MasterChef continued with its eighth series as eight fantastically talented amateur cooks who wanted to put their culinary skills to the test were given their latest exciting challenge. Over the last few weeks the contestants have been battling to keep their place in the MasterChef kitchen. 
In this episode, judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace asked the remaining cooks to take on three cornerstones of European cuisine - they each had to master the art of either Italian, Spanish or French cooking. Each group began by being given a master class by a top chef in their chosen style, a chef who has developed their reputation by being one of the leading advocates of that country's cuisine: Italian Francesco Mazzei of L'Anima, Ben Tish from The Salt Yard, who specialise in Spanish tapas, and Bruno Loubet, chef in his self-titled French restaurant, Bistrot Bruno Loubet. The MasterChef cooks were taught to prepare a dish that captured the heart and philosophy of their chosen country. They then had to compete in the heat of service at the restaurant, mastering another dish working under their head chef, ensuring that they reach the exacting standards of not only the restaurant and chef, but the specific cuisine of their chosen area.
Tom, Shelina and Aki chose the Italian job. Shelina had already annoyed the hell out of this particular licence fee payer by being the first (and mercifully only) contestant in this episode to witter on about her personal 'journey.' Luckily, she's a better cook than she is a orator on the delicious bittersweet symphony that is life. Much better! Shelina, Tom and Aki seemed to have a fantastic time working under stern-faced Francesco who explained that rustic Italian fayre was down to 'simple ingredients, treat 'erm with respect.' It sounded easy and, all three made it look quite easy once they'd had a bit of fun rolling pasta like they were playing with plastercine™! 
It looked terrific fun, must try that one out myself sometime. Big Eamonn and Little Andrew went Spanish and both seemed to have a fine old time getting on famously with the not-particularly-shouty head chef Ben who extolled the virtues of his modern take on tapas 'taken to new levels.' Jay, Afsaneh and Emma chose French and, again, all three developed a good rapport with Bruno. Particularly when Jay mentioned that his love for French cuisine came from the fact that he used to have a French girlfriend. 'Used to have?' asked Bruno. 'She mustn't have been a very good cook!'
So, all eight - to a greater or lesser degree - did very well and all three of the head chefs seemed very pleased with their progress. The contestants then had to take what they learned back to the MasterChef kitchen. Here, watched by their mentors, they were given seventy minutes to create one dish that proved they have understood how to encapsulate their chosen country's style and flavours, and show John and Gregg that they had the skill to succeed. Gregg confessed that he was the big Italian fan of the duo and so he was in his element in the first round. Shelina - thankfully her journey around the kitchen keeping her far too occupied to talk about her metaphorical journey - promptly cooked one of the dishes of the day, chestnut tagliatelle with wild mushroom sauce and white truffle shavings. She managed to make it even though at one point Tom accidentally chucked her truffle in the bin. Oi, mate. Have you any idea how much those things cost? One had visions of Jezza Clarkson having to rush across Europe in a Bugatti Veyron to get her another one just like that episode of Top Gear but, luckily, before that became necessary, she found it in the nick of time.
Gregg thought the dish 'perfect' although he said he'd've liked some more truffle. You were lucky you got any matey boy. And, you don't know where it'd been before it ended up in your stomach! Bruno, by contrast, had earlier said that he'd've preferred less truffle and didn't think the dish needed any. He changed his mind when he ate it. John said it was food that made him 'emotional.' 'You're on a roll, sugarplum,' added Gregg. Having asked Shelina to marry him in the last episode, like, do you two just want to get a room or something? Anyway, ace dish and Shelina was, of course, immediately through. As was Tom whose roasted pheasant with a wild mushroom and white wine risotto, porcini mushrooms and crispy bacon was the kind of thing that yer actual Keith Telly Topping likes with a nice glass of Sauvignon blanc. Or, indeed, without a nice glass of Sauvignon blanc but between two slices of bread! 'Absolutely perfect combination,' began John. But, he added, 'it lacks a dimension' concluding that a bit of pepper would've given it the one kick it needed to hit perfection. Gregg disagreed. 'Stunning,' he said flatly.
Aki was her usual bouncing bundle of energy, to such an extent that Bruno had to warn her about cooking her dish as 'we don't want oil to go on your beautiful face.' Well, indeed. Particularly if viewers have just had their tea. Aki's dish was garlic sea urchin spaghetti with a green salad dressed with oil. The spaghetti, everyone decided was great. So was the salad. But, as Bruno had noted earlier when she'd told him what she was planning on cooking, on the same plate? It didn't work. John and Gregg both found time to praise Aki's invention but felt that the dish, overall, simply had too much going on. Aki, noted, reasonably, that her Japanese background had probably counted against her here since, in Japanese cooking a mixture of different styles and flavours is, sort of, de rigueur. 'If I go out, so be it,' she said. Gregg thanked her for her honesty. Ultimately, though, the strength of the constituent parts of her dish - added to the weaknesses of others - also saw bouncing Aki bounce her way into the final seven. If Gregg is the big Italian fan, John's the Spanish expert on the duo. But, Gregg was the one to sum up what was needed from the Spanish dishes. 'Give me sunshine,' he said and we thought he was about to burst into Eric and Ernie's big number. 'Give me tomatoes, give me spice.' Big Eamonn was first up, cooking pan-fried sea bream with romesco sauce, broad beans, ibérico ham and onion topped with paprika and sea salt. It blew everyone away. 'You're learning the little things that make the difference,' said John as a smile as big Barcelona's back four broke out on Eamonn's face.
