X Factor 2015 judges/mentors announced

Well, the new judges (or mentors, if you prefer) for The X Factor 2015 have been announced, and they're likely to leave Simon Cowell looking like a dad at a disco.

He and Cheryl Cole Fernandez-Versini are due to be joined for the new series by Rita Ora and everyone's favourite where-the-hell-did-he-come-from DJ, Nick Grimshaw.

Grimmy, Cheryl and Rita are The X Factor mentors 2015

'Grimmy' is a contradiction in terms, in that he's been around for ages yet every time he gets a new job, everyone immediately says he lacks the experience for it - he started out on E4 nearly a decade ago, and has worked on pretty much every channel there is since then.

If you like him, that's great. If not, it's hard to avoid his leering face or just-got-out-of-bed voice, whether on BBC Radio One, hosting his god-awful panel show Sweat The Small Stuff on BBC Three, or popping up like a wasp at a picnic on Children in Need or the recent TFI Friday revival.

Rita Ora is by no means the most popular person in the world, so it's saying something that she seems to be the better received of the two new mentors (at least she's a singer, right??).

Personally I've never found anything much to dislike about her, and she did a decent job as guest judge during her previous one-off appearance on The X Factor, so good luck to her.

In fact I'm more than happy to say good luck to all concerned - I can't bring myself to watch anything Grimmy is involved with, but the presenting duo of Caroline Flack and Olly Murs should see the Saturday night show in safe hands, and it's understandable that some young blood is being pumped into a show whose biggest recent successes have been the just-started-wearing-pullups groupings of Little Mix and One Direction.

For the rest of us, jaded by more than a decade of dodgy decisions from the judges and convenient 'deadlocks' to shift the blame back on to the public vote, it feels like a lifetime since Saturday night telly involved Mrs O calling Steve Brookstein a dickhead on live national TV.

Those were the days.

Will Katie Waissel judge X Factor 2015?

Long-time Popsiculture favourite Katie Waissel made her return to The X Factor this weekend to perform in what was dubbed The X Factor Medley - basically a cover of The Time (Dirty Bit) by the Black Eyed Peas.

You can watch the full performance below - Katie arrives near the end and frankly does an impressive job of rescuing what is otherwise several minutes of absolute car-crash television.


As usual it seems set out to humiliate the performers, rather than to bring them back as heroes of series gone by, and Katie once again brings an undeserved amount of grace and elegance to the X Factor stage which pretty much sums up how she's always been treated by the show.

But none of that matters - what matters is her tweet just before 11pm on December 13th (just a few minutes ago, as I write this) which has really set the Katie-cat among the pigeons for her Twitter followers.

Katie's tweet said:

Bye Bye London!! See y'all on the other side.... #seeyounextyear #confirmed #chair

— katie waissel (@katiewaissel24) December 13, 2014

And just in case she deletes it or it won't load for any reason, that is "Bye bye London!! See y'all on the other side.... #seeyounextyear #confirmed #chair".

Does this mean we can expect to see Katie Waissel judge X Factor 2015? Is the 'chair' she refers to one of the coveted X Factor mentors' chairs?

This IS Katie after all, so nothing is impossible... watch this space for official confirmation, if that really is what La Waissel was hinting at.

Either way it was a cathartic return to the show for Katie, who also posted on her Instagram account, where a picture paints a thousand words (or 65 words, in Katie's case...) and allowed her to send a message too long to tweet.

#amen #thexfactor @thexfactoruk #closure #farewells #newchapter Be Inspired.....

A photo posted by Red Velvet (@redvelvetband) on Dec 12, 2014 at 10:34pm PST

Again, will this 'new chapter' see Katie Waissel mentor for X Factor 2015? Or are the ever-hopeful Waissel Warriors jumping to conclusions?

It's too early to be certain, but you can bet her fans will have their fingers crossed - Katie has written X Factor columns for magazines and websites over the past couple of years, so her association with the show has never faded (and frankly, never will).

With strong opinions and no fear of expressing them, personally I think Katie would be a fantastic X Factor mentor for 2015; she might even be enough to convince me to watch it again.

If she is confirmed for one of the mentors' chairs in 2015, I'll just be hoping the media are a little kinder in their coverage of her than they were when she was a contestant on the show.

UPDATE: What if she meant The Voice?

Just a quick addition to this - what if when Katie said 'see you on the other side', she meant it more literally than anyone has realised?

People don't tend to talk about The X Factor judges/mentors in terms of the chairs they sit in, but there is of course a similar show where the mentors' chairs are a much more significant part of the production - The Voice.

It's on 'the other side' in the sense that it's on the BBC rather than ITV, and the mentors change much more regularly than they do on The X Factor.

What if... maybe, just maybe... Katie's 'confirmed chair' for next year is over at the Beeb? Personally I think she'd be a great fit for the show.

Twin Peaks to return in 2016...?

Amazingly, it looks like a third series of Twin Peaks is on the way.

