Whitfield leaves 'Spartacus' for 2nd cancer battle

Starz network says "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" star Andy Whitfield is leaving the show to battle a recurrence of cancer.

Production of the "Spartacus" series' second season was postponed this spring when Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The cable television network said Whitfield was responding well to treatment, but the cancer has returned.

FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2010 file photo, actor Andy Whitfield attends a screening of "Extraordinary Measures" hosted by The Cinema Society in New York. Starz network says "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" star Andy Whitfield is leaving the show to battle a recurrence of cancer



The British-born Whitfield played the gladiator hero in the show's breakout first season.

The network said co-stars Lucy Lawless and John Hannah would take center stage for a six-episode prequel leading up to Spartacus' arrival. It will air beginning in January.

In a statement, Whitfield expressed regret at leaving the series while describing his cancer battle "as another extraordinary journey."

Starz network says "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" star Andy Whitfield is leaving the show to battle a recurrence of cancer.

Production of the "Spartacus" series' second season was postponed this spring when Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The cable television network said Whitfield was responding well to treatment, but the cancer has returned.

The British-born Whitfield played the gladiator hero in the show's breakout first season.

The network said co-stars Lucy Lawless and John Hannah would take center stage for a six-episode prequel leading up to Spartacus' arrival. It will air beginning in January.

In a statement, Whitfield expressed regret at leaving the series while describing his cancer battle "as another extraordinary journey."

Michaele Salahi, White House party crasher, reveals multiple sclerosis in book, 'Cirque Du Salahi'

Michaele Salahi, who gained notoriety with her husband by crashing a glitzy White House state dinner, says in a new book that she suffers from multiple sclerosis, a potentially debilitating disease that she says she has kept secret for years.

Michaele Salahi, the star of 'Real Housewives of Washington D.C.' and infamous party crasher, has revealed she has suffered from multiple sclerosis since she was 28.

Host Gretchen Carlson (r.) interviews Tareq Salahi (l.) and a tearful Michaele Salahi (c.) on the set of 'FOX & Friends'.

Salahi says a bad spell the night of the White House dinner caused the couple to leave the event early.

Billed as a tell-all book written with the couple's cooperation, "Cirque Du Salahi" by Diane Dimond offers little new information about the incident last year that sparked a high-profile government criminal investigation and made the couple minor celebrities. The title plays on the name of the Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil, the "Circus of the Sun."

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the book in advance of its sale Wednesday.

Multiple sclerosis, Salahi says, explains her rail-thin physique. She rejects suggestions by others that she suffers from an eating disorder. She is described in the book as eating sugary cereal for Thanksgiving and not eating or drinking even water for long periods of a day.

Weight loss is not a typical symptom of MS, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Salahi, now 44 and a central figure on Bravo's reality show "Real Housewives of D.C.," was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 28, according to the book. Her symptoms include tingling sensations and exhaustion, especially in stressful situations. She says one such spell caused the Salahis to leave early from the White House dinner that the couple continues to insist they were invited to attend.

In the book, both Salahi and her husband, Tareq, describe brief conversations with President Barack Obama that evening.

The Salahis arrived at the White House with a camera crew filming footage for the reality show that aired eight months later. But they were not on any of the guest lists and did not receive the typical engraved invitation to the exclusive event. That the Salahis were able to get into the White House and so close to the president without being on a guest list prompted changes to security policies, the punishment of three Secret Service officers and a criminal investigation that hasn't yet led to charges.

The book's author cites contemporaneous e-mail exchanges about their efforts to get into the event at the last minute. But she also writes critically about other aspects of the Salahis' lives and business dealings. "They may have been downright duplicitous," Dimond writes.

The author found no evidence, for example, to corroborate Salahi's claim that she was a Washington Redskins cheerleader.

"I have to conclude that Michaele Holt Salahi made up the story of having been a Redskins cheerleader ... and once caught in the lie she responded by confronting those who questioned her with more lies," Dimond writes. "It raised the question, What else might she have been less than truthful about?"

Elsewhere in the book, Neal Schon, the lead guitarist for the rock group Journey, would not confirm that he and Salahi once had a relationship that Salahi described as "intimate" and "passionate." On her "Real Housewives" blog, Salahi says she is working on a secret song with Schon. Schon did not respond to a message sent through his Facebook page, but he lists the Salahis among his friends.

The book describes the Salahis as a social-climbing couple with a history of charitable contributions and a "mound of outstanding debt" who have been wrongly accused in the White House dinner incident by the government and the media.

Farah Fawcett' cancer battle caught on camera.

Farrah Fawcett's cancer battle is to be the subject of a U.S. TV news special next week (beg11May09).