Andrew's dish of crumbed hake with aïoli filled patatas bravas and padrón peppers, chorizo, saffron and orange sauce and a squid ink beurre blanc had rather surprised Ben who said he thought the individual parts might well work but he was uncertain about the whole thing put together. John looked equally puzzled noting: 'I thought beurre blanc was French!' Ooh, pick, pick, pick, pick! Nevertheless, like Eamonn, Andrew soon had all three judges eating out of the palm of his hand. Or, off his plate, anyway. Gregg's little face lit up as he moaned, almost orgasmically, that the dish 'centres around flavour.' Ben simply said it was 'Spain on a plate.' Andrew and Eamonn were both praised for having not only delivered two knock-out dishes but, also, for having understood the concept of the round. To dive, feet first into a national style of cuisine and embrace it.
John noted that what he was particularly pleased about in Andrew's case was that Andrew had done something which he hadn't always done in the past, made a dish in the style of a particular regional cuisine rather than, perhaps, make something he, Andrew, wanted to make and throw in a few Spanish ingredients. Needless to say, both Eamonn and Andrew were straight through to the next round. Then we got to the French round and it all started to go a little bit la pear-shaped. Well, not entirely. Jay's dish was Bouillabaisse - a classic French seafood stew - which made with monkish, gurnard, mussels and saffron potatoes. He said it was going to be his own take on it and he did use the dreaded 'D' word, 'deconstruction' as, immediately, five million viewers remembered poor Matthew from a couple of weeks ago. In the end, it wasn't perfect, Bruno thought it had one too many ingredients. But, as both John and Gregg quickly noted, it was the most French-like of all the dishes in the supposed French round. It was a 'classic dish, I shouldn't have played around with it,' Jay said, beating himself up somewhat afterwards. But, it was nowhere near a disaster and Jay made it through easily enough in the end.
And then we came to this episode's nightmare. Or, you know, since this is the French round, cauchemar. Emma said she was going to do chocolate and banana profiteroles with a chocolate topping and ice cream. Although she wasn't entirely sure what sort of ice cream even once she was in the kitchen and starting to make it. In the end she went for caramel and vanilla and, sadly, it didn't set. 'So, what we've got it a ripple puddle,' John noted, sounding not unlike somebody who's just been told tonight's menu is bitter wrath followed by sour grapes. Emma nodded. Gregg tasted it. 'It's too sweet,' he said. 'even for me.' Hang on. A dessert is too sweet for Gregg Wallace? The lad must be ill. The general consensus was that whilst the dish had displayed a lot of good technique (choux pastry not least), it hadn't quite come together. 'Less Parisian cafe, more supermarket,' said John. Emma's chances of staying in the competition appeared to be hanging by a thread. And then we came to Afsaneh who'd been one of the brightest and most affable contestants so far. Would it all go wrong for her at the worst possible time. Yep? You betcha it did. Her dish of apple and cinnamon flan-cake with calvados ice cream sounded 'a brilliant idea as a concept,' to Gregg. 'If you'd pulled it off.' Oh dear, that didn't sound good at all. Again, the ice cream didn't set in time. 'Your techniques let you down,' John noted. What a real shame. 
'A fascinating - and new - journey around the dishes of France,' noted Gregg, with not a little sarcasm. In the end it came down to a straight choice between Emma and Afsaneh and, probably with the amount of work that Emma had put in counting in her favour, Afsaneh was the one to go. She was obviously very disappointed but left the competition that she has so lit-up with one final great one-liner. 'I wouldn't change a thing,' she said with a smile. Then she paused and added: 'Well, except maybe today!' And so the final eight became final seven and we were treated to an extended trailer for the next episode in which someone is, apparently, going to break Tom Kitchin's heart. And not in a remotely good way either.
That should be worth watching, then!
Following the earlier news about Mick Aston's departure from Time Team, the popular archaeology series producer Tim Taylor had this to say on the subject: 'Having spent the last evening with Mick I was able to get a good sense of his position and, to some extent, his concerns are ones I share. Mick and I have been good friends for twenty years and continue to share a mutual trust and respect. His concerns are of great importance to me. We have addressed some of them; adjustments in management with a new Series Director (who understands that the archaeology has to be at the core of the programme) will make a difference and we have also addressed the co-presenter role - Tony will be on his own this year as usual. This particular change was part of the experiment of last year that didn't work, though through no fault of the person concerned. I would also say that despite changes at the television level last year, some of which were probably minimal to some of you, the archaeology undertaken was, as usual, of the highest standard. Francis Pryor, Phil, Tracey and the rest of the digging team made sure that we carried out field work to the best of our abilities.
What I think Mick found unacceptable was that some elements of the production management didn't address his concerns and, more annoyingly, failed to make changes in the finished programs [sic] that he felt were important. Mick and I are planning to work together on a number of projects and he will continue with master classes on the blog. I am also hoping to persuade him to join some of our Time Team Club weekends. It's also time, as Mick keeps saying, that the next person picks up the torch he has carried for so long and this requires that we consider what Time Team looks like as it goes into the future. Although Francis is not a replacement for Mick he, along with Phil, will be managing the archaeological work on a number of sites for us this year and ensuring this is undertaken to the highest possible standards. Both Mick and I still believe in Time Team's core appeal and are both excited about what we will be doing over the next few years. I will comment further once I've seen the British Archaeology article. You've not heard the last of Mick on Time Team. Finally, don’t believe everything you read in the papers.'
