PM and First Bloke in rom-com

Julia Gillard says she’s looking forward to a new comedy series about the PM’s life at The Lodge.

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard is out to show she has a sense of humour.

The PM, who is battling low poll figures and an attack on her carbon tax policy, says shes looking forward to a new comedy series about life at the prime ministers official residence in Canberra.

The ABC has commissioned the four-part series, At Home with Julia, which is being billed as “part rom-com, part guaranteed lawsuit”.

The series will screen later this year and is being filmed in a north Sydney mansion.

Ms Gillard said she was familiar with actress Amanda Bishops impersonation of her from the Seven Networks Double Take in 2009.

“Shes hilarious and does a very good job,” Ms Gillard told ABC Radio.

The role of First Bloke, Tim Mathieson, will be played by Phil Lloyd, who starred in Review with Myles Barlow.

Ms Gillard joked that perhaps she could delegate some of her work to Ms Bishop.

“It may come in handy having a double because there could be days where theres an extra commitment and I could get her to go,” she said.

Ms Gillard laughed off the prospect of the series portraying sex scenes in the prime ministers office.

“Lots of work gets done in the prime ministers office,” she said.

“Something tells me if the (show) is going to be laugh-a-minute it wont be very true to real life.

“Being prime minister is a lot of work and a very serious job.”

Bishop says the series will be an intimate portrayal of the first couple but not an intrusive one.

“We agreed the first couples bedroom was off-limits,” she said in a statement.

   

Maori TV exclusive with Ratahi family

The whanau of Taranaki man Anthony Ratahi, who was shot dead by police last week, have approached Native Affairs to share their story.

Ratahi’s two daughters are speaking out on Monday night’s episode of Native Affairs with their story to be followed by a live panel discussion led by anchor Julian Wilcox.

Radio New Zealand has reported that Ratahi (46) was shot through the left eye by specialist armed police last Saturday after setting a dog on him 12 hours after he took his former girlfriend hostage at a hotel in Opunake.

Maori Television’s Te Kaea reporter Semiramis Holland was approached by the Ratahi whanau and granted exclusive unlimited access to the tupapaku and the tangihanga at Oeo Pa.

Native Affairs producer Colin McRae says the whanau has concerns at the lack of support upon his release from prison, which they will discuss further on the show.

“They’re not denying their father had a history of violent offending, but are concerned about how the operation was handled and whether it was necessary for police to shoot him,” says Mr McRae.

Tune in to Native Affairs on Monday 25 July at 8.30PM to hear the family’s side of the story.

FRINGE 1.02 The Same Old Story REWATCH

Our Fringe Rewatch continues with our partner site, Seriable.com. Here are just some of my strictly new thoughts and perspectives on our Peter-less predicament upon looking back at The Same Old Story.

What follows is a wee sampling of my thoughts from rewatching The Same Old Story (for additional context, follow link below):

  • A tiny thing that I don’t recall noticing previously is Loraine (or AMBER) stroking her stomach moments before the baby starts growing  inside of her. He

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Comic-Con kicks off with fans, flicks

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Calling all superheroes, zombies, space aliens, comic-book lovers and kids of all ages: Comic-Con is here.

The pop-culture convention, which annually draws thousands of costumed fans to San Diego, begins Thursday, but the die-hards (and those with weekend-long passes) will get a peek at the colorful convention floor on Wednesday night.

Hundreds of exhibitors and more than 130,000 guests are expected to pack the San Diego Convention Center for the sold out, four-day event.

“The people who go through those doors, most of them are film fans and fans of pop culture, be it video games or movies or television shows, T-shirts or comic books, it’s all part of this big cultural stew,” says filmmaker Jon Favreau, who will premiere his latest flick, “Cowboys & Aliens,” at Comic-Con. “

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71 Degrees North line-up revealed


The ’71 Degrees North’ line-up has been confirmed, with Lisa Maxwell and Sean Maguire among those taking part.

‘Loose Women’ star Lisa Maxwell and former ‘EastEnders’ actor Sean Maguire are among the celebrities taking part in ’71 Degrees North’.

The pair will be joined on the challenge-fuelled trek through the Arctic Circle by other ex-’EastEnders’ cast members, Spandau Ballet star Martin Kemp and actress Brooke Kinsella – who has most recently been associated with campaigning against knife crime following the murder of her brother – as well as celebrity hairdresser Nicky Clarke, presenters Rav Wilding and Angellica Bell, TV gardener Charlie Dimmock and actor John Thomson.

Rounding off the 10 is a star who is no stranger to icy conditions – Olympic skeleton competitor Amy Williams.

He did something to his back and was crying out in pain

It had previously been claimed that Martin had been forced to pull out after suffering a back injury and was to be replaced by former footballer John Barnes.

A source said at the time: “Being in South Africa did not put him off.

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