Father Ted set for US makeover

Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted is to be remade for a US audience, five years after the series ended in the UK.

The original version of the show, one of Channel 4's biggest hits of the 1990s, has attracted a cult following in the US after being shown on BBC America.

British production company Hat Trick will create the remake, along with Seinfeld writer Spike Feresten.

Father Ted ran for three series and ended in 1998 shortly before the death of lead actor Dermot Morgan.

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Kelly Osbourne's Alice remake

Pop star Kelly Osbourne, daughter of rock singer Ozzy, is to star in a remake of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, according to Screen Daily.

The film, called Malice in Sunderland, is reported to begin shooting later this year.

It is a British-German co-production, and will be directed by Simon Fellows, adds the paper.

Osbourne recently played her first major live date in London, after releasing her debut album Shut Up earlier this year.

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Hollywood actors vote against merger

Members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) unions have voted against a merger.

Though nearly 58% of those voting were in favour of the merger, the vote did not reach the crucial 60% support of both organisations' members.

It is the second time in four years a proposed merger has failed to be passed.

"I am somewhat stunned at the fact this did not pass by ... two percent," SAG president Melissa Gilbert told reporters.

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Honour for inventor Neil

Scottish camera lens inventor Iain Neil, who has won 11 Academy Awards for scientific achievement, is being honoured on Wednesday by his old university.

Strathclyde University in Glasgow, where the 46-year-old Neil studied physics, is being presented with the Alumnus of the Year award.

Neil has won his awards for his ground-breaking lens and camera inventions, widely used for films and TV shoots.

"About 50% of all movies you can see are using lenses I have designed. They are used in everything from TV programmes like Friends to the latest blockbusters," he said.

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Henman match is big TV draw

British tennis player Tim Henman drew more than half of Monday's TV audience as 12.7 million watched his Wimbledon victory over Argentina's David Nalbandian.

The 2000 BST peak on BBC One represented a 54.5% share of all viewers.

The match drew an average of eight million viewers when screened live between 1730 BST and 2040 BST.

ITV said coverage of Henman's match on Saturday resulted in ITV's ratings falling to an all-time low of 18.1% share of the peak-time audience.