The BBC has moved the final episode of its new hit Sunday night drama Call The Midwife to avoid a clash with ITV's Coronation Street. The BBC1 series about 1950s midwifery will run half an hour later than its usual 8pm time slot, after ITV decided to schedule an episode of its flagship soap directly against the show's final episode. BBC executives made the decision after draft programme schedules released early on Wednesday revealed that on Sunday 19 February, ITV had rejigged its usual line-up and put Coronation Street against Call the Midwife at 8pm. A BBC 'insider' allegedly said: 'Call the Midwife has been the standout hit of the year and it's both surprising and disappointing for viewers that ITV were prepared to sacrifice an episode of Coronation Street just to damage its audience.' Call The Midwife, starring Miranda Hart and Jenny Agutter, has attracted overnight audiences of up to nine million – rising to more than ten million when seven-day timeshifted viewing is added – and has already been recommissioned for a second series.
Call the Midwife has been so popular that the BBC decided to launch the second series of their Downton Abbey rival Upstairs Downstairs on the back of its final episode. ITV denied that its decision to put Coronation Street on a Sunday night was designed to sabotage BBC1's line-up - although it's perfectly clear to anyone with half-a-brain in their head that that was exactly what this was an attempt to do. Rumours have been rife within the TV industry that ITV intended to do this solely to spite the BBC's carefully planned Upstairs Downstrairs launch. ITV claimed - unconvincingly - that the move was because that week's Thursday night episode of the soap had to be moved to accommodate a UEFA Europa League football match. One or two people even believed them. An ITV spokesman said: 'It's because the Porto v Manchester City match is on that Thursday so Coronation Street has been displaced as a result. The Sunday is the earliest we can book it in.' The change in line-up means ITV's Sunday night regular Twatting About on Ice, which has dipped alarmingly in the ratings over the last few weeks, will move earlier to 6.05pm. Twatting on Ice will be followed by Coronation Street at 8pm, long-running safari drama Wild at Heart at 8.30pm – which will play against Call the Midwife – then the Twatting About on Ice skate-off at 9.30pm, against Upstairs Downstairs. Okay, a couple of points here, firstly the obvious question for the Daily Scum Mail and the other tabloid scum - will they be complaining as much about 'aggressive scheduling' as they did when they said the BBC put Strictly Come Dancing up against The X Factor a couple of years ago? One rather doubts it. Because they're hypocrites. And scum. Secondly, this would seem to be a decision which far more damaged Twatting About on Ice than it will the BBC. An earlier than usual start will, presumably, mean the pro-celebrity ice skating competition's ratings average will be even lower than what it has been getting recently (early starts hurt Twatting About on Ice far more than it clashing against Call The Midwife). So Twatting About on Ice's performance show could well be averaging under seven million viewers. And, for once, it's not even Christine Bleakley's fault. Well, not entirely, anyway. Another point is that, traditionally, Corrie episodes shown on a Sunday in the past haven't done all that well. The rumour currently doing the rounds in TV ratings watching circles is that ITV really don't want Call The Midwife to have consolidated ratings which are higher than series one of Downton Abbey. Supposedly, of course, ITV is only concerned with 'on the day ratings' as it were. 
Live viewing, since that is what their advertisers focus on. The BBC are, increasingly, look toward total reach audiences - timeshifting, ratings +7 and iPlayer viewings included. Yet there are rumours that ITV genuinely believes Coronation Street that night will 'destroy' - that was the actual word used, apparently - the finale of Call the Midwife. Upstairs Downstairs's performance is also said to be 'being looked at' closely by ITV. It appears that it has now become something of an obsession for ITV to keep other drama from being lauded in the same way that Downton Abbey has been. 'Diluting' the effects of BBC drama would be satisfactory, destroying them will be better. Interestingly, from rumours, it's also understood that Sherlock - the BBC's other enormous hit of early 2012 - wasn't looked at in this way (it's seen as a somewhat different beast), but Call the Midwife and Upstairs Downstairs appear to be dirty words to even mention at ITV at the moment. They really don't want Upstairs Downstairs to take off and the public announcement of Shirley MacLaine's casting for Downton on the same day as the Upstairs Downstairs press launch was conspicuously coincidental. It smacks of incredibly childish behaviour from a broadcaster, frankly.
Fabio Capello has resigned as England manager, the Football Association has confirmed. Capello resigned after a meeting with FA chairman David Bernstein and general secretary Alex Horne at Wembley. An FA statement read: 'The Football Association can confirm that Fabio Capello has today resigned as England manager.' Short and terse, I'm sure you'll agree. On Monday, the Italian publicly challenged the FA's decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy in an interview on Italian television. The FA's statement continued: 'The discussions focused on the FA Board's decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello's response through an Italian broadcast interview. In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio's resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England manager with immediate effect.' Bernstein said: 'I would like to stress that during [the] meeting and throughout his time as England manager, Fabio has conducted himself in an extremely professional manner. We have accepted Fabio's resignation, agreeing this is the right decision. We would like to thank Fabio for his work with the England team and wish him every success in the future.'
A media conference with Bernstein and the Club England management team will take place at Wembley Stadium on Thursday. The FA will not be making any further comment until the media conference. Wednesday's meeting was the first time Capello had met the FA since their decision to remove the armband from Terry pending the outcome of his court case in July. Terry denies a charge of allegedly racially abusing Queens Park Strangers' Anton Ferdinand. On Sunday, Capello told the Italian state broadcaster RAI that he did not believe someone should be punished by sporting authorities before a court had reached a verdict. 'I thought it was right that Terry should keep the captain's armband,' said the sixty five-year-old, who's first game in charge was on 6 February 2008 against Switzerland. 'I have spoken to the chairman and I have said that in my opinion one cannot be punished until it is official and the court - a non-sport court, a civil court - had made a decision to decide if John Terry has done what he is accused of.'
