Ten Things You Never Knew About...........Pamela

To young TV viewers, Pamela Anderson's appearance on Dancing With The Stars may have been their first Pammie-experience. For older fans, the busty blonde bombshell will forever be Baywatch's CJ Parker, bouncing up and down along beaches and bobbing along the sea in her tight red swimsuit. Smuttier types may also recall her work on the post-apocalyptic cleavage-overload of Barb Wire, cheeky animation Stripperella and a certain ropey home video made with Tommy Lee. But how much do you really know about Pamela? Keep reading for ten fast facts about the Playboy legend.

1. Pamela Denise Anderson was born on July 1, 1967 in British Columbia to waitress Carol and furnace repairman Barry.

2. According to Gillian Anderson, Pammie was one of the first actresses considered for the role of alien-buster Dana Scully in The X Files. "They were looking for someone, bustier, taller, leggier than me," said Gillian.

3. When she's not busy acting, dancing and looking beautiful with not many clothes on, Anderson spends a large amount of her time campaigning with animal rights group PETA. During her protests against seal hunting, the use of fur and KFC's treatment of chickens, she has often made use of her sex appeal. She stripped off for adverts and in Stella McCartney's boutique shop window to complain about fur clothing, and even offered her own bust if the Governor of Kentucky took down a statue of KFC founder Colonel Sanders.

4. Anderson has never been shy of sharing her flesh and figure with the world, but it was only in 2005 when we found out what the Baywatch star calls her popular assets. Pancho and Lefty are apparently the correct terms to use.

5. Orange County rockers Lit made full use of Pamela Anderson in their video for pop-punk hit 'Miserable' in 1999. The band could be seen performing the track next to and on top of a scantily-clad giant Pamela. The bands "you make me come" line took on a whole new meaning for teenage boys around the world.

6. When Pammie met notorious Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in 1995, it really was love at first sight. The pair married only 96 hours after their first meeting. They got divorced three years later, but they have reunited on various occasions since and have two sons together, Brandon and Dylan.

7. Anderson's first TV role came in the Scott Baio led sitcom Charles In Charge. It is rumoured that Happy Days star Baio proposed to Anderson in the shower, during a brief romance at the time.

8. It may shock you to find out that it wasn't until 2004 that Anderson actually appeared on a cover of a magazine fully naked. Not surprisingly, it was one of Pammie's regular employers Playboy who secured the deal.

9. Anderson has done many strange things in her career, but appearing as the Genie of the Lamp in Wimbledon's Aladdin pantomime last Christmas probably topped the lot. Starring alongside booming-voiced UK panto stalwart Brian Blessed, the former Baywatch babe strutted her stuff on the New Wimbledon Theatre boards.

10. The internet boom in the late '90s famously coincided with the leak/release of Pamela and Tommy Lee's well-documented sex tape. Available online for the world to see, the pair's rude antics were one of the first online sensations. But is Pammie concerned about her kids growing up with the videos freely available for anyone with broadband? "They're that age and, you know, people are going start saying things," she said. "I just said, 'Look, Mummy and Daddy were massively in love, we videotaped everything, everything was videotaped, and you're probably going hear about something at school'." We'd imagine her son's school friends will be more than happy to pop around for tea and homework sessions!

Ten Things You Never Knew About Nicollette Sheridan

For five seasons, Nicollette Sheridan was an essential ingredient in the bitching and high-drama of Desperate Housewives, playing the curvy man-eater Edie Britt. Her departure from the show in 2009 left a hole, which many argue still hasn't been filled. She's been back in the headlines this week, due to some controversy about her exit from the ABC series, but how much do you really know about Miss Sheridan? Keep reading for ten fast facts about the actress.

1. Sheridan was born on November 21, 1963 in Worthing, West Sussex. Her mother was British actress Sally Sheridan.

2. Before landing the role of saucy man-eater Edie Britt in Desperate Housewives, Sheridan originally auditioned for the part of the rather more prim and proper Bree Van de Kamp. We doubt the ABC show would have been as successful if Sheridan and Marcia Cross, who plays Bree, had swapped roles.

3. According to a reliable source (the appropriately titled Celebrity Sleuth magazine), Sheridan's much talked about figure has the important statistics 34B-24-35.

4. Did you know that Sheridan was very close to landing the title role in much loved NBC sitcom Will & Grace. Unfortunately, she was pipped to the post by Debra Messing. There was no hard feelings from Sheridan, however, who turned up for a cameo appearance as Dr. Danielle Morty in 2003.

