Andrew Marr has revealed that he took out a court injunction to stop the press reporting details of his private life. Speaking to the Daily Scum Mail, the BBC broadcaster said that he was 'going public' because he no longer needed the gagging order. Marr, who has three children with his wife, Jackie Ashley, secured the High Court injunction in January 2008. The order prevented the press from printing stories about an affair which he had with another - unnamed - journalist and which ended in 2003. He said: 'The injunction allowed me and my family the time and space needed to repair and heal itself at a very difficult time. None of this has been particularly pleasant, nor am I proud of it, but we are still together as a family and I am delighted about that.' Marr added that injunctions 'shouldn't be forever,' but asserted that there is 'a case for privacy in a limited number of difficult situations.' The Britain From Above presenter believed that he had fathered a daughter with his former lover, but the paper reports that he later discovered he was not the child's father following a DNA test. 
Marr admitted that he was 'embarrassed' and 'uneasy' about the course of action he had taken, but argued that he thought he had done the right thing. 'I did not come into journalism to go around gagging journalists,' he said. 'But at the time there was a crisis in my marriage and I believed there was a young child involved. I also had my own family to think about, and I believed this story was nobody else's business. I still believe there was, under those circumstances, no legitimate public interest in [publication].' Marr conceded that gagging orders are 'controversial' and commented that the current situation 'seems to be running out of control.' Similar privacy injunctions have been granted to a Premier League footballer who may (or may not) play for a club in the North West, a 'married TV personality' and a 'world famous' actor in the past month.
Next up, dear blog reader, we've got some ratings and audience appreciation figures from the last couple of days. The big success story on Bank Holiday Monday night was The Suspicions of Mr Whicher which was watched by an overnight audience of 6.2m, aided by a splendid performance from the Raging Bullring himself, Paddy Considine. Not as many as Doctor Who got on Saturday, admittedly, but more than both Corrie and Lewis managed on Sunday. So, can we have a full series of these, please ITV?
The drama proved too strong for MasterChef: The Final Three, which still had a respectable 4.7m on BBC1 in the 9pm hour although that's the first time this series that a MasterChef episode has acquired a lower overnight ratings than the equivalent episode from the last series. The Suspicions of Mr Whicher also outperformed Derren Brown: Miracles for Sale's 1.62m audience on Channel Four between 9pm and 10.30pm. (Derren's documentary had an additional three hundred and eight thousand viewers on C4+1.) And, also, BBC2's excellent Arena documentary Produced By George Martin which deserved far more than the 1.02m viewers it got. Next, moving to the audience appreciation index, the figures for Saturday have just been released and, get this all your people who thought it was 'too complicated', Doctor Who's AI score was a whopping great eighty eight - easily the highest of the day on the BBC and only beaten anywhere by an eighty nine for Channel Five's NCIS. On Twitter Steven Moffat explained to those of his followers who may be unaware of what is a good AI score and what isn't, 'Yes, it's good!' However, it wasn't all happy news for the BBC's Saturday night line-up. The much-criticised game show Don't Scare the Hare in addition to its decidedly poor overnight audience of just 1.9m also copped what is, I think I'm right in saying, the lowest ever AI score for a TV programme that wasn't a party political broadcast, getting just forty six out of one hundred. For context, to quote directly from The BBC Producers Guide to AI: 'Most programmes return an AI of between seventy five and eighty. Higher AIs tend to be achieved by programmes with a particular or specialist appeal, children's programmes for example. For any programme, a score in excess of eighty five is excellent. Any score in excess of ninety is exceptional. Any programme that falls below sixty has received a poor AI. Any score below fifty five is very poor. 
The average AI is in the mid seventies, between seventy three and seventy six.' For further context, even widely acknowledged disasters like Big Top, The Ludicrous Ms Dahl and Daybreak have all managed to get scores in the fifties and sixties, certainly never anywhere near as low as forty six. Bad news for Jason and Sue. And, particularly, for Hare. And jolly good news for Miranda Hart who was originally going to be doing the voice over on the show but, in circumstances never fully explained, left before production started. Narrow escape that, Miranda! Here's a funny thing, dear blog reader. Whilst ITV's equally wretched Sing If You Can's audience dropped by two million between episode one the previous week and episode two on Saturday, by contrast its AI score actually went up from sixty five to seventy three. Still not exactly good (or even, quite, average) but Daybreak will be looking at them with some envy. Speaking of the usual suspects we might as well have this week's exciting edition of Daybreakwatch:
18 Apr 708k - AI 68
19 Apr 707k - AI 68
20 Apr 732k - AI 66
21 Apr 725k - AI 69
22 Apr 458k - AI 66
25 Apr 350k
Yes, yer actual Keith Telly Topping is aware that the last two were Bank Holidays and that breakfast TV shows traditionally take a bit of a hit on days when many of the people who normally get up to watch them on their way out to work aren't working. But still, if you can't laugh at Daybreak's misfortunes these days then, frankly what's the world coming to? Particularly as, on Monday, the BBC's Breakfast also lost some viewers but still managed to average 1.1m. And, still on the subject of flop Saturday night light entertainment shows, and AIs, here's a new game for all the nation, So You Think You Can Dancewatch
26 Mar 5.06m - AI 76
2 Apr 4.08m - AI 78
9 Apr 3.65m - AI 76
16 Apr 3.63m - AI 76
23 Apr 3.56m - AI 76
Stunning! And, somebody at the BBC thought it was a good idea to stick Doctor Who on before this? Is it really so wrong to wish for somebody to lose their job for crass incompetence?
The latest episode of Doctor Who has smashed BBC America's ratings record in the US, pulling in almost 1.3 million overnight viewers.
On Saturday, the premiere of season six of Doctor Who was watched by 1.27m on BBC America (live and same-day PVR recordings), beating the channel's previous ratings record, set last year by the first episode of season five of the science fiction show. In the opening episode, entitled The Impossible Astronaut, Matt Smith and Karen Gillen are joined by guest stars Stuart Milligan and Mark Sheppard. The episodes were partly filmed in America.
Incidentally, if Aaron Sorkin ever fancies getting around to doing an eighth season of The West Wing, From The North has a couple of casting suggestions which might spice up the Santos administration!
'Are you telling me, Rory that not only did you invent a secret plan to fight
inflation, but now you don't support it?'
