The latest face of L’oreal’s men’s skincare line, L’Oreal Paris Men Expert, is scruffy grumpy Hugh Laurie of House. Hugh will represent the line overseas, like Gerard Butler and Patrick Dempsey before him. Now, I can see Dempsey and maybe Butler representing men’s skincare, but this just seems beneath Laurie. I’m trying to separate him from his character on House, for whom this role as spokesperson would be laughable. From what I know of British Laurie he’s quite down-to-earth and not at all Hollywood. But I guess that makes him the perfect score for a skincare line. Here’s more, from The Daily Mail:

And today Hugh Laurie is cast in an unlikely new role, as the male face for L’Oreal Paris Men Expert products.

He joins fellow Hollywood stars Gerard Butler and Patrick Dempsey, who are already ambassadors for L’Oreal Paris.

Hugh said: ‘At first I thought it was a mistake, but then I realised that

L’Oreal wasn’t looking for models but for people with strong personalities, who are worth it…and who aren’t afraid to proclaim that using cosmetics can be a very masculine decision after all.’

The men’s grooming business has grown significantly over the past two years, with British men now spending more on skincare than ever before.

And Laurie could be the ideal model to attract men who fear their masculinity will be threatened by using cosmetics.

Laurie has won critical and popular acclaim for his portrayal of the curmudgeonly but brilliant Dr Gregory House in the hugely popular U.S. medical drama House.

But after eight series it seems he may be ready to leave the Vicodin-addicted misanthropic character behind and try something new.

He told the Radio Times: ‘The end of [the eighth] season, right now, looks like the end of the show. That is as far as they have got me for.’

The 51-year-old is estimated to be paid around £250,000 [$400,000 USD] an episode – now making him the best paid actor on television.

[From The Daily Mail]

There’s also this video of Hugh in which he kind of makes fun of his new gig. I just love hearing him speak in his regular accent. I still find Hugh as a skincare spokeman puzzling but the guy might feel more secure with a few more million in the bank now that House is possibly winding down. That’s probably the motivating factor behind this. He used to talk about how he was afraid he would lose his gig on House, and now that it’s possibly looming after the next and eighth season it could have convinced him that this wasn’t a bad idea.

Hugh Laurie is shown on 5/3/11 and 5/7/11. Credit: WENN.com

These are some new and newish photos of Hugh Laurie, out and about in Paris this week. Hugh rarely gets pap’d, so I thought we’d mark the occasion. I have no idea why he’s in Paris, by the way. Perhaps he’s promoting House internationally? Or maybe Hop? Maybe his album (did you know he recorded an album?)? I don’t know. It’s funny, I only really think Hugh is sexy when he’s on House. These photos aren’t doing much for my biscuits, sexy-time-wise. But give me an episode of House where there’s a close-up of his grizzly face with those beautiful blue eyes… and my biscuits are feeling naughty.

Recently, Hugh was confirmed for one of the biggest parts he’s taken since House – he’s going to take the lead in the adaptation of Lloyd Jones’ Mister Pip! Here’s more from EW:

Poor Hugh Laurie. Here’s an actor so convincing in his performance every week on House, M.D., he’s often associated with being just as cranky and biting as the show’s titular character.

When it was reported by Deadline that Laurie was set to appear in director Andrew Adamson’s big screen adaptation of Lloyd Jones’ Mister Pip, nowhere in his character’s description do the words “snippy,” “mean-spirited” or “sarcastic” come up. In other words, Laurie, who is actually trained as a comedic actor, seems to be putting an end to any typecasting.

Alas, the Golden Globe-winning actor would be set to play the role of Mr. Watts, the last white man remaining on the war-torn island of Bougainville. After Watts opens a school on the island, he bonds with his young students over his favorite novel, Great Expectations. You’re hearing House-like quips in your head right now, aren’t you?

Still, it will be nice for the actor (nice being the operative word), who can currently be heard in Hop as the voice of Russell Brand’s fluffy patriarch, to show off his diverse range of acting skills with moviegoers. Although will House fans be willing to see him in a new light? Moreover, could this slightly hurt Laurie’s chances for snagging the still-vacant role of Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games? Thanks to the rough-around-the-edges demeanor he’s become almost synonymous with, Laurie’s name has been coming up quite a bit as a suggestion for someone who could play the boozy mentor.

But when it comes to an actor like Hugh Laurie, we’re willing to go in whatever direction he does.

