Pretenders star Chrissie Hynde has asked Paul to take part in a string of concerts promoting vegetarianism in memory of his wife Linda.

But McCartney has said he will "play it by ear. If I can manage it, then I will . . . if I can't do it, she'll have to forgive me,"

Sir Paul also said he always carries Linda's wedding ring in his pocket, and has "cried more this year than I have in my whole life," he told The Sun.

Linda, his wife of thirty years, died of breast cancer, aged 56, in April.

McDonald looks to cruise to Christmas No. 1

Jane McDonald: Big bets placed on The Cruise singer for Christmas No. 1

A rush of bets on the star of BBC One's The Cruise Jane McDonald sailing to a Christmas number one has led bookmaker William Hill to slash the odds and make her second favourite.

Her single The Twelfth Of Never was at 33-1, but a string of large stakes - some as high as £1,000 - in central London has led to it being cut to 3-1.

The Spice Girls still lead the field with odds of 4-7 offered by William Hill for their single Goodbye to be on top on December 25.

Hill's faces a payout of more than £100,000 if former nightclub singer McDonald manages to scrape to the top.

"We were taken by surprise by the volume and quantity of the bets," said Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe. "It looks like a well co-ordinated plan to get as many bets as possible on in as short a space of time as possible."

If the Spice Girls get to number one, they will complete a hat trick of consecutive seasonal chart-toppers.

A spokesman for the HMV retail chain touted the two-time winners: "All their energy is being concentrated on getting that number one."

Among the other contenders trailing close behind are B*witched, Boyzone, Billie, Sir Cliff Richard and Fat Les.

Nicholson to be feted at Golden Globes

Jack Nicholson: In line for acheivement award

Actor Jack Nicholson will be presented with a lifetime achievement award at next year's Golden Globe Awards.

Nicholson, who has won three Oscars and five Golden Globes in his four-decade career, will receive the Cecil B DeMille award at the ceremony in Los Angeles.

The star of Chinatown and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest won his most recent Oscar last year for As Good As It Gets.

Baldwin heads for Bedrock

Usual Suspects star Stephen Baldwin is playing for laughs in his latest movie role - he has signed on to play Barney Rubble in a new Flintstones movie.

Hollywood has been buzzing about the film ever since it was announced that The Full Monty's Mark Addy had agreed to play the big-screen version of lovable TV character Fred Flintstone.

The movie, called Flintstones In Viva Rock Vegas, is a prequel to 1994's The Flintstones, and will show the Flintstones and the Rubbles on a trip to a pre-historic Las Vegas in their newlywed days.

Arnie out to save the world

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Battling the devil in his next movie

Arnold Schwarznegger and his fellow cast and crew members begin filming the £75m apocalypse film End of Days this month, in order to have it ready for release by the end of 1999.

The story has Satan taking over the Earth to reign supreme on the stroke of the millennium unless Schwarzenegger's character can stop him. Casting is underway for secondary roles and the film makers are looking for aged Italian actors for Vatican sequences.

A casting source says the producers have specified "No Mafia types - Vatican types only."

Peck 'still the most handsome man in the world'

Gregory Peck: Honoured at White House with medal

Film legend Gregory Peck was among celebrities honoured at a black-tie dinner at the White House.

The 82-year-old star of To Kill A Mockingbird received the National Medal of the Arts from President Clinton.

Peck's fans, Clinton said, "still consider him the most handsome man in the world."

Other recipients included pianist "Fats" Domino, who was unable to attend.

Scarlett might perish in new 'Gone...' sequel

Scarlett O'Hara may die in the next sequel to Gone With the Wind, which is currently being written by the best-selling author Pat Conroy.

Conroy, whose previous books include The Prince of Tides and Beach Music, has been hired by St Martin's Press and the trustees who control the rights of Gone With the Wind, to pen another episode in Margaret Mitchell's saga of the South.

The author says the novel, titled The Rules of Pride: The Autobiography of Capt Rhett Butler, will be a 'companion' to the original and hints that Scarlett may die in it.

A previous sequel, Scarlett, was written by Alexandra Ripley in 1991. It was a best-seller and was turned into a television mini-series.