Now, here's a bit of question: What do Hugh Bonneville, Ryan Giggs and Phillip Schofield have in common, dear blog reader? No, I haven't the faintest idea either. But, I'll tell you what, this blog has been getting an awful lot of hits over the last few days from dear blog readers arriving direct from Goggle and using those three names in a search. Possibly they're all in a five-a-side team together? Dunno. If anybody can tell me what that's all about please feel free to do so.
John Simm has bemoaned the fact that his wife and son watch 'bloody' reality television programmes. Speaking to the Radio Times, the Life on Mars actor revealed that he and his son Ryan, however, have found a shared enjoyment in watching Laurel and Hardy together.
'My dad would go red in the face and fall off his chair, crying with laughter at Laurel and Hardy,' he told the magazine. 'I laugh at it, too - not like that, I don't laugh like that in general! And my son laughs at it. That's unbelievable - three generations, and how old are those films? It's like it's from a time capsule. It's mad. I'm so, so glad that my son likes Laurel and Hardy.' Yet he admitted: 'He won't watch them in black and white. It's the colourised ones for him, which is hard for me. But at least he's watching them. His generation don't get things that aren't in colour.' Simm concluded that his absences due to work mean that he cannot always control his son's viewing habits, saying: 'He watches those bloody reality shows with his mum, which I'm not happy about. The ballroom thing and the pop star talent shit things. Which, I'm a bit pissed off about.'
SF drama Misfits is leading this year's TV Bafta nominations, with recognition in four categories. The E4 series is up for best drama series and best new media, while Robert Sheehan and Lauren Socha are nominated for best supporting actor and actress. Doctor Who's Matt Smith has had his first nomination, for leading actor. He is up against two-time BAFTA winner Jim Broadbent for Any Human Heart, Benedict Cumberbatch for Sherlock and Daniel Rigby for Eric and Ernie. Juliet Stevenson gets a best actress nomination for The Accused, alongside two-time former winner Anna Maxwell Martin for South Riding, Vicky McClure for This is England '86 and Natalie Press for Suffolk murders drama Five Daughters.
BBC1's Sherlock has a total of three nominations, as has Channel Four's Any Human Heart and BBC4 drama, The Road to Coronation Street. The latter, about the beginnings of the long-running ITV soap opera, is nominated for best single drama. It also has two nominations for supporting actress with first nominations for both EastEnders actress Jessie Wallace and for Lynda Baron, who played Pat Phoenix and Violet Carson respectively. BBC4's Morecambe and Wise biopic, Eric and Ernie, Channel Four's I Am Slave and BBC2's The Special Relationship are all nominated for best single drama. Aside from Cumberbatch's nomination, Sherlock is also up for best drama series, while Martin Freeman is nominated for best supporting actor. Any Human Heart's other nominations are for Gillian Anderson for best supporting actress and for best drama serial. Sky1's Mad Dogs, BBC23's The Sinking of the Laconia and Channel Four's The Promise are also in the running for best drama serial. Three new shows are up for best situation comedy - BBC2's The Trip and Rev and BBC1's Mrs Brown's Boys, alongside Channel Four's Peep Show which seems to get nominated near enough every year though this blogger has yet to meet very many people who actually find it funny. Waterloo Road receives its first nomination in the continuing drama category, joining previous winners Casualty, Coronation Street and EastEnders. BBC3 telefantasy drama Being Human is nominated for best drama series alongside Misfits - last year's winner - ITV costume drama Downton Abbey and Sherlock. Two Channel Four series - Come Dine With Me and Hugh's Fish Fight - will battle it out in the features category alongside BBC2's Mary Queen of Shops and Sky1's Pineapple Dance Studios. The BBC garnered three out of four nominations in the sports category - for Six Nations: England v Wales, Formula 1: The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Wimbledon 2010. ITV's coverage of last year's FA Cup Final: Chelsea v Portsmouth, was also nominated. In the international category, Martin Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire on Sky Atlantic takes on E4's Glee and two show's broadcast on BBC4 - The Killing and Mad Men. 
Channel Four's One Born Every Minute, Coppers and BBC1's The Young Ones and BBC2's Welcome to Lagos are in the running for best factual series. Graham Norton, who announced the BAFTA nominations on Tuesday, gets his first nomination since 2002 in the entertainment category for BBC1's The Graham Norton Show. Have I Got News For You gets its eleventh nomination in the same category. The X Factor and The Cube are also nominated. Norton is also nominated in the entertainment performance category alongside Rob Brydon, Stephen Fry and Harry Hill. Best comedy programme hopefuls are Sky1's Catherine Tate's Little Cracker (even though Kathy Burke's was way-better), BBC1's Come Fly With Me, E4's Facejacker and BBC2's Harry and Paul.
Karen Gillan showed up to be interviewed for a US chat show last week, with a huge purple bruise on her arm. Fans may have thought she sustained the injury while filming dramatic scenes for Doctor Who,
however she told fellow Scot Craig Ferguson that, actually, she fell over while promoting the launch of the new series in New York. 'I was hoping you wouldn't notice. I was trying to be cool in New York, because we were there promoting Doctor Who and I fell over – it was so dramatic.' Asked by Ferguson whether she was drunk at the time, Karen insisted: 'No, I wasn't – I promise. That's the saddest part about it. I was wearing big heels and I just went right over.'
The BBC has said to be 'braced for criticism' after filming the dying moments of a terminally-ill man whose family agreed for the death to be captured on camera. At least, according to those Communist hippie wretches at the Gruniad Morning Star, that is. A BBC science series, Inside the Human Body, will show the final breath of eighty four-year-old Gerald as he dies at home surrounded by his family. The producers recognised the second episode of the series, which includes footage of the death, would anger 'some people', but said that they wanted to tackle the difficult subject. Presenter Michael Mosely told the Radio Times he believed the programme was justified and that it was important not to avoid 'talking about death and, when it's warranted, showing it. There are those who feel that showing a human death on television is wrong, whatever the circumstances,' he said. 'Although I respect this point of view I think there is a case to be made for filming a peaceful, natural death – a view shared by many who work closely with the dying.' It would not be the first time the BBC has faced criticism for showing death on screen. Earlier this month it was accused - by some people with an agenda six inches thick - of being 'a cheerleader for assisted suicide' after filming the last moment of a man at a Dignitas clinic in Switzerland for a Terry Pratchett documentary. The programme, due to be broadcast on BBC2 this summer, follows a seventy one-year-old man in the late stages of motor neurone disease.
