Barrymore appears in comedy drama Bob Martin, while Bolam plays a parking attendant in Pay And Display. Both programmes were unveiled in a sneak preview for advertisers in London on Monday.

Des Lynam will front his first FA Cup Final for three years, while former EastEnders star Ross Kemp will feature in his new film, Hero Of The Hour, and he will play a lawyer in a further project, provisionally titled Active Defence. Kemp recently signed a "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV and his soap character Grant Mitchell will soon be seen leaving Albert Square.

Former Coronation Street star Sarah Lancashire stars in two new dramas, In Seeing Red and My Fragile Heart, while a spin-off from The Bill will see Chris Ellison star in Burnside.

Game show phenomenon Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? will also return for two new series in late 1999 and early 2000.

ITV director of programmes David Liddiment said: "Television today is all about talent and rights. To be in the game you have to have them and we do - in spades. Every genre which defines our channel."

Barbara's Maori carry on

EastEnders star Barbara Windsor came face-to-face with a party of traditional Maori warriors at a charity fashion show.

The actress, who plays Queen Vic landlady Peggy Butcher, met the Maoris whilst presenting the Magic Millennium Fashion Show in London.

The show was in aid of Unicef and featured clothes from Moa, set up by New Zealand designer Merryn Corcoran, as well as British fashion company House of Elliott.

Radio City returns to its former glory

Radio City first opened its doors on 27 December, 1932

New York's famous Radio City Music Hall is reopening its doors with a celebrity gala after seven months of restoration.

Billy Crystal, Sting and Tony Bennett are among the stars taking part in the event on Monday night.

The project to return the art deco building to its original state cost $70m.

Years of dirt were wiped off walls to reveal pre-Depression era paintings and the famous Fountain of Youth mosaic along the staircase has been restored.

British film industry's £1.5m boost

The Government has launched a scheme to plough £1.5m a year into Britain's film industry in a bid to create and attract international blockbusters.

UK-based films will contribute 0.5% of their production budget, up to a maximum of £39,500, to a new fund set up to sharpen film-making expertise.

The Skills Investment Fund will pay for training in camera and sound work, artwork and set design, editing, production and other cinematic crafts.

British firm gets Hollywood foothold

A small British media group is set to profit from up to 15 major films after securing more than £300m of financing to one of Hollywood's top producers.

Winchester Entertainment has teamed up with Chuck Gordon, producer of the Die Hard films, Waterworld and Field of Dreams, to fund a series of £50m films.

Winchester will act as distributor for the movies outside the US, the first being a romantic adventure called Black Rock by the director of Twister and Speed 2.

Ronan and Oprah may be millennium faces

Irish singer Ronan Keating and US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey are set to be the top faces of the new millennium, according to new research.

Corrs lead singer Andrea Corr and solo star Ricky Martin were in second place with basketball legend Michael Jordan and US President Bill Clinton in third.

Among those voted for by UK delegates were singer Robbie Williams, presenter Johnny Vaughan, radio DJ Zoe Ball and footballer David Beckham.

Among the more unfamiliar names put forward by their home countries, were singers Kit Chan from Singapore and Faye Wong from China.

Controversial Eurovision winner Dana International was picked by the United Arab Emirates delegation.

The charity event was in aid of Unicef.

Hello! ups cover price for charity

Publishers of celebrity magazine Hello! are increasing the cover price by 10p in a bid to raise £100,000 for the children's charity the NSPCC.

The one-off rise to £1.55 for the October 12 issue is part of a £1m commitment to the charity's Full Stop anti-cruelty campaign.

The edition features an interview with the Duke of York, chairman of Full Stop, who is pictured on the front cover with actress Nicole Kidman.

Rab steams into Railway Children remake

Actor Gregor Fisher, who plays foul-mouthed Rab C Nesbitt in the BBC Two comedy series, has been recruited to play genial porter Perks in a new version of The Railway Children.

Fisher will be joined in the TV adaptation of the family favourite by star of the original movie Jenny Agutter.

Lord Attenborough and Michael Kitchen will also appear in the new version, to be filmed at the Bluebell Railway in Sussex.

Perks was played by Bernard Cribbens in the original 1970 movie.

Former controller of BBC Scotland dies

Alastair Hetherington, former Guardian editor and controller of BBC Scotland has died.

Mr Hetherington, 79, died in hospital in Stirling after a long illness.

He edited The Guardian from 1956 to 1975, overseeing its move from Manchester to London.