New date for Osbournes UK debut

The hotly-anticipated chronicle of former Black Sabbath star Ozzy Osbourne's family life in Los Angeles has been at the centre of a bidding war for eventual terrestrial broadcast.

Its broadcast on MTV's UK and Ireland service was postponed just a few days before transmission, with the channel blaming "contractual issues yet to be resolved".

Negotiations are continuing with MTV in the US about a second series of the programme, which achieved the highest-ever ratings in the music channel's history.

Osbourne is managed by his wife Sharon, who features in the show alongside their teenage children Kelly and Jack.

Fame

The show has enabled the veteran singer to gain a new dose of fame, being praised by President George W Bush at a dinner and put on the bill for the Queen's Jubilee concerts.

Osbourne, originally from Birmingham, was singer with heavy metal band Black Sabbath and was previously better known for stage antics like biting the head off a bat than for being a family man.

But in the show, he gives his children advice on sex, drink and drugs, argues with neighbours who keep him awake by playing folk music, and sits around in his underpants.

Channel 4, ITV and Channel 5 are all understood to be keen to show the programme to a mass audience after its exposure to cable and satellite viewers.

The show's UK debut will come a day after the British leg of Osbourne's travelling rock festival, Ozzfest, at Donington Park in Leicestershire.