Pratchett, the fantasy novelist and a vocal supporter of euthanasia, stays at his bedside until he dies from a mixture of drugs taken to end his life. Inside the Human Body will track the development of a life – from conception to the grave – and will feature the moment of conception, a baby's first breath, the body's development to adulthood, and the body's defence mechanisms. The second episode, which features Gerard's death, will also look at a woman who has survived for ten years eating nothing but crisps, a man who can hold his breath for nine minutes, and another who can swim in water so cold it would normally kill a human. The final part will examine what happens when the body gives up its fight for survival. 'We met many wonderful people while making the series, but Gerald was special. We were privileged to share, with his family, his last few weeks and the moment of his final breath,' said Moseley. After approaching several hospices asking for permission to film, a hospice in Pembur in Kent, had put the programme makers in touch with Gerald because they felt it was 'important that life-threatening illness and death is discussed and understood more in our society.' Gerald, who had cancer, said that he hoped filming his death would help others. 'I don't want to die, but pretty evidently unless some miracle happens, I ain't gonna be here very long. I'm not frightened,' he said. 'I don't believe that it'll be just like cutting off some tape with some scissors, though it might be. But either way I have blind trust that I shall not disappear completely,' he said. He vowed to see the start of 2011, and died on 1 January, surrounded by his family. Mosley said: 'The death of a loved one is a hugely significant moment in all our lives, but not something to be feared. I watched my own father die. Just before the end he decided to start singing. He sang for several minutes and then he stopped and he was gone. I'm so glad I was there and the time I spent with him before his death are among the many memories that I treasure.'
Rob Kazinsky, the EastEnders actor, has quit his role in The Hobbit film and is returning to Britain 'for personal reasons.' He had been cast as Fili, one of thirteen dwarves who accompany the character Bilbo Baggins on his journey to defeat the dragon Smaug in JRR Tolkien's tale. Although scenes featuring Kazinsky had already been shot in New Zealand, director Peter Jackson said his departure 'will not affect ongoing filming of The Hobbit, nor will it impact work done to date, as we had yet to film much of Fili's storyline.' Announcing the development on his Facebook page, Sir Peter said: 'Rob has been terrific to work with, and his enthusiasm and infectious sense of humour will be missed by all of us. At the moment we are shooting scenes featuring Bilbo without the Dwarves, which will give us time to find a new Fili.' Kazinsky told fans on Twitter: 'It's with a sad heart that things have turned out this way.' The twenty seven-year-old actor is best known for his role as Sean in the popular BBC soap. Producers are now scrambling to find a replacement, with filming currently under way at studios in Wellington, the New Zealand capital. Meanwhile, Jackson also revealed that Sir Ian Holm will reprise his role as the older Bilbo. Sherlock's Martin Freeman has been cast as a younger Bilbo, in the prequel to the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy. Other stars returning include Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Andy Serkis as Gollum and Orlando Bloom as Legolas.
Jonathan Wall, the deputy controller and commissioning editor of 5Live, has defended the station against critics of its serious news coverage. Moz Dee, the programme director at rival commercial station TalkSport, called over the weekend on 5Live to 'focus on becoming a real-time national news service' to ease its 'split personality' syndrome. His comments followed the launch of the first service review of Radio 5Live since it was established in 1994, with the BBC Trust also reviewing sister network 5Live Sports Extra. Writing on the Gruniad's Organ Grinder blog, Wall welcomed the service review, arguing that it means 5Live has now reached 'centre stage' alongside BBC Radios 1, 2 and 4. The station posted record audience figures of more than seven million in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the latest RAJAR data. 5Live is also up for sixteen Sony Radio awards, including nine for its news programmes. 'Our friends at TalkSport - yes, there's a lot of mutual respect between us - have been keen to contribute to the debate. We respect their right to challenge us on our news content, but it's not really a debate about what they think,' said Wall. 'The debate should start with the views of what our seven million listeners think - that's who the BBC Trust really wants to hear from over the next few weeks.' According to research from BritainThinks commissioned by TalkSport, 5Live's listeners feel that just thirty eight per cent of the station's output represents news, considerably less than its seventy five per cent service licence requirement.
More than half of the listeners surveyed said that they wanted 5Live to focus more on being a proper news provider. Wall said that the station often covers 'big breaking stories,' including hours of rolling news coverage during the Japanese earthquake tragedy. In terms of UK and Ireland politics, he pointed to Victoria Derbyshire's recent mock election in the AV debate and an interview with a Real IRA operative. TalkSport has specifically criticised 5Live for including celebrity interviews and listener phone-ins in its news output, claiming that they do not amount to serious news coverage. Wall responded by saying that Nicky Campbell's recent discussion with stammer sufferers following Oscar-winning movie The King's Speech was the 'most moving and powerful phone-in you could wish to hear,' arguing that few other radio stations would be willing to run such a feature. He said that 5Live adopts a 'warm and conversational' approach to news programmes, meaning key presenters such as Peter Allen can easily switch from describing the scenes at the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to inviting jokes from listeners. 'News, for us, can also mean interviews with celebrities, be it Katie Price criticising Frankie Boyle or Ricky Gervais on his performance at the Golden Globes,' said Wall. 'It can even mean a debate about the latest EastEnders storyline or X Factor controversy. We are not embarrassed about it - we like the fact we can take our listeners from politics to film reviews, and from Cairo to Coronation Street.' Wall admitted that 5Live's approach of allowing its presenters to express themselves will 'always divide opinion,' but he argued that such a 'range of voices' has helped the station reach so many new listeners over the past three years. 'We like to think we lead the way on sports broadcasting as well, and I'm sure strong competition from the likes of Absolute Radio and TalkSport has only helped improve what we do,' he said. 'Our job in the management team is to be guardians of this BBC service, and the BBC Trust's job is to challenge us, push us, and ultimately help set us in the right direction. It comes at a perfect time for us. We are about to move into our fantastic new home in Salford Quays, so to have a clear remit for the next five years to coincide with that is perfect. Whatever the outcome, we have a strong line-up of presenters and are equally proud of our talented programme makers on the other side of the glass. And yes, we are all on the bus to Salford Quays in September before you ask. It won't be grim up north.'
Joss Whedon has announced that production on The Avengers will begin this week. Writing on his official blog, the writer and director teased that the all-star film would get underway on Monday, although he decided not to divulge any further details. 'Tomorrow we start shooting (I THINK I'm legally permitted to say that). Day one. That's right [sic',' he posted on Sunday. 'We'll be shooting the pivotal death/betrayal/product placement/setting up the sequel/coming out scene, at the following address:
[Marvel Lawyers rush in, take Joss's keyboard, blowtorch a picture of his family like in Stormy Monday, drink his milkshake, leave the seat up, fluff his pillows, violently unfluff his pillows, leave]. Went too far. My bad.' He went on to warn fans not to expect details about the shoot as it progresses, adding: 'It should be a fun day, followed by the eighty thousand other fun days it will take to finish this. I'll be checking in from time to time, if there's news or I crave attention (i.e. am awake). None of it will be Avengers news, but I may have tidbits.' Natalie Portman was recently rumoured to be reprising her Thor character Jane Foster in The Avengers, though the reports have not been confirmed. The Avengers ensemble cast already includes Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner.