5. In 1997, there was yet another role that Sheridan missed out on. According to IMDB, it could have been Edie Britt we saw romping and sinking with Leo DiCaprio in Titanic. Luckily for Kate Winslet, she didn't get the part of Rose DeWitt.

6. One of Nicollete's many talents is apparently her ability to speak fluent Greek. The actress was apparently encouraged to learn the language by her godfather Telly Savalas - TV's Kojack!

7. While she was on Desperate Housewives, Sheridan said that she enjoyed all the rumours of bitchiness and backstabbing between the show's stars. "People love controversy," she said. "When you have five women interacting, they love to think that there's all sorts of jealousy and competitiveness going on. It isn't... but I think it helps the show."

8. Sheridan has had her fair share of romances down the years. Her most famous partners include singer and actor Leif Garrett, actor Harry Hamlin, Swedish trainer Nicklas Söderblom and long-haired crooner Michael Bolton.

9. During her romance with Bolton, Sheridan made her pop music debut. She duetted with the soft rock singer on 'The Second Time Around', which appeared on his Bolton Swings Sinatra LP. Not surprisingly, the pair's romance fell apart shortly after.

10. Nicollette's willingness to flash the flesh has occasionally got her in trouble. She showed us a bum cheek in an campaign for coat-makers London Fog and has admitted that she enjoys nothing more in the summer than laying out naked with a good book by the pool. However, her appearance in an NFL Monday Night Football skit in 2004 caused the biggest stir, as she appeared to run nude into the arms of sports star Terrell Owens. Not surprisingly, Housewives viewing figures went through the roof the following week.

Ten Things You Never Knew About Claudia Winkleman

Claudia Winkleman's appointment as the host of Film 2010 earlier this week came as a surprise to many. However, for her fans, who have fallen in love with her witty, warm and idiosyncratic presenting style over six series of It Takes Two, she is the perfect choice to take over from Jonathan Ross at the BBC movie show's helm. But how much do you know about Miss Winkleman? Here are ten fast facts about the TV presenter and mother-of-two.

1. Claudia Anne Winkleman was born on January 15, 1972 to mother Eve Pollard and father Barry Winkleman. Her stepfather is former Daily Express editor Sir Nicholas Lloyd.

2. Winkleman has an impressive education CV. She attended the independent City of London School for Girls and has an MA Hons degree in history of art from New Hall, Cambridge. What a show-off.

3. If Winkleman could interview one celebrity dead or alive, who would it be? Well she'd quite like to meet Elvis, but it appears that Channel 4 news anchor Jon Snow may just edge it. "I've got a thing for Jon Snow. A man that bright who also isn't afraid of a jaunty tie is seriously attractive," she says.

4. Claudia notes that her worst ever interview came when she was working on This Morning as a showbiz reporter. The culprit - Harrison Ford. "[He] was a bit of a c**k. I was so disappointed," she explains. "I was excited about meeting Indiana Jones. But my expectations were too high. He ended up talking about his love for carpentry."

5. A lot of people have questioned Claudia's credentials since she was confirmed as the host of Film 2010. We're going to wait for the show to start before we judge, but apparently her favourite films are The Shawshank Redemption, the first two Godfather movies and children's classic E.T..

6. According to Claudia, TV presenting is the easiest gig going. "On TV, the researchers and directors are so brilliant, my job is basically to get a fake tan and do some reading," she says. "Work is b*llocks!"

7. Claudia has become the queen of reality TV down the years. Her long list of credits include Fame Academy, Strictly Come Dancing (and spinoff show It Takes Two), Art School, Eurovision Dance Contest and Hell's Kitchen.

8. Despite meeting celebrities every day, Winkleman admits that she still gets starstruck in the most unusual circumstances. "I walked past Christopher Biggins in the supermarket recently and almost couldn't breathe," she recalls. "I thought, 'I wonder if I can I get him to sign my left boob...?'"

9. Many people find chef Marco Pierre White to be a scary and intimidating chap. However, Claudia insists that she had a splendid time with her Hell's Kitchen co-star. "He is hilarious. He is passionate about food. Ask him how to bone a fish and he comes alive. I find him hypnotic, I still fancy him," she says.

10. I know you are desperate to find out what Claudia's favourite fruit is, so I won't waste any more of your time. Apparently it's a Granny Smith apple!

Ten Things You Never Knew About Taylor Lautner

For some people the Twlight franchise is about just two things; Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. However, for an equally sizable group, there is only one thing that matters when it comes to the fantasy vampire flick - that thing is Taylor Lautner. We're not quite sure if it's his bulging body and chiselled jaw or his acting skills that get girls screaming, but we'll take a wild guess that it's probably the first. But how much do you really know about the handsome Mr Lautner? Keep reading for ten fast facts about the New Moon star.

