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A&E »     by Andy Dehnart / February 25, 2011, 9:41 AM A&E’s Scared Straight concludes its first season next Thursday, having debuted to record ratings in mid-January. Following the show’s debut, there was controversy: two of the three states featured on the show have suspended their programs, and the show and the programs it features have been criticized. The series, which takes at-risk teenagers into prisons to see the reality of prison life, is fascinating, though after a few episodes, it sometimes feels a bit repetitive, and inmates and officials seem to frequently over-rely on scaring the kids with threats of prison rape. Two Justice Department officials wrote an op ed arguing that research shows “‘scared straight’ is not only ineffective but is potentially harmful.” I talked to its executive producer, Arnold Shapiro, about that criticism, and also to the researcher who examined programs’ effectiveness, and the result is this Daily Beast story, in which Shapiro defends...

Home > Uncategorized > Maria Shriver knew Arnold Schwarzenegger was having affairs! May 24th, 2011 by Lisa McGarry. No comments Maria Shriver suspected Arnold Schwarzenegger of having affairs with numerous members of their household staff. Although the 55-year-old writer “didn’t suspect for one second” that the ‘Terminator’ star had fathered a child 14 years ago with former housekeeper Mildred ‘Patty’ Baena, she reportedly had her suspicions about other workers. A former employee said: “Maria didn’t suspect for one second that Patty was messing about with her husband. But there were others who she wasn’t quite so sure about. “It’s perhaps little surprise that after suspicions were aroused, they subsequently didn’t last long in employment.” It was also revealed Mildred, 55, was given access to parts of the former governor’s home that were out of bounds for other members of the household staff, and was even allowed to use the family car to run errands. The insider told the Daily...

December 19th, 2010 by Lisa McGarry. No comments Axed star Steven Arnold has confessed he was Corrie’s biggest backstage joker. The 36 year old star, best known as hapless butcher Ashley Peacock, admitted that he often used his keen sense of humour to pass the long days spent waiting about on set. In an interview with The News Of The World Steven laughed: “We never owned up to that stuff. That was half of the fun. You could spend 12 hours a day sitting around waiting to do a scene, so we’d pass the time by playing practical jokes.” On the funniest plotline the actor, who was today confirmed as a contestant on the 2011 series of dancing On Ice, added: “Playing an elf to sell reindeer meat with Santa Fred Elliot at Christmas 1999! That was hilarious.” Follow us on Twitter ! Get the latest news and chat with @ unrealitytv Categories: Soaps Tags: Coronation Street , Steven Arnold View the original article here

December 12th, 2010 by Lisa McGarry. No comments Coronation street star Steven Arnold today reveals he’s pleased squeky-voiced butcher Ashley Peacock finally got killed off in this week’s 50th anniversary extravaganza. Wednesday’s dramatic scenes, when lovable Ash died a hero saving his mates were a tearjerking climax to two years of real-life anguish. In an interview with The News Of The World actor Steven, 36, confessed he grew angry as his character was frozen out by scriptwriters. He told the newspaper: “To be honest I felt ready to go.” “I’ve loved my time at Corrie. I cried when I left because it means so much to me but it was time for Ashley to go.” “I was working part time, just four months of the year. And it got me down.” “The character was fading away and the writing was on the wall. I’d lost a sense of purpose. I was getting paid less. I spent days walking my two Rottweilers to fill the time. I’m ambitious and I wanted to be working. I worried I was doing my job wrong.” F...

December 9th, 2010 by Sarah. 2 Comments Steven Arnold, who of course plays Ashley Peacock, left a message for the show’s fans on its ITV website last night, thanking them for their support for his 15 year run on Corrie. His character Ashley of course died during last night’s episode in the aftermath of the tram crash. Steven’s statement read, “I’d just like to say thank you for all the support I’ve had over the years… “Everyone’s been great. Thanks for all your letters. And thanks for watching. “I just hope the programme keeps going and does as well as it’s always done, which I’m sure it will. “So thanks very much and I hope to see you soon!” As part of Steven’s farewell, visitors to the site can see a behind-the-scenes video showing him saying goodbye to his fellow cast members once his final scenes were filmed. Steven also paid tribute to Julia Haworth who plays his on-screen wife Claire, saying that she was “really special” before adding that she’s, “probably the nicest person I’ve...