Go behind the scenes, in the dressing room and in the studio with your favourite celebs
Behind the Scenes with Alex and Alexa at Popworld
Alex and Alexa are sitting on the table in Alexa's dressing room where he proudly reveals he once positioned all of her fruit to look like the female reproductive system. Alexa: 'And you drew a picture of the female uterus for me the other day, but it looked like a ram's head.' A debate then begins where the pair discuss the merits of Alex's driver Roberto who stops for coffee (never happens apparently) and the fact Alexa gets porridge delivered to her dressing room every morning. Alex says he was put out to discover she didn't have to stick to the set breakfast menu like he did, but Alexa claims she felt the same as him when she discovered they put blueberries on June Sarpong's.
Both agree they used to talk a lot more backstage before Alexa discovered MySpace but they still enjoy playing pooh sticks in the river Thames and their drinking sessions after the show often include karaoke nights. They look and act every inch as cool as they are on screen, and they're even funnier -result!
Listening in at Radio1 with Edith Bowman
Edith looks fresh-faced and utterly cool as she presents her radio show with a cute alice band scraping her hair back and a trendy white top 'It's only Topshop!' - a girl after our own hearts. She stands up when she's on air talking excitedly like she's standing in the middle of a crowd of best mates. Her requisite pre-show coffee is on the side as is er an empty pint glass of Magners (It's four thirty in the afternoon!). But a huge bottle of water and fruit salad show her healthy side and a bright red nail varnish, hand cream and a nail file show she's getting ready for the weekend!
During the show she's racing around like a mad little thing, with the air of a professional as she talks her competition winners (and losers) through what's going to happen on air. As our photographer snaps her, she flashes us crazy smiles as she laughs with her team of producers and runners. And ever the professional when we grab her off-air for the photoshoot she has to run upstairs and grab her lippy first. As we chat, she reveals her secret nerves before a show, the mountain of make-up under her desk upstairs and the fact she can't wait to meet up with her mate for a cup of tea back at hers later
Chilling Out on the Ice with Duncan
Duncan is hungover this morning. Not that you'd know because he looks pretty wide-eyed and glowing to us. Apparently he had a bit of 'a messy one, but it was all good fun' last night at one of London's trendy nightspots. He's gagging for a cup of coffee and nabs a chewing gum from the make-up artist before he's ready to sit down for our chat.
The first thing that strikes you about Duncan is that this guy knows what he wants. His hair 'not too straight, not too messy'. His make-up - 'Something to make me look a bit healthier than I feel.' But it's obvious from the start that Duncan's a good sport. He doesn't bat an eyelid when we ask him to climb into his Lycra. And neither do we because he looks pretty damn good in it!
In the Dressing Room with Corinne Bailey Rae
2006's biggest success story is making an appearing on Wogan and we've sneaked backstage to wait for her. The show's filming has over-run so we get to sample the delights of the BBC canteen while we wait (And yes, everything they say about it is true). The highlight for me is seeing Paul 'Lilly Savage' O'Grady in the corridor and that helps make up for the disappointment of not catching a glimpse of Sir Terry
When Corinne comes of set, she's the epitome of calm. 'I wasn't really nervous, it was good fun'. She tucks into a yummy looking fruit platter and shares a joke with her manager and make-up artist. She's just been sent a free mobile phone and you can tell she's still pretty excited even though she must get sent tonnes of freebies everyday. She's still a normal girl from Leeds at heart, with an extraordinary talent. And that's what we love about her.