1. Taylor Daniel Lautner was born on February 11, 1992 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His mother Deborah worked at a software development company, while his dad Daniel Lautner was a commercial airline pilot.

2. So how did Mr Lautner get that famous body of his? Steroids? A year's subscription to Fitness First? Well, apparently the key ingredient was beef patties. "Getting in the gym was easy for me, but the eating was pretty hard," he confesses. "It was just eating a lot. I found out that I had to consume at least 3,200 calories a day just to maintain... I literally would have to carry a little bag of beef patties, raw almonds, sweet potatoes. So it's not like every two hours I'm eating ice cream."

3. Taylor was not aware of the huge furore from online fans surrounding the countdown to his 18th birthday this year. "I don't even know what room in this hotel I’m going to after this!" he joked.

4. When Lautner signed up to star in the Twilight franchise, he insists that he had no idea what a big deal it was going to be. In fact, he'd never even heard of the books. "My agent told me, he's like, 'Yeah, this one's kind of big. This one's big'. And I was like, 'I've never heard of it. Oh, okay'....So then I get cast and I go do my research. 'Oh this is based off a book series. How big is the book series?'. So I check it out and it is just mind-blowing!"

5. Lautner believes that you can split the diehard Twilight fans in two categories, the criers and the hyperventilators. "We've definitely seen some passion," he says.

6. Rest easy, topless Taylor fans - Mr L claims that the biggest lie written about him in the press is that he never wants to bare all on screen again. "I didn't say that," he insists. "If I have to, if the character requires it, I will. It's just all what the character requires."

7. What would Mr Lautner do if he wasn't the hottest young thing in Hollywood right now? Apparently, he'd probably be a sports star. The Michigan-born actor's impressive muscles made him a dab hand at baseball and football.

8. Lautner's celebrity fans include none other than Oscar winner Jamie Foxx. The Ray actor even asked Lautner for an autograph on a red carpet, although he did try to pretend it was for his daughter. Yeah right Jamie!

9. Who would win in a real-life fight between Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Here's Taylor's verdict: "I don't know between me and Rob. He actually does a lot of boxing in his time off. It might be a good match-up!"

10. If you were worried that Lautner's career may be over when the Twilight franchise ends, fear not, because Mr L already has a string of big movies lined up. The most exciting project is his big screen 3D adaptation of Hasbro toy Stretch Armstrong.

Ten Things You Never Knew About Craig David

Thanks to that bloody kestrel Kes and a certain Channel 4 sketch show, Craig David is often viewed these days as a pop flop. However, in the early '00s, the R&B star was briefly considered a groundbreaker when he moved from the UK garage scene into the mainstream. His star may have faded in recent years, but he is back this month with a new single ('One More Lie (Standing On The Shadows)') and album (Signed Sealed Delivered) to remind us of his musical worth. Keep reading for ten facts about Southampton's greatest musical export.

1. Craig Ashley David was born on May 5, 1981 in Southampton, Hampshire.

2. Music was always likely to be Craig's career choice. It was in his gene pool as his carpenter father George was the bassist in reggae group Ebony Rockers. The group are credited with bringing the reggae sounds of inner-city Southampton to the rest of the UK at the ends of the '70s.

3. Craig is a self-confessed trainer addict. There's nothing he loves more than a massive sniff of some fresh sneakers. "That box fresh smell is incredible," he claims. "I put them in a special cupboard in my dressing room. I'm excessive but never too excessive. There's four or five [pairs] of the same trainer - maybe that is excessive."

4. He may have become a figure of fun in recent years, but Craig has an impressive record of scoring hits. He became the youngest ever male artist to score a number one when he released his debut 'Fill Me In' in 2000. Since then, he has scored ten more Top 10 hits and released two multi-platinum albums. A record not to be sniffed at.

5. "Six nominations, no Brits for C.D," was David's infamous line at the 2001 Brit Awards, where he was cruelly snubbed six - yes six! - times. Despite being one of the biggest-selling acts of the early '00s, David has still never won a Brit gong. With 12 nominations in total, he can count himself pretty unlucky to have never done so. A1, Basement Jaxx, Ms Dynamite and Lemar are among the acts to have ruined Craig's parade.

6. He may not be popular with the Brits panel, but David has some indie credibility at least thanks to the Arctic Monkeys. The Sheffield band's drummer Matt Helders confesses to knowing all the words to CD's Born To Do It disc. "I don't know why I love it, but I just can't help but sing along," he said.