[From Entertainment Weekly]

Aw, it sounds like a nice role for him. Considering one of my favorite movies of all time, Sense & Sensibility (the Emma Thompson-Kate Winslet version) has a younger, lovely Hugh Laurie in a smaller role, I am already willing to accept Hugh in non-House roles.

But, since we’re talking about House, can we talk about what’s been happening this season? This paragraph is full of SPOILERS for the current season, by the way. It’s my opinion that the episode where Cuddy gets “sick” and House takes some Vicodin and Cuddy dumps him – well, that episode was basically the end of House as we know it. It really made me sick that after all of these years, they finally got together and Cuddy dumps him over something so… I don’t know… something they easily could have gotten through. I’m still watching the show, of course, but it just feels WRONG. Maybe something interesting will happen towards the season finale. Fingers crossed.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

These are photos from this weekend’s premiere of Hop, in which Russell Brand voices some version of the cartoon Easter Bunny. The film is a blend of cartoon/CGI animation and live-action, with proper actors and everything. I knew that Brand was voicing the “next” Easter Bunny (and what a raunchy choice that was), and I knew that James Marsden was “starring” in the live-action part of the film, but Hugh Laurie’s involvement comes as a surprise. It turns out, Hugh is voicing the Easter Bunny’s father. So… he has to be Russell Brand’s dad. God save us all.

So as Russell and Hugh posed together at the premiere, I have to ask – which would you rather? For some, it might be a toss up. Both Hugh and Rusty are funny men, and both are rather unconventionally attractive. Both seem rather brilliant in their own way too. Rusty is younger, but Hugh has more experience. My choice: I’d rather go to bed with Hugh. I find him more physically attractive. That’s not a knock on Russell though – I find him attractive mostly because I think he’s smart and funny, but physically, he doesn’t do much for me. In general, I only care Russell when he’s attached to Helen Mirren or when I’m reading one of his interviews. Speaking of, Russell has a new one with Parade:

Parade: Have you gotten used to living in Los Angeles?
Brand: I passed my driver’s license test! My friend Danny says I drive like I’m at a funeral: sensible and calm.

How do you unwind on Sundays?
I hang out with my wife. I like to read, play with our cat, and watch English football. I have a pair of West Ham United slippers and some stripey thermal long johns I romp around in. Very comfy stuff.

What about your tight pants—are they ever hard to get off?
Never too much trouble. You can have zippers fitted at the ankle—they can be helpful. If you have trouble getting pants off, that’s excessive. Once it’s restrictive, you’re out of fashion and into bondage.

What’s the best thing about being married?
Having a friend, having consistency in your life. I didn’t come from a big family, so building a family is important to me. Some of my friends have children, and they take your life to different places. That’s something I want to be as involved in as possible, especially once they start laughing and doing stuff.

Do you like making kids’ movies?
I do. Children live in a world where there is a lot of imagination and freedom, and that’s a nice place to inhabit as a comedian.

What would we be surprised to know about you?
That I’m really kind of shy and normal when I’m at home. All the showing-off stuff is about work.

What were Easters like growing up in England?
I remember watching The Muppet Show one year—and liking too much chocolate. Anything that helps put chocolate in your tummy is an embraceable holiday.

Does the bunny in Hop look like you?
I think there are some facial expressions and dental similarities. Other than that, it’s a creation of the brilliant animators.

Was it hard playing a drunk in Arthur now that you’re sober?
It was difficult, yeah. That was one of the areas I had to work on a lot. I carried a bottle of booze on set and smelled it while we were doing those scenes. [Director] Jason Winer and I had a code for the level of drunkenness in a particular scene: from one to four, one being a little buzzed and four being sloshed. But it’s not a tragic portrayal of a drunken man; it’s not like Leaving Las Vegas.

You worked with Helen Mirren on both Arthur and The Tempest. Did you bond through humor?
She could get along with anybody, but, yeah, I think we connected with humor. She has a beautiful work ethic and doesn’t make a fuss about anything. I’ve never met anyone more worthy of the title Dame.

Now that you’re doing films, is this the end of Russell the comedian?
No, I love stand-up more than anything. If you’re talking, why not make people laugh?