The actress has been battling anal cancer, which recently spread to her liver, and has suffered complications from an unrelated medical procedure performed in Germany. By this time she is dead ,her death is close timing with the death of Brittay Murphy .



Her two-year fight has been captured on video by best pal Alana Stewart and now the footage will make up a two-hour special, called Farrah�s Story.
Fawcett's on/off partner Ryan O�Neal and her former Charlie�s Angels co-stars Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson will appear in the programme.

The actress says, "This film is very personal. At the time, I didn�t know if anybody would ever see it. But, at some point, the footage took on a life of its own and dictated that it be seen."

Simon Cowell reveals depression battle in Oprah

"American Idol" judge Simon Cowell gets personal with Oprah Winfrey, opening up about his engagement to Mezhgan Hussainy, Paula Abdul's departure from the show, and his low points in life. 

Simon Cowell has showed off his softer side, telling Oprah Winfrey he has suffered from depression and admitting he had made "some absolutely horrific mistakes" in the past.

The normally abrasive American Idol judge said during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show that he was prone to dark moods.

"I get very, very down," Cowell said.

"Pretty much depression. (But) what I always say is, 'You're taking yourself too seriously, so stop it'.

"At the same time, you should never put a painted smile on. When you're feeling down, you're feeling down."

Cowell, 50, has his own record label and also created the TV shows America's Got Talent and The X-Factor.



He said he sometimes felt drained by the demands of his work.

"You just become aware that a lot of people depend on you, rely on you, or you're not giving people the time you should be giving them. It's almost like a guilt thing - and that does drain me," he said.

Often seen as arrogant because of his stinging put-downs to aspiring entertainers, Cowell admitted he had a strong ego.

But life has not always been kind, he said.

He recalled the time 20 years ago when he lost his job, car and home and had to move back to live with his parents in Britain when a business deal went wrong.

"I made some absolutely horrific mistakes," he said.

"I believed my own ego, believed my own hype, believed my own abilities and lots of times it came crashing down. I thought I was absolutely untouchable."

Cowell's interview with Winfrey was broadcast a week before the May 26 finale of American Idol, which will mark the end of his eight-year association with the most-watched TV show in the US.


"American Idol" judge Simon Cowell gets personal with Oprah Winfrey, opening up about his engagement to Mezhgan Hussainy, Paula Abdul's departure from the show, and his low points in life.

"I've never been good at relationships," he tells Winfrey. "I never thought I'd be with one person. ... I never genuinely thought anyone would want to live with me."

He explains why he never thought he was the marrying type, saying, "I'm selfish, quite weird and I need time on my own to think, and I work all night." Cowell tells Oprah that he's quite moody and has bouts with depression. "I'm very dark when I'm in those moments. I'm very down. ... Pretty much depression. ... I just get down at times."

This is Cowell's last season on "Idol" and he discloses that he thinks the finale will be "emotional." Reflecting over the seasons past where he sat alongside former judge Abdul, he comments on her decision to leave the program, saying, "I think we had a great team. ... Paula, she's a survivor. She's got great instincts. ... She's going to come back on top."

Adam Ant sectioned under Mental Health Act days after screaming abuse at Christians

Eighties pop star Adam Ant has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, it was claimed this evening.

It follows a series of troubled public appearances, including a concert last week where he unleashed a tirade of abuse at Christians during a charity gig.

According to The Music Fix (TMF) website, Adam Ant sent a message to fans which said he had been admitted to hospital.



It read: 'Ant fans - please send me postcards at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, Fulham Road. Please don't come down here as it may upset the staff who have been really pleasant.

'I am having a well earned rest at Her Majesty's Pleasure and am painting and continuing being an art student. I have a great view and am considering gigs later in the year.'

The 55-year-old popstar has a troubled history and has a history of depression.

The Antmusic singer announced earlier this year he would go back on the road for the sake of his 12-year-old daughter Lily.

But his return was marred last week with an odd performance in Portsmouth.

On May 11, Adam, real name Stuart Goddard, was due to play a 30-minute set at the Oasis Centre to raise money for starving children in the Phillipines.

During the show, he invited a four-year-old boy up on stage and began to teach him the words to The Who's My Generation.

And when the frustrated crowd started to leave, he began screaming obscenities at them.

He even asked if there were any Christians in the room, and then told them to 'f**k off'.

Goddard was then booed off the stage before twins - who he referred to as 'his nieces' - Alex and Naomi Hewston, 22, got into a fight with promoter Nick Courtney's son Sam backstage.

He then returned to London on Saturday to perform with his live band at Paper Dresstival.

