Buzzin Soap Stars

Celebrity Paws auction

Coronation Street’s Bill Tarmey is one of several stars of stage and screen showing their support for unwanted moggies by kindly donating their ‘paw prints’ to raise money for the UK’s leading feline welfare charity, Cats Protection.

Bill is joined by his former colleague on Coronation Street, comedian and actor John Thompson, who is among a host of personalities who are taking part in this year’s Celebrity Paws auction.

Other well-known faces to donate their ‘paw prints’ include Strictly Come Dancing judge Alesha Dixon, TV personality John Barrowman, war-time singer Dame Vera Lynn, comedian Ronnie Corbett, Twilight star Kellan Lutz, Bo Selecta’s Leigh Francis and The It Crowd’s Katherine Parkinson.

Now in its fourth year, Cats Protection’s Celebrity Paws auction raises much needed funds for the charity, which helps over 215,000 cats and kittens per year. Celebrities were asked to draw around their hand, sign it, and style it in their own unique way. The drawings are then auctioned on eBay, which last year raised around £2,500 for the charity.

The bidding will commence on Wednesday 1 December with the hammer coming down on Saturday 11 December. The paws will be framed and ready to hang on your wall so this is the ideal opportunity to get your paws on the perfect Christmas present.

Kate Bunting, PR Manager for Cats Protection said: “We are incredibly grateful to all our celebrity supporters who have been very creative with their works of art this year. Each drawing is totally unique and completely authentic so we hope bidders will be keen to bag a bargain while helping to raise money for the thousands of unwanted cats and kittens in our care.”

For the chance to get your hands on these works of art and to find out who else has donated their paw print to Cats Protection, please visit www.cats.org.uk/celebrity-paws.

To make a donation to help the charity continue its cat welfare work, please call Cats Protection’s national Helpline on 03000 12 12 12

Emmerdale

Natalie J Robb who plays the part of Moira Barton in Emmerdale has revealed that she has enlisted the help of a personal trainer in a bid to lose weight for her role as mother of drug addicted Holly in the popular soap.

The 35 year old believes that adrop in weight will add a bit more reality to the her part as the mother at her wits end trying to come to terms with her daughters drug addiction and is determined to lose a stone before the end of the year.

In this weeks Emmerdale we will witness a stressed mother who is unable to see her child going through withdrawal from heroin and actually goes out to buy drugs for her daughter in the shockingly realistic storyline.

Normally strong willed, Moira appears defeated by the situation that she finds herself in, and her act is purely out of desperation at seeing her child Holly in this state.

Jack's final appearance

In a sad but peaceful ending to his long association with Coronation Street the character of Jack Duckworth, played by William Tarmey, died in his sleep last week, shortly after attending his own 74th birthday party at the Rovers Return.

In a special edition of the programme dedicated to the character, viewers were reminded of the highs and lows of  Jack’s life in the Street following his passing away.

It was amusing to see Jack dressed as a woman in order to play bowls and Vera catching him out as the femme fatale he had arranged to meet through a classified dating advert.

On Thursday this week Jack is finally laid to rest, so expect a big gathering of cast members as they attend the funeral to pay their last respects.

Jack’s ’surrogate’ son Tyrone moves the congregation with a heartfelt and emotional speech about how he had come to look upon Jack as his own father.

A fitting tribute to mark the end of another era in the long running soap.

We all love a night out with the girls but if you’ve got the kids and a demanding job, one of the biggest challenges is arranging it all. Instead of getting dressed up and hitting the town, getting your friends to connect with you online is the latest way to have a good time. Online bingo is changing the way women spend their leisure time, and it was recently discovered that bingo is among the most popular leisure activities among young women between 20 and 25. So what makes the game so appealing? This article aims to find out.

If you have ever seen adverts for bingo websites on the television or the Internet, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. Whereas some people haven’t enjoyed the experience of playing bingo in an amusement arcade in the town centre, logging onto your computer for a game or two is a whole new way to enjoy the game. For starters, it makes the game cheaper and if you like to nibble on some chocolates or other treats while eyes are down, indulging your cravings will be far cheaper when compared to bingo hall prices.