[From Parade]

Putting aside his burning love for Dame Mirren for a moment, I found his comments on the idea of becoming a father most interesting: “I didn’t come from a big family, so building a family is important to me. Some of my friends have children, and they take your life to different places. That’s something I want to be as involved in as possible, especially once they start laughing and doing stuff.” That’s why he got married – he was just ready to be married, and he thinks he’s ready to be a father, and he simply married the first girl he saw. It’s kind of sad because I don’t think Katy is in any way ready to put her career on hold to start popping out Brand babies. It’s going to be a mess when this thing falls apart.

Anyway, if you want a really hard choice, which would you rather between these two?

Gross, right? Here are some more pics to cleanse the palate:

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Yesterday, Emma Thompson finally got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! Yay! Who knew that it takes two Oscars and, like, 20-some years of being a movie star to make it happen? Actually, I think celebrities have to pay for their own stars now, so it’s likely that whatever studio is promoting Nanny McPhee was all “We’ll cough up the money for promotion.” Emma looked stunning (for her), and she brought along some friends for her big day: her Nanny McPhee costar Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma’s ex-boyfriend and friend of 30-odd years, Hugh Laurie (more on him in a moment), and a lovely little piglet. The piglet stole the show! I love how Emma has taken to bringing a pig with her everywhere lately. She did at a premiere last year too.

Anyway, as part of her promotion for Nanny McPhee, Emma gave an extensive interview to The Hollywood Reporter this week (story via The Daily Mail), and she discussed in detail her work on the new adaptation of Pygmalion/My Fair Lady. Emma is adapting a new script, basically from scratch, with Carey Mulligan likely to star as Eliza Doolittle. Surprisingly, Emma has very little love for My Fair Lady in general, and Audrey Hepburn in particular. Emma describes Audrey as “fantastically twee” and “She can’t sing and she can’t really act, I’m afraid.” Oh, snap! If it was anyone else, Emma, I might be ripping you a new one:

She may be considered a screen and style icon, but Audrey Hepburn doesn’t have a fan in Emma Thompson. The Nanny McPhee star has describe the Old Hollywood actress as ‘mumsy’ and ‘twee’.

The Oscar-winner’s cutting remarks are published on the day she is honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In interviews with both The Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety, the 51-year-old says the My Fair Lady star was not ‘a very good actress.’

Thompson – who is writing a new movie version of the hit musical – says she wasn’t a big fan of the 1964 film that starred Hepburn and Rex Harrison.

‘I’m not hugely fond of the film,’ she says. ‘I find Audrey Hepburn fantastically twee.’

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter what ‘twee’ means, Thompson says: ‘Twee is whimsy without wit. It is mimsy-mumsy sweetness without any kind of bite. And that’s not for me. She can’t sing and she can’t really act, I’m afraid. I’m sure she was a delightful woman – and perhaps if I had known her I would have enjoyed her acting more, but I don’t and I didn’t, so that’s all there is to it really.’

Hepburn – who died in 1993 – has long been considered a Hollywood icon. The Breakfast at Tiffany’s actress won an Oscar for her starring role in the 1953 film, Roman Holiday. She also played Eliza Doolittle in the 1964 movie version of My Fair Lady. But the actress’s voice was dubbed over and she is not heard singing the musical’s most classic songs such as I Could Have Danced All Night and The Rain in Spain. The voice of American singer Marni Nixon is heard instead.

Thompson says she is ‘thrilled’ to be writing a new version of the musical but she admits she doesn’t like the original movie and prefers Pygmalion – the George Bernard Shaw play upon which My Fair Lady was based.

In an interview with Daily Variety, she says: ‘I find it chocolate-boxy, clunky and deeply theatrical. I don’t think that it’s a film. It’s the theatre piece put onto film. It was Cecil Beaton’s designs and Rex Harrison that gave it its extraordinary quality. I don’t do Audrey Hepburn. I think that she’s a guy thing.’

‘I’m sure she was this charming lady, but I didn’t think she was a very good actress. It’s high time that the extraordinary role of Eliza was reinterpreted because it’s a very fantastic part for a woman.’

Thompson also doesn’t like the way Eliza Doolittle was portrayed in the film, a part she hopes Brit actress Carey Mulligan will play. It is the story of a working class flower seller who is taken in by posh phonetics professor, Henry Higgins. Higgins bets he can train her to speak in an upper-class accent in a bid to pass her off as a lady in society circles.

Thompson says: ‘The central relationship between Eliza and Higgins is a fascinating one.’

She calls him ‘dysfunctional’ and even accuses Doolittle’s father, dustman Alfred as selling his daughter into slavery.

