French actor Gerard Depardieu has visited the Millennium Dome in London - which is now being run by an old friend of his.

Depardieu took his eight-year-old daughter Roxanne to the £758m attraction in Greenwich, south London and met up with new chief executive Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, nicknamed PY.

He said: "I don't know PY had taken over here and it was complete chance we met.

"I came to the Dome because I had heard so much about it and it sounded very interesting. It is very important culturally.

"I was very pleased to see PY. He will give the Dome a great boost."

Depardieu became friends with Gerbeau when he was working at Disneyland Paris two years ago.

The actor is in the UK working on the new film 102 Dalmations, a Disney production.

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Gun-toting Lopez

Hollywood star Jennifer Lopez has appeared dressed as a gun-toting cowboy on the cover of a US magazine.

The picture, in Talk magazine, was taken days before the she ended up in jail overnight as rapper boyfriend Puff Daddy was accused of gun possession.

In the interview, conducted before the incident, the singer and actress discusses her rise to fame. "It's the American dream and I'm living it," she said.

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Folk honour for Baez

Veteran protest singer Joan Baez has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the inaugural BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in London.

The 59-year-old singer became a figurehead for civil rights and anti-war protests in the US in the 1960s, often singing a rousing chorus of We Shall Overcome.

Rising star Kate Rusby was named Folk Singer Of The Year at the event, which aims to raise the profile of the genre.

Also present at the ceremony at the Waldorf Hotel, were singer and actor Jimmy Nail and Blur's Graham Coxon.

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Bacon back at the BBC

Former Blue Peter presenter Richard Bacon is returning to the BBC to host a new teen show - 15 months after he was sacked for using cocaine.

The 24-year-old will front Sussed - a Sunday morning show about controversial issues affecting young people.

Announcing Bacon's return, the BBC's Alexandra Henderson said: "Richard has a real talent for television.

"He made a mistake and paid a heavy price, but time has moved on and this is a very different programme aimed at a very different audience."

The three-part BBC Two series kicks off on 13 February with an episode focusing on sex and teenage pregnancies.

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UK debut for new Oasis line-up

Rock band Oasis will make their first British appearance with the new line-up on this week's Top of the Pops, it has been announced.

The band, who recruited new members Gem Archer and Andy Bell late last year, will perform new single Go Let It Out.

It will be recorded on Wednesday for broadcasting on Friday's show.

They will also record a special show for BBC Two's Later With Jools Holland at a secret location on Friday.

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Puffy pleads not guilty to gun charges

US rap star Puff Daddy has pleaded not guilty to gun charges following a nightclub shooting in December.

Puffy - real name Sean Combs - and his girlfriend, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, were arrested after allegedly fleeing the scene of the shooting.

Lopez was released without charge but the rapper was charged with being in possession of two illegal guns.

He faces 15 years in prison if convicted on the most serious charge.

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New York rapper Big Pun dies aged 28

Rap star Christopher Rios - better known as Big Pun - has died in New York at the age of 28.

A medical examiner is yet to establish the cause of death, although Rios' publicist said it appeared that he had died of a heart attack.

Puerto Rican Rios was credited with helping to establish Latin artists in the rap genre.

His first album, Capital Punishment, was nominated for a Grammy last year.

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Baby joy for Gere and Lowell

Hollywood heart-throb Richard Gere and his partner, actress Carey Lowell, are celebrating the birth of their first child together.

Homer James Jigme Gere was born in New York City on Sunday, according to a spokeswoman. The boy weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces.

It's the first child for 50-year-old Gere. Lowell, 38, has a nine-year-old daughter, Hannah, from a previous relationship.

Gere, who had a recent hit with Runaway Bride, shot to fame in films such as An Officer and a Gentlemen and Pretty Woman, while Lowell appeared in the James Bond movie Licence to Kill.