Doctor Who showrunner The Lord Thy God Steven Moffat (Thou Shalt Worship No Other Gods Before He) has dropped several further hints about the show's forthcoming seventh series. Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will both exit the BBC's popular long-running family SF drama in a 'heartbreaking' final episode, it was revealed in December. 'I'm writing that right now, the big Rory and Amy heartbreaking finale,' Moffat told Dublin University's Observer. 'I think you'll be in trouble watching it.' The writer also confirmed that pre-production on the new series, which will feature episodes by Toby Whithouse and Chris Chibnall, recently began in Cardiff. 'We just had our official day commencing pre-production on Doctor Who,' he said.
'Knowing when it's actually going to be shown is a little bit optimistic, but I'm pretty sure it will be the autumn.' Moffat, who has served as showrunner since 2009, added that he still finds it 'very, very exciting' writing new Doctor Who episodes. 'I remember sitting down for the first time and thinking "Bloody hell, I'm actually writing Doctor Who" [and] that never completely wears off,' he admitted. 'I'm always very excited about writing Doctor Who, but it's now harder for me to recapture the feeling of it being entirely a novelty.' As noted Whithouse and Chibnall will both write for the next series. Whithouse's episode is expected to be broadcast third in the new run, according to SFX magazine. Whithouse has confirmed that his instalment will be 'one of the final ones' to feature the characters of Amy Pond and Rory Williams. The Being Human creator previously wrote the 2006 episode School Reunion for the series, as well as 2010's The Vampires of Venice and 2011's The God Complex. Chibnall, who served as a co-producer on Who spin-off Torchwood from 2006 to 2008, contributed to 2007's 42 and 2010 two-parter The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood.
BBC journalists have been told not to break news stories on Twitter before they tell their newsroom colleagues. The new rules, which apply to all of the corporation's correspondents, reporters and producers, were announced on Wednesday a day after it was revealed that Sky News had told its journalists not to repost information from any Twitter users who are not an employee of the broadcaster. The new BBC guidelines are intended to ensure that stories are fed into the BBC's newsgathering machine as quickly as possible and without the delay of a one hundred and forty-character update on Twitter. Chris Hamilton, the BBC's social media editor, said: 'We prize the increasing value of Twitter, and other social networks, to us (and our audiences) as a platform for our content, a newsgathering tool and a new way of engaging with people. Being quick off the mark with breaking news is essential to that mission. But we've been clear that our first priority remains ensuring that important information reaches BBC colleagues, and thus all our audiences, as quickly as possible – and certainly not after it reaches Twitter.'
Hamilton, writing on the BBC's editors website, said the corporation was 'constantly reviewing' its guidance for journalists. 'As part of that, we have just distributed some refreshed breaking news guidance to our correspondents, reporters and producers,' said Hamilton. 'It says that, when they have some breaking news, an exclusive or any kind of urgent update on a story, they must get written copy into our newsroom system as quickly as possible, so that it can be seen and shared by everyone – both the news desks which deploy our staff and resources (like TV trucks) as well as television, radio and online production teams.' He added: 'We're fortunate to have a technology that allows our journalists to transmit text simultaneously to our newsroom systems and to their own Twitter accounts.' The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said the BBC had been 'very nervous' about Twitter at first but had come to the conclusion that social networks can be 'brilliant tools for broadcasters as long as they remember that the same rules apply as in any other form of broadcasting' and thus embraced it. 'But, like Sky News, we are still pondering a couple of key questions,' said Cellan-Jones on his blog. 'Is it right, for instance, to break news on Twitter before it reaches any broadcast outlets? In a long-running court case, a series of tweets from the reporter who is following proceedings can be an invaluable way of keeping both the news desk and the world informed. But when it comes to the verdict, surely the reporter should rush to the live microphone or camera first - even if that means being beaten by a rival tweeter? We are all feeling our way forward through the fog of this new media landscape. The social media revolution is changing power structures in newsrooms, allowing young journalists who understand this new world - and a few older ones - to build reputations independent of their own organisations. Some would like to turn the clock back to a simpler time, when all power resided in the news desk, only star reporters got a byline, and sharing information with outsiders before the presses rolled or the bulletin began was a sacking offence. But it is almost certainly too late for that.'
Sky Arts has announced that it will broadcast this year's Isle Of Wight Festival. The music event will also be shown on Sky 3D, with each channel scheduled to broadcast six hours of the festival a day. Pearl Jam, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band are to headline, while further performances come from Noel Gallagher, Jessie J and The Vaccines. 'The Isle Of Wight Festival is the most dynamic and exciting festival in the UK: we knew that with this year's line-up, Sky Arts coverage had to be bigger, better and bolder than ever before,' commented James Hunt, channel director of Sky Arts. 'Broadcasting the festival live for six hours a day not only confirms Sky Arts as the destination for great music coverage, with 3D it also brings viewers closer to the real-life festival experience.' Sky Arts has increased its commitment to festival coverage in the UK over recent years, with 2011 seeing the channel broadcast performances from Latitude and Bestival.
The cookery school kitchens at TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage headquarters in Devon have been severely damaged by fire. The alarm was raised on Tuesday evening and the fire took several hours to bring under control. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said that firefighters had also had to isolate two large tanks of liquid propane gas at the Axminster property.
