People in the news

14 December 2013

ABBEY'S FEARS

Abbey Clancy said she is scared to the point of being "hysterical" that one of her dances will go wrong on this weekend's semi-final for Strictly Come Dancing.

Each of the remaining couples will perform a pair of dances in order to win through to the climax of the show next week.

But model Clancy - who dances with flu-hit Aljaz Skorjanec - said she is "petrified" of having to handle a difficult samba for one of her routines. Clancy is the only contestant to have scored a perfect 40 mark from the judges for her salsa but is struggling with her latest Latin dance.

SHOW OF SUPPORT

X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger has backed last year's winner James Arthur to rise to the top despite his recent troubles.

The singer was diagnosed with ''acute exhaustion'' last month just days after being embroiled in a homophobia row. He ended up apologising for his language after he used the word ''queer'' in a rap which drew criticism from figures such as Matt Lucas.

Arthur, who has admitted having suicidal thoughts after winning the ITV competition, was told to rest by medics. But former Pussycat Doll Scherzinger said: "I'm just there for him," adding he was "unbelievably talented".

BROADCASTER BAILED

Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini and a second man have been re-bailed until March after their arrests as part of the national investigation prompted by abuse claims against Jimmy Savile.

They were due to answer police bail in January, but have now been told by officers from Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree, that they do not need to return until two months later.

They were both held in south London in October over alleged sexual offences that are not linked to disgraced DJ Savile. Gambaccini, 64, denied the allegations after his arrest.

HARRY'S HEROES

Prince Harry and his fellow adventurers have reached the South Pole, organisers of the Walking With The Wounded charity trek have announced.

After more than three weeks pulling sleds across the frozen wastes of Antarctica the group stood at the bottom of the world.

The adventurers include 12 servicemen and women from the UK and other nations who have suffered terrible injuries, including the loss of limbs. Their trek took them more than 200 miles across the bleak continent to the geographic South Pole.

APPEAL REJECTED

A man who murdered his wife in a staged car accident and tried to kill his second in a copycat crash has lost an appeal against his conviction.

Malcolm Webster, 54, was jailed for a minimum of 30 years for killing Claire Morris, 32, in the planned smash in Aberdeenshire in 1994 and attempting to kill Felicity Drumm in New Zealand in 1999 to claim insurance money. The former nurse, from Guildford, Surrey, was handed the life sentence after being convicted of the crimes in May 2011 following a five-month trial.

Judges at the Court of Appeal in Edinburgh rejected a claim that he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice after Webster's legal team argued that scientific experts who gave evidence at the trial had not been able to rule out the possibility that the fatal car fire started accidentally. The court ruled that the prosecution case did not rely solely on expert evidence.

BIRTHDAY TRAGEDY

A man drowned in the sea after becoming disorientated while cycling to visit a friend after he had been out drinking with friends to celebrate his 21st birthday, an inquest has been told.

Paul Monk, of Southsea, Hampshire, had been celebrating with friends at the White Hart pub in Havant on March 19 when he left at about 10pm, saying he was going to visit a friend. The Burger King worker left on his bicycle and contacted Ruby Sadler, saying he would go to her house on Hayling Island.

But the inquest at Portsmouth Guildhall was told that Mr Monk did not arrive and his body was found two days later on the foreshore close to an old railway bridge, now in ruins, which used to connect Hayling with the mainland.

SATURDAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Barbara Leigh-Hunt, actress, 78; Janette Scott, actress, 75; Mike Scott, singer (The Waterboys), 55; Chris Waddle, commentator and former footballer, 53; Miranda Hart, comedienne, 41; Tammy Blanchard, actress, 37; Michael Owen, footballer, 34; Vanessa Hudgens, actress, 25.

SUNDAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Don Johnson, actor, 64; Joe Jordan, former footballer and coach/manager, 62; Paul Simonon, musician (The Clash), 58; Helen Slater, actress, 50; Carl Hooper, former cricketer, 47; Frankie Dettori, jockey, 43; Adam Brody, actor, 34; Michelle Dockery, actress, 32.

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