‘He’s more brutal,’ says Thompson who admits to being a feminist. ‘It’s a very terrible thing he does, selling his daughter into sexual slavery for a fiver. I suppose my cheekiness is in saying: “This is a very serious story about the usage of women at a particular time in our history. And it’s still going on today. Yes, OK, it’s a wonderful musical, but let’s also look at what it’s really saying about the world.”’

Thompson also admits that fans of the 1964 Oscar-winning film may not like the new version.

‘Fans of the original won’t want another one to be made – and honestly, one has to just cope with that,’ she says. ‘[The original is] incredibly long. The audience can expect less songs.’

Thompson also speaks about her battle with depression in the interviews. After doing a ‘big performance’ she says: ‘I have to go and be sponged down in a darkened room for a couple of weeks. I do have a lot of weakness.’

One thing she does love is writing. Thompson reveals that her biggest inspiration for the Nanny McPhee films is Westerns. Likening the British nanny to Clint Eastwood, she says: ‘The stories are kind of based on Westerns that I grew up watching with my father – everything from High Chaparral to The Virginian. Stuff like that. There’s something in Nanny McPhee that I imbibed from Clint Eastwood and his ilk. Nanny is sort of Shane, really. She’s this mysterious stranger who rides in from out of town, changes everything using rather unorthodox methods to resolve conflict and then must leave.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Eh, personally I think Emma is wrong about Audrey in general and in My Fair Lady in particular. Have you ever gone back and watched My Fair Lady? Audrey is very lovely and I think she’s very underrated in the part. When it was a stage musical, Eliza was played by Julie Andrews, and when Hollywood got their hands on it, they shoved Audrey in the role, and you can tell she really worked at doing the accents and everything. But I do understand what Emma is trying to say about the money and slavery and all – I hate Eliza’s father in the film, and he does sell his daughter.

Back to Emma and Hugh Laurie – so, they used to date, forever ago. And Emma’s husband Greg Wise wasn’t at the event, so maybe Hugh had his ex all to himself? Do you think Emma and Hugh still get hot for each other? I’m kind of thinking they do. Because look at their body language. And because, even though I could swear to it, I think something is happening in Hugh’s pants. I just… oh, Hugh. I love him. And I think this man is laying some serious pipe.

Emma, Hugh, Maggie and the pig on August 6, 2010. Credit: Bauer-Griffin.

Scotland’s Daily Record has an pretty good interview with Hugh Laurie. I think he’s promoting the UK broadcasts of House, because he’s mainly talking about the show, and what a mixed bag it is for him to work in Los Angeles while his family stayed in London. Some of the quotes from this story may be old, though. For the first several years of House, Hugh Laurie was in Los Angeles by himself while his wife and three kids stayed in London. There was gossip last year that Hugh had finally bought a house in Los Angeles, and then a few months later that house was burglarized. I think The Daily Record got an interview with Hugh to promote the UK premiere of House, and then added old quotes to the new interview. Hugh says he’s probably screwed up his kids by being away from them for so many months while filming House, but there’s no way to know because “they’re English and they won’t tell me.” Hugh says that even after five seasons and mantle full of awards, he still feels like he’s about to be fired, or the show will be cancelled any second:

AS Hugh Laurie’s Stateside success story House finds a new home in the UK, the actor admits he still feels rootless. Ever since the bumbling Englishman from Blackadder and Fry and Laurie won the part of the grumpy, limping doctor in the US show five years ago, he’s been torn between home and work.

His wife Jo, who he has been married to since 1989, stays in London with their three children, Charlie, 20, Bill, 18, and daughter Rebecca, 15. Meanwhile, Hugh, 49, has an apartment in Los Angeles, where House is filmed.

“It’s a very difficult thing,” Hugh revealed, although he calls them every day in the morning before he goes to work, which is night-time in the UK.

“I constantly marvel at how grown-up my children are, how grown-up they’re being about this.”

“I worry about parenting at this sort of distance, but they are being so generous and so cool about it that – I mean, it might be because they’re English, and they won’t reveal their psychological damage until they’re in their late forties.”

At first Hugh didn’t even want to buy a house when he got the part of House in House because he didn’t want to jinx the show. But five years later and with awards on the mantelpiece, he is at least living in an apartment rather than the hotel he used to stay in.
Smiling he admits: “I’m just convinced that the day we put down a deposit on a house is the day that we get cancelled. It’s just inevitable.”

