Eminem rejects mother's offer

Rap superstar Eminem has rejected his mother's offer to settle her $10m (£6.7m) defamation lawsuit against him for $2m (£1.3m).

Debbie Mathers-Briggs sued her son, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, in September 1999.

She alleges the Grammy-winning musician defamed her by describing her in magazine interviews as an unstable, lawsuit-happy drug user.

The 27-year-old musician, whose Marshall Mathers LP has sold over 4 million copies, intends to put up a defence in court claiming that the accusations are true.

Eminem, who is also facing separate criminal charges in two Michigan counties, had to pull out of several UK shows this summer because of his forthcoming court dates.

He is charged in one case with carrying a concealed weapon and assault with a dangerous weapon for allegedly threatening a man who kissed the star's wife at a bar.

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Radio 1's Moyles offends family entertainers

Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles has had a run in with family comedian Bernie Clifton over comments he made about his summer show That's Entertainment.

During his live broadcast from Weymouth, he made fun of Clifton and his co-stars Bonnie Langford and Ted Rogers, of 3-2-1 fame. Langford tried to confront Moyles but was kept away by guards.

Clifton fired off a retaliatory missive in which he spoke with pride about entertaining families "night after night, year after year" for 40 years.

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Posh thinks Becks is 'cool' and 'intelligent'

Posh Spice has told how she thinks David Beckham is "such a cool husband" - and revealed the couple phone each other 20 or 30 times a day whenever they are apart.

Victoria Beckham told OK! magazine her relationship with soccer ace David had grown "stronger and stronger" in the year since their wedding.

The 26-year-old singer said: "He's still the great romantic, he still sends me flowers and we still send each other cards."

Beckham derided criticisms of David, saying he is "very intelligent" but does not choose to use long words in interviews as he is a sportsman, rather than a TV host.

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Soul singer Ruby joins Eastenders

Soul singer Ruby Turner is joining the cast of EastEnders - as the nurse caring for terminally-ill old-timer Ethel Skinner.

Jamaican-born Turner, 42, whose top 10 hits include I'm in Love and I'd Rather Go Blind, will make her first appearance in the hit soap on Monday.

Turner said some of the regular cast were as excited as she was at the prospect of her joining the show.

The singer is the latest in a string of stars who joined the EastEnders cast - including stand-up comedian Mike Reid, former Spandau Ballet guitarist Martin Kemp, and Barbara Windsor.

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Paltrow and LaBute London-bound

Gwyneth Paltrow is heading to London once more to go before the cameras in the romantic drama Possession, in which she will star with Aaron Eckhart.

The American actress, who previously filmed Shakespeare In Love and Sliding Doors in London, will be the central figure in the story of interlocking romances written by Neil LaBute, who is also the director.

When filming is finished LaBute intends to stay on to mount an English production of Bash, three short plays which he describes as being about "good people who make really horrible choices with really violent acts".

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Best-selling naval stories to be filmed

The Australian director Peter Weir is in discussions with 20th Century Fox about shooting the first instalment of what the studio hopes will be a series of films based on Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series of high-seas adventures.

O'Brian, who died earlier this year, wrote 20 novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and featuring Captain Jack Aubrey and the doctor-spy Stephen Maturin.

The books have a passionate cult following and Fox wants the first of the series to be a big-budget affair with lots of special effects.

No script has yet been written but Fox will have no difficulty attracting top-quality writers: O'Brian's admirers include Oscar-winning playwright Tom Stoppard and writer-director David Mamet.

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Spielberg hooks Big Fish for big screen

Film director Steven Spielberg has added new project Big Fish to his busy schedule of forthcoming productions.

The film deals with a man who discovers his estranged father is dying of cancer and who tries to learn as much about his life as he can in the time left.

Spielberg is about to commence shooting on A.I, developed by his friend Stanley Kubrick before his death.

He'll follow that with sci-fi thriller Minority Report, to star Tom Cruise.