

The X Factor kicks off on Channel Seven tonight at 7.30pm  with a two hour episode showing the auditions. Expectations are high that this year the show will go stratospheric in the ratings.

Considering it is going head to head tonight with Farmer Wants A Wife, and The Renovators the Seven executives will be disappointed if it does not win its time slot.

Guy Sebastian said in an article this weekend that the talent is better this year, and hinted that season one talent sucked.

But that is standard new season publicity that the new season’s talent is “best ever”.

New judge Mel B also shows how to get publicity for the show by bagging out the other judges, by calling them boring and dishonest.

In an article in the Herald Sun she said:

The former Spice Girl has taken aim at Ronan Keating, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Guy Sebastian in the lead-up to the return of the Channel 7 talent show.

Mel B joined this year’s X Factor after appearing as a guest mentor last series. The 36-year-old has been filming alongside Keating, Bassingthwaighte and Sebastian since late May and isn’t impressed.

“I don’t care much for the other judges,” Mel B says.

“Ronan thinks he knows it all (and) Natalie is just too nice and really dishonest.

“Guy could just be boring, like ‘get on with it. Keep it moving, brother’.”

Natalie Bassingthwaite talks about what Mel B says on this interview on Sunrise this morning.

Also an interesting article was in the SMH yesterday about how Guy and Natalie have been cast as tough judges, and how judges in reality shows must fulfull a role.

The X Factor – the auditions will be on four nights this week, before it drops back to a two night a week show.

The X Factor with its new look judging panel will kick off on Channel Seven next Monday 29 August at 7.30pm.

For next week only it will air four nights a week as they get the auditions out of the way, then it should go to two nights a week.

Guy Sebastian, Ronan Keating and Luke Jacobz have all returned. However Natalie Bassingthwaite will replace Natalie Imbruglia on the judging panel, and Mel B formerly known as Scary Spice will replace Kyle Sandilands.

Kyle did not return as he had not realised what the word mentor actually meant, that is spending time with the contestants and coaching them. It was a bit different from his gig on Australia’s Got Talent where he just had to turn up to judge.

Regarding Natalie Imbruglia word never really emerged on whether she jumped or was pushed from the show.

Here are some quick thoughts on the upcoming series:

• The sneak peek on the official website looks good, Ronan Keating says with the new age limit of 14 years, they might discover the next Miley Cyrus or Justin Beiber, personally I don’t find that a positive thing;
• With the contestants Channel Seven are showcasing on the website, it appears the young attractive girls are in favour this year. Is this the demographic they want to win this year? Why not start a conspiracy theory even before the show has started;
• Will Mel B give birth prior to the live shows? However looking at the promotional posters it would look like she already has. Channel Seven have brushed her baby bump out. OK I will confess I was the only person in a Australia who had not noticed;
• Channel Seven will be hoping viewers will be wanting to embrace the talent genre again and improve the lower then expected ratings they received for the show last year. However this strategy of Seven’s has worked well this year of giving a show a second chance. My Kitchen Rules rated very highly indeed.
• And the $64 million question will last year’s winner Altiyan Childs make an appearance on the show? I am guessing not, considering Guy Sebastian was quoted as saying Altyian had criticised the show. Also having a teenage girlfriend has not been  a positive media for the 36 year old.

Former So You Think You Can Dance Australia host Natalie Bassingthwaite has given birth this afternoon to a baby girl.

The Daily Telegraph reports:

“Cameron McGlinchey and Nat Bass are the proud parents of a little girl, Harper Rain Sinclair McGlinchey,” publicist Mark Byrne said.

Bassingthwaighte’s daughter weighed 3.47kgs.

“She was born this afternoon,” Mr Byrne said.

“Mum and bub are both doing well and are healthy.”

Congratulations.

Exciting times for So You Think You Can Dance Australia host Natalie Bassingthwaite, with news she is pregnant with her first child.

Here is a link to an exerpt in Ok Mag, but you will need to buy the mag for the full enchilada.

I hope it goes well for her.

Sonia Kruger Splitting From Her Husband James

Apparently the separated at the end of last year with heavy workloads cited as the cause of the break up. No third parties have been named. They were married for six years. Full story Sunday Telegraph.