River Cottage said staff were trying to contact the chef who is filming abroad. A statement said: 'The River Cottage team are shocked and upset, and are dealing with the damage today. Hugh is away on a long-distance filming trip and will be informed as soon as he can be contacted.' River Cottage said its cookery school courses which are held in the converted barn would not be running 'in the short term.' The canteen restaurant and delicatessen, based in the centre of Axminster, has not been affected by the fire. Last August, the chef and his son had to be rescued by lifeboat when his boat became trapped on submerged rocks off the coast of Sidmouth.
Fans of The Simpsons will attempt to break a Guinness World Record for marathon TV viewing this week. On Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles, one hundred fans will begin watching consecutive episodes of the US TV series. The last fan standing at the end of the marathon will win ten thousand dollars and a variety of Simpsons merchandise.
Participants are allowed to eat and drink during the marathon and go to the toilet, but they'll be disqualified if they fall asleep. Each episode of The Simpsons is around twenty two minutes long, which means it would make more than eight days to watch every episode. Twentieth Century FOX, which broadcasts The Simpsons in America, is sponsoring the event and supplying the winner's prize. Fans need to be a US resident and over eighteen to take part, according to the event's official website. The current record for marathon TV viewing is held by three American men who watched eight six hours of the Kiefer Sutherland series 24 in 2010. A feat that Jack Bauer himself would've been impressed with. Except that they were TV-watching nerds so he'd probably want to kill them on general principle. The Simpsons, which was created by Matt Groening, is the longest-running animated comedy show of all time. The show's five hundredth episode - At Long Last Leave - is due to air later this month.
The BBC, ITN and Sky News have been ordered to hand over hours of unbroadcast footage of the Dale Farm evictions after losing a court battle against Essex police. The broadcasters were told to disclose footage filmed at the UK's largest Travellers' camp on 18 and 19 October after police won a production order at Chelmsford magistrates court on Tuesday. The broadcasters are understood to be considering a challenge to the wide-ranging order, which includes footage of a police officer apparently using a stun gun at close range. The court ruled that it is in the public interest for police to obtain the footage to help detect crime. In deciding whether to grant a production order, judges are supposed to weigh the interest of the police in obtaining evidence with the public interest in a free press. Essex police said it believes the footage could help to identify people responsible for 'the assault of a number of officers' during clashes with Travellers at the eviction. It is routine for broadcasters to oppose production orders brought by the police.
However, this order was keenly fought because it includes non-violent footage of Travellers which police claimed could help identify those involved in criminal acts at other times during the eviction. The broadcasters – who include the freelance journalist Jason Parkinson and Hardcash Productions, the independent production firm behind BBC1's Panorama coverage of Dale Farm – argued that disclosing the material would put journalists in danger at future protests because they could be wrongly seen as an evidence-gathering arm of the authorities. A spokesman for ITN said: 'We are disappointed by this ruling as we opposed the production order to protect our newsgathering personnel and on a matter of journalistic principle. We are reviewing the details of the ruling and seriously considering whether to appeal.' Essex police said in a statement: 'Essex police has been granted the right to obtain relevant footage from those media organisations that were present during the enforcement action in October 2011. The material is expected to be handed over to the force in the next few weeks. Detectives will then proceed to identify those individuals who committed crimes at Dale Farm.'
The man behind political website Guido Fawkes has told how he avoiding legal action by using foreign web hosts. Paul Staines said he published a Merrill Lynch memo about the potential fifty billion smackers cost of bailing out Northern Rock bank, despite an injunction, because the public 'had a right to know.' 
Lawyers had to 'chase' the story in different jurisdictions, he said. Irish citizen Staines told the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics he was not bound by UK judges' orders. 'What I think you're missing is that I'm a citizen of a free republic and, since 1922, I don't have to pay attention to what a British judge orders me to do.' He said that by publishing the information in several countries during the Northern Rock crisis he forced lawyers Carter Ruck to 'chase it' in several jurisdictions. He added that he used hosting sites in countries where normal business hours were closed, meaning the lawyers had to wait until morning before taking the matter up with the sites' owners.
In this episode, judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace asked the remaining cooks to take on three cornerstones of European cuisine - they each had to master the art of either Italian, Spanish or French cooking. Each group began by being given a master class by a top chef in their chosen style, a chef who has developed their reputation by being one of the leading advocates of that country's cuisine: Italian Francesco Mazzei of L'Anima, Ben Tish from The Salt Yard, who specialise in Spanish tapas, and Bruno Loubet, chef in his self-titled French restaurant, Bistrot Bruno Loubet. The MasterChef cooks were taught to prepare a dish that captured the heart and philosophy of their chosen country. They then had to compete in the heat of service at the restaurant, mastering another dish working under their head chef, ensuring that they reach the exacting standards of not only the restaurant and chef, but the specific cuisine of their chosen area. 
It looked terrific fun, must try that one out myself sometime. Big Eamonn and Little Andrew went Spanish and both seemed to have a fine old time getting on famously with the not-particularly-shouty head chef Ben who extolled the virtues of his modern take on tapas 'taken to new levels.' Jay, Afsaneh and Emma chose French and, again, all three developed a good rapport with Bruno. Particularly when Jay mentioned that his love for French cuisine came from the fact that he used to have a French girlfriend. 'Used to have?' asked Bruno. 'She mustn't have been a very good cook!' 
'A fascinating - and new - journey around the dishes of France,' noted Gregg, with not a little sarcasm. In the end it came down to a straight choice between Emma and Afsaneh and, probably with the amount of work that Emma had put in counting in her favour, Afsaneh was the one to go. She was obviously very disappointed but left the competition that she has so lit-up with one final great one-liner. 'I wouldn't change a thing,' she said with a smile. Then she paused and added: 'Well, except maybe today!' And so the final eight became final seven and we were treated to an extended trailer for the next episode in which someone is, apparently, going to break Tom Kitchin's heart. And not in a remotely good way either. 
