BBC News - Entertainment & Arts
The latest stories from the Entertainment & Arts section of the BBC News web site.
VIDEO: Simon Callow celebrating Dickens
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:16:04 GMT
Acclaimed actor and writer Simon Callow has written a biography of Charles Dickens, exploring the importance of the theatre to the author.
ITV's Fred West drama wins award
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:02:58 GMT
Appropriate Adult, ITV1's dramatisation of the arrest of killer Fred West, picks up best single drama at the Broadcast awards in London.
VIDEO: John Bishop's Sport Relief challenge
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:24:36 GMT
Comedian John Bishop is about to take on a five day triathlon from Paris to London to raise money for Sport Relief.
Radcliffe beaten at US box office
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:33:01 GMT
Chronicle, a film about teenagers with super powers, beats Daniel Radcliffe thriller The Woman in Black to top the North American film chart.
Acting veteran Ben Gazzara dies
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:27:26 GMT
US film and Broadway actor Ben Gazzara has died in New York at the age of 81.
VIDEO: Film 24 - the week's new films
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:21:07 GMT
Mark Kermode reviews the latest UK film releases including Martha Marcy May Marlene, Man on A Ledge and Young Adult.
VIDEO: Cher Lloyd: 'I'm scared of cyberbullies'
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:44:48 GMT
Pop singer Cher Lloyd tells Panorama's Declan Lawn about being cyberbullied and her fears for her family's safety.
Connolly ends shows after heckles
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:31:43 GMT
Comedian Billy Connolly is criticised for ending two of his stand-up shows early in the past week due to hecklers.
David Jason moves behind the camera
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:26:19 GMT
Sir David Jason moves behind the camera
Vettriano's Butler in rare show
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:16:20 GMT
One of the most famous paintings by Fife artist Jack Vettriano has gone on public display for the first time in two decades.
King's Speech premieres on stage
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:59:05 GMT
Almost a year after the film reigned supreme at the Oscars, the stage version of The King's Speech has its world premiere.
AUDIO: Farce, theatre's new force
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:55:16 GMT
Arts editor Will Gompertz has been speaking to the writers and performers of farce to find out the genre's pitfalls and problems.
Calvin Harris named top hitmaker
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:20:58 GMT
Pop star Calvin Harris was the most successful songwriter in the UK singles chart in 2011, according to research from trade magazine Music Week.
Sharon to make EastEnders return
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:10:26 GMT
Actress Letitia Dean is to return to Albert Square after an absence of six years.
Lana Del Rey conquers album chart
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:18:22 GMT
US singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey goes straight in at number one in the UK album chart with her debut release Born To Die.
VIDEO: Lana tops album chart and more news
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:26:49 GMT
Lana Del Rey's debut album tops the charts and Scarlett Johansson's honoured at the Golden Camera Awards in Berlin plus the rest of the day's top entertainment headlines.
Film-maker Zalman King dies at 70
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:05:50 GMT
Film-maker Zalman King, best known for writing and producing the hit movie Nine and a Half Weeks, dies aged 70.
Critics' awards crown Gary Oldman
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:25:00 GMT
Gary Oldman wins his first acting award in more than two decades for his role as spymaster George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Depardieu to star as Strauss-Kahn
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:30:11 GMT
Gerard Depardieu is to star in a movie about the sex scandal that caused IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn to resign.
Gruffalo author pens protest poem
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:11:54 GMT
Children's laureate and Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson writes a poem in protest at planned library closures across the country.
Phil Spector death case settled
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:21:53 GMT
The mother of the actress Phil Spector murdered has settled a wrongful death case against the music producer, according to her lawyer.
Poster 'threat' to Dujardin Oscar
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:07:31 GMT
Movie billboards in Paris featuring The Artist actor Jean Dujardin might affect his chances of winning an Academy Award, according to French press.
Dickens 'beyond' modern children
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:30:44 GMT
Charles Dickens biographer Claire Tomalin says children are not being taught to read with the attention span necessary to appreciate the novelist's works.
Asian TV characters 'stereotyped'
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:26:11 GMT
Australia is more forward-thinking than the UK when it comes to portraying ethnic minorities in soaps, says Neighbours actor Sachin Joab.
BBC accuses Iran of intimidation
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:47 GMT
The BBC's Director General, Mark Thompson, accuses the Iranian authorities of intimidating those working for its Persian service.
Finborough scoops theatre awards
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:56:11 GMT
The Finborough Theatre is the big winner at this year's Off West End Theatre Awards.
Artist set for Facebook windfall
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:13:34 GMT
A US graffiti artist who painted Facebook's offices is set to become a millionaire when the social network begins trading as a public company.
Residents say no to film-makers
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:14:40 GMT
The residents fed-up with movie stars and camera crews
Gospel singer David Peaston dies
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:47:52 GMT
R&B and gospel singer David Peaston, best known for the tracks Two Wrongs (Don't Make it Right) and Can I?, dies aged 54.
VIDEO: Iran 'intimidating BBC Persian'
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:25:09 GMT
The BBC's director general Mark Thompson has accused the Iranian authorities of intimidating those working for its Persian service.
In pictures: Copycat exhibition
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:04:00 GMT
Original artworks hang alongside copies in new exhibition
'Cult' film explores sect secrets
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:46:44 GMT
Martha Macy May Marlene explores the attraction of cults
Amanda Holden to return to BGT
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:51:59 GMT
The presenter says she is to return to the TV talent show next Saturday after recovering from the traumatic birth of her second daughter.
Radio 1's Hackney 2012 revealed
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:05:30 GMT
BBC Radio 1 have announced more than 25 acts to take part in the Olympic Hackney weekend festival.
Working with Lucian Freud
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:44:45 GMT
A unique insight by his assistant, model and friend, David Dawson
Gibb says he feels 'fantastic'
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:59:19 GMT
Bee Gees star Robin Gibb says he is making a "spectacular" recovery from cancer and that he is feeling "fantastic".
Hunt for lowest ever bass singer
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:58:45 GMT
A record company has begun a worldwide search for the singer who can sing a note so low that it is thought never to have been sung before.
The US cult of Downton Abbey
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:32:47 GMT
What's behind US cult appeal of Downton Abbey?
Hackney ticket registration opens
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:16:24 GMT
Ticket registration for BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend has opened, with 100,000 tickets to be allocated.
VIDEO: Churchill and protege reunited
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:38:20 GMT
Paintings by Winston Churchill have gone on display alongside works by the now-famous Moroccan artist, Hassan El Glaoui, who owes his career to Churchill.
Old strips and online aid comics
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:18:21 GMT
Why nostalgia and the internet are increasingly important for comics