7. Oasis, Nirvana, Pixies, REM, Prince, Eminem, The Smiths... pah! Craig knocked back all these acts and many more in a recent MTV 'Greatest Album Ever' poll. David's Born To Do It debut finished second, with only Michael Jackson's Thriller beating it.

8. Q. Who are Craig's man crushes? A. Brad Pitt and David Beckham. "They're hot, you can't deny it," he admits. "Every guy in the world thinks so."

9. Give Craig David a football to kick around with and he can compete with the best of them. The popstar took the 'Man Of The Match' title at the 2008 Soccer Aid game, which featured major international footballers such as Alan Shearer, Paolo Di Canio, Teddy Sheringham and David Seaman.

10. Craig's efforts and impact on the music industry were finally rewarded in 2008 when he was given an honorary degree as Doctor of Music by Southampton Solent University. So show him some respect, people!

Ten Things You Never Knew About Tim Burton

Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Batman Returns, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Mars Attacks!... the list of classic Tim Burton movies is a lengthy and extensive one. And this week another potential hit joins his impressive movie canon - an updated 3D Alice In Wonderland. But how much do you really know about the London-based film director? Here are ten quick facts about Mr B.

1. Timothy William Burton was born on August 25, 1958 in Burbank, California. His mother Jean ran a gift shop, while his father Will was a baseball player.

2. Burton might not look like a great sportsman, but he was an accomplished water polo player in his youth and he also swam for Burbank High School back in California.

3. According to IMDB, Burton was the original director tipped to helm The Fly in 1986, with Michael Keaton in the lead. Michael Cronenberg took over, offering Jeff Goldblum the famous starring role.

4. Back in 1997, another film that Burton was linked to was an updated version of Superman. The Californian was attached to work on the project with Nicolas Cage rumoured to be his favoured red pants-wearing superhero.

5. Burton is apparently a big fan of Al Pacino's performance as 'Big Boy' Caprice in Dick Tracy and planned to use the actor in a Batman movie. However, the director moved away from the franchise after 1992's Batman Returns.

6. We can't find any actual proof, but there are lots of rumours online that Burton very much likes infamous softcore movie helmer Russ Meyer - the man behind Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Supervixens.

7. Burton's adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a box office success, but it didn't go ahead without a hitch. He had plenty of disagreements with Warner Bros, who wanted Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka to be "a father figure". "Willy Wonka is not a father figure! If that's your idea of a father figure, yikes. Willy Wonka's a weirdo," he reflected.

8. He may be portrayed as an odd and reclusive figure by the media, but Burton insists that he is a misunderstood character. "I've always been misrepresented. You know, I could dress in a clown costume and laugh with the happy people but they'd still say I'm a dark personality," he said.

9. Burton's professional and personal relationship with Johnny Depp is one of the most famous and profitable Hollywood partnerships of all time. Writing about his passion for the director, Depp wrote in the book Burton on Burton: "What more can I say about him? He is a brother, a friend, my son's godfather. He is a unique and brave soul, someone that I would go to the ends of the earth for, and I know, full and well, he would do the same for me."

10. Burton may be famous for overseeing dark, gothic films, but he actually started out his career as an animator at the cuddly Hollywood institution that is Disney. His first film with the company was the rather sweet Fox and the Hound in 1981.

Ten Things You Never Knew About Jane Lynch

We're fairly sure you've already been told this 37 times in the last fortnight, but if you haven't watched E4's Glee yet... why the hecker not?! Though if you have - it's bloomin' great, isn't it? - then you'll already be well versed in the comedic genius of Jane Lynch, who plays the show's villain and cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. To help you find out more about the US TV star, here are ten fast facts to do with the comedy legend.

1. Lynch was born on July 14, 1960 in Dolton, Illinois. Her mother was a housewife and her father worked as a banker. She attended Thornridge High School and Illinois State University, where she studied theatre.

2. Name a classic US TV show from the past 20 years and chances are that Lynch has made a cameo in it. Her TV credits include *deep breath* Cybill, Friends, Desperate Housewives, 3rd Rock From The Sun, Frasier, The West Wing, Veronica Mars, The X-Files and Dawson's Creek.

3. Who does Lynch admire in the acting world? Her favourite screen stars are apparently Meryl Streep, Anne Heche, Catherine Keener and Dodgeball man Vince Vaughn.

4. If her role as Sue Sylvester in Glee is merely whetting your appetite for more of her comedy gold, then hold tight because you should be seeing more of Lynch in 2010. The actress is signed up to star in Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's much-anticipated roadtrip film Paul. We can't wait!