This is amazing news whether you like the show or not, when you consider that the pilot episode was first broadcast in 1990 - that's a terrifying 24 years ago for those of us who were around then to see it.

A second series followed in 1991, and the movie, Fire Walk With Me, came in 1992.

Since then it's all been quiet, and fans have had to make do with re-runs, DVD box sets and the genuinely awesome soundtrack CD.

That is, until David Lynch tweeted the following:

Dear Twitter Friends… it is happening again. http://t.co/r0l9rhK4eB #damngoodcoffee
— David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) October 6, 2014

Just in case you can't view the YouTube video in that, we've embedded it here below:


OK it's not much to go on, but fans already seem convinced it's more than just a full re-run of the original series.

Will we see the return of Agent Dale Cooper and all of the other characters who made the show one of the strangest things to ever hit TV screens? Let's hope so.

And in the meantime, there's just enough time to watch the original series and remind yourself of what to expect... if they get it right, it could be a hell of a nostalgia trip for some of us.

The Day of the Doctor

There's an awful lot that could be said about The Day of the Doctor, but I'll try to be brief and avoid spoilers as far as possible (but if you've not seen it yet and want to, you might still prefer to watch it before reading on...).

Firstly, let's get the most important thing out of the way - it was good. The first 30 seconds or so, before it all goes a bit adventurey, are a pleasing link from the very first episode to present day, and the last shot of the episode - without wanting to give anything away - is a nice way to round off the first 50 years of the show.

In between those opening and closing shots, there's 75 minutes of spectacle with a plot that, at least as far as I can tell, holds up to scrutiny better than many recent episodes of the series itself.

The feature-length piece also, of course, INTRODUCES JOHN HURT AS THE DOCTOR, but the lack of subtlety with which he was shoutily announced at the end of the preceding episode has been smoothed out slightly, and he fills the role nicely without stealing the show as the biggest 'name' among the cast members.

Subtlety is, for once, to be found in abundance in The Day of the Doctor, which manages simultaneously to give a nod to the classic era of the show, the early days of its modern-era revival and its current incarnation with Matt Smith at the helm of the TARDIS and of the show.

Billie Piper's appearance (again, hardly a spoiler by the time you've watched the opening credits) is handled well, allowing her to feature without getting bogged down in the Tenth Doctor/Rose storyline - which, remember, younger newcomers to the show may not have seen.

And there's a curious Wizard of Oz undercurrent throughout - look out for the ruby slippers in the Black Vault, Clara (IIRC) calling herself the 'Wicked Witch of the West' and Ingrid Oliver's character name 'Osgood' (Clara is, of course, varyingly known as Clara Oswald or simply as Oswin in previous episodes).

I've been trying to work out if the three Doctors are meant to represent the Scarecrow (Smith), Tin Man (Tennant) and Cowardly Lion (Hurt), but it's not a perfect fit - maybe it's all just my imagination.

I could spell out all of the references to the earlier Doctors, but I won't - I'll leave that for somebody far more familiar with the show than I am, and for a page that's less careful about spoilers.

But needless to say, as a viewer who came to the show in the mid to late 1980s (I wasn't born until 1983, so I like to think I have an excuse), there was enough of the spirit of Doctor Who as I knew it then, balanced nicely with the modern-day sense of the show as the new generation of fans have come to know it - not to mention a couple of surprises thrown in purely for the older fans, which seems fitting for an anniversary of such magnitude.

I do wonder how they got from the end of the previous episode to the beginning of this story, but perhaps that doesn't matter too much - it really needed to stand alone, so viewers who tuned in only for the anniversary did not feel lost from the outset, and I suspect it achieved that aim fairly well.

The focus now has to be on Peter Capaldi - it's no secret that this year's Christmas special is likely to see Matt Smith bow out and regenerate, which will ruin Christmas Day for a few kids, but never mind.

Can Capaldi continue to unite the two eras of Doctor Who? Restore The Doctor to his true, original character as a grumpy grown-up, rather than a clown? Bring back the darker side of the character and the show, for a generation of fans who came to the show as adolescents but are now reaching maturity in their own right?

I had all but written off Doctor Who until this anniversary episode; now I greet the oncoming storm with optimism. I have loved Matt Smith but, like Sylvester McCoy, he has rarely had the storylines he needed to shine to his fullest potential. Bring on Capaldi.

An Adventure in Space and Time

If you're already sick of watching Cybermen faint under the lights of The One Show studio, you probably decided not to watch An Adventure in Space and Time.

But while much of the build-up to this weekend's 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who has been bordering on the vapid, this 90-minute dramatisation frankly blew everything else out of the water, and has probably set the bar impossibly high for the 50th anniversary episode itself.

Not to worry - it's a small price to pay for what was not just a perfectly time-shifting glimpse at the show's earliest days, but also a touching tribute to The Doctor himself, William Hartnell.

Peter Capaldi is the Twelfth Doctor

In the worst-kept Doctor Who secret since the 2005 reboot episode Rose was leaked in Canada, Peter Capaldi has been named as the Twelfth Doctor, and fans seem, for the most part, to be quite happy.