A man has been arrested after a goalkeeper was allegedly punched during a League Two football match. Bury goalkeeper Cameron Belford was taunted by a number of people who invaded the pitch during the match at Chesterfield on Monday. Police confirmed a man had been questioned and they would be studying CCTV pictures and liaising with the club. Chesterfield Football Club said anyone convicted would face an indefinite ban. The incident happened after one of the home side's goals in a game that Bury went on to win 3-2 and clinch promotion to nPower League One and preventing the Spireites clinching the League Two title.
Belford has made an official complaint. Inspector Russell Dakin, of Derbyshire Police, said: 'It would appear a fan has encroached on the pitch and assaulted the goalkeeper. One person has been arrested and we will be scanning the CCTV system and liaising with the club and members of the media and collating as much evidence as possible.' Chesterfield has posted an appeal on its website to try to identify those involved in the pitch invasion. Stadium manager Colin Nellist added: 'The very minimum that will happen to this person is they will get a ban from the club and whatever happens thereafter will depend on the courts. But as soon as we ascertain the identity of this person he will be banned from the club until further notice because we take this very seriously indeed.'
A 'human cannonball' stuntman plunged to his death in an accident seen by hundreds of people at a daredevil show. Police said a safety net gave way during the stunt at the Kent County Showground at Detling. The man, twenty three, had been taken to Maidstone Hospital by air ambulance with multiple head and back injuries. The accident happened in a performance by Scott May's Daredevil Stunt Show. Witnesses said the man was launched forty feet in the air. Rob Hutchinson watched with his wife and two young children as the man came out to perform his stunt to close the first half of the show. Hutchinson, a driving instructor from Tenterden, said: 'The net was already up. He climbed out on top, climbed down into the tube, they gave this countdown then he came out of the tube - he was probably thirty or forty feet in the air at least.
He turned over and then, the last picture I've got of him, you can see the net is flat on the floor, not up in the air, and he is coming down head-first towards the ground. I saw him hit the floor and bounce.' Hutchinson added: 'It was like a dummy being thrown.' He said the crowd had numbered about two thousand people, including several hundred children. Another witness, Paul Armstrong, said he thought the stuntman had been 'elevated to about thirty feet in the air.' He added: 'When he was approaching the safety net it seemed to collapse to the ground before he hit it.' Inspector Tony Ball, of Kent Police, said the force was investigating, the Health and Safety executive had been informed and Maidstone Borough Council would also be involved. A police spokesman said the dead man's next-of-kin had been informed but he had not been formally identified. Scott May's show has been touring in the UK since 1991 in a season which runs from March to September. As well as the human cannonball stunt, the show also includes pyrotechnics, motorcycle jumps and monster trucks.
Another part of yer actual Keith Telly Topping's gloriously misspent youth left us yesterday. Punk icon Poly Styrene has died at the age of fifty three. The X-Ray Spex's singer, real name Marianne Joan Elliott-Said, was diagnosed with cancer two months ago. She had just released her latest solo album Generation Indigo in March. Marianne was born in 1957 in Bromley. Her mother, who raised her alone, was a legal-secretary. Her father was a dispossessed Somali aristocrat. As a teenager, Poly was, in her own words, 'something of a barefoot hippie.' At age fifteen, she ran away from home with just three pounds in her pocket, and hitchhiked around music festivals, staying at crash pads and squats. The adventure ended when she stepped on a rusty nail while bathing naked in a stream and had to be treated for septicaemia. In 1976 she released a reggae single 'Silly Billy' as Mari Elliot. Later that year, after seeing The Sex Pistols playing on Hastings Pier, she was inspired to form the punk band X-Ray Spex who signed to Virgin. Initially, the band featured Poly on vocals, Jak Airport on guitars, Paul Dean on bass, BP Hurding on drums, and sixteen year old Lora Logic on saxophone.
And they made one hell of a racket! Poly became the group's public face. Unorthodox in appearance, she wore thick braces on her teeth and once stated that 'I said that I wasn't a sex symbol and that if anybody tried to make me one I'd shave my head tomorrow.' In 1978, she later actually did at Johnny Rotten's flat prior to a concert at Victoria Park. Mark Paytress recounts in the liner notes for the 2002 compilation CD, The Anthology, that Jah Wobble, Rotten's long-time friend and bassist for his post-punk venture PiL, once described Poly as a' strange girl who often talked of hallucinating. She freaked John out.' Rotten himself recently said of X-Ray Spex in a retrospective punk documentary, 'They came out with a sound and attitude and a whole energy—it was just not relating to anything around it — superb.' The group's 1977 debut single 'Oh Bondage, Up Yours!' (with the brilliant 'I Am A Cliché' on the b-side) is regarded as their most enduring artefact, a riotous rejection of social and gender mores that began with Poly's spoken line: 'Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard!' 
It was a genuine twenty-four carat punk classic and a blueprint for the entire riot-grrrl movement two decades ahead of its time. The band subsequently signed to EMI and had three top thirty hits singles in the UK during 1978, 'The Day The World Turned Day-Glo' (back by another anthem 'I Am A Poseur'), 'Identity' and 'Germ Free Adolescents'. In late 1978, after a gig in Doncaster, Poly said that he'd had a vision of a pink light in the sky and felt objects crackling when she touched them. Thinking that she was hallucinating, her mother took her to the hospital where Poly was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, sectioned, and told she would never work again. She said that although she missed playing at the time, in hindsight, she felt that getting out of the public eye probably did her more good than harm. She was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Exhausted by touring, Poly left the band in mid-1979, though she can be seen performing with the band in the 1980 film, DOA. She released a solo LP, Translucence, before joining the Hare Krishna movement in the mid 1980s and continuing an eclectic solo career whilst living in Sussex. In February 2011, in an interview published in The Sunday Times magazine, which largely focused on her past and present relationship with her daughter, Poly revealed that she has recently been treated for breast cancer. She is survived by her daughter, Celeste Bell-Dos Santos, the frontwoman for the group Debutant Disco based in Madrid.