According to an Adam & The Ants fansite, Goddard, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, was sectioned after an incident on Tuesday evening.

n 2002, he threatened drinkers at a North London pub with an imitation pistol, but escaped a jail term on the grounds of mental illness.

And he was sectioned in September 2003 after a dispute with a neighbour where he threatened to smash in his patio doors with a shovel and was found lying naked in a cafe basement.

When he announced his comeback just weeks ago he told reporters that he had learned to live with manic depression.

The illness has caused him to be admit himself to hospital on several occasions.

But last month he said he would hit the road again for the sake of Lily, his only child and his �reason for living�.

�She has never seen Adam perform and doesn�t know what The Ants were all about,� he said.

'I�ve had this lifelong battle against manic depression, but I�ve had to overcome it for her sake. Times got bad. I lost my mind. But I�m back.�

Teenager who starved herself down to 5 stone beats anorexia to become beauty queen contestant

Fit and well: Melanie Monks at a healthier eight stone, left, and when she was in the grips of anorexia 

A teenager told today how she fought a four-year battle with anorexia, starving herself for days at a time to reach her desired weight of five stone.

Melanie Monks, 19, is now a healthier eight stone and is set to enter a beauty queen competition in the hope of being able to run for the Miss England contest.

Miss Monks said she wanted to look as thin as Victoria Beckham and Nicole Richie after being bullied at school for being 'fat'.



After seeing a famous 2006 picture of a skeletal Miss Richie running down the beach in a blue bikini with her hip bones jutting out of the bottom, Miss Monks said she went without food for up to five days at a time.
She refused to keep her food down - leaving her with a gaunt face and twig-like legs.

As friends begged her to gain a little weight, Miss Monks said she was thrilled when she finally reached her shockingly tiny 'goal weight' by the age of 17 and could easily fit into clothes made for 8-10-year-olds.

But at over three stone underweight, Miss Monk's finger nails began falling off, her hair fell out in clumps and her skin came out in spots and rashes.

She eventually faced up to her problem when plumber boyfriend Lee Ryan 26, convinced her to research eating disorders on the internet and she recognised she was a sufferer and underwent counselling.

Now Miss Monks is a more healthy eight stone and is due to start a degree in psychology.

She is also due to enter a beauty queen competition in her hometown of Blackburn in the hope of being able to run for the Miss England contest.

Miss Monks today condemned the culture of stick thin models and said: 'We've all been bombarded with images of these celebrities we admire aspiring to be really thin but it's wrong and it's a bad example to set. It's simply not healthy.

'It's a tough ride. I don't think it ever goes away. I'm still in recovery but I'm definitely on the other end and I want to help other girls out. I want to show them that beauty's not just about that.

'I may still be thin but I'm getting better, I'm active, I work very hard and I'm healthy.'

As a youngster Miss Monks had always been fit and pretty and as she hit her teens she weighed a healthy 9.5 stone.

But after being targeted by jealous bullies who labelled her 'fat' Miss Monks, then 13, dramatically changed her diet, counting calories and controlling portions before eventually starving herself completely.

'I thought, "If you lose weight people will like you and I will look like all the supermodels. Everybody else is thin."

'I had no friends. So I started trying to lose weight. I thought it would help me become accepted.

'Airbrushed pictures of models in magazines made me feel worse about myself. There were fashion trends that I thought I couldn't work as a size 12.

'There was Posh's seven-inch heels and hot pants and I remember Kate Moss Top Shop advert. It was a black dress, cinched in at the waist and billowing out under that.

'There were diets being recommended like lemon juice and kale at meal time - that's an anorexic's breakfast. When that's all you see in magazines, you feel like you're not good enough.

'The weight fell off very fast. People started noticing me and I got a lot of compliments from my friends and family and even random people at school.

'Because the compliments felt so good, I thought, "Do more!"

'It was a way of dealing with anger and upset, throwing food away and controlling that.

'It started out in portion sizes and then it got to calories and I really cracked down. It got so bad that some days I wouldn't eat anything.

'I used to challenge myself, not eating anything for all day, then two whole days. I remember one day feeling so guilty because I had one small tomato. Eventually I was going up to five days at a time without eating.

She added: 'It's a fake confidence, eating disorders. It's not you, not yourself. I felt like I was fake because when I was that thin everybody used to say, "Oh, where's my old Melanie? I want her back."

'It made me feel like I had to do something but it's so hard to recover from it.'

Eating disorders are responsible for the highest number of deaths of any psychiatric illness and Miss Monks now hopes to use her experience to help others.

'I'd like to set up help groups so girls can come round and chat together, have a brew, go for walks and get some advice at the same time.

'No one knows better how to make an anorexic well again than someone who's been there.'