As usual, I've got mixed feelings, although they're generally very positive - and it's certainly good that they haven't tried to cast another Matt Smith, who always seemed a natural for the role.


Yes, Capaldi is a rather more familiar face than is usually the case, but I think the show needs a safe pair of hands in the driving seat for now.

And to the critics who say he won't stay for long, as he'll be lured away to other (bigger?) things, I refer you to my June 2nd post and the fact that only four actors - including the two most recent Doctors, David Tennant and Matt Smith - have ever held the TARDIS keys for more than three years at a time.

Doctor Who...?

With the news that Matt Smith is to leave the role of The Doctor (let's call him Eleven from here on in) at the end of the show's current 50th year, Doctor Who's producers have a crucial decision to make in appointing the right actor - or actress - to take on the role of Twelve.

I've been a lifelong fan of Doctor Who, although in my case I was still only four years old when Sylvester McCoy became Seven, so don't really have clear memories of any of the Doctors who came before him.

Before I list some of the options, let's remind ourselves of the Doctors of the past:

1. William Hartnell (1963-1966), 2yrs 11mths
2. Patrick Troughton (1966-1969), 2yrs 8mths
3. Jon Pertwee (1970-1974), 4yrs 5mths
4. Tom Baker (1974-1981), 6yrs 9mths
5. Peter Davison (1981-1984), 3yrs 0mths
6. Colin Baker (1984-1986), 2yrs 9mths
7. Sylvester McCoy (1987-1989), 2yrs 3mths
8. Paul McGann (May 27th 1996), 1 day
9. Christopher Eccleston (2005), 3mths
10. David Tennant (2005-2010), 4yrs 7mths
11. Matt Smith (2010-2013), 3yrs 11mths

Although it might feel like the actor playing The Doctor has changed quite a lot since the show's return in 2005, that's actually not the case - with the exception of Eccleston's admittedly short tenure, Tennant and Smith have been two of only four actors to play the part for more than three years (with Davison piloting the TARDIS for almost exactly three years, but falling just a few days short of the milestone).

The Ex Factor

In years gone by, we've given quite detailed coverage to The X Factor - everything from live blogs, to exclusives on the latest odds, to compilations of some of those dramatic bits of music they use in their montages.

After last Sunday night's shambles of a show, I won't be watching The X Factor again. It's not even a case of whether or not it's fixed, it's more that I knew from the moment Carolynne Poole's VT began on Saturday night - portraying her as a perfectionist who'd beat people up for getting in the background of her camera shot - that she was doomed.

She's clearly not the worst performer in the show, and absolutely did not deserve to be the first to be booted off (even if she received the fewest votes, you only have to compare the sparseness of her production with the over-the-top glitz and glamour of Rylan's to see why she failed to connect with the viewers).

And yes, it's not really the unfairness of it - more the feeling that the show, and its outcome, are more manufactured and predictable than ever. If Union J win (and that's admittedly a very big 'if' at this stage) that will be hammered home like never before.

What this means for you, dear readers, is that there probably won't be any coverage of The X Factor on Popsiculture this year. We put ourselves through a fair bit in our pursuit of news and reviews to bring to you, but there are limits.

Best of luck to those of you who stick with the show - the only question we need to answer now is what to do with our Saturday and Sunday nights, here at Popsiculture HQ??

The X Factor 2011 - The Results

Who wins? You decide.

Well, actually it's all over now, and Little Mix won. Did you vote for them? Did you vote for any of the acts that made the final?

Chances are, probably not - there were an awful lot of entrants after all, and only three true finalists. And one of those wasn't in the competition for half of the live shows.

However, for better or worse, Little Mix are now vying for the Christmas number one spot, and you can preview and order their single, Cannonball, below.

BBC Children in Need - November 18th 2011

It's that time of year again, so get your Pudsey ears on and get ready for Children in Need 2011.

There's a bit of a recession on, you may have noticed - so should we expect a record-breaking year? Probably not on the night itself, but we'll find out over the next few hours. Either way, it's still the biggest variety line-up of the year, an excuse to be a bit silly, and all for a very worthy cause.

First up is a special edition of The One Show, which seems like an odd way to kick things off, but you never know, they might have Sir Terry Wogan as a special guest host...

7pm-7:30pm

Ah, apparently it's not Children in Need time yet, there seems to be a 30-minute countdown clock on the screen... seriously BBC One, make your mind up! With that in mind, I'm gonna make sure I've got my beer and schnapps within arm's reach - a shot for every million pounds raised, until I'm drunk enough to donate more than I can afford.

Meanwhile, here's a photo of Matt Baker and Pudsey the Bear on a rickshaw...

Just about 22 minutes to go until the main event gets underway, and One Direction are already pubing all over my TV screen. Urg. But it's OK, they're only here to announce the official phone number:
03457 33 22 33
12 minutes till the main show, and Matt Baker's already single-handedly raised over £1.2 million. That's not a bad effort, by any means. Well done Matt! And he's straight back into presenting The One Show, too. What a hero.