Following the earlier news about Mick Aston's departure from Time Team, the popular archaeology series producer Tim Taylor had this to say on the subject: 'Having spent the last evening with Mick I was able to get a good sense of his position and, to some extent, his concerns are ones I share. Mick and I have been good friends for twenty years and continue to share a mutual trust and respect. His concerns are of great importance to me. We have addressed some of them; adjustments in management with a new Series Director (who understands that the archaeology has to be at the core of the programme) will make a difference and we have also addressed the co-presenter role - Tony will be on his own this year as usual. This particular change was part of the experiment of last year that didn't work, though through no fault of the person concerned. I would also say that despite changes at the television level last year, some of which were probably minimal to some of you, the archaeology undertaken was, as usual, of the highest standard. Francis Pryor, Phil, Tracey and the rest of the digging team made sure that we carried out field work to the best of our abilities.
What I think Mick found unacceptable was that some elements of the production management didn't address his concerns and, more annoyingly, failed to make changes in the finished programs [sic] that he felt were important. Mick and I are planning to work together on a number of projects and he will continue with master classes on the blog. I am also hoping to persuade him to join some of our Time Team Club weekends. It's also time, as Mick keeps saying, that the next person picks up the torch he has carried for so long and this requires that we consider what Time Team looks like as it goes into the future. Although Francis is not a replacement for Mick he, along with Phil, will be managing the archaeological work on a number of sites for us this year and ensuring this is undertaken to the highest possible standards. Both Mick and I still believe in Time Team's core appeal and are both excited about what we will be doing over the next few years. I will comment further once I've seen the British Archaeology article. You've not heard the last of Mick on Time Team. Finally, don’t believe everything you read in the papers.'The BBC has moved the final episode of its new hit Sunday night drama Call The Midwife to avoid a clash with ITV's Coronation Street. The BBC1 series about 1950s midwifery will run half an hour later than its usual 8pm time slot, after ITV decided to schedule an episode of its flagship soap directly against the show's final episode. BBC executives made the decision after draft programme schedules released early on Wednesday revealed that on Sunday 19 February, ITV had rejigged its usual line-up and put Coronation Street against Call the Midwife at 8pm. A BBC 'insider' allegedly said: 'Call the Midwife has been the standout hit of the year and it's both surprising and disappointing for viewers that ITV were prepared to sacrifice an episode of Coronation Street just to damage its audience.' Call The Midwife, starring Miranda Hart and Jenny Agutter, has attracted overnight audiences of up to nine million – rising to more than ten million when seven-day timeshifted viewing is added – and has already been recommissioned for a second series.
Call the Midwife has been so popular that the BBC decided to launch the second series of their Downton Abbey rival Upstairs Downstairs on the back of its final episode. ITV denied that its decision to put Coronation Street on a Sunday night was designed to sabotage BBC1's line-up - although it's perfectly clear to anyone with half-a-brain in their head that that was exactly what this was an attempt to do. Rumours have been rife within the TV industry that ITV intended to do this solely to spite the BBC's carefully planned Upstairs Downstrairs launch. ITV claimed - unconvincingly - that the move was because that week's Thursday night episode of the soap had to be moved to accommodate a UEFA Europa League football match. One or two people even believed them. An ITV spokesman said: 'It's because the Porto v Manchester City match is on that Thursday so Coronation Street has been displaced as a result. The Sunday is the earliest we can book it in.' The change in line-up means ITV's Sunday night regular Twatting About on Ice, which has dipped alarmingly in the ratings over the last few weeks, will move earlier to 6.05pm. Twatting on Ice will be followed by Coronation Street at 8pm, long-running safari drama Wild at Heart at 8.30pm – which will play against Call the Midwife – then the Twatting About on Ice skate-off at 9.30pm, against Upstairs Downstairs. Okay, a couple of points here, firstly the obvious question for the Daily Scum Mail and the other tabloid scum - will they be complaining as much about 'aggressive scheduling' as they did when they said the BBC put Strictly Come Dancing up against The X Factor a couple of years ago? One rather doubts it. Because they're hypocrites. And scum. Secondly, this would seem to be a decision which far more damaged Twatting About on Ice than it will the BBC. An earlier than usual start will, presumably, mean the pro-celebrity ice skating competition's ratings average will be even lower than what it has been getting recently (early starts hurt Twatting About on Ice far more than it clashing against Call The Midwife). So Twatting About on Ice's performance show could well be averaging under seven million viewers. And, for once, it's not even Christine Bleakley's fault. Well, not entirely, anyway. Another point is that, traditionally, Corrie episodes shown on a Sunday in the past haven't done all that well. The rumour currently doing the rounds in TV ratings watching circles is that ITV really don't want Call The Midwife to have consolidated ratings which are higher than series one of Downton Abbey. Supposedly, of course, ITV is only concerned with 'on the day ratings' as it were. 