For today's Keith Telly Topping's 45(s) of the Day, thrice be you damned. And, here's Vanian, the Captain, Rat and Brian - and Mike Mansfield - to tell you why.
Listen to the screams! Well, to be fair, they did do love songs ... Sort of. (And don't let anybody tell you cool bands never played Top of the Pops!) 
And, finally, for the greatest three and a half minutes in the history of television! 'Only pop music can save us now!'
Marr admitted that he was 'embarrassed' and 'uneasy' about the course of action he had taken, but argued that he thought he had done the right thing. 'I did not come into journalism to go around gagging journalists,' he said. 'But at the time there was a crisis in my marriage and I believed there was a young child involved. I also had my own family to think about, and I believed this story was nobody else's business. I still believe there was, under those circumstances, no legitimate public interest in [publication].' Marr conceded that gagging orders are 'controversial' and commented that the current situation 'seems to be running out of control.' Similar privacy injunctions have been granted to a Premier League footballer who may (or may not) play for a club in the North West, a 'married TV personality' and a 'world famous' actor in the past month.Next up, dear blog reader, we've got some ratings and audience appreciation figures from the last couple of days. The big success story on Bank Holiday Monday night was The Suspicions of Mr Whicher which was watched by an overnight audience of 6.2m, aided by a splendid performance from the Raging Bullring himself, Paddy Considine. Not as many as Doctor Who got on Saturday, admittedly, but more than both Corrie and Lewis managed on Sunday. So, can we have a full series of these, please ITV?
The drama proved too strong for MasterChef: The Final Three, which still had a respectable 4.7m on BBC1 in the 9pm hour although that's the first time this series that a MasterChef episode has acquired a lower overnight ratings than the equivalent episode from the last series. The Suspicions of Mr Whicher also outperformed Derren Brown: Miracles for Sale's 1.62m audience on Channel Four between 9pm and 10.30pm. (Derren's documentary had an additional three hundred and eight thousand viewers on C4+1.) And, also, BBC2's excellent Arena documentary Produced By George Martin which deserved far more than the 1.02m viewers it got. Next, moving to the audience appreciation index, the figures for Saturday have just been released and, get this all your people who thought it was 'too complicated', Doctor Who's AI score was a whopping great eighty eight - easily the highest of the day on the BBC and only beaten anywhere by an eighty nine for Channel Five's NCIS. On Twitter Steven Moffat explained to those of his followers who may be unaware of what is a good AI score and what isn't, 'Yes, it's good!' However, it wasn't all happy news for the BBC's Saturday night line-up. The much-criticised game show Don't Scare the Hare in addition to its decidedly poor overnight audience of just 1.9m also copped what is, I think I'm right in saying, the lowest ever AI score for a TV programme that wasn't a party political broadcast, getting just forty six out of one hundred. For context, to quote directly from The BBC Producers Guide to AI: 'Most programmes return an AI of between seventy five and eighty. Higher AIs tend to be achieved by programmes with a particular or specialist appeal, children's programmes for example. For any programme, a score in excess of eighty five is excellent. Any score in excess of ninety is exceptional. Any programme that falls below sixty has received a poor AI. Any score below fifty five is very poor. 
The average AI is in the mid seventies, between seventy three and seventy six.' For further context, even widely acknowledged disasters like Big Top, The Ludicrous Ms Dahl and Daybreak have all managed to get scores in the fifties and sixties, certainly never anywhere near as low as forty six. Bad news for Jason and Sue. And, particularly, for Hare. And jolly good news for Miranda Hart who was originally going to be doing the voice over on the show but, in circumstances never fully explained, left before production started. Narrow escape that, Miranda! Here's a funny thing, dear blog reader. Whilst ITV's equally wretched Sing If You Can's audience dropped by two million between episode one the previous week and episode two on Saturday, by contrast its AI score actually went up from sixty five to seventy three. Still not exactly good (or even, quite, average) but Daybreak will be looking at them with some envy. Speaking of the usual suspects we might as well have this week's exciting edition of Daybreakwatch:18 Apr 708k - AI 68
19 Apr 707k - AI 68
20 Apr 732k - AI 66
21 Apr 725k - AI 69
22 Apr 458k - AI 66
25 Apr 350k
Yes, yer actual Keith Telly Topping is aware that the last two were Bank Holidays and that breakfast TV shows traditionally take a bit of a hit on days when many of the people who normally get up to watch them on their way out to work aren't working. But still, if you can't laugh at Daybreak's misfortunes these days then, frankly what's the world coming to? Particularly as, on Monday, the BBC's Breakfast also lost some viewers but still managed to average 1.1m. And, still on the subject of flop Saturday night light entertainment shows, and AIs, here's a new game for all the nation, So You Think You Can Dancewatch
26 Mar 5.06m - AI 76
2 Apr 4.08m - AI 78
9 Apr 3.65m - AI 76
16 Apr 3.63m - AI 76
23 Apr 3.56m - AI 76
Stunning! And, somebody at the BBC thought it was a good idea to stick Doctor Who on before this? Is it really so wrong to wish for somebody to lose their job for crass incompetence?
The latest episode of Doctor Who has smashed BBC America's ratings record in the US, pulling in almost 1.3 million overnight viewers.
On Saturday, the premiere of season six of Doctor Who was watched by 1.27m on BBC America (live and same-day PVR recordings), beating the channel's previous ratings record, set last year by the first episode of season five of the science fiction show. In the opening episode, entitled The Impossible Astronaut, Matt Smith and Karen Gillen are joined by guest stars Stuart Milligan and Mark Sheppard. The episodes were partly filmed in America.Incidentally, if Aaron Sorkin ever fancies getting around to doing an eighth season of The West Wing, From The North has a couple of casting suggestions which might spice up the Santos administration!
'Are you telling me, Rory that not only did you invent a secret plan to fight inflation, but now you don't support it?'
Now, here's a bit of question: What do Hugh Bonneville, Ryan Giggs and Phillip Schofield have in common, dear blog reader? No, I haven't the faintest idea either. But, I'll tell you what, this blog has been getting an awful lot of hits over the last few days from dear blog readers arriving direct from Goggle and using those three names in a search. Possibly they're all in a five-a-side team together? Dunno. If anybody can tell me what that's all about please feel free to do so.
John Simm has bemoaned the fact that his wife and son watch 'bloody' reality television programmes. Speaking to the Radio Times, the Life on Mars actor revealed that he and his son Ryan, however, have found a shared enjoyment in watching Laurel and Hardy together.