And this is your five-minute warning... shot glasses at the ready if you're playing along with the drinking game. Just don't get so drunk that you forget to donate...

7:30pm

It's time for the main show! And, finally, Sir Terry Wogan. Good evening to you, sir.

Oo, who's hanging on his arm for the first part of the show...? It's the holy trinity of Tess Daly, Alesha Dixon and Fearne Cotton, in matching metallic frocks. Looking good, girls!

And it's One Direction, again. Good things to say about this: 1, at least they'll be out of the way pretty early in the night, and 2, at least this isn't the official Children in Need single for this year. Although it's probably better than the god-awful cover of Teardrop that 'The Collective' have actually released. Oh dear.

If you actually like One Direction, you can get What Makes You Beautiful on iTunes.

As for Teardrop, well, The Collective are an all-star line-up and it's good to see Children in Need is keeping up with the times. You can buy Teardrop on iTunes, safe in the knowledge that your money is going to a very worthy cause.

It's fast-paced tonight, barely ten minutes into the main show and we're already into a Wizard of Oz mash-up. Michael Crawford showing the One Direction boys how you stay in the game for decades at a time.

Olly Murs tells Ella's story, and reminds us of why we're watching in the first place with an appeal on behalf of a nursery for children with various disabilities or special needs.
7:55pm, and it's time for a quick local update before the hour mark. How are things going in your area?

Obscure goings-on in the north-west: "I've found his head." "That's not his head, that's a cake!" No, I don't know either.

8:00pm

Here we go, into the new hour. And it's John Craven with this year's Countryfile calendar. How much did they raise? £560,000, says John - although it says £504,000 in massive digits behind him. Either way, it's a potful of money for Children in Need!

Oo, the first total of the night - how much have they raised so far? This could be a few shots already, eek...

£4,364,411
The most ever raised by the first total, says Terry - surely they can't keep up that kind of pace all night??

Right, so I'm off to down four shots of schnapps (while I can still say it) and I'll leave you in the capable hands of the BBC newsreaders and their Strictly Come Dancing special.

I've interrupted my schnapps-downing to say that if Sophie Raworth was grinding against me like that, I don't think I'd be able to dance. Dan disagrees - he's more of a Susanna Reid fan, apparently. And a special mention for Angela Rippon, a genuinely classy lady and very gracious despite only being given about half a second to speak. What a lady!

And Susanna wins, so I guess Dan was right after all. He usually is.

The total's in from Greggs and it's over £1 million - cheers Greggs, I'll be having a shot for you at the next total.

Is it time for Doctor Who yet? More importantly, Dan wants to know if there'll be any Pond...??

No Pond, but you can bid for The Doctor's bow-tie? Bow-ties are cool! Although Dan suggests it would have been better if Pond's clothes had disappeared. Then again, they seem to do that every week...

8:30pm

As we enter a new half-hour, it's almost time for a classic Children in Need mass choir effort. I can't remember them doing this in earnest since that year the kids all had to hold squares of coloured card over their heads to make a massive patchwork Pudsey picture... back when they were using the good old Children in Need anthem "We are the children...". Pull this off, guys, and you'll make a long-time Children in Need fan very happy indeed.

Well, it's fair to say that was a pretty impressive effort, well done 2,000 or so random children!

Aw, and Alesha Dixon bows out at 8:42pm. Not a bad effort though, Alesha - well done, m'lovely. Who's up next then? Tess? Fearne? We'll find out after another local update.

A full five minutes later, we finally find out that it's Tess to support Sir Tel through this stint - and there's a bit of slightly odd flirting between the pair of them. Eek.

I like the kids from Outnumbered, so you're not gonna hear a bad word from me on this one. Given that it's been about ten years, they've done an awfully good job of making them all look like they've never aged.

And we haven't mentioned the number for a while, so if you want to donate, here it is:

03457 33 22 33
Another pre-recorded segment - time for something else live soon, I hope? - but it's the fairly epic DIY SOS shown a week ago. We watched the whole thing and it was a genuine achievement, and quite moving too. Well done, guys.

And the total raised via DIY SOS text donations:

£182,158
9:00pm

We're moving past the watershed now, and there's still only been one totaliser. How much has been raised?? Nobody knows, but maybe we'll find out soon.

Time to find out what Radio 2 have been doing, anyway. Any face-painting? Everyone else has been face-painting, it seems. No mention of face-painting, as far as I could tell.

Chris Evans' listeners add a further £1.2 million to the pot, taking the Radio 2 contribution over £2 million. And it's totaliser time! Here goes...

£8,911,090
That's... £2.2 million from Radio 2 and Greggs, and another £2 million or so raised on the night? Steady going, but there's still plenty of time...

Time for a Chicago song and dance routine from Gok Wan, and time for us to do another four shots of schnapps here - that was a close-run thing on hitting £9 million just then...!