Live viewing, since that is what their advertisers focus on. The BBC are, increasingly, look toward total reach audiences - timeshifting, ratings +7 and iPlayer viewings included. Yet there are rumours that ITV genuinely believes Coronation Street that night will 'destroy' - that was the actual word used, apparently - the finale of Call the Midwife. Upstairs Downstairs's performance is also said to be 'being looked at' closely by ITV. It appears that it has now become something of an obsession for ITV to keep other drama from being lauded in the same way that Downton Abbey has been. 'Diluting' the effects of BBC drama would be satisfactory, destroying them will be better. Interestingly, from rumours, it's also understood that Sherlock - the BBC's other enormous hit of early 2012 - wasn't looked at in this way (it's seen as a somewhat different beast), but Call the Midwife and Upstairs Downstairs appear to be dirty words to even mention at ITV at the moment. They really don't want Upstairs Downstairs to take off and the public announcement of Shirley MacLaine's casting for Downton on the same day as the Upstairs Downstairs press launch was conspicuously coincidental. It smacks of incredibly childish behaviour from a broadcaster, frankly. Fabio Capello has resigned as England manager, the Football Association has confirmed. Capello resigned after a meeting with FA chairman David Bernstein and general secretary Alex Horne at Wembley. An FA statement read: 'The Football Association can confirm that Fabio Capello has today resigned as England manager.' Short and terse, I'm sure you'll agree. On Monday, the Italian publicly challenged the FA's decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy in an interview on Italian television. The FA's statement continued: 'The discussions focused on the FA Board's decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello's response through an Italian broadcast interview. In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio's resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England manager with immediate effect.' Bernstein said: 'I would like to stress that during [the] meeting and throughout his time as England manager, Fabio has conducted himself in an extremely professional manner. We have accepted Fabio's resignation, agreeing this is the right decision. We would like to thank Fabio for his work with the England team and wish him every success in the future.'
A media conference with Bernstein and the Club England management team will take place at Wembley Stadium on Thursday. The FA will not be making any further comment until the media conference. Wednesday's meeting was the first time Capello had met the FA since their decision to remove the armband from Terry pending the outcome of his court case in July. Terry denies a charge of allegedly racially abusing Queens Park Strangers' Anton Ferdinand. On Sunday, Capello told the Italian state broadcaster RAI that he did not believe someone should be punished by sporting authorities before a court had reached a verdict. 'I thought it was right that Terry should keep the captain's armband,' said the sixty five-year-old, who's first game in charge was on 6 February 2008 against Switzerland. 'I have spoken to the chairman and I have said that in my opinion one cannot be punished until it is official and the court - a non-sport court, a civil court - had made a decision to decide if John Terry has done what he is accused of.'Doctor Who showrunner The Lord Thy God Steven Moffat (Thou Shalt Worship No Other Gods Before He) has dropped several further hints about the show's forthcoming seventh series. Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will both exit the BBC's popular long-running family SF drama in a 'heartbreaking' final episode, it was revealed in December. 'I'm writing that right now, the big Rory and Amy heartbreaking finale,' Moffat told Dublin University's Observer. 'I think you'll be in trouble watching it.' The writer also confirmed that pre-production on the new series, which will feature episodes by Toby Whithouse and Chris Chibnall, recently began in Cardiff. 'We just had our official day commencing pre-production on Doctor Who,' he said.
'Knowing when it's actually going to be shown is a little bit optimistic, but I'm pretty sure it will be the autumn.' Moffat, who has served as showrunner since 2009, added that he still finds it 'very, very exciting' writing new Doctor Who episodes. 'I remember sitting down for the first time and thinking "Bloody hell, I'm actually writing Doctor Who" [and] that never completely wears off,' he admitted. 'I'm always very excited about writing Doctor Who, but it's now harder for me to recapture the feeling of it being entirely a novelty.' As noted Whithouse and Chibnall will both write for the next series. Whithouse's episode is expected to be broadcast third in the new run, according to SFX magazine. Whithouse has confirmed that his instalment will be 'one of the final ones' to feature the characters of Amy Pond and Rory Williams. The Being Human creator previously wrote the 2006 episode School Reunion for the series, as well as 2010's The Vampires of Venice and 2011's The God Complex. Chibnall, who served as a co-producer on Who spin-off Torchwood from 2006 to 2008, contributed to 2007's 42 and 2010 two-parter The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood.BBC journalists have been told not to break news stories on Twitter before they tell their newsroom colleagues. The new rules, which apply to all of the corporation's correspondents, reporters and producers, were announced on Wednesday a day after it was revealed that Sky News had told its journalists not to repost information from any Twitter users who are not an employee of the broadcaster. The new BBC guidelines are intended to ensure that stories are fed into the BBC's newsgathering machine as quickly as possible and without the delay of a one hundred and forty-character update on Twitter. Chris Hamilton, the BBC's social media editor, said: 'We prize the increasing value of Twitter, and other social networks, to us (and our audiences) as a platform for our content, a newsgathering tool and a new way of engaging with people. Being quick off the mark with breaking news is essential to that mission. But we've been clear that our first priority remains ensuring that important information reaches BBC colleagues, and thus all our audiences, as quickly as possible – and certainly not after it reaches Twitter.'