5. What was Lynch like at school? Was she friends with the geeks or the jocks? Actually, she was a bit of a both. "I was one of those happy travellers and really didn't stay in one group. I kind of got around without getting humiliated and was in a little bit of everything," she says. "I knew some of the popular kids, I knew the theatre dorks, choir kids and smoked cigarettes with the burnouts and the woodshop people. I got around."

6. At one point in her career, Lynch's agent used to tell casting teams and directors that the actress would "work for a steak and $1.50". "I'm not really doing that anymore," she jokes.

7. Lynch is nearly always the bridesmaid and never the bride on screen. Does she not fancy stepping up to a lead role? She says: "I think my day has passed. No, actually, I prefer doing the supporting roles, because then I can show up in any guise."

8. What are the chances of Lynch ever appearing on a reality show like Dancing With The Stars? Pretty slim, we reckon. "That stuff makes me so uncomfortable," she says. "Hopefully my career will never be at a point where I need to go on it."

9. Surely Lynch can't enjoy wearing the endless stream of tracksuits she is given to wear on Glee? Well, actually, she does. "I love it. It's like coming to work and putting on pyjamas," she says. "I love our wardrobe designer, she's fantastic and I love coming to work in a tracksuit."

10. Do you know how Lynch made friends with director Christopher Guest and landed her breakthrough roles in Best In Show and A Mighty Wind? Well, the comedy pair actually met while working on a Frosted Flakes commercial.

Ten Things You Never Knew About Larry Lamb

Playing the loveable Michael 'Mick' Shipman in Gavin & Stacey and the shifty, Machiavellian Archie Mitchell in EastEnders, Larry Lamb has won himself a whole new generation of TV fans in recent years. However, the London-born thespian has been doing the rounds since the late '70s, when he starred in shows such as The Professionals and The New Avengers. Keep reading to find out more about the 62-year-old soap star.

1. Lawrence 'Larry' Douglas Lamb was born on October 10, 1947 in Edmonton, London.

2. Name a crime drama or cop show and Larry has probably starred in it! His TV credits include Frost, Taggart, Boon, Kavanagh QC, Midsomer Murders, The Bill and Silent Witness. Phew - he must have seen quite a few murders in his time!

3. Larry's early career in the oil industry led him to working around the world in Libya and Canada. It was during his time in Canada, where he studied at St. Francis Xavier University, that he developed his passion for performing arts.

4. Most people know by now that Larry's son is the infamous BBC 6 Music DJ and Big Brother's Little Brother host George. What you probably don't know, however, is that the duo are currently working on a TV show together. The programme will be about "fathers and sons", according to Larry. He is also developing a new one-man show, which he will tour in 2010.

5. George is apparently very tired of people believing that his father is as evil as his EastEnders character Archie Mitchell. "I get in cabs in the morning and people are like, 'Oi! You better tell your old man he's evil'. I'm like guys, 'He's not evil, he's acting!'" George told DS.

6. He may not be one of the longest-running roles in the soap's history, but Larry has loved playing an EastEnders bad guy. The 62-year-old says that Dot (June Brown) and Peggy (Barbara Windsor) are his favourite characters and he has close friendships with co-stars Samantha Womack (Ronnie Mitchell), Rita Simons (Roxy Mitchell) and Jim Branning (John Bardon).

7. Before Gavin & Stacey, Larry's biggest TV stint was arguably the 1981 to 1983 nautical North Sea soap Triangle. Lamb starred alongside Kate O'Mara in the show, which was generally mocked for its dodgy scripts and clichéd plots. In 1992, the BBC included the programme in an evening dedicated to the worst series ever made, titled TV Hell.

8. Larry did briefly break into Hollywood in the late '70s and early '80s with minor roles in two Superman films. In Superman III, he was even granted a speaking part as Miner #2.

9. Where does Larry get his inspiration to play the twisted Archie Mitchell? His own father of course. "My dad was a very screwed-up man and emotionally damaged from his childhood," he says. "He had a terrible relationship with his own father and I imagine it was the same for the generations before that. Just like Archie, my dad was absolutely convinced of his rightness and his sanity and thought he was completely justified in everything he did. Everybody else is at fault, but he's fine. Archie is the same. As far as he's concerned, he's perfectly sane. But the truth is, he's twisted."

10. Before his acting career took off, what did Larry do to keep himself in pocket? Well, his jobs ranged from selling encyclopaedias to American soldiers in Germany to working as a corrosion control technician for Esso in the US.