'My dad would go red in the face and fall off his chair, crying with laughter at Laurel and Hardy,' he told the magazine. 'I laugh at it, too - not like that, I don't laugh like that in general! And my son laughs at it. That's unbelievable - three generations, and how old are those films? It's like it's from a time capsule. It's mad. I'm so, so glad that my son likes Laurel and Hardy.' Yet he admitted: 'He won't watch them in black and white. It's the colourised ones for him, which is hard for me. But at least he's watching them. His generation don't get things that aren't in colour.' Simm concluded that his absences due to work mean that he cannot always control his son's viewing habits, saying: 'He watches those bloody reality shows with his mum, which I'm not happy about. The ballroom thing and the pop star talent shit things. Which, I'm a bit pissed off about.'SF drama Misfits is leading this year's TV Bafta nominations, with recognition in four categories. The E4 series is up for best drama series and best new media, while Robert Sheehan and Lauren Socha are nominated for best supporting actor and actress. Doctor Who's Matt Smith has had his first nomination, for leading actor. He is up against two-time BAFTA winner Jim Broadbent for Any Human Heart, Benedict Cumberbatch for Sherlock and Daniel Rigby for Eric and Ernie. Juliet Stevenson gets a best actress nomination for The Accused, alongside two-time former winner Anna Maxwell Martin for South Riding, Vicky McClure for This is England '86 and Natalie Press for Suffolk murders drama Five Daughters.
BBC1's Sherlock has a total of three nominations, as has Channel Four's Any Human Heart and BBC4 drama, The Road to Coronation Street. The latter, about the beginnings of the long-running ITV soap opera, is nominated for best single drama. It also has two nominations for supporting actress with first nominations for both EastEnders actress Jessie Wallace and for Lynda Baron, who played Pat Phoenix and Violet Carson respectively. BBC4's Morecambe and Wise biopic, Eric and Ernie, Channel Four's I Am Slave and BBC2's The Special Relationship are all nominated for best single drama. Aside from Cumberbatch's nomination, Sherlock is also up for best drama series, while Martin Freeman is nominated for best supporting actor. Any Human Heart's other nominations are for Gillian Anderson for best supporting actress and for best drama serial. Sky1's Mad Dogs, BBC23's The Sinking of the Laconia and Channel Four's The Promise are also in the running for best drama serial. Three new shows are up for best situation comedy - BBC2's The Trip and Rev and BBC1's Mrs Brown's Boys, alongside Channel Four's Peep Show which seems to get nominated near enough every year though this blogger has yet to meet very many people who actually find it funny. Waterloo Road receives its first nomination in the continuing drama category, joining previous winners Casualty, Coronation Street and EastEnders. BBC3 telefantasy drama Being Human is nominated for best drama series alongside Misfits - last year's winner - ITV costume drama Downton Abbey and Sherlock. Two Channel Four series - Come Dine With Me and Hugh's Fish Fight - will battle it out in the features category alongside BBC2's Mary Queen of Shops and Sky1's Pineapple Dance Studios. The BBC garnered three out of four nominations in the sports category - for Six Nations: England v Wales, Formula 1: The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Wimbledon 2010. ITV's coverage of last year's FA Cup Final: Chelsea v Portsmouth, was also nominated. In the international category, Martin Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire on Sky Atlantic takes on E4's Glee and two show's broadcast on BBC4 - The Killing and Mad Men. 
Channel Four's One Born Every Minute, Coppers and BBC1's The Young Ones and BBC2's Welcome to Lagos are in the running for best factual series. Graham Norton, who announced the BAFTA nominations on Tuesday, gets his first nomination since 2002 in the entertainment category for BBC1's The Graham Norton Show. Have I Got News For You gets its eleventh nomination in the same category. The X Factor and The Cube are also nominated. Norton is also nominated in the entertainment performance category alongside Rob Brydon, Stephen Fry and Harry Hill. Best comedy programme hopefuls are Sky1's Catherine Tate's Little Cracker (even though Kathy Burke's was way-better), BBC1's Come Fly With Me, E4's Facejacker and BBC2's Harry and Paul.Karen Gillan showed up to be interviewed for a US chat show last week, with a huge purple bruise on her arm. Fans may have thought she sustained the injury while filming dramatic scenes for Doctor Who,
however she told fellow Scot Craig Ferguson that, actually, she fell over while promoting the launch of the new series in New York. 'I was hoping you wouldn't notice. I was trying to be cool in New York, because we were there promoting Doctor Who and I fell over – it was so dramatic.' Asked by Ferguson whether she was drunk at the time, Karen insisted: 'No, I wasn't – I promise. That's the saddest part about it. I was wearing big heels and I just went right over.'The BBC has said to be 'braced for criticism' after filming the dying moments of a terminally-ill man whose family agreed for the death to be captured on camera. At least, according to those Communist hippie wretches at the Gruniad Morning Star, that is. A BBC science series, Inside the Human Body, will show the final breath of eighty four-year-old Gerald as he dies at home surrounded by his family. The producers recognised the second episode of the series, which includes footage of the death, would anger 'some people', but said that they wanted to tackle the difficult subject. Presenter Michael Mosely told the Radio Times he believed the programme was justified and that it was important not to avoid 'talking about death and, when it's warranted, showing it. There are those who feel that showing a human death on television is wrong, whatever the circumstances,' he said. 'Although I respect this point of view I think there is a case to be made for filming a peaceful, natural death – a view shared by many who work closely with the dying.' It would not be the first time the BBC has faced criticism for showing death on screen. Earlier this month it was accused - by some people with an agenda six inches thick - of being 'a cheerleader for assisted suicide' after filming the last moment of a man at a Dignitas clinic in Switzerland for a Terry Pratchett documentary. The programme, due to be broadcast on BBC2 this summer, follows a seventy one-year-old man in the late stages of motor neurone disease.
