Acappellaobit: Brian Hibbard

Brian Hibbard - one of the Flying Pickets - has died.

Hibbard was a member of the briefly-popular a capella Flying Pickets, who snagged a Christmas number one with a cover of Yazoo's Only You. The band suffered rapidly declining chart positions with subsequent singles, something they blamed on their radical politics and support for the striking miners, but equally possibly down to the short half-life of a novelty act.

Even so, the band continues to tour, although not featuring any of the original members. Brian and famously-bald Picket Red Stripe quit the group in 1986, and tried to recapture the magic formula in an instrument-free act Brian And Stripe - even down to covering a Yazoo song, Mr Blue. (A Yazoo song which rhymed with Only You, what's more.) The world wasn't especially interested, and Hibbard quickly returned to acting.

He had a degree of success, landing a stay in Coronation Street as Doug Murray, a mechanic who somehow suffered a schoolgirl crush from Tracy Barlow; he also popped up in Doctor Who, Pobol Y Cwm and EastEnders. He had a part in Ifans-twin vehicle movie Twin Town.

Brian Hibbard was 65; he had been unwell with prostate cancer.

EastEnders take over Essex

EastEnders' bid to take on everybody with an Equity card continues with news that David Essex is joining the cast as, obviously, a long-lost relative of someone who is already in the series.

Checks paperwork

Yes, it turns out David Essex is Shane Ritchie's Uncle.

Bryan Kirkwood, executive producer of EastEnders, said: "David Essex is a brilliant signing for EastEnders.

"He is a unique talent with a legion of fans, and he will bring warmth and charisma to the role of Eddie Moon. His arrival, alongside the return of son Michael, brings a new generation of the Moon family to Walford".

It's unclear whether there was any sort of petition demanding a new generation of the Moon family.

This is what we've waited for, this is it boys, this is war

The Sun is very excited about the return of Strict Dancing to the Saturday night tv tussle, calling Strictly versus X:

the biggest TV clash of all time

Oh, yes:

BITTER rivals X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing will go head-to-head next week in the biggest TV clash of all time, we can reveal.

We love that "we can reveal", as if they've been sifting secret documents and talking - under strict deniability - to some sort of schedule deep throat, rather than just typing 'strictly' and 'factor' into the search box at RadioTimes.com.

But while this is a fairly large battle, is it really "the biggest TV clash of all time"? Surely that time Corrie stuck two episodes together to try and spoil the launch of EastEnders on Monday night was bigger?

We all feel shame in the cold hard stare of George Michael's disgust

Apparently, George Michael has been disgusted by the media's reaction to Robbie Williams. Apparently unbothered that Williams might have brought some of his own troubles on himself by swanning about like he was some sort of demi-god, releasing a slipshod album that included vindictive personal attacks on his former manager, spent time crowing that he'd sold out his tour with more nights that Take Thats, Michael growled and grumbled:

"Take That came back with a perfectly acceptable record and good for them.

But I can't believe the way the media have treated Robbie Williams over this.

It's their dream come true for Take That to have come back and knocked a bit of stuffing out of him."

Presumably, when he attacks "the British media", Michael is somehow managing to overlook Victoria Newton's fawning 24 hour Williams PR stand, her "send a card to Robbie initiative, her publishing of the lyric attacking Nigel Martin Smith, with little regard to the very real riskk of it containing potentially libellious allegations, and so on.

It's almost as if George Michael has some sort of problem with the British press - you know, like constantly appearing on front pages in long-lens shots stumbling out of cars, that sort of thing - and is using Williams as some sort of proxy.

Just imagine.

Meanwhile, Michael has been trying to get a part in EastEnders or Coronation Street. Apparently he thinks it would be a great move:

"It would be a great place to learn to act."

No, George. A great place to "learn to act" would be a rehearsal room working on an amateur dramatic production of an Agatha Christie. Going into a programme watched by ten million people filmed on the sort of production line basis that Adam Smith would think a little over-mechanical isn't really a great move for someone who doesn't know what they're doing. Still, we're sure the other cast members will be keen to welcome you aboard knowing you think what they do is the nursery-room of acting.

The Moon's on with tunes

The geezerisation of Virgin Radio continues as the station's very studios trundle down towards Hackney: following the signing of Suggs, the network has now signed a big deal with Shane Richie. Shane was EastEnders' Alfie Moon, but is better known as having taken over the Daz doorstep challenge from Danny Baker and, of course, his seminal appearance on 3-2-1 with his sideway look at youth culture (i.e. he wore lycra and pretended to be bodypopping.) During that programme, Ted Rogers predicted that we'd be hearing a lot more from that young man, and how right he was. But surely even Ted couldn't have guessed that:

Richie will make his debut with an afternoon show on Easter Monday, April 9, which will be part of the station's "Great British Bank Holiday Weekend" celebrating "everything that's great and British".

Richie said: "I like to think of myself as voice of the people, friend of the stars. We're going to have a bit of fun here!"

We're looking forward to what Virgin might consider to be great about British things. The shortlist we've come up with is:

- Not Australian-born American-passport holding media moghuls
- Erm, that's it

Fresh n Fly n unhooked

Michelle Gayle - you'll remember her from Grange Hill's Fresh n Fly (or was it Fresh And Fly) and Eastenders. You might also recall her from her not-entirely-glittering post-soap solo career. And being not quite as good at singing as Tony Hadley, as judged by the Reborn in the USA audience.

She's now splitting up from her husband Mark Bright.

The irony that it's taken a split to make anyone remember her won't be helping.