“In fact, the first season I was in a hotel for the first three months because I was so convinced that we were going to be gone. I didn’t even unpack. I had a half-empty suitcase. I thought it was going to be any day now.”

“I have an apartment now and they visit and I go back when I can. If we get Thanksgiving off in November, I got four days to go back. I go when I can. There’s just a lot of flying.”

Still House has made him a household name in America and award winner with two Golden Globes and a reported $350,000 pay packet per episode.

But it seems he doesn’t know if working in Los Angeles and not seeing his kids every day has been a sacrifice they are happy with. He doesn’t even know if they are happy with the whole new level of fame their dad has.

“I don’t know again because, again, they’re English, and they won’t tell me,” he admits. But I think that they’re okay with it. I mean, my main goal is just to try and not embarrass them. If I can get away with that then it’s okay.”

Hugh auditioned for Dr Gregory House in hotel bathroom in Namibia where he was in Flight of the Phoenix. His American was so convincing the producer didn’t even realise he was English.

“The accent is my biggest sort of struggle in a day because I’ve always got to be thinking about that extra thing which I shouldn’t really have to thinking about. But there you go. I signed on the line, and it’s my fault. I got myself into this position.”

“I keep thinking of the self-destructive element of House – it’s like a guy who’s standing out on the window ledge, and there’s only a certain amount of time that you can stand on the window ledge. You either have to jump or get back into the window. You can’t stand there for 15 years because the audience will be like, ‘Oh, jump! Come on’. It just gets too frustrating.”

[From The Daily Record]

His American accent is wonderful. Although there are times when I wish the producers of House had the foresight to realize the character of Dr. Gregory House would have worked just as well as an Englishman. Then we would have been able to hear Hugh’s natural accent, which is lovely. Although an English accent might have softened Dr. House in the long run. Americans would have given Dr. House’s obscene rantings a shrug and muttered “Well, what do you expect? He’s English.” And I think Hugh is right on about House’s self-destructive tendencies. It’s sort of amazing that the character has been embraced the way he has – Dr. House is one of the most flawed characters on network television today. Perhaps we love him for his flaws? And because Hugh plays him so brilliantly.

There has been an influx of British actors into American television over the course of the past decade, and one of my favorites is Hugh Laurie. When I hear him speak in his beautiful English accent, I get a little swoony. But in character as American Dr. Gregory House, he scares me a little. House is a great character for him, I think because Hugh Laurie really stretches out his range. Dr. House is such a self-centered bastard, where Hugh comes across as an old-fashioned, eccentric, soft-spoken English gentleman.

There’s a fury in Hugh Laurie though, especially when he sees a wrong he wants to correct. Recently, on the set of House, an assistant director was shouting at some extras. In general, the guy was a bully. Hugh took note, and instead of taking the crew guy aside and having a word, Hugh ripped into the guy in front of people. The National Enquirer has the story:

Normally a laid back, perfect gentleman, Hugh Laurie suddenly scared the hell out of his House mates when he ripped into an assistant director for bellowing and harassing extras.

After Hugh heard Bully Boy rip into the extras telling them to “shut up and pay attention,” he reacted with a huge Hugh and cry – springing from his seat, getting in the jerk’s face and snarling: “These are people, my friend, and you will treat them as such or you will NOT be working here!”

Bully Boy immediately backed down, but when he tried to walk away, Laurie stopped him and demanded: “Don’t you have something you’d like to say to these good people… like ‘I’m sorry!’?”

Chastised Chump sheepishly offered apologies to everyone and swiftly split!

[From The National Enquirer print edition April 27, 2009]

I think Hugh did the right thing. Sometimes bullies need to be publicly shamed, or at least taken down a notch. Hugh is one of the highest-paid men in television, and I’d bet that he gets a say in which crew members stay or go. It’s always nice to hear about a big actor standing up for those younger (or less experienced) actors who are struggling.

It reminds me of my first job out of college, actually. I had a pretty good relationship with my boss, but he had a hair trigger temper. One day, he took out his problems on me for no reason. He screamed at me and belittled me for what seemed like an hour. Then I quit, walked out and started to make my way home. An hour later I got a groveling, apology-filled call from the guy begging me to come back. After I had left, several of the guys I was working with basically took our boss to the woodshed, and threatened to quit too. The boss was humbled and he never spoke to me or anyone else like that again… or at least until we all lost our jobs several months later.

Here’s Hugh Laurie is shown at the PRISM Awards on 4/24/08. Images thanks to PR Photos.com.

