Wire star angers BBC

THE BRITISH star of the hit US cop show The Wire has criticised the BBC for screening too many costume dramas.

Actor Dominic West claimed schedules were overly reliant on costume drama and claimed that BBC producers secretly "hate" working on the likes of Cranford, the award-winning period adaptation starring Dame Judi Dench.

His comments are a major embarrassment for the BBC who last night screened the hit US show for the first time on terrestrial TV in the UK.

The actor, 39, who became a major industry player in the States after playing Baltimore police detective Jimmy McNulty, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there is a lack of “high end contemporary drama”.

He said: "If you turn on American TV, there's a huge choice of nothing you want to see and, unfortunately, I think that's the case here now as well.

"We seem to lack the high end of drama. We do costume drama brilliantly, and I love costume drama.

“No-one does it like the BBC – no-one has the money to do it, first of all, and, secondly, Americans don't have the history to do it.”

He added: “But if you talk to any BBC producers, they abhor the fact... they are dying to do The Wire and hate doing Cranford.I thought Cranford was incredible but we don't seem to be able to do contemporary stuff."

Peaches on the prowl

WATCH out Gordon Ramsay and Phillip Schofield, Peaches Geldof is after you both and she doesn't care that you're married.

The socialite has been mouthing off about her feelings for the pair as well as applauding Madonna's choice of toy boy.

Peaches, 20, reckons Gordon Ramsay is “powerful and sexy” - and says she might be in with a chance because he’s an “adulterer”.

“I have a big crush on him,” she reveals. “He's got these really intense lines in his forehead. He swears a lot. And he's meant to be an adulterer, so who knows?”

Er…don’t let his wife Tana hear you say that.

But even Gordon can’t take her mind from happily married silver fox Phillip Schofield, who has been bombarded with gushing Twitter messages from Peaches and her pals.

Peaches said: "I think he's really sexy. I like the idea of someone that appeals to a mass audience but has a sinister, dark side.

“I bet he's a real pervert. I can just see it in his little eyes. He loves it. It's always the quiet ones, the nice ones.”

Monkeys head line-up for summer festivals

THE Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead and Kings of Leon will headline this year's Reading and Leeds Festivals, organisers confirmed today.

Dance pioneers the Prodigy, whose latest album is titled Invaders Must Die, will also be on the main stage at both sites.

Other acts confirmed to join in the fun include Maximo Park, Ian Brown, Bloc Party, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, Kaiser Chiefs and Placebo.

Gossip, Glasvegas, Florence and the Machine and White Lies will also feature on the Radio 1/NME stage.

The action will see 150 acts play over three days in August.

The Arctic Monkeys will headline in Leeds on Friday 28 August and the following day in Reading.

Radiohead, who last played Reading in 1994, will kick off in Leeds on Saturday 29 August and then play on Sunday August 30 in Reading.

American act Kings of Leon, fresh from their recent success at the Brits, are set to appear at the Leeds Festival on Sunday August 30 and the Reading Festival on Friday August 28.

Weekend tickets are £175 (which includes camping) plus booking fees, with day tickets priced at £70 plus booking fees. Tickets are on sale now.

For more information visit http://www.readingfestival.com and http://www.leedsfestival.com.

Fan strips off for Pete Doherty

AFTER Kate Moss, it looks like Pete Doherty can’t stop the ladies throwing themselves at him...

Security staff got their knickers in a twist when the crowd surged on stage at the Babyshambles singer’s gig at the Troxy on Commercial Road last night – but there was one lady who was definitely allowed to stay.

One gig-goer said: “Pete said last night was his first gig in years when no fans had invaded the stage.

"As soon as he spoke, there was a mass rush to get on stage.

“Security threw all the fans back down into the pit at the front, but when one girl got up wearing nothing but lingerie they let her stay so she could dance with Pete. He looked like he was really enjoying it.”

And who could blame him.

Sugababe Amelle's all alone

GORGEOUS Sugababe Amelle Berrabah enjoyed her first outing as a single gal last night. We spied her laughing and supping drinks with pals at Mayfair’s Whisky Mist.

Speaking for the first time about her split from Freddie Fuller, she told theBuzz: “Yes, I’m by myself tonight – it was my decision to break up with Freddie. I’m doing fine, thanks.”

Amelle, 24, called time on her relationship with Freddie, 26, once before in 2007, but later got back with him.

This time round though, the split seems final.

Chatting to us at the after party for the Teenage Cancer Trust’s Evening of Comedy at the Royal Albert Hall earlier, Amelle revealed she would keep in touch with Freddie, saying: “I don’t want any bad blood.”

Office swimming video a web splash hit

A GROUP of female office workers have created the latest worldwide viral internet hit - performing a synchronised 'swimming' routine while sitting at their desks.

The Russian women, who all work at an architecture company, recorded their display for an Olympics-themed competition and beat hundreds of rival entries to claim the £3,500 top prize.

One of the workers, Mosha Dugina, said the girls enjoyed showing off their "beautiful long legs".

See the video below!

Lil spits out her dummy

IT SOUNDS like Lily Allen was behaving like a big baby at Lois Winstone’s birthday bash on Saturday night.

The singer, 23, arrived at the Met Bar for the Studio 54-themed party sucking on a kiddie’s dummy, sulked all evening and then  threw a strop in a taxi.

Our spy said: “Lily kept her hood up and looked  stroppy, while Lois, her sister Jaime and Miquita Oliver boogied away. When Lily left at 2am, she stormed into a waiting taxi, but was told it was for someone else. She shouted “f*** you!” at the driver before getting out.”

Meanwhile, actress Lois rode around the Mayfair venue on roller-skates.

She and Jaime headed to Victoria Park in Bow at 6am to continue skating, before winding up at Christa House in Bethnal Green at midday on Sunday.

Crowe flies into awards show storm

RUSSELL Crowe had fellow actors seething last night as he turned up at a four-and-a-half-hour awards show – for precisely four-and-a-half minutes.

The Hollywood star picked  up the Actor Of Our Lifetime gong at the Jameson Empire Awards at the Grosvenor House hotel.

However, blink and you could have missed him. He  rushed into the bash via a side door, made a quick speech, and then nipped out the same exit.

He was in such a rush he didn’t even have time to stop by the press room afterwards to pose with his gong.

But he did have time to read a brief poem, with lines from John Lennon, Patrick Kavanagh, Elvis Costello, the Bee Gees, Billy Bragg and Rudyard Kipling. It was an ­attempt to mock his appearance at the Baftas in 2002 when he was denied a chance to read a poem, which led to a row with the event’s producer Malcolm Gerrie.

But his appearance didn’t endear him to fellow A-listers, who dutifully sat through the entire evening .

A tipsy-looking Viggo Mortensen, out with pal Sean Bean, later took to the stage to pick up the Empire Icon award and mocked Russell’s “unfathomable literary dedication”.

Madonna in Malawi adoption court

MADONNA appeared in a Malawi court today where she was told she would have to wait until Friday to learn if the adoption would be approved.

Dressed in a black skirt and high heels, and accompanied by her 12-year-old daughter Lourdes, the singer was ushered in a back door at the high court building in the capital of Lilongwe.

After an hour-long private hearing, the case was adjourned for four

The luxury lodge where the singer has stayed in the past has been fully booked and casual visitors dismissed.

Children's charity Save the Children has pleaded the singer to think again although the family of the toddler she is seeking to remove from the impoverished African republic is now said to be supporting the adoption.

The 50-year-old star has filed papers in Malawi setting out her intention to adopt a four-year-old orphan called Mercy James, who she hopes to take back to the US if a Malawi court approves the plan.

Madonna already has an adopted son from Malawi.

Questions were asked after she and then-husband Guy Ritchie took David Banda to their London home in 2006 while the child was 13 months old, and her latest quest for a sister for David has led to renewed criticism.

Mercy's grandmother Lucy Chekechiwa, 61, initially hit out at the star, saying: "It is stealing. I won't let her go."

Shetty aims for British TV fame

BOLLYWOOD star Shilpa Shetty is paving her way to become a familiar face on British television screens.

The 33-year-old Indian actress plans to spend more time in the UK after buying a house in Surrey and is in discussions about future roles.

Her publicist Max Clifford said: "I am talking to several TV people about potential work for Shilpa Shetty.

"I have had several discussions with various TV executives in the last couple of months.

"There is a lot of interest in her.

"She is looking to spend more time over here because she likes it."

Shetty, who has appeared in numerous Indian-language films, recently bought a home in Weybridge's St George's Hill estate with boyfriend, Raj Kundra.

Her first foray into the British media came in 2007 when she won a controversial series of Celebrity Big Brother.

It attracted global attention when Jade Goody and other housemates were accused of racism and bullying towards the glamorous star.

But Shetty and Goody were later reconciled and the pair became friends.

They appeared together on the Indian version of the show last year, when Goody received the news she had cervical cancer.

Shetty paid tribute to the mother-of-two after she died at her home in Upshire, Essex, last Sunday at the age of 27.

The actress said: "Jade put up a brave fight, lost her battle with cancer but won many a heart with her courage and how she dealt with it."

Shetty also credited Goody - the ultimate reality TV star - with boosting her profile, describing her as the "architect of my fame".