Gok: "Getting women naked - easy. Song and dance - terrifying."
Sir Terry: "I never found getting women naked easy, myself."

Time for an appeal from Jo Joyner. "Harry weighed 1lb 6oz when he was born." He was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. There's not a lot else to say, is there? Steps, an educational centre near Loughborough, supports children with motor disorders. Donate or pledge tonight, and you can help support them too.

03457 33 22 33
Straight into the EastEnders montage, and it's a swift change of mood. Unless it's just laughable... I'm not really sure. Obligatory everybody-headbanging to Bohemian Rhapsody, and is that Ian Beale in drag? Yep, apparently so.

A regional round-up, and then The Muppets! It's very nearly 9:30pm, and it's an all-star Mah Na Mah Na (find the original Muppets version on The Green Album) - and that's another half-hour over.

9:30pm

Oh Christ, Daniel Craig introduces a film we're warned will be painful to watch. I'm gonna watch it. You should too.

"Two of their ten beds are empty, because they can't afford to run them." Please donate, if you can.

Susan Boyle seems to be skirting around the tune of this one a bit - is that what the second line's supposed to sound like? Maybe... maybe. It's not important, anyway.

If SuBo moved you to tears, you can download Enjoy the Silence from iTunes.

And we're on to Dragons' Den versus The Apprentice. Well, just Sir Lord Alan Sugar. What a massive Sir Lord.

He does have a good product, though - the AmsBear, a wireless integrated Pudsey? I want one. I'd want my ringtone to be the proper Children in Need anthem, though - we are the children, we are the meek. Jackpot.

Oh dear, another £2.5 million - was that thanks to Children in Need Rocks Manchester? This is gonna involve a lot of schnapps, in the not-so-distant future. Still, well done Gary Barlow!

And another emotional appeal from Gary Barlow himself, showing the valuable work done by Children in Need.

Now it's time for The Collective to perform Teardrop, the official Children in Need single for this year. It's a bit street for my tastes, but you never know, the kids might like it.

It might just be me, but was Tulisa even audible for any of that? We could barely hear her speak at the end there...

Just ahead of the hour, it's totaliser time.

£15,274,911
That's a massive seven shots of schnapps here, so things might get a bit hazy after 10pm. Speaking of which, it's time to switch to BBC2.

10:00pm

...and we're on the other side. Lots of screaming... oh Christ, what? One Direction are back again? What did I do to deserve this? The useless scrotes... OK, schnapps time here.

In the meantime, if you're a One Direction fan, you can download Gotta Be You from iTunes.

This could be interesting - an extract from a documentary screened earlier this year. Could be tough to watch, as well. But that's the point.

10:13pm and Fearne Cotton's here, hurrah! I love you, Fearne Cotton. And I love your dress. In fact, all three frocks tonight have looked like that one Donna Air wore a few weeks ago and got slated for... a trend-setter once again, Donna.

And we're into a special Never Mind The Buzzcocks, which is chance for me to have the two more schnapps I need to keep up with that last total... this is a pretty sweet line-up though, Claire Richards, Shaun Williamson and... oh, Arlene Phillips and the drummer from McFly. Come on, Noel's team!

10:30pm

Alesha Dixon takes us into a new half-hour with the age-old tale of kids doing The Wrong Thing because there's nothing better to do. It's so easy to give them something else, something better - and it doesn't cost the world. Are your children safe tonight? What would you give to make sure of that?

Oh, it's the audience changeover, the moment when the tired early shift go home and the half-twatted latecomers show up.

Hello, Ed Sheeran. I'm not sure I like you, but I do love your song. Readers, if you like it too, you can download The A Team on iTunes.

Wait, hang on, this isn't The A Team. What's he singing? Oh, it's Lego House. I don't like this one as much as The A Team, but that's OK, it's not all about me.

10:39pm - Let the record show that BBC2 went off air before BBC One came back, leaving us in a Children in Need wasteland for a full minute!

So, here's JLS with their new single... no, wait, hang on, it's a rip-off of that classic Christmas song. Saints alive! Never mind, you can get it here. Oh, and it seems to be called Do You Feel What I Feel?, but I'm not so sure about that.

Dan reckons Hollyoaks can't sing. I think he might be right. And I wish they'd sung "Oak You", rather than "Forget You". But that's just me. If you're a fan of the original, get it here.

Almost 11pm, and Sir Terry Wogan's doing a little speech. I love you, Sir Terry Wogan.

Oh, it's Daniel Craig again, with Elliot's story. I'm not even sure how to spell his name. That seems strangely tragic in itself. Please donate if you can - 03457 33 22 33. For Elliot Wild.

11:00pm

Westlife take us into the new hour. Surely everyone out there already owns You Raise Me Up, on a compilation if not a Westlife album? (Or, heavens be blessed, the CD single??). If not, you can get it here.

Time for a total, and if my eyes don't deceive me, I do believe it's:

£19,555,068
So we'll be doing four more shots, while Vic and Bob do some street magic. This should be good... and there's that guy Dynamo, too. We're left wondering whether Vic Reeves might secretly be quite good at close-up magic. Nice one, Vic.

