Wednesday 13 February 2008

News 24 launches showbiz news show

Leigh Holmwood
guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday February 12 2008

BBC News 24 is to launch its first regular entertainment news show since Zero30 in the late 1990s, with a weekly programme co-hosted by Blue Peter presenter Gethin Jones.
E24 will be a weekly roundup of news from the world of film, television and music with behind-the-scenes reports and interviews with stars of that week's shows, gigs and events.

Jones, who became a household name following his stint on BBC1's reality show Strictly Come Dancing, will front the programme alongside News 24 presenter James Dagwell.

The 15-minute show has been commissioned for a six-week pilot run and will air weekly on Saturdays at 10.45am and 5.45pm from February 16, with a repeat at 5.45pm and 9.45pm on Sundays. E24 will also be available on demand from the BBC's website.

The new show follows in the footsteps of Zero30, which morphed into Liquid News and moved to BBC Choice in 2000 and then onto BBC3 in 2003.

Liquid News, which featured a wry take on entertainment and showbiz, was originally presented by Christopher Price until his untimely death in April 2002, when Paddy O'Connell took over.
It was axed in November 2003 following a rejig of BBC3's schedule.

BBC News 24 currently provides entertainment news updates twice nightly from Monday to Thursday at 6.30pm and 9.30pm.

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