John Barrowman To Host Scotland's Children In Need

DOCTOR Who star John Barrowman is hosting a massive gig at Glasgow's SECC for this year's Children In Need. Instead of Scotland's section of the UK charity programme coming from the BBC Scotland HQ, it will be based at the SECC in front of 4000 fans.

Glasgow-born John, who shot to fame as Captain Jack in Dr Who, will cohost the show - called Children In Need Rocks Scotland - on Friday, November 19, with Jackie Bird.

Radio 1's Edith Bowman will join Radio Scotland backstage at the event for a special programme on the night.

Acts will include the cast of hit musical We Will Rock You, dance favourites The Box and Pearl and the Puppets as well as comics Des Clarke, Fred MacAulay, Daniel Sloss, Mark Nelson, Craig Hill, Janey Godley and Nina Conti. Other guests have still to be announced.
As well as hosting the event, John will be presenting live links to the rest of the UK and performing.
He said: "Working on Children In Need is always a highlight of my year. The cause is such a worthy one, and unfortunately right now the number of children in need in the UK is growing."

Reporting Scotland anchor Jackie said: "The show is always exciting, but this year we're really pushing the boat out for our fundraisers and viewers. I hope that in return people will give what they can."
Last year, the BBC's Children In Need appeal raised a record-breaking £39million, with £1.6million from Scotland on the night.

You can register now for free tickets at bbc.co.uk/tickets

More Torchwood News!!

As writing continues on Torchwood season 4, we round up a couple of the latest stories surrounding the show’s return…Shooting doesn't start until the beginning of 2011, yet a few more bits and bobs have been seeping through about the return of Torchwood with The New World next year. The new season of the show is a co-production between BBC America and US cable network Starz, and show boss Russell T Davies has lured in some impressive writers to work on it.

One of them is Jane Espenson, a veteran of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Battlestar Galactica episodes, and she's been talking to Blastr about how the new season of the show is being put together.
Espenson confirmed that she's writing three of the ten episodes of the show, and that all of the scripts will be written this time before the cameras start rolling. She revealed that "Because of the length of our season and the lead time before production begins, we're actually approaching Torchwood in a very unusual way-all the episodes will be written before any of them begin shooting. "This is allowing us to ‘break' all the episodes at once, with the entire writing staff working together in a very concentrated one-month work session. This is making for a very intense and collaborative process, all guided by Russell's very precise vision. The final product is going to be tightly plotted and lovingly crafted."

She also revealed that one of the previously-announced character names has been changed. Furthermore, John Barrowman has confirmed his return, something we didn't actually appreciate was in much doubt. He's basically said that he's ultimately chosen returning to the character of Captain Jack Harkness over continuing in Desperate Housewives. He said, "I was in discussions with the creator of Desperate Housewives, one of the top three television series in the whole world, and he invited me to play Patrick. It was such a good role playing the baddie and I really wanted to do it. But, I also didn't want to spoil the Torchwood deal, so I told him that if I played Patrick he'd have to find a way to kill me off and he went along with that. Desperate Housewives is so huge that it actually helped to seal the Torchwood deal, so everyone is happy."

Torchwood: The New World will be arriving on TV screens next summer.

Torchwood - Children Of Earth Premiers On French SyFy Channel

From French Site "Toutelatele"
(My French is a bit rusty so please forgive any inaccuracies)

 The third season of Torchwood will air on Syfy, during the evenings of 19 and 20 September.

In this third series of five episodes, entitled Torchwood - Children Of Earth, the team rallies around an astonishing phenomenon: Children around the world are frozen at the same time and while repeating "We will return...", "We are coming" ..

The new series of British the science fiction show, created by Russell T Davies, will be a season of ten episodes, with John Barrowman and Eve Myles, the principal actors. This series, scheduled for a summer 2011 airing in England and the United States, will be co-produced for the first time by BBC Worldwide and the American channel Starz.

John Barrowman Interview

 John Barrowman, known for his role in BBC sci-fi drama Torchwood, will tour the UK next month in support of his self-titled album.

He will land in London for one night only on October 4 singing favourites like Copacabana and When I get my Name in Lights at the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore.  "This will be my second time playing the Royal Albert Hall solo. It's always a really special place to me. Whenever I play there, that's the show all my friends and family come along to. I have to admit I got a little teary last time." Says John with a glint in his eye.

It is clear he hasn't lost an ounce passion for performing. "I don't feel blasé on stage, not at all. As much as you want to think it is cynical, it's not. I know this sounds cheesy to say but I have always loved doing this. I have selected all the songs on my set list really carefully. They are full of meaning, they may remind me of a moment where I have had a life changing experience or a special family memory. "For example, the song You'll Never Walk Alone was a song my grandfather sung to my mother. Then my mother sung it to me when I was young. Now I will sing it to the audience - it is like passing down a memory."

In November, after just 10 days off, Barrowman will star as Aladdin in a pantomime at Glasgow's Clyde Auditorium. And they are likely to be sure fire successes. His previous pantomime roles as Aladdin and Robin Hood in Birmingham, not only sold out but broke box office records. Says Barrowman: "I enjoy the media of pantomime. It is an introduction for young people into theatre." 

 Barrowman is a classic entertainer, having cut his teeth in musicals and theatre before working his way into TV. But his first love is show tunes and this tour will see him in his element. He said: "Come along, bring a date. It is going to be a lot of fun. And I guarantee you it is going to be different from what you expect," promises the tireless performer.