Missed news unfortunately:-

On Sunday 16th February 2003 and again on Wednesday 19th February 2003, REG appealed on BBC Lifeline for donations to Skillshare International. Sunday’s appeal is repeated on BBC2 at 1pm. Please check TV schedules for up to date transmission times. For more on the event, click here.

I also have an extremely short snippet from an article on Dublin’s theatre related sites which just happens to mention REG’s name. You can read that here.

Thanks to Jolie for sourcing these.

Joan informs me that Richard is doing the voice for the “Tommy Appeal – The Premature Baby Charity” which is currently being aired on Heart Radio (106.2 FM). To hear the appeal or to put in a request for Richard go to http://www.heart1062.co.uk/contact.asp and follow the directions. Good luck !!

REG narrates a new Canadian series chronicling the lives of Hollywood wannabes.

90 Days in Hollywood, a weekly series about struggling actors seeking fame in Hollywood, premieres on Thursday, April 10, 2003 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Life Network. The series, produced by Cineflix in association with Life Network, follows the lives of nine actors from different countries and different backgrounds as they make their way through the daunting maze of Tinseltown.

British actor and film-star Richard E. Grant, whose intense performances have continued to shock and delight audiences since his 1987 breakthrough in Withnail and I, will narrate the series. Grant is also the author of With Nails – the Film Diaries of Richard E. Grant, a revealing account of the film business and life among its stars.

To read more about the programme click here.

And for bargain hunters and collectors alike, The Little Vampire DVD is on sale at Blackstar (www.blackstar.co.uk) for £5.99. If anyone doesn’t have a copy of the movie and would like it, now’s the time to buy!

Thanks to Sue & Jenna

A few of the REGiment managed to get Richard to say a few words in front of a camera when they met up with him during “A Moment In Time – A Royal Gala Event At The Richmond Theatre” on Sunday 23rd March. You can now see that video on the site here and you can also check out the flyer for it here. There will no doubt be one or two REGimental reports from the show coming this way also.

Fortunately for the Temple March was a fairly slow month, news wise, and any “important TV sighting news” was posted on the mailing list prior to the event.

Djoeke has started up a new REG website for Dutch fans. Anyone interested in checking it out can go here.

Jenna from Norway is travelling to London on May 16th and has asked if any REGimentals would like to meet up for dinner sometime? Other REGimentals who have agreed to meet include Denise, Joan, Rosemary and her husband Bill (from Littlehampton), Gary and Maria (from Derbyshire), Paula, Emma, Jolie (from Singapore), Elaine, Sarah, Hazel and Susan (who is flying over from Texas). Richard was invited but had to decline the offer, adding that he’ll be out of the country and working during most of May.

Rosemary managed to inform the mailing list prior to screening that Richard would be narrating “The Nation’s Favourite Food” on Thursday 20th March on BBC2.

Denise added the following details (from the BBC website):

Nation’s Favourite Food Thu 20 Mar, 8:00 pm – 8:30 pm 30mins

Comfort

A new 8 part series, narrated by Richard E Grant, opens with a subject close to our hearts – that peculiarly British obsession Comfort Food.

This lip-smacking programme takes us on a journey through the foods we turn to in times of trouble or when we’re feeling in need of a gastric hug. The nation’s top ten Comfort Foods are revealed, exposing us as a nation of indulgent nostalgics.

Find out what celebrity chefs, including Gordon Ramsey, Ainsley Harriott, Nigel Slater and Clarissa Dickson-Wright make of the chart and discover what Tara Palmer-Tompkinson turns to when she needs a bit of TLC.

Meet Britian’s comfort food fans, from teenagers Amy and Mim who find solace from boy trouble in a tub of ice-cream, to mother of two Mandy who melts chocolate between her thighs after the kids are tucked up in bed. If you’re on a diet, beware. You’ll be craving your own favourite comfort food before the credits roll.

Stereo Widescreen

Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food

And finally…..

A magazine programme called “The Richest” was shown on British TV. In the show a female presenter providing a cheerful, cheeky voiceover while a barrage of images – which only vaguely related to the info – was flashed before the viewer. C-list celebrities such as Paul Ross supplied additional face to camera comments.

Who decided who “made” the list isn’t explained. At one point the commentator referred to them as “boy babes”, though actors like Alan Rickman, Michael Caine, Sean Connery and Sir Ian obviously didn’t fit their selection criteria. All monetary values given in the program were the programmers estimates of their worth. Here’s the complete list:

1. Hugh Grant
2. Ewen McGregor
3. Pierce Brosnan
4. Guy Ritchie
5. Ralph Finnes
6. Rupert Everett
7. Jude Law
8. Richard E Grant
9. Vinnie Jones
10. Gary Oldman

Richard wasn’t interviewed for the programme. The makers took a couple of comments he’d made at premieres and inserted them in. A bit of Withnail And I was used such as the part where ‘I’ states that Withnail’s family (who dislike him acting) must be delighted with his career so far.

To be fair most of the basic information given was correct – although researchers had him making Spice World for his kids. There was a view of Richard’s house in “Richmond, Surrey” which consisted of a stretch of the River Thames with some houses in the distance (at least this was better than Ewen McGregor where we were told he lived in 3 million pound house in St John’s Wood and were shown a green road sign with directional arrow pointing to St John’s Wood!) For Richard’s house in France we just had a street view (unless Richard has a second career as cafe owner), then an arch.

One bit of editing which was quite ludicrous was Hugh’s misdemeanor being recanted and footage of him at some premiere banging his forehead with hand as if he’d only just found out about it. The imagined dialogue: “I’ve been arrested. What for? You’ve got to be kidding!” The looks at the camera in shock!

It would be seriously doubtful if any of the celebrities were asked if they minded appearing in these Murdock specials?

Thanks to Djoeke, Rosemary and Denise for the news.