Going Gaga

BACK in the days when Jonathan Ross used to host his Friday-night chat show, he asked Christopher Walken to give his interpretation of Lady Gaga’s Pokerface.

The movie star obliged with one of the funniest chat show moments of all time.

And it attracted nearly three million hits on YouTube.

Glee’s Lea Michele also gave her interpretation of the song in an episode devoted to the eccentric singer last year, and no end of wannabe superstars have been plaguing The X Factor judges with their versions of Bad Romance and other hits from you-know-who over the years.

It seems so many people are copying Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga, she’s in danger of becoming a parody of herself.

That dress made of meat didn’t help matters. Hopefully she won’t be wearing that tonight (it might smell a bit by now) when she appears on The Graham Norton Show. She’ll be performing her latest single Judas and Born This Way, and also showcasing a range of her trademark costumes.

Also guesting is actor Geoffrey Rush, who starred opposite Colin Firth in one of the year’s best hits at the box office and at prizegivings, The King’s Speech. He’s in town for the premiere of the latest in the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, On Stranger Tides.

Chat on the other side in Paul O’Grady Live features comedian and Take Me Home presenter Paddy McGuinness and the chart-topping Black Eyed Peas.

ONCE upon a time, comedy on E4 meant repeats of Friends, but these days the channel is proving itself to be the home of interesting UK sitcoms.

Not only did the channel bring us The Inbetweeners, but also Phone Shop, which makes the leap to C4.

The setting is a mobile phone shop, where staff members compete to lock customers into the most expensive contracts while proving they are the kings of the High Street.

Unfortunately, their top salesman is currently in jail, meaning there’s a lot of pressure on new boy Christopher, especially with old hands Ashley and Jerwayne standing by to teach him a few dubious tricks of their trade.

The show’s potential was spotted early, with a series ordered even before the pilot was shown.

“We always felt a bit like underdogs because there weren’t any stars in it to speak of. It was a real ensemble piece that had kind of come from nowhere, but we knew we had really great support,” says Tom Bennett, who plays Christopher.

The good news is that the show has recently been commissioned for a second series.

In this first instalment, recruit and graduate Christopher has been given his brief – to get any punter with “mug” neatly emblazoned across their forehead to buy into the most expensive contract on the market.

Mild-mannered Christopher doesn’t quite seem up to the job somehow; step forward Ashley and Jerwayne...

MUSICAL geniuses, or bearded oddballs with very high voices?

Well, if you’re considering watching a programme about their legacy, you probably think they’re rather good.

Bee Gees: In Our Own Time is the compelling story of their career from their roots in the North-West, through their early career in Australia, their return to England and breakthrough in the late Sixties and then on to global superstardom with Saturday Night Fever and beyond.

Alongside the success there is the heartache of the tragically early deaths of first, their younger brother Andy and then, later, Maurice.

The story is told in their own words through in-depth new interviews with Barry and Robin Gibb and through extensive interviews with Maurice filmed shortly before his death in January 2003.