Hamilton, writing on the BBC's editors website, said the corporation was 'constantly reviewing' its guidance for journalists. 'As part of that, we have just distributed some refreshed breaking news guidance to our correspondents, reporters and producers,' said Hamilton. 'It says that, when they have some breaking news, an exclusive or any kind of urgent update on a story, they must get written copy into our newsroom system as quickly as possible, so that it can be seen and shared by everyone – both the news desks which deploy our staff and resources (like TV trucks) as well as television, radio and online production teams.' He added: 'We're fortunate to have a technology that allows our journalists to transmit text simultaneously to our newsroom systems and to their own Twitter accounts.' The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said the BBC had been 'very nervous' about Twitter at first but had come to the conclusion that social networks can be 'brilliant tools for broadcasters as long as they remember that the same rules apply as in any other form of broadcasting' and thus embraced it. 'But, like Sky News, we are still pondering a couple of key questions,' said Cellan-Jones on his blog. 'Is it right, for instance, to break news on Twitter before it reaches any broadcast outlets? In a long-running court case, a series of tweets from the reporter who is following proceedings can be an invaluable way of keeping both the news desk and the world informed. But when it comes to the verdict, surely the reporter should rush to the live microphone or camera first - even if that means being beaten by a rival tweeter? We are all feeling our way forward through the fog of this new media landscape. The social media revolution is changing power structures in newsrooms, allowing young journalists who understand this new world - and a few older ones - to build reputations independent of their own organisations. Some would like to turn the clock back to a simpler time, when all power resided in the news desk, only star reporters got a byline, and sharing information with outsiders before the presses rolled or the bulletin began was a sacking offence. But it is almost certainly too late for that.'Sky Arts has announced that it will broadcast this year's Isle Of Wight Festival. The music event will also be shown on Sky 3D, with each channel scheduled to broadcast six hours of the festival a day. Pearl Jam, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band are to headline, while further performances come from Noel Gallagher, Jessie J and The Vaccines. 'The Isle Of Wight Festival is the most dynamic and exciting festival in the UK: we knew that with this year's line-up, Sky Arts coverage had to be bigger, better and bolder than ever before,' commented James Hunt, channel director of Sky Arts. 'Broadcasting the festival live for six hours a day not only confirms Sky Arts as the destination for great music coverage, with 3D it also brings viewers closer to the real-life festival experience.' Sky Arts has increased its commitment to festival coverage in the UK over recent years, with 2011 seeing the channel broadcast performances from Latitude and Bestival.
The cookery school kitchens at TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage headquarters in Devon have been severely damaged by fire. The alarm was raised on Tuesday evening and the fire took several hours to bring under control. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said that firefighters had also had to isolate two large tanks of liquid propane gas at the Axminster property.
River Cottage said staff were trying to contact the chef who is filming abroad. A statement said: 'The River Cottage team are shocked and upset, and are dealing with the damage today. Hugh is away on a long-distance filming trip and will be informed as soon as he can be contacted.' River Cottage said its cookery school courses which are held in the converted barn would not be running 'in the short term.' The canteen restaurant and delicatessen, based in the centre of Axminster, has not been affected by the fire. Last August, the chef and his son had to be rescued by lifeboat when his boat became trapped on submerged rocks off the coast of Sidmouth.Fans of The Simpsons will attempt to break a Guinness World Record for marathon TV viewing this week. On Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles, one hundred fans will begin watching consecutive episodes of the US TV series. The last fan standing at the end of the marathon will win ten thousand dollars and a variety of Simpsons merchandise.
Participants are allowed to eat and drink during the marathon and go to the toilet, but they'll be disqualified if they fall asleep. Each episode of The Simpsons is around twenty two minutes long, which means it would make more than eight days to watch every episode. Twentieth Century FOX, which broadcasts The Simpsons in America, is sponsoring the event and supplying the winner's prize. Fans need to be a US resident and over eighteen to take part, according to the event's official website. The current record for marathon TV viewing is held by three American men who watched eight six hours of the Kiefer Sutherland series 24 in 2010. A feat that Jack Bauer himself would've been impressed with. Except that they were TV-watching nerds so he'd probably want to kill them on general principle. The Simpsons, which was created by Matt Groening, is the longest-running animated comedy show of all time. The show's five hundredth episode - At Long Last Leave - is due to air later this month.The BBC, ITN and Sky News have been ordered to hand over hours of unbroadcast footage of the Dale Farm evictions after losing a court battle against Essex police. The broadcasters were told to disclose footage filmed at the UK's largest Travellers' camp on 18 and 19 October after police won a production order at Chelmsford magistrates court on Tuesday. The broadcasters are understood to be considering a challenge to the wide-ranging order, which includes footage of a police officer apparently using a stun gun at close range. The court ruled that it is in the public interest for police to obtain the footage to help detect crime. In deciding whether to grant a production order, judges are supposed to weigh the interest of the police in obtaining evidence with the public interest in a free press. Essex police said it believes the footage could help to identify people responsible for 'the assault of a number of officers' during clashes with Travellers at the eviction. It is routine for broadcasters to oppose production orders brought by the police.
However, this order was keenly fought because it includes non-violent footage of Travellers which police claimed could help identify those involved in criminal acts at other times during the eviction. The broadcasters – who include the freelance journalist Jason Parkinson and Hardcash Productions, the independent production firm behind BBC1's Panorama coverage of Dale Farm – argued that disclosing the material would put journalists in danger at future protests because they could be wrongly seen as an evidence-gathering arm of the authorities. A spokesman for ITN said: 'We are disappointed by this ruling as we opposed the production order to protect our newsgathering personnel and on a matter of journalistic principle. We are reviewing the details of the ruling and seriously considering whether to appeal.' Essex police said in a statement: 'Essex police has been granted the right to obtain relevant footage from those media organisations that were present during the enforcement action in October 2011. The material is expected to be handed over to the force in the next few weeks. Detectives will then proceed to identify those individuals who committed crimes at Dale Farm.'
Lawyers had to 'chase' the story in different jurisdictions, he said. Irish citizen Staines told the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics he was not bound by UK judges' orders. 'What I think you're missing is that I'm a citizen of a free republic and, since 1922, I don't have to pay attention to what a British judge orders me to do.' He said that by publishing the information in several countries during the Northern Rock crisis he forced lawyers Carter Ruck to 'chase it' in several jurisdictions. He added that he used hosting sites in countries where normal business hours were closed, meaning the lawyers had to wait until morning before taking the matter up with the sites' owners.
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