Pratchett, the fantasy novelist and a vocal supporter of euthanasia, stays at his bedside until he dies from a mixture of drugs taken to end his life. Inside the Human Body will track the development of a life – from conception to the grave – and will feature the moment of conception, a baby's first breath, the body's development to adulthood, and the body's defence mechanisms. The second episode, which features Gerard's death, will also look at a woman who has survived for ten years eating nothing but crisps, a man who can hold his breath for nine minutes, and another who can swim in water so cold it would normally kill a human. The final part will examine what happens when the body gives up its fight for survival. 'We met many wonderful people while making the series, but Gerald was special. We were privileged to share, with his family, his last few weeks and the moment of his final breath,' said Moseley. After approaching several hospices asking for permission to film, a hospice in Pembur in Kent, had put the programme makers in touch with Gerald because they felt it was 'important that life-threatening illness and death is discussed and understood more in our society.' Gerald, who had cancer, said that he hoped filming his death would help others. 'I don't want to die, but pretty evidently unless some miracle happens, I ain't gonna be here very long. I'm not frightened,' he said. 'I don't believe that it'll be just like cutting off some tape with some scissors, though it might be. But either way I have blind trust that I shall not disappear completely,' he said. He vowed to see the start of 2011, and died on 1 January, surrounded by his family. Mosley said: 'The death of a loved one is a hugely significant moment in all our lives, but not something to be feared. I watched my own father die. Just before the end he decided to start singing. He sang for several minutes and then he stopped and he was gone. I'm so glad I was there and the time I spent with him before his death are among the many memories that I treasure.'Rob Kazinsky, the EastEnders actor, has quit his role in The Hobbit film and is returning to Britain 'for personal reasons.' He had been cast as Fili, one of thirteen dwarves who accompany the character Bilbo Baggins on his journey to defeat the dragon Smaug in JRR Tolkien's tale. Although scenes featuring Kazinsky had already been shot in New Zealand, director Peter Jackson said his departure 'will not affect ongoing filming of The Hobbit, nor will it impact work done to date, as we had yet to film much of Fili's storyline.' Announcing the development on his Facebook page, Sir Peter said: 'Rob has been terrific to work with, and his enthusiasm and infectious sense of humour will be missed by all of us. At the moment we are shooting scenes featuring Bilbo without the Dwarves, which will give us time to find a new Fili.' Kazinsky told fans on Twitter: 'It's with a sad heart that things have turned out this way.' The twenty seven-year-old actor is best known for his role as Sean in the popular BBC soap. Producers are now scrambling to find a replacement, with filming currently under way at studios in Wellington, the New Zealand capital. Meanwhile, Jackson also revealed that Sir Ian Holm will reprise his role as the older Bilbo. Sherlock's Martin Freeman has been cast as a younger Bilbo, in the prequel to the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy. Other stars returning include Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Andy Serkis as Gollum and Orlando Bloom as Legolas.
Jonathan Wall, the deputy controller and commissioning editor of 5Live, has defended the station against critics of its serious news coverage. Moz Dee, the programme director at rival commercial station TalkSport, called over the weekend on 5Live to 'focus on becoming a real-time national news service' to ease its 'split personality' syndrome. His comments followed the launch of the first service review of Radio 5Live since it was established in 1994, with the BBC Trust also reviewing sister network 5Live Sports Extra. Writing on the Gruniad's Organ Grinder blog, Wall welcomed the service review, arguing that it means 5Live has now reached 'centre stage' alongside BBC Radios 1, 2 and 4. The station posted record audience figures of more than seven million in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the latest RAJAR data. 5Live is also up for sixteen Sony Radio awards, including nine for its news programmes. 'Our friends at TalkSport - yes, there's a lot of mutual respect between us - have been keen to contribute to the debate. We respect their right to challenge us on our news content, but it's not really a debate about what they think,' said Wall. 'The debate should start with the views of what our seven million listeners think - that's who the BBC Trust really wants to hear from over the next few weeks.' According to research from BritainThinks commissioned by TalkSport, 5Live's listeners feel that just thirty eight per cent of the station's output represents news, considerably less than its seventy five per cent service licence requirement.
More than half of the listeners surveyed said that they wanted 5Live to focus more on being a proper news provider. Wall said that the station often covers 'big breaking stories,' including hours of rolling news coverage during the Japanese earthquake tragedy. In terms of UK and Ireland politics, he pointed to Victoria Derbyshire's recent mock election in the AV debate and an interview with a Real IRA operative. TalkSport has specifically criticised 5Live for including celebrity interviews and listener phone-ins in its news output, claiming that they do not amount to serious news coverage. Wall responded by saying that Nicky Campbell's recent discussion with stammer sufferers following Oscar-winning movie The King's Speech was the 'most moving and powerful phone-in you could wish to hear,' arguing that few other radio stations would be willing to run such a feature. He said that 5Live adopts a 'warm and conversational' approach to news programmes, meaning key presenters such as Peter Allen can easily switch from describing the scenes at the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to inviting jokes from listeners. 'News, for us, can also mean interviews with celebrities, be it Katie Price criticising Frankie Boyle or Ricky Gervais on his performance at the Golden Globes,' said Wall. 'It can even mean a debate about the latest EastEnders storyline or X Factor controversy. We are not embarrassed about it - we like the fact we can take our listeners from politics to film reviews, and from Cairo to Coronation Street.' Wall admitted that 5Live's approach of allowing its presenters to express themselves will 'always divide opinion,' but he argued that such a 'range of voices' has helped the station reach so many new listeners over the past three years. 'We like to think we lead the way on sports broadcasting as well, and I'm sure strong competition from the likes of Absolute Radio and TalkSport has only helped improve what we do,' he said. 'Our job in the management team is to be guardians of this BBC service, and the BBC Trust's job is to challenge us, push us, and ultimately help set us in the right direction. It comes at a perfect time for us. We are about to move into our fantastic new home in Salford Quays, so to have a clear remit for the next five years to coincide with that is perfect. Whatever the outcome, we have a strong line-up of presenters and are equally proud of our talented programme makers on the other side of the glass. And yes, we are all on the bus to Salford Quays in September before you ask. It won't be grim up north.'Joss Whedon has announced that production on The Avengers will begin this week. Writing on his official blog, the writer and director teased that the all-star film would get underway on Monday, although he decided not to divulge any further details. 'Tomorrow we start shooting (I THINK I'm legally permitted to say that). Day one. That's right [sic',' he posted on Sunday. 'We'll be shooting the pivotal death/betrayal/product placement/setting up the sequel/coming out scene, at the following address:
[Marvel Lawyers rush in, take Joss's keyboard, blowtorch a picture of his family like in Stormy Monday, drink his milkshake, leave the seat up, fluff his pillows, violently unfluff his pillows, leave]. Went too far. My bad.' He went on to warn fans not to expect details about the shoot as it progresses, adding: 'It should be a fun day, followed by the eighty thousand other fun days it will take to finish this. I'll be checking in from time to time, if there's news or I crave attention (i.e. am awake). None of it will be Avengers news, but I may have tidbits.' Natalie Portman was recently rumoured to be reprising her Thor character Jane Foster in The Avengers, though the reports have not been confirmed. The Avengers ensemble cast already includes Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner.A man has been arrested after a goalkeeper was allegedly punched during a League Two football match. Bury goalkeeper Cameron Belford was taunted by a number of people who invaded the pitch during the match at Chesterfield on Monday. Police confirmed a man had been questioned and they would be studying CCTV pictures and liaising with the club. Chesterfield Football Club said anyone convicted would face an indefinite ban. The incident happened after one of the home side's goals in a game that Bury went on to win 3-2 and clinch promotion to nPower League One and preventing the Spireites clinching the League Two title.