Johnathan Pease Has Had His Role Downsized In Australia’s Next Top Model

Johnathan Pease who is the “photoshoot director” on AuNTM has had his role reduced due to concerns he was to flirtatious with the very young model’s last season. Also rumours circulating last year that he was dating a school girl has also not helped his reputation. Considering I have not seen him do to much directing at the shoots, I don’t think his reduced role will be missed.

Axle Whitehead Joins Home And Away Cast.

The former Australian Idol alumni will play bad boy rocker Liam Murphy on the show. He will debut on the show on March 5. He said an the article here that he was surprised that Channel Ten sacked him after the famous ARIA penis flashing incident.

Logie Nominations Now Open

TV Tonight has a list of who you can vote for in this year’s logies. So You Think You Can Dance is up for best reality TV show, as is Natalie Bassingthwaite for Gold Logie, and Silver Logie for best presenters.

Bonnie Lythgoe the judge from So You Think You Can Dance will be particularly pleased that fans can vote for her as best new Female TV talent, with Matt Lee also in the male section of the best new talent Logie.

You would have to be in coma or illiterate  to not know  So You Think You Can Dance Australia is starting this Sunday.

As the publicity machine is in overdrive with the show’s host, Natalie Bassingthwaite, in just about every magazine and newspaper in the country. If Mastermind were to be revived my specialist subject on the show could be “The Bass”.

In the interviews Natalie talks about the criticism she attracted last year. In an article in the Courier Mail she said to expect an improvement:

Bassingthwaighte has two words for her early critics – watch out.

“I just think bagging someone that is just having a go is not healthy for the soul or good for being Australian but, in saying that, I get it and it’s a job,” she says.

“I never said, ‘I am going to do this show and I am the most brilliant host in the world’. I said, ‘I will have a go’. All I will say is I hope that that does make young girls go, ‘I am going to have a go too’. I am OK with it (now, but) at the time it was hard.”

I find it strange that she would think people were not going judge her on her performance? Her role is pivotal to the success of the show. And if it ain’t working of course viewers were going bag it. At the beginning she was not great but by the end of the series that had been a huge improvement and I suspect she will be great this season.

In the TV Week article she say’s the following:

• A lot more professional dancers auditioned this year;
• She is enjoying the role a lot more this year as she is not as nervous,
• She is not in contact with any of last year’s dancers but she does see them out and about every now and then,
• Her film Prey will be out this year,
• She hasn’t had a chance to miss the Rogue Traders,
• Her boyfriend Cameron helped her a lot with her solo album, and they co-wrote a song,
• Her New Year’s resolution is to not take on board too much, and enjoy every moment,
• She will not be returning to Neighbours.

Now if you still need more Natalie Bassingthwaite and SYTYCDA news here is another article in The Age.

So You Think You Can Dance host Natalie Bassingthwaite has said that Meryl Tankard needs to eat her words.

Tankard who is a choreographer and who considers herself a part of the arts intelligensia in Australia famously took a swipe at the popular dance show last year. She said the performances were so awful on SYTYCD that they should not be considered dance. Also she said “It’s like a fast-food version of dance.” Previous stories on the Tankard’s criticisms are here and here.

Ahead of the launch of the second series of SYTYCD Bassingthwaite told the Sun-Herald ” I think it does put a smile on your face when someone bags something that you’re a part of and then it’s successful – it’s kind of like a cheeky grin,”

“I think it was just a shame that [it came from] someone in this industry- which is small, really. Dance in Australia wasn’t known that much. I think we allowed it to have a platform, we gave it a space, where more people would go and see her pieces.”

“More [than] anything I found it bizarre that she would bag her own,” she says “It’s like being in a netball team and you start bagging netball. I mean, what are you doing?”

Well I think Natalie’s spot on comments are a big “fuck you” to the Meryl. And chances of you getting on the show Ms Tankard. Zero.

Also in the interview Natalie said the turn-out for this year’s auditions was enormous.

She said ” Because it was such a huge success [last year], not only did they come out of the woodwork this year but it looked like some of them have been training their butts off.”

SYTYCD Au will start on Sunday 1 February at 7.30pm.