I hate these halogen lights

Ooooh, a snazzy new look. How do you like? Welcome to Tube Talk in its new, bloggy form. As I revealed in the last edition - click here if you missed it - this is now the future. It will be the same sort of stuff as usual, but in more manageable chunks and updated more often (in theory this will be every day, but I make no promises), so remember to check back regularly for the latest and scroll down fully to read previous blog entries.

First up this time, X Factor is back. I went along to the press launch yesterday where we were shown a "work-in-progress" version of the first episode (apparently even at this stage of the show, the episodes are still being edited together on the Friday night / sometimes Saturday morning before they air on the Saturday night). Some of the highlights:

• The four judges - including new recruits Brian Friedman and Dannii Minogue - launch the London auditions in spectacular style, peering down at the crowd below from a Roman Emperor-style box.
• Yes, the issue of Brian Friedman's departure from the panel is addressed head on, about halfway through the first episode. A similar situation happened in American Idol season two, where a fourth judge - a New York DJ called Angie Martinez - joined Simon, Randy and Paula on the panel but quit after a few days because she couldn't handle shattering hopefuls' dreams. Unlike X Factor however, Idol producers chose to sweep it under the carpet and craftily edited her out of the show completely. Speaking of which...
• Much controversy in the press room over the way Brian's exit was handled. Several hacks told me they were unconvinced with some of the scenes in the lengthy segment - including one where Simon accosts an executive producer to say that the new lineup "just wasn't working" and talking heads of the judges saying they were "uncomfortable" and "missing Louis". An ITV exec subsequently admitted that some scenes had been "re-shot".
• To that end, the show does feel quite cold for the first part but after Louis' return things do start to pick up again. Dermot has a shaky start as host - after three years of Kate and a familiarity of Dermot on BBLB, his voiceover feels strange - but within minutes all is forgotten and he feels as comfy as warm pyjamas after a day in the rain.
• Dannii is confident as the new judge, but she is largely kept to the background for the first episode as the drama with Brian/Louis dominates. Expect to see more of her - including her supposedly nasty side - in the coming weeks.
• Ones to watch: W4 - a five-piece girl group who aim to be "a modern-day version of the Spice Girls"; Same Difference - an overly enthusiastic and always-happy brother/sister pairing; 14-year-old Emily; Nicky Evans, whose dad secretly got her an audition form before he died; and Zoe, who throws a typically teenage tantrum after learning she hasn't made it through.

Straight on from X Factor, DS sped on to the premiere of The Bourne Ultimatum in Leicester Square, where we bumped into everyone's favourite thespian, Stephen Fry. Matt Damon was off the menu though, because what we really wanted to know about was the upcoming second series of Kingdom, currently being filmed. Click play below to watch Stephen serving up exclusive scoop on series two - and his unusual response to being called a "national treasure".



Check back in tomorrow for a first look at The IT Crowd, some of YOUR questions, as well as gossip on Torchwood season two!

Additional reporting by Nick Levine

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