Last year, Hugh Laurie really opened up about his battle with depression. He was extremely honest about the daily and yearly struggles he’s faced, and many applauded him for speaking with such eloquence and candor. As it turns out, Hugh regrets being so forthcoming and honest. He gave an interview to Parade Magazine (quotes via Showbiz Spy) in which he says he wishes he’d kept his mouth shut. He thinks, in retrospect, it sounded like whining from someone who lives a very privileged life. I disagree, but I do see his point:

Hugh Laurie regrets divulging details about his battle with depression – because it riles him when other celebrities whinge about their privileged lives.

The British star recently revealed he was once so low he sought treatment in the mid-1990s – and immediately wished he hadn’t been so forthcoming with details about his personal life.

He tells Parade magazine, “I wish I’d kept my mouth shut about that… Now an undue weight has been given to this aspect of my life.”

“I don’t like to be thought of as this guy who has nothing else to talk about except how miserable my lot was.”

“I remember watching Mel Gibson on some show once, and he was being asked about his belief in the afterlife. Gibson said, ‘Well, I can’t believe this is all there is.’ And I thought, ‘Wait a minute. You’re Mel Gibson. You have millions of dollars. You’re a great-looking chap with every conceivable blessing that could be bestowed upon a man. And that’s not good enough?’”

“So you can see why I’m hesitant to talk about any trivial pain I have. I find myself going, ‘Oh, for God’s sake, Hugh. Pull yourself together.’”

“I do know depression is a disease… It is the last great taboo – something people still don’t want to talk about.”

[From Showbiz Spy]

I can understand how Hugh would, in an attempt to be self-deprecating, refer to his own battle with depression as “trivial pain.” But I doubt that’s how it really feels to him, or to the millions of people who are really struggling. I do see his point, though. It will be difficult for some to see anything but a fraud or a whiner with a rich and famous actor trying to educate about depression. I still love him, though!

Here’s Hugh Laurie outside the Ed Sullivan Theater for ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’ in New York City on March 23rd. Images thanks to WENN .

Cop shows are my thing, but I occasionally find a medical show that I get invested in. E.R. failed me years ago, but then I found House, and I was happy. My cop shows (anything Law & Order related, or The Closer) are like a warm blanket to me, probably because I enjoy formulaic dramas with surprisingly good writing.

I don’t really watch House because I think Hugh Laurie is hot (though I do have a thing for bitter curmudgeons), I watch it because I like the mystery of it, the “detective story” aspect. But if I was watching shows based on how hot the fictional doctors were, who would win? George Clooney’s Dr. Ross? Hugh Laurie’s Dr. House? Or Zack Braff’s Dr. Dorian? The question was posed by a British company called Yakult, and considering the names on the list, I think only British women were polled. Surprise, surprise, Hugh Laurie’s Dr. House beat out Clooney. But both of them lost out to “Doctor Jack Shepherd” on Lost. The horror!

Hollywood heart-throb George Clooney has lost out to Hugh Laurie in a poll of favourite TV doctors.

Clooney’s character Dr Doug Ross came out fourth behind Hugh’s Dr Gregory House in third, in a top 10 of the most fancied on-screen medics, despite delighting fans with a welcome return to hospital drama ER, the show which shot him to global fame.

First place went to Matthew Fox’s character Dr Jack Shepherd in the hit series Lost, followed by Dr Sam Strachan of Holby City, who was played by Strictly Come Dancing champ Tom Chambers.

The survey of 1,000 women was carried out by probiotic drinks company Yakult.

Here are the top 10 favourite TV doctors: Dr Jack Shepherd (Lost); Dr Sam Strachan (Holby City); Dr Gregory House (House); Dr Doug Ross (ER); Dr Adam Truman (Casualty); Dr John “JD” Dorian (Scrubs); Dr Mark Sloane (Diagnosis Murder); Dr Derek Shepherd (Grey’s Anatomy); Dr Karl Kennedy (Neighbours) and Dr Christian Troy (Nip/Tuck).

[From The Press Association Hosted by Google]

Oh, yeah. I have a thing for Dr. Christian Troy of Nip/Tuck too… but not for the “doctor” aspect – because Dr. Troy is a freak and not a very good doctor. I love the actor Julian McMahon. And Dylan Walsh, for that matter.