Ten Things You Never Knew About Derren Brown

Derren Brown first came to the attention of the telly-watching public at the turn of the decade, but his major breakthrough happened in 2003 with the one-off Russian Roulette special. Since then, Derren's astounded and amazed with show after show, boasting his skills as a magician and "mentalist" (though, perhaps given its playground connotations, he's not too keen on the latter label). With the threat of boring us all with his talent, this was the year that Brown really managed the impossible by shocking us all over again, when he screwed up the finalé of his live How To Take Down A Casino event... or did he?

1. Born on February 27, 1971, that really is his name. On often being called Darren, he said: "My proper birth name is Derren, so it's inevitable really. But let me tell you, I absolutely draw the line at being called 'Derek'."

2. Now famously a sceptic, atheist and mate of Richard Dawkins, Derren was an evangelical Christian in his younger days. "I believed in God, Jesus and Satan (ish)," he explained. "My teenage self: a bouncing, clapping awfulness who could think of nothing more rewarding than to try to convert his unspeakably tolerant friends to the sanctimonious life he knew as a believer."

3. The change happened at Bristol University, where he formally studied German and Law, and also picked up hypnotism for kicks. He wasn't the coolest student in class, though. "I was no stranger to purple and green boots and a floral shirt, bowtie and braces, oblivious to how objectionable I must have been."

4. Derren first came to the public's attention with his Mind Control show in 2000. Like his books and series since, the programme showed off his ability to pen a zinger as much as his other skills. An enduring classic had him inform us that: "I control the conditions so my testers become my testees."

5. After years of being asked, "Do you use your skills to pick up the girls?" Derren broke a million female hearts (and set the same number of men's aflutter) when he came out in 2007. "People generally aren't as bothered by your intimate secrets as you are. It took me being in a relationship with a guy for a month before I told anyone I was thus inclined," he revealed. "If anything, I was disappointed to learn it wasn't much of a surprise. Possibly my penchant for interior decor had given the game away."

6. This year, Derren won Heat magazine's backhanded compliment of its 'Weird Crush Of The Year' gong. Everyone's least unfavourite comedian Michael McIntyre was chuffed to be named seventh, but complained: "Derren Brown won it, I suspect foul play. He's a mind manipulator! Of course he won it!"

7. Derren's breakthrough Russian Roulette show was condemned by the police who feared copycats, though none happened. More controversial was the follow-up Séance, where a group of people contacted a dead student (who wasn't actually dead). "Seems the séance has become the most complained-about show," he noted at the time. "It received 700 complaints. I might add that the prospect of me blowing my head off on live TV last year attracted only 20. Fair enough, I suppose."

8. When he's not messing with our heads, Derren messes with the faces of celebrities. A skilled painter, his speciality is acrylic celebrity caricatures, with his self-portrait, Madonna and Woody Allen being among the best. If you're too lazy to get to a gallery, you can buy prints of his work or his Portraits book, which collects the lot with some commentary from the man himself.

9. After accidentally being dragged into a press-manufactured sparring match with Derek Acorah, Brown once found himself accidentally in the same Swansea hotel lobby as the 'medium' and his Ghost Towns co-host Myleene Klass. The ex-Hear'Say star said that there could only be "one winner" in the supposed contest and urged Brown to diffuse the row by telling the press that "Derek does his thing and I do mine". He declined.

10. Derren owned a parrot for ten years before giving it to The National Parrot Sanctuary where he is now a patron. "They're such intelligent creatures. My parrot was called Figaro and I gave him to the sanctuary. He got quite aggressive," he said. "Sadly, he passed away after living it up with the other parrots. I wanted to stuff him but he'd rotted in his nesting box by the time they found him."

Ten Things You Never Knew About Nicholas Lyndhurst

Along with carols and mince pies, Christmas wouldn't be complete without a visit from St Nick - comedy superstar Nicholas Lyndhurst that is. Families all over the country will be settling by the telly for repeats of Only Fools And Horses or dusting off their treasured DVDs to watch the show-ending 1996 Christmas specials. (What 2001-03 episodes?!? I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about!) To celebrate the last Ten Things before the holidays, we at DS have served up ten facts you might not have known about Nicholas Lyndhurst.

1. Born on April 20, 1961, Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst was raised by single mum Liz Long and only visited by his dad Joe now and again. "He was a gentle man; very funny and charming and he always made me laugh," he said of his father. "He also bought me some great toys. My Action Man collection was the envy of my classmates."

2. After studying at the Corona Stage Academy, Lyndhurst appeared as Prince Edward and Tom Canty in The Prince And The Pauper in 1976 and, more interestingly, Adolf Hitler's assistant Karl Brandt in an episode of cult kids sci-fi show The Tomorrow People two years later.

3. His first major sitcom role came in Going Straight, the follow-up to the classic Porridge. He starred as Raymond Fletcher, son of ex-jailbird Norman Stanley (Ronnie Barker) - a fine education. "I came in, said something off the wall, and the laugh came from Ronnie's reaction to it. I watched him like a hawk."

4. "Mum, will we see elephants on holly-day?" - "Not in Corfu, love." Remember those WH Smith adverts that looked like a cross between an Aphex Twin video and a late Eddie Murphy movie? Nicholas won a National Television Award in 2000 for his one-man portrayal of a nuclear family. He reportedly enjoyed playing the mum most!

5. Of course, Nicholas is most famous for his part as Rodney Trotter in Only Fools And Horses from 1981 to 2003. David Jason may have grabbed the attention, but it wasn't Del Boy who was hired first for the show. Writer John Sullivan explained: "Nicholas Lyndhurst, as Rodney, was the first casting. I'd seen him in a few things and I thought that was a brilliant idea."

6. Despite having countless comedy geniuses yell "plonker" at him on the streets, he doesn't hate the role that made him. "I have a real soft spot for Rodney," he admitted. "He never typecast me, and I never wanted to bury him. I would make another series of Fools if the script was good." He'll do the next best thing in prequel Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n' Chips next year, playing Rodney's biological dad Freddie 'The Frog' Robdal.

7. Like every sensible person flung back in time by mistake, Nick's Gary Sparrow doesn't fret about the moral or quantum effect of his actions over the six series of Goodnight Sweetheart from 1993 to 1999. Instead, he hooks up with a pretty barmaid and pretends he wrote The Beatles' hits before they ever picked up a guitar. Eat your heart out, Doctor Evil!

8. Prior to his 1999 wedding to ex-ballet dancer Lucy Smith, their vicar gave the details to a press agency, prompting a last-minute venue change and deal with the glossies. "I didn't want Lucy's day to be ruined. So we chose another church and invited OK" he explained. "We knew they would manage the security, and the world and his wife would not be there taking photos."

9. Another stinging fact for you! Nicholas has been a member of the British Beekeepers Association since 1994 and still keeps bees at his Sussex home.

10. Bees use their ultra-fast wing-beat frequency to take to the skies, but Nick uses a plane and a pilot licence he picked up after classes as a 17-year-old. "The lessons cost £17.50 an hour. That was an astral amount of money back then," he said. "Until the birth of my son, I did consider my pilot's licence my finest achievement."

Ten Things You Never Knew About Snoop Dogg

He steps through the fog and he creeps through the smog, 'coz he's Snoop Doggy (who?) Doggy (what?) Doggy... that's right, it's Snoop Dogg! This week, the recently-crowned creative chairman of Priority Records released his tenth solo studio album Malice N Wonderland. To celebrate, we at DS have amassed ten lesser-known facts about the rapper, reality TV star, porn director and harbinger of the G-funk era.

1. Born Cordazar Calvin Broadus on October 20, 1971, the former Rollin' 20 Crips gang member was nicknamed 'Snoopy' by his parents because of his physical resemblance to Charlie Brown's pet beagle.

2. In 1992, he hooked up with former NWA man Dr Dre for his first release as Snoop Doggy Dogg - the theme from crime thriller Deep Cover. Snoop appeared on Dre's solo debut The Chronic later that year before dropping his own quadruple-platinum genre-defining Doggystyle in 1993.

3. "Murder was the case that they gave me," Snoop rapped on that LP... and it wasn't just empty bluster. He and his bodyguard McKinley Lee were charged with murder after Lee shot rival gang member Philip Woldemariam dead. Lee pleaded self-defence and both men were later acquitted.

4. That wasn't the end of Snoop's legal troubles though, with various weapons and drugs charges dogging him (ahem) since then. The Home Office also banned him from visiting the UK in 2007 after an incident involving a duty-free shop window and some whisky bottles at Heathrow. "It's not the fans," Snoop complained, "it's just a few people in white wigs and members of parliament".

5. As well as his music career, Snoop has been a regular fixture on the telly in the past couple of decades. Highlights include a chronically laid-back-looking Snoop co-hosting a Beavis & Butthead 'Moron-A-Thon', sketch show Doggy Fizzle Televizzle and reality telly series Snoop Dogg's Father Hood. Brilliantly, the fifth episode of the latter featuring a family trip to Germany was titled 'For Schnitzle'.

6. "I keep hearing about muthaf**king Harry Potter," Snoop once said. "I'm like, 'Who is this muthaf**ker I keep hearing about?' I don't know him." As well a hit-and-miss movie career of his own (with roles in The Wash, Starsky & Hutch and Training Day), Snoop also produced and directed some mega-selling porn DVDs and claimed to have changed the industry forever. "I made a few. I know everybody like it, but everybody be afraid and 'shamed," he said of his temporary foray into the world of smut.

7. Snoop Dogg was the undoubted musical highlight of the Live 8 event at Hyde Park in 2005. At around 6.30pm on live British telly, he rapped his way through 'Ups and Downs', 'Hey Hey', ''Drop It Like It's Hot', 'Signs', 'The Next Episode' and a superlative 'Who Am I? (What's My Name?)'. Countless "s**ts", "n***az" and "muthaf**kers" aired unedited as the Beeb were possibly too impressed with the G-funk flow to find their bleeper. "This is what happens when you let a Dogg off the leash," Jonathan Ross later quipped.

8. Want to listen to Snoop in the car but worried about drowning out your helpful satnav? Fear not! With the recently-released Snoop Dogg voiceskin for the TomTom you can stay on the right path while getting your Doggy fix as he urges you to take a "sharp left... so fly" and other classic Snoopisms.

9. As well as his on-off collaborative partnership with Dr Dre, Snoop has worked with loads of hip-hop stars, including 2Pac, Nate Dogg, Warren G, Pharrell, Eminem, Coolio and 50 Cent. Best of all though was this year's one-off track 'Rocket Experience' recorded with Quincy Jones, Talib Kweli, Soulja Boy and Buzz Aldrin (yes, that Buzz Aldrin!).

10. Surviving clips of Britney Spears's abandoned 'Outrageous' video from 2004 show the pop superstar approaching Snoop on the B-ball court before jumping up to straddle his waist with her legs. She then proceeds to give his bearded face a luscious lick. Presumably Britters missed Snoop's 2001 Mystique Magazine interview where he reportedly said: "Britney would make a better prostitute than Christina. She's thicker. She'll make real money. I see her selling real fast." Outrageous indeed!

Ten Things You Never Knew About Sisqó

It was arguably the greatest Big Brother entrance of all time. Sisqó's introduction to the Borehamwood compound on Sunday night, which included a full performance of his 2000 spring break anthem 'The Thong Song', was truly hilarious stuff. But apart from penning a hit single about a female with "dumps like a truck" and "thighs like what", what do we really know about the R&B singer? Keep reading to discover ten pop facts about the Baltimore star.

1. Sisqó was born Mark Althavean Andrews in November 1978.

2. The singer found fame with R&B group Dru Hill in the 1990s (scoring two platinum albums), before launching a solo career in 1999. Sisqó's "flamboyant stage personality" is often credited as a primary reason behind Dru Hill's breakthrough to the mainstream.

3. Def Jam/Def Soul record label boss Kevin Liles predicted big things for Sisqó when he went solo in 1999, comparing the young musician to the world's biggest popstars. "Only time will tell if Sisqó will reach the level of Prince or Michael Jackson," said Liles. "But what you remember about those artists is that there are no others like them. And there is no other artist like Sisqó."

4. Sisqó's infamous 2000 spring break anthem 'The Thong Song' earned him five MTV VMA nominations. Sadly, he only took home one, for 'Best Hip-Hop Video'.

5. Sisqó is best known as a singer, but he also has an impressive filmography. There may have been no Oscar noms for Snow Dogs, Pieces Of April or Surf School, but he gave a decent turn in not-actually-that-bad rom-com Get Over It!.

6. Did Sisqó ever release any more singles after 'The Thong Song'? Yes, he did! 'Unleash The Dragon', 'Incomplete' and 'Dance For Me' all broke the UK Top 40. However, since 2001 he has failed to secure a chart hit.

7. At the peak of his fame, Sisqó shifted a whopping 6,000,000 copies of his debut solo LP Unleash The Dragon. Time to own up, who bought one?!

8. Sisqó is no stranger to reality TV, having previously appeared on the US series Gone Country on CMT. The show gave celebrities the chance to win a country music recording contract. Unfortunately for Sis' though, he lost out to Julio Inglesias Jr.

9. Oddly, during the video for 'The Thong Song' there is actually only one female sporting the said item of underwear. The rest of the women in the raunchy promo are all wearing bikini bottoms.

10. Sisqó was accused of misogyny and exploiting women as sex objects with his video for 'The Thong Song', which involved him and various scantily clad females. However, the clip's director Joseph Kahn has always defended the track. "Well, this song is about asses. So you can either accept it and do something like I did, or you can go and try and turn 'The Thong Song' into some kind of Chemical Brothers video and make it all pretentious; about some f**king communist upheaval or something," he says. "Let's just relax and make a booty video!"