Jessie J with a hard-hitting story of young love turned into gang rape, basically. It's hard to dress that up as anything better - and, in fact, it wasn't anything better, it was as horrible as that sounds. Fearne asks, "do you feel angry? Frustrated? Helpless? Well you're not helpless..." Your donations can change this, give young people who have been hurt the help that they need and deserve. Donate now.

It's Olly Murs, with Rizzle Kicks. I didn't like Murs much, but y'know what? I've been watching The Xtra Factor, and he seems like a decent chap. So that's good. If you're a fan, Heart Skips A Beat is on iTunes here.

David Tennant with the story of Nathan, son of Keith (I think), who is living with Asperger's Syndrome. It's a disorder on the autism spectrum - and you know what? To me, it seems quite manageable. So chuck in a few donations, and let's make a difference. It doesn't have to be hopeless.

11:30pm

Hey, it's Steps! Their record-breaking linedance to 5,6,7,8 is still one of my all-time great Children in Need moments (and 5,6,7,8 was the first single I ever bought) so I won't pretend this isn't an awesome medley for me. Enjoy!

Hello, The Saturdays. You're all looking pretty good - and I don't usually think that. Blonde one, you look really stunning, but Frankie's still my favourite, I think.

Oo, a special Russell Howard's Good News? Oh, it's a clip show, but that's OK, I guess. I love this show, even clips I've seen before are still great!

Ah, a special mention for the clips of Sir Jimmy Savile. It feels like New Year's Eve, or the Baftas, when they show the montage of all the people who've died this year. I met Sir Jimmy once, when I was little. He was a true gentleman and I can clearly remember my conversation with him. He would want to support children across the country, for sure, so if you remember him fondly, give tonight in Sir Jimmy's name.

Dan's happy, Karen Gillan's finally turned up. We're agreed that childhood cancer AND being a Man Utd fan is a cruel double blow for any child. Seriously, 03457 33 22 33 to pledge what you can, and support work in Great Britain and over in Northern Ireland.

Nearing the midnight hour, and the cast of Crazy For You are here. Personally, I was hoping for a live performance from Let Loose, but that's OK. It seems a little harsh that the musical casts tend to get brought out so late in the night - but I suppose that's the way of the world.

12:00am

Eek, it's time for a grand total... prepare the schnapps...!

£22,207,844
Two more hours to go, and we're on 22 shots of schnapps here. Yikes.

Luckily we're into post-midnight repeats territory, it's Outnumbered and then Will's story, introduced by Gary Barlow. As hard-hitting as it was earlier in the night, but you don't need me to hold your hand through it - we've been here before, right?

And I'm welling up, not for the first time tonight, as Adele sings Make You Feel My Love. Get it here, if you're one of the few people left who don't already have it downloaded or on CD.

The briefest of appeals from Downton Abbey, and we're into a rerun of Children in Need Strictly Come Dancing. This is well and truly repeats territory, people - if you're still with us, you're truly committed to the cause!

12:24am, and it's finally time for Matt Cardle. I'm not judging - he had enough of that on The X Factor, and there's something truly admirable about the performers who wait up into the early hours to perform live. It's actually a decent song, even if I suspect it was written with half a mind towards using the instrumental version as The X Factor backing music...

Run for Your Life on iTunes.

And we move into a new half-hour with Tulisa, Matt Cardle and Jessie J's various tales of woe. It's a triple-whammy of tragedy, and a stark reminder of the importance of the work done by Children in Need.

12:30am

What the fuck? Is that Justin Lee Collins?? I've never wanted him more... or, wait, is it just a blonde chick from Rock of Ages? She looks pretty amazing, either way. This could be the best medley of the night so far.

And straight from that (was that Shayne Ward, too? I'm not really totally sure... it's been a long night) into a rerun of The Muppets' Mah Na Mah Na. Brilliant.

Sometimes when I see Lady Gaga singing a fairly stripped-back version of Edge of Glory, I have to wonder whether Stefani Germanotta would prefer for that to be her full-time persona. It's a fine song, and she sings it well. Add a million gimmicks into the mix though, and I'm not so sure.

If you like Edge of Glory - and I'm very much with you, if you do - you can get it here.

Another rerun, this time of the EastEnders Queen medley, and again it's linked straight with Jo Joyner's moving appeal. I mean, I know she's from EastEnders, but I find her particularly moving, not because of the character she plays, but because she's a real-life mum, and it's obvious how much she cares about other families. I hope her appeal isn't undermined by being linked with an EastEnders singalong every time.

1:00am

Into the final hour, still with us? Will Young's raced over from his Cambridge gig, what a hero. I suspect, from the lyrics, that he's singing Come On - if so, you can get it here.

And it's total time - Dan, you chose the right moment to go to bed, heaven only knows how many shots are about to be required.

£24,255,334
Two more shots. Only two?? Come on people, we can give more than that! One last big push for Children in Need. Come on.