Also, Internet-based bingo companies such as jackpotjoy.com have plenty of different bingo games running simultaneously, meaning that you don’t have to time your session with a bingo hall’s schedules any more. The 90-ball section of a bingo website could have as many as a dozen rooms to choose from, with each of them offering different jackpots and prizes. The price of a bingo card also varies between bingo rooms, meaning that it isn’t hard to find somewhere that fits in with your budget.

The chat function used by most bingo websites means that whether you are enjoying a girly night in with your mates or one on your own, the conversation will flow. Online bingo systems use a random number generator that co-ordinates the balls announced with the numbers on your card too, meaning that you’re able to enjoy a good chat while the hard work is done for you. A significant number of bingo users multitask while they are in the middle of a game, so why shouldn’t you?

Online bingo is by far the most sociable way to enjoy the game. If you have ever attempted to have a conversation with a friend in a bingo hall, your mutterings will probably have been met by frustrated hushing noises as other players try to hear the next ball that’s going to be announced. On the Internet, the only thing that’s there to break off your conversation is the constant congratulatory messages from other users if you’re the lucky winner!

Arranging a girly bingo night in with all of your friends is easier than you think. As long as all of you have a computer to use, in addition to plenty of wine and chocolate, you will be set for a night to remember. To ensure you are all playing together, everyone should pick a particular bingo room on the website you use. Once you are all logged in, the fun will start and (hopefully!) the jackpots will come rolling in! While your cards get closer to the top prize, you will be able to have a good catch up with the people you love, relaxing and seeing where the gossip takes you.

There’s nothing worse than missing something good on TV because you were out all night. If you’ve all been keeping your eye on that appealing programme, taking a break from the bingo to snuggle up and watch is no problem. When playing online, the game is flexible around you, meaning that you are in control of how much you spend and how much you play. Indeed, if you wanted to make it a bingo sleepover, there would be nothing to stop you; most websites are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It would be amazing to win one of the progressive jackpots on a bingo website such as Jackpotjoy or a super jackpot as seen on the new games such as Bingo Royale, which features the Queen of Bingo herself. To increase your chances of walking away with a prize, you could suggest a syndicate with your friends, where all of you spend the same amount of money on bingo cards and split any winnings earned. With a bit of luck and some fun along the way, you could walk away quids in!

If you haven’t registered already, it couldn’t be simpler. Many websites have an introductory offer for new bingo players which means your deposit will be boosted by a welcome present from the company you choose. Resultantly, you will have the edge over all of your friends as you will have more cash to splash in the bingo rooms! Some of the deals include your first deposit being tripled, allowing you to get the hang of playing bingo online for free.

However, you shouldn’t forget that there are still great deals for existing bingo players. Some websites have a loyalty scheme that rewards gamers who play online frequently. For example, Jackpotjoy has Joy Points that accumulate for every pound you spend in its bingo rooms. The points you gain can then be used for exciting prize draws for laptops and iPods, for entry into exclusive bingo games with generous jackpots or even for account credit, allowing you to make your money go further when playing bingo. If you love to play bingo throughout the week, why shouldn’t you accept a ‘thank you’ from the company you choose to play with?

Are you plotting a girly night in? If so, considering a bingo night in could be a great idea, allowing you and your friends to spend time together in a refreshing and novel way. With the great deals to find online, and the flexibility of game play, it would be silly not to!

Phil Mitchell

Steve McFadden the 51 year old actor who plays the part of hard man Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap Eastenders, has been arrested by police in Haringey North London following complaints from a former partner of harassment.

It is alleged that the complaint came from McFadden’s former partner Dr Rachel Sidwell, the pair have a daughter aged 17 months, Amelie Tinkerbell.

A police spokesman confirmed only that,  “On Wednesday November 3 officers from Haringey arrested a 51-year-old man in connection with alleged harassment to cause violence against a female. He has since been bailed until a date in January.”

Just like the TV soap isn’t it!?