Bret Michaels discharged from hospital after brain hemorrhage

Poison lead singer Bret Michaels has been discharged from a hospital following treatment for a brain hemorrhage, his doctor said at a press conference Tuesday.

Dr. Joseph Zabramski said that Michaels �can walk but he�s not walking very well.� He added that the rocker had no problems with slurred speech, but that he was experiencing severe back pain. He would continue to be monitored outside the hospital.

Michaels was treated at the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix, Ariz., for the brain hemorrhage.



He was rushed to intensive care April 22 following a severe headache. Once there, doctors discovered bleeding at the base of his brain stem.

Michaels is starring in the current season of "Celebrity Apprentice" in the U.S., hosted by property tycoon Donald Trump.

'Bigger is better' for Heidi Montag who wants bigger implants

Heidi Montag�s doctor may be against performing more surgeries on the reality star, but that�s not going to stop Montag, who has already had an astonishing 13 procedures.

In a report from Life & Style Magazine, Montag�s husband Spencer Pratt says, "When Heidi woke up from the anesthesia [last time], she was angry [her breasts] weren't bigger. She said she wanted to punch the doctor in the face," he tells the tabloid. "I try to stop her. She'll do what she wants with her body."



Even her doctor, Dr. Frank Ryan, who performed most of her previous surgeries has said, "I told Heidi, 'What are you going to do? You're done!'"

So what�s a star who is admittedly �obsessed� with plastic surgery to do?

Go elsewhere of course!

"Heidi's purportedly looking to have the surgery done in Europe rather than by an American-board-certified doctor," the mag reports.

Ryan Seacrest is apparently to blame for Montag�s desperation.

The couple appeared on Seacrest�s radio show in April and their meeting sent the 23-year-old over the edge according to the magazine.

"When Heidi entered the studio, Ryan told her that her breasts didn't look that big to him," Pratt says.

And even though the DJ�s comment was meant as a compliment, Montag took it to mean they weren�t big enough. "She was taken aback," says her hubby. "She came home in shock."

Montag is now eager to get even bigger implants. She told People Magazine after her initial round of ten surgeries in day, �It sounds crazy, but once you get a certain size boob, you always want bigger,� says the now size Triple-D blonde. �Bigger is better.�

Although she told "Good Morning America", that she�s �not addicted� to plastic surgery, the star is surely proving otherwise.

'American Idol' Edits Lady Gaga's Full Performance- Singer may suffer tour fatigue

Lady Gaga's highly-anticipated performance on 'American Idol' was cut short and edited, the 'Poker Face' singer claims. "Fox chopped up my performance in four places," she wrote on Twitter. She pre-taped her 'Alejandro' and 'Bad Romance' performance, which originally ran about six-and-a-half minutes in length. But due to time constraints, the show cut it down to just under five minutes. Gaga performed in true 'Fame Monster' style, featuring smoke machines, eight shirtless dancers and a large statue of an archangel.



The singer started her performance sitting at a piano, which she played as she sang the opening lines of her hit song 'Bad Romance' before proceeding into her latest single, 'Alejandro,' with outrageous dancing -- which looked very Madonna-esque.

According to WWD, Gaga wore a lace, mesh and crystal-studded bodysuit designed by Armani. The designer described the outfit as "pure fantasy."

As for Gaga herself, Armani calls her a "modern phenomenon who has proved to be fascinating, and whose every appearance is a piece of theatre."

Georgy Girl, the Redgrave who couldn't get on with being famous, dies at 67 after losing battle with breast cancer

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Michelle Heaton stretchered away with exhaustion after completing London Marathon

Smiles before the pain: Heaton and fellow celebrity runner Natalie Imbruglia at the beginning of the marathon in Blackheath

Distressed: Michelle Heaton breaks down in tears as she talks to paramedics as the finishing line of the London Marathon yesterday

Overwhelmed: The exhaustion and her achievement sinks in.Exhausted: Michelle puts her head in her hands as paramedics fuss around her

Royal run: Thousands of joggers sprint down The Mall after passing Buckingham Palace

An exhausted Michelle Heaton was carried away from the Marathon finishing line on a stretcher yesterday.

The former Liberty X singer, 30, broke down in tears after completing the 26 mile run in 5 hours 29 minutes.

Writing on her Twitter page later on Sunday, the reality TV star said she had been suffering from 'exhaustion and heart flutters'.

Despite successfully running the New York Marathon last year, it appeared the gruelling run in 18 degrees heat was too much for the singer this year.

After passing the finishing line at The Mall, the shattered singer was clearly distressed and was soon tended to by a St John's Ambulance paramedic.

