Walking to work this morning, I was listening to the news on my phone and for a moment thought I had misheard one of the items. They said that Russell Brand had been condemned by a rape charity after a prank call to police during his Saturday night stand-up routine in which he pretended he had spotted a man wanted for serious sex offences. Surely no comedian in his right mind would be stupid enough to think that was funny?

I was wrong. Brand did in fact call the police incident room and say that he had spotted the ‘Underpass Attacker’, who has attacked three women in the past couple of weeks. Not my idea of a joke!

The police staff member apparently ended the call after the comedian said his name was Sarah, and started to sing down the phone.

I was never a fan of Brand until I saw him on Jonathan Ross. I thought he came across well and had done well to turn his life around. But this idiotic stunt has made me lose all respect for him as a performer and entertainer. He’s got his column inches, but how many fans has he lost?

According to the Society of London Theatre's annual report, 2007 was the most successful year for London theatres. The report stated that box office takings rose to nearly £470m, with attendees exceeding 13 million for the first time.

The rise in theatre-goers is most likely to have something to do with programmes such as the BBC’s ‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?’, ‘Any Dream Will Do’ and ‘I’d Do Anything’. These programmes are reaching out to a different, and younger, audience and making the actors who win the shows celebrities in their own right, attracting first-time theatre goers.

Also, film and TV actors, such as Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and David Schwimmer, are increasingly playing the lead in theatre productions, drawing in fans from a cross section of the public.

The BBC shows have come under some criticism, with Hollywood star and Theatre owner Kevin Spacey saying, "I feel that these shows were essentially a 13-week promotion for a musical.”

Whatever has happened to increase theatre sales, I think it is a good thing. I will never forget the first time I saw a musical in London and I hope many more people will continue to experience the brilliance of the theatre.

 

A group of journalism students at Leeds Trinity and All Saints college broke news of a new development in the Madeleine McCann before the BBC and Sky News this week.

The students were listening to a lecture by Clarence Mitchell, the McCann’s spokesman, when the Portuguese police announced they were winding down their investigations into Madeleine’s disappearance.

They quickly sprung into action and had interviews before anyone else. Not a bad day’s work.