MazelTov to Daniel Radcliffe, who has topped the list of highest-earning young actors. The number-one spot is a tie between the Harry Potter star and US teen sensation Miley Cyrus - better known as her alter ego, Hannah Montana. According to Forbes magazine's rather funnily named "Rich Tween List", both Radcliffe and Cyrus are said to have pocketed an estimated £12.8million last year. They beat off some tough competition, not just from teenage stars but also from those who are older but still categorised as specifically appealing to teens. Twenty-year-old High School Musical star and general hottie Zac Efron was one of them, making it to fifth place with estimated earnings of £3 million. And if you were worried that next year could only be a disappointment for Radcliffe, don't be. He has signed an estimated £25.6 million contract to star in the final two of J K Rowling's Harry Potter movie adaptations. Looks like the drinks are on him - for many years to come.
A poll of 3,000 people has deemed Sir Alan Sugar the perfect prime minister. One person who doesn't seem to agree with this idea though is Sugar himself, as only last week he told The Sun that Gordon Brown was the right man for the job. The "dream cabinet" in this bizarre quest for a celebrity government (it might just happen) would also feature Stephen Fry as deputy PM.
Meanwhile, Sugar's niece, EastEnders actress Rita Simons, has been talking about Uncle Alan on GMTV. Asked if she gets good Christmas prezzies from him the actress replied: "No, no, I don't." The question of whether he buys her good Chanucah presents remains unanswered, although she did admit: "He is much nicer than his TV image. He's a different person behind the scenes." And I was really worried he went round firing his family on a regular basis.
Sky News's foreign affairs editor, Tim Marshall, has shed some light on Madonna's fascination with Kabbalah, explaining in his blog that you learn all sorts through language. "A receipt in Hebrew is a kabbalah. Yes, the very same Kabbalah Madonna is into. The word means ‘the receiving'. I'm into Kabbalah to make sure I don't lose out on my expenses, but the dual use of the word might explain why Madonna drinks $20-a-bottle Kabbalah water. Maybe one day she was in Jerusalem and asked a Chasidic Jewish taxi driver for a Kabbalah and he whisked her off to Safed, home of the religious movement and it got too embarrassing to explain." I'm not sure if Madonna has offered a better explanation, so maybe Marshall might have hit on something.
These days, Mitch Winehouse seems to be filling almost as many column inches as his daughter, Amy. He is said to have collapsed for a second time from a stress-related illness, and it doesn't look like the stress will be easing any time soon. Not only has it been another difficult week for his daughter, but he has signed up for a new job - as a radio presenter. The now famous cabbie will cover for Danny Baker and co-host BBC London 94.9's mid-afternoon slot while Baker's on holiday. Winehouse is no stranger to phone-ins having spoken about his daughter over the airwaves in the past, but this time he'll be taking the calls, the station's assistant editor, Justin Kings, told The Guardian: "It takes something special to fill the gap left by Danny in the summer, and this is it. Mitch Winehouse is a listener to, and friend of, the station. We're delighted he's agreed to a show the other side of the microphone for a change."