Belford has made an official complaint. Inspector Russell Dakin, of Derbyshire Police, said: 'It would appear a fan has encroached on the pitch and assaulted the goalkeeper. One person has been arrested and we will be scanning the CCTV system and liaising with the club and members of the media and collating as much evidence as possible.' Chesterfield has posted an appeal on its website to try to identify those involved in the pitch invasion. Stadium manager Colin Nellist added: 'The very minimum that will happen to this person is they will get a ban from the club and whatever happens thereafter will depend on the courts. But as soon as we ascertain the identity of this person he will be banned from the club until further notice because we take this very seriously indeed.'A 'human cannonball' stuntman plunged to his death in an accident seen by hundreds of people at a daredevil show. Police said a safety net gave way during the stunt at the Kent County Showground at Detling. The man, twenty three, had been taken to Maidstone Hospital by air ambulance with multiple head and back injuries. The accident happened in a performance by Scott May's Daredevil Stunt Show. Witnesses said the man was launched forty feet in the air. Rob Hutchinson watched with his wife and two young children as the man came out to perform his stunt to close the first half of the show. Hutchinson, a driving instructor from Tenterden, said: 'The net was already up. He climbed out on top, climbed down into the tube, they gave this countdown then he came out of the tube - he was probably thirty or forty feet in the air at least.
He turned over and then, the last picture I've got of him, you can see the net is flat on the floor, not up in the air, and he is coming down head-first towards the ground. I saw him hit the floor and bounce.' Hutchinson added: 'It was like a dummy being thrown.' He said the crowd had numbered about two thousand people, including several hundred children. Another witness, Paul Armstrong, said he thought the stuntman had been 'elevated to about thirty feet in the air.' He added: 'When he was approaching the safety net it seemed to collapse to the ground before he hit it.' Inspector Tony Ball, of Kent Police, said the force was investigating, the Health and Safety executive had been informed and Maidstone Borough Council would also be involved. A police spokesman said the dead man's next-of-kin had been informed but he had not been formally identified. Scott May's show has been touring in the UK since 1991 in a season which runs from March to September. As well as the human cannonball stunt, the show also includes pyrotechnics, motorcycle jumps and monster trucks.Another part of yer actual Keith Telly Topping's gloriously misspent youth left us yesterday. Punk icon Poly Styrene has died at the age of fifty three. The X-Ray Spex's singer, real name Marianne Joan Elliott-Said, was diagnosed with cancer two months ago. She had just released her latest solo album Generation Indigo in March. Marianne was born in 1957 in Bromley. Her mother, who raised her alone, was a legal-secretary. Her father was a dispossessed Somali aristocrat. As a teenager, Poly was, in her own words, 'something of a barefoot hippie.' At age fifteen, she ran away from home with just three pounds in her pocket, and hitchhiked around music festivals, staying at crash pads and squats. The adventure ended when she stepped on a rusty nail while bathing naked in a stream and had to be treated for septicaemia. In 1976 she released a reggae single 'Silly Billy' as Mari Elliot. Later that year, after seeing The Sex Pistols playing on Hastings Pier, she was inspired to form the punk band X-Ray Spex who signed to Virgin. Initially, the band featured Poly on vocals, Jak Airport on guitars, Paul Dean on bass, BP Hurding on drums, and sixteen year old Lora Logic on saxophone.
And they made one hell of a racket! Poly became the group's public face. Unorthodox in appearance, she wore thick braces on her teeth and once stated that 'I said that I wasn't a sex symbol and that if anybody tried to make me one I'd shave my head tomorrow.' In 1978, she later actually did at Johnny Rotten's flat prior to a concert at Victoria Park. Mark Paytress recounts in the liner notes for the 2002 compilation CD, The Anthology, that Jah Wobble, Rotten's long-time friend and bassist for his post-punk venture PiL, once described Poly as a' strange girl who often talked of hallucinating. She freaked John out.' Rotten himself recently said of X-Ray Spex in a retrospective punk documentary, 'They came out with a sound and attitude and a whole energy—it was just not relating to anything around it — superb.' The group's 1977 debut single 'Oh Bondage, Up Yours!' (with the brilliant 'I Am A Cliché' on the b-side) is regarded as their most enduring artefact, a riotous rejection of social and gender mores that began with Poly's spoken line: 'Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard!' 
It was a genuine twenty-four carat punk classic and a blueprint for the entire riot-grrrl movement two decades ahead of its time. The band subsequently signed to EMI and had three top thirty hits singles in the UK during 1978, 'The Day The World Turned Day-Glo' (back by another anthem 'I Am A Poseur'), 'Identity' and 'Germ Free Adolescents'. In late 1978, after a gig in Doncaster, Poly said that he'd had a vision of a pink light in the sky and felt objects crackling when she touched them. Thinking that she was hallucinating, her mother took her to the hospital where Poly was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, sectioned, and told she would never work again. She said that although she missed playing at the time, in hindsight, she felt that getting out of the public eye probably did her more good than harm. She was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Exhausted by touring, Poly left the band in mid-1979, though she can be seen performing with the band in the 1980 film, DOA. She released a solo LP, Translucence, before joining the Hare Krishna movement in the mid 1980s and continuing an eclectic solo career whilst living in Sussex. In February 2011, in an interview published in The Sunday Times magazine, which largely focused on her past and present relationship with her daughter, Poly revealed that she has recently been treated for breast cancer. She is survived by her daughter, Celeste Bell-Dos Santos, the frontwoman for the group Debutant Disco based in Madrid.For today's Keith Telly Topping's 45(s) of the Day, thrice be you damned. And, here's Vanian, the Captain, Rat and Brian - and Mike Mansfield - to tell you why.
Listen to the screams! Well, to be fair, they did do love songs ... Sort of. (And don't let anybody tell you cool bands never played Top of the Pops!) 
And, finally, for the greatest three and a half minutes in the history of television! 'Only pop music can save us now!'
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