Judi Dench returns after injury

Dench plays a noblewoman in the work by Japanese playwright Yukio Mishima

Dame Judi Dench will return to the West End Stage later after recovering from an ankle injury.

The actress was forced to pull out of four performances of Madame de Sade after stumbling outside the Wyndham's theatre, London last week.

She was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a severely sprained ankle, which she was advised to keep her weight off.

Dame Judi will now have to use a stick to aid her walking during performances until her ankle has fully recovered.

A spokesperson for the Donmar Warehouse theatre company said this was a temporary measure to ensure the actress could return to the role as soon as possible.

"The company are working together to facilitate any changes this may mean to the onstage performances and technical aspