Tennant v Miller: to be or not to be on stage

Still laid up with a prolapsed disc, David Tennant has had months to brood Hamlet-style on the slight delivered to him in these pages by Sir Jonathan Miller. Bemoaning celebrity casting in the theatre, the director dismissed “that man from Doctor Who” hired by the RSC.

“I’ve always been rather a fan of Jonathan Miller so to be slagged off by someone you’ve never met but always rather liked is a bit crushing,” Tennant admitted. Here’s the rub. “Because you think ‘Aren’t you famous for doing a sketch show?’ (Beyond the Fringe)”.

The dagger is drawn. “Why should there be this sense of snobbery we seem to indulge in?” asked Tennant on Radio 4’s Broadcasting House.

“His implication is that Doctor Who is low art and Hamlet is high art. I don’t think it’s true. The quality of writing on Doctor Who elevates it above the crassly popular. Some of the scripts are truly beautiful as, indeed, is Hamlet.” A shame then, that Tennant admits he may not be able to return to the Novello Theatre before the London production ends.

Andy Burnham can’t get over his X Factor injustice. The Culture Secretary’s low point of 2008 was “my constituent Laura White being voted off, even though she was the first person to play a musical instrument on it”, he told Music Week. His biggest hope for 2009 is “hopefully the return of Top of the Pops.” Over to the Beeb – sounds like a licence fee dealbreaker.

We haven’t heard the last of the Strictly Come Dancing voting farce. Vincent Cable, our ballroom guru, called the final result a travesty. Lord Tyler, the Lib Dems constitutional reform spokesman, is now seeking a full breakdown of the voting results from the BBC under freedom of information provisions. “The introduction of a fairer system that gives the winner a clear majority might demonstrate the advantages that could be gained if our political institutions followed suit,” said the peer. Could this be a case of PR through the back door?

No mince pies for Russell Crowe, who must lose the 50 pounds he gained when he co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio in the Sir Ridley Scott film Body of Lies. The same director’s new Robin Hood epic, Nottingham, begins shooting next March, with Crowe playing a “noble and brave” sheriff. US reports claim that the British director is “the only one who is willing to stand up to Russell and tell him he’s too fat and that he can’t show up four hours late”. But Crowe’s representatives say that claims of a rift are untrue.

Readers seeking a late Christmas present are directed towards the official Paul Ross 20in, professionally stretched canvas print on a wooden box frame, which is still available for just £48.93. The print shows Jonathan’s less prominent – although not currently suspended from our screens – big brother on the set of his daytime TV quiz, No Win No Fee. “If you only buy one 20in canvas print of Paul Ross this year, this is the one to get,” urges one satisfied Amazon customer.

Postscript

Despite having boat-docking facilities and 2,000 car parking spaces, the O2 Arena did not meet Sir Elton John’s travel requirements. Bosses have installed a helipad at the singer’s request for his New Year’s Eve gig. Anything to avoid a tantrum.

“My dad takes Christmas very seriously because he had a very deprived Irish childhood,” Peaches Geldof tells Hello! “Saint Bob” does all the cooking, it seems. All his daughter wants from Santa is “a Marc Jacobs bag, a Gucci bag and books”.

Damien Hirst’s Christmas e-card is a snowflake made of razor blades. Edgy.

Got a story to tell? people@thetimes.co.uk

Times recommends

• The Boxing Day tsunami: five years on
• What took place in 2010...
• Can you really cure a hangover?