As far as Matthew Fox’s Dr. Jack Shepherd beating out everyone, what were they smoking? Dr. Shepherd’s not really a great doctor, and the character is incredibly weak. I like Matthew Fox and everything, but there’s no way he beats my favorite bitter curmudgeon Dr. House.

Hugh Laurie and his wife Jo had a scary experience recently. The couple just moved to Los Angeles full time at the end of the summer, and already their home has been burglarized – while they were sleeping. Luckily no one was hurt and the only thing that was stolen was Laurie’s laptop. But the incident left them shaken nonetheless.

HUGH LAURIE’S LA home was burgled while the British actor and his wife JO slept upstairs. The thieves broke into the House star’s £2.2 million pad in the Hollywood Hills and stole his laptop. The incident made the actor late for a TV interview the following morning.

He told the TV crew: “We were in bed when it happened… I came down this morning and said, ‘Where’s the laptop?’ Then we realised.”

Police believe the burglary could be the work of a gang who have targeted other houses in the area. Singer FAITH HILL and husband TIM MCGRAW, plus movie mogul SHERRY LANSING, have all recently been hit.

He is said to have been left shaken by the incident. A friend said: “Hugh keeps thinking about what would have happened if he had woken up to confront the burglars. There are some crazy people in Los Angeles who don’t think twice about using violence. He was very lucky that he slept through it all.”

[From the Sun]

That is super scary. Several celebs have been robbed lately. It makes sense that a particularly ambitious criminal would target nicer homes, since they are more likely to have higher value items. However they’re also much more likely to have a lot of security surrounding the place. Everything considered, I find it really odd that this group of criminals has been so successful. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were robbed in February, and there have been several similar reports since then. Hopefully they’ll finally be caught soon.

Here’s Hugh Laurie at the airport on March 9th.

House star Hugh Laurie has been outspoken about his loneliness as he’s stayed in LA to work on the popular Fox show while his family, including three teenage children, has remained with their mom in their native England. Laurie has said that he’s tried to convince his kids, Charlie, 19, Bill, 17, and Rebecca, 14, to move to LA but that his oldest son was particularly against it. Compounding the problem was Laurie’s own mistrust of his success and his fear that once he moves his family to LA he’ll end up out of work.

House producers have now offered Laurie a $17.5 million contract to stick with the show for three more years, and as one of the most well paid TV actors Laurie and his family have finally been convinced that it’s time make the move. They’re said to be planning a move to LA in the next few days after Hugh’s wife of 19 years, Jo, persuaded him. Hugh’s oldest son Charlie is now going to Columbia University in New York and that may have also helped with the decision.

After nearly four years of living a trans-Atlantic life which has done little for the depressive actor’s mental state, not to mention his 19-year marriage, the Mail can reveal that Hugh’s family are moving to America to be with him.

Until now and despite the unhappiness the nine-month separations have caused, the actor has always refused to uproot his family.

A determined pessimist, he was certain that the moment he moved the family and disrupted his children’s schooling, House would be cancelled.

‘I’ll probably be confident enough to move them in about ten years time,’ he semi-joked earlier this year. ‘I can never really believe the thing [House] is going to last. The whole of the first year I was in a hotel. I didn’t even unpack the suitcase.’

But after a particularly difficult year, during which he was forced to forego his usual two-month summer break with his family thanks to the Hollywood screenwriter’s strike, it was clear that his nomadic lifestyle was not doing him any good.

Sources say it was theatre administrator Jo who finally persuaded him that the family should move.

The couple have always denied rumours that their marriage was on the rocks but it is unlikely that their enforced separations were doing their union any good.

‘Jo could not stand seeing Hugh miserable any longer,’ said one source. ‘They all missed each other so much.’

Neither Hugh’s British publicist nor his American one will confirm or deny the story – both said they had no comment. But the move is an open secret among Hugh’s friends.

[From The Daily Mail]

The Daily Mail reports that Hugh had to film all summer instead of getting the usual two month break to spend with his family due to the schedule being rearranged by the writer’s strike. Fox recognized the strain on Laurie’s personal life and gave him “three full-time assistants… to help him find the perfect family home.” He did find and purchase a $3.5 million 3,242 square foot mansion in Hollywood right before jetting off to England. Laurie had previously lived in a rented home near the House set and said that he was often stressed from working long hours.

Congratulations to Hugh and his family. America loves this guy and his career is not likely face problems anytime soon.

Hugh Laurie is shown on 7/14/08 at the Fox All Star party. Credit: Juan Rico/Fame Pictures