Writing later that day, she said: 'Well we did it. It took me over 5 hours and after I crossed the finish line with exhaustion and heart flutters... Needless to say never again.'
The Celebrity Big Brother star raised over �7,000 for Kids Company and Rathbone.


'Never again': Heaton is taken away from The Mall on a stretcher

Ramsay's nightmare: Celebrity chef Gordon, who competed on Branson's team with his wife Tana, pulled out of the race part of the way through due to a cramp

And they're off! A blur of runners sprint off at the start of the marathon

 
Thumbs up: Model Elen Rivas looked elated after completing the race in 5hrs 20mins while a thrilled Lorraine Kelly managed it in 6hrs 13mins

Over the finish line: Whittle completed the run in 5hrs 41mins, narrowly pipping Michelle Ryan to the post at 5hrs 40mins

Fast movers: Ben Shepard finished in 3hrs 23mins closely followed by Jenni Falconer in 3hrs 31mins

Heaton was part of Sir Richard Branson's celebrity team, comprising of Ricky Whittle, Natalie Imbruglia and Jenni Falconer.

Whittle completed the run in 5hrs 41mins, Imbruglia in 5hrs 2mins and Falconer in 3hrs 31mins.

Heaton wasn't the only celebrity to feel the strain of the 26-mile run, after chef Gordon Ramsay pulled out part of the way along the route.
Ramsay, who was also part of Branson's all-star team, suffered a leg cramp and failed to complete the race.

Ramsay was forced to pull out of the LA marathon last month because of the same injury.

But his wife Tana proved more successful yesteday, finishing the race in 6hrs and 9mins.
A host of other celebrities competed too including TV presenter Ben Shepard, who finished in 3hrs 23mins.

Model and former WAG Elen Rivas completed the run in 5hrs 20mins, Michelle Ryan managed a time of 5hrs 40mins, Dick and Dom both came in just over 6hrs followed closely by 50-year-old Lorraine Kelly at 6hrs 13mins.

Heaton, who lives in Dublin with boyfriend Hugh Hanley, came over to London via the ferry earlier this week after the Icelandic volcano caused disruption to her planned flight.
Talking about the marathon ahead of the run, she said: 'I do have some experience of marathon running as I completed the New York Marathon last year.

'This however, is my first ever London Marathon and I�m going to be working incredibly hard to make everyone who supports me and the charity I've chosen proud.

'Whilst I�m not looking forward to the blisters, sweat and probably tears involved in completing this amazing challenge.
'I am so happy and excited to be supporting the work of my chosen charity, Virgin Unite.'

Earlier this month, Heaton was spotted showing off her honed body in a bikini as she enjoyed a holiday with fiance Hanley in Florida.

The couple started dating in 2008, soon after Heaton split from ex-husband Andy Scott-Lee after just 18 months of marriage.

Lindsay Lohan: Twitter Post About Crazy Dad! -Storm house with police.Micheal Logan my daughter need rehab.

So this really isn�t new that this family has issues. Mike, the dad, has been in and out of jail, and the actress has been constantly in the news with money and drug problems. And with her younger sister, who�s sixteen, living there, I am just concerned for them all!

It seems that her dad raided her apartment with police wanting to check on his younger daughter and to make sure his oldest daughter is getting help. Basically he wants and intervention and she wants nothing to do with him!

Thanks to Lindsay Lohan�s Twitter obsession, we always seem to know what is going on with her. What would we do without it?! Here are some of the things she tweeted.




�my lawyer isn�t answering I NEED A RESTRAINING ORDER! MY SISTER AND FRIEND TOO!!!!! HE�S NUTS!!!� my BUILDING didn�t STOP him, isn�t it supposed to be safe? THAT�S WHY I MOVED HERE!�

�When will it ever end� it�s been going on my whole life with him � hasn�t he caused enough pain ?�

�OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have no choice but to make this public, due to my sister�s safety, as well as my own. �my ex-dad� just WALKED INTO MY APT like the devil�s advocate with officers (sic).�

�He has NEVER paid child support, and is marrying a tabloid writer and can barely spell his own name due to his �brain� that has been ruined due to HIS drug use. when will it ever end� it�s been going on my whole life with him-hasn�t he caused enough pain?� thank g-d for my mommy� w/out her, i wouldn�t even know myself.�

Though all this seems so dramatic, she also assures everyone that she is fine. No matter what you think of this actress, anytime I see family craziness like this I can�t help but feel for them. Maybe, just maybe, they will all get help soon.

Let me know what you think of the drama caused by Lindsay Lohan�s Twitter post. Also, you can see more photos below, and see the video where her dad says she needs to go to rehab.