And it's a rerun of Dragons' Den vs Alan Sugar - and a chance for me to send in a donation, I suspect.

Professor Green - and you know what, the more I hear this song, the more I like Emeli Sande. It's a pretty powerful song, even when it's not in the middle of a Children in Need appeal. Get it here.

Another rerun, this time of Gok Wan. I'm off to donate again...

OK, donated. Another rerun, this time the Children in Need choir singing Avril Lavigne's Keep Holding On. An epic effort, and if you want the original, you can get it here.

Coming up on 1:30am, and it's time for some highlights of Children in Need Rocks Manchester. But also, if you want to donate £5 via your phone bill, text DONATE to 70705. Y'know what? Even if you've donated already, just text it. Do it once. It probably won't break the bank for you, but it could change a life somewhere else.

1:30am

Harley. Your story is not easy to see or hear, by any means. But you're an inspiration to all of us. I raise a glass to you, my friend.

Oh shit. I'm definitely not emotionally equipped for One Day Like This right now, but Elbow, I'm glad to see you once again.

I'm both sad and relieved that they cut that song off halfway through - I would have been in floods of tears by the end, without a doubt. Can't see that happening with JLS, funnily enough...

At this point, I'd like to say, courtesy of Leigh Baird, that this is the best Children in Need ever, full of tears, love and laughter. I'd agree with that sentiment, no questions asked - well, the latter part at least. Is it the best Children in Need ever? I suppose that's measured purely by the amount raised, and that's well on track to break the records.

Wow, it's hard to believe we're approaching the last 15 minutes of the show. Almost all that's left is the inevitable montage of great moments from the night so far, and the final total. More than ever, I hope it's huge. I've seen Children in Need fail to break its previous record only once, and Sir Terry's "It's OK" speech was one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen or heard.

We're in the depths of a recession, as everyone knows - but to think that we might be able to give more than ever, even in these straitened times, would be an incredible notion. Please, please, please. Please? We'll find out soon enough.

And yet there's still time for a live performance, Caro Emerald with A Night Like This. She's good, too - these performances are why it's always, always worth staying up till the last moments of Children in Need. Love the song? You can get it here.

Sigh. It's the montage. Parts I'd forgotten. Parts I'm not yet ready to let go of. I can't tell you how much this night means to me each year. I can't give much, but I give what I can afford - and I know many of you do too. Every year, it's an unprecedented outpouring of generosity. Well done, all of you.

And we're coming up on the end of the night, so it must be time for the final total. Place your bets now on what it may have reached...

OK, here we go... the final total is:

£26,332,334
Sir Terry says these are tough times, and to come together to give more than ever - well, that's enough for anybody. Fearne mostly sticks to a simple "goodnight!" but, as the camera shot fades out at 2am, she turns and hugs Sir Terry, and I properly lose it for the first time tonight.

Truthfully, it's not that much more than the previous total, but it's still a record-breaker. And that brief glimpse of Sir Terry and Fearne embracing sums up how much it means to the people who give up their time for free. Some of you will never really care about Children in Need, and that's OK. But some of you feel every year's total, feel it like a new benchmark in your life, a measure of whether the world's headed in the right direction or not.

I love Children in Need. I love the principle of it more than the good work that it does. I love Sir Terry Wogan, I always loved Gaby Roslin, and I've learned to love Fearne Cotton and Tess Daly - and, this year, Alesha Dixon.

I love that it's 2:08am before we join the BBC News channel, because, presumedly, Children in Need overran. And it should overrun, shouldn't it? Heaven forbid the year Children in Need is cut off early in order to switch to the 24-hour news...

So yes, it's the end of the night. If you stuck it out to the end, well done. If you joined us during this live blog, thank you. And if you donated - you have changed the world. You may never know exactly how, but you have had an indelible positive impact on a child's life, and for that you should be very proud.

Goodnight, you excellent, excellent British people.

The X Factor 2011 - The Final 16

The X Factor judges have made their decisions, the contestants have mixed things up a bit by choosing to drop out, revealing past criminal convictions and generally adding to the pantomime that is The X Factor, but finally it seems 16 acts have been chosen to go through to the live shows.

So, did your favourite make it through? And who do you think is in with the best chance of taking the title this year?

The Favourites

The girls stand out as a particularly strong category, as usual. Any time there's debate over whether the right people went through, it means some talent got left behind - and this year, that talent is in the form of Jade Richards.

The X Factor Dramatic Music

Last year, we trawled through our CD collections, online forums and classical music archives to check exactly which tracks were used in The X Factor's dramatic background music. We know you care, because we see a steady stream of searches coming in from people hunting down their favourite track.

However, there are a few tunes that are used again and again on the show - so although this year's auditions are only just underway, we've put together a playlist of the usual suspects below.


Preview the tracks on iTunes if you're not sure which is which - did we cover all of them?

If we've missed your favourite piece of dramatic music from The X Factor, leave a comment below to tell us where you heard it on the show, and we'll do our best to reply with any we may have missed.

Torchwood - Miracle Day

Torchwood is back for a ten-part series, Torchwood - Miracle Day, produced in collaboration with US broadcasters and with the big budget you might expect as a result of that fact.

John Barrowman returns as Captain Jack Harkness, while Eve Myles is Gwen Taylor, the pair having spent the time since the end of the previous series getting over the deaths of their colleagues and now reunited, ironically, by an apparent global inability to die.

American co-stars add to the line-up, including Independence Day's Bill Pullman in what, three episodes in, seems to be significantly more than a walk-on cameo. However, we're yet to discover the role that his character, Oswald Danes, might play in the shake-out of the Miracle Day story arc.

Eurovision Song Contest 2011

It's a big day - no, not the FA Cup final, sillyhead - it's EUROVISION FINAL DAY!! So if your heart's in Dusseldorf today, and not down Wembley Way, this is the place to be. We'll be helping you to make sense of the madness from the first fanfare to the last hurrah, as well as seeing whether Jedward can return Ireland to winning form, or whether France will prove that the hot favourites can actually go on to take the crown.

Click the iTunes button below to take a look at the track listing on the official soundtrack album, but don't be fooled when it says the UK entry - Blue's 'I Can' - is album-only. It's not, and you can get it here.

Elisabeth Sladen, 1946-2011

We don't really 'do' obituaries, but I'm a Doctor Who fan (as you may have noticed) and this week's excitement about the new series was cut sadly short by the death of Elisabeth Sladen, the Doctor's companion Sarah Jane Smith.

I wasn't even born when she was first in Doctor Who, back in 1973. In fact, the first time I can remember seeing her in the show would be her appearance with David Tennant, which really was not so long ago. But it's a tragic loss to two separate generations of fans - those who loved her in the 70s, and those who only came to know her through the recent appearances and her spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures.

So this weekend's series opener will be tinged with sadness - and presumedly some kind of on-screen tribute to Lis Sladen - and because I have a slightly loose grip on reality, I keep thinking "poor K-9".

Doctor Who - The Impossible Astronaut Teaser

Looks like the BBC read our little Doctor Who-obsessed Popsiculture minds and put out a teaser for the new series just for us. OK, it wasn't quite just for us, but it's still more than welcome. If the prospect of two Ponds was overwhelming on Comic Relief night, you can draw some comfort from the fact that she's not in this preview. In fact, neither's The Doctor, so there's not much chance of it classing as a spoiler. You should probably just go ahead and watch it...

Comic Relief - Red Nose Day 2011

Friday March 18th is Red Nose Day 2011 and we're watching it with you. We'll be live-blogging our way through the main Comic Relief show from 7pm, so leave your comments below or follow us on Twitter @POPSICULTURE and let us know what you think. We're with you till the end on this one...

Oh... and by the way... you can DONATE HERE (at the official Red Nose Day site)

Let's Dance for Comic Relief 2011

Let's Dance for Comic Relief 2011 pitted a whole new cohort of celebs against each other. The real question was, could anyone other than a male comedian in drag ever win this title? Robert Webb's Flashdance... What a Feeling won the 2009 series, Let's Dance for Sport Relief 2010 was won by Rufus Hound's Fight for This Love and Russell Kane proved a popular option in week one of the 2011 contest with his take on Beyonce's Crazy in Love.

Outcasts (BBC1)

The first three episodes of BBC's new science-fiction drama have shown real promise, but left me with questions beyond those its makers were intending to pose.

Outcasts charts the progress of the inhabitants of Forthaven, the first pioneer settlement on the planet of Carpathia, following some as yet unnamed catastrophe that has rendered continued life on Earth untenable. These settlers have been chosen for their usefulness to society, which apparently means scientists, law enforcers, and soldiers. Not a banker in sight.

It's a real ensemble piece, there's no obvious main protagonist, and it's hard as yet to place who is the emotional centre of the series. President Richard Tate (Liam Cunningham) is the noble, but imperfect leader; Stella Isen (Hermione Norris) is Tate's head of Protection and Security (PAS), desperate to rebuilt a relationship with her daughter Lily who arrived on the latest transporter; Cass Cromwell (Daniel Mays) and Fleur Morgan (Amy Manson) are PAS officers tasked with upholding the values of the new society, and Jack Holt (Ashley Walters) is the hot-headed leader of the Forthaven's armed force, the Expeditionaries.

DVD & Blu-ray Round Up: Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps

Popsiculture's release of the week has to go to Oliver Stone's Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. The follow up to his legendary 1987 polemic against the excesses and shady dealings of the American banking industry, Money Never Sleeps could not have had a better real-life backdrop or it's release last year. Following the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market, and subsequent worldwide economic crisis, surely Gordon Gekko's mantra that 'Greed is good' has never been more contentious.

So the iconic Gekko being released from prison for his former indiscretions, and returning to his old ways is an interesting and timely subject for Stone to explore. Unfortunately though, the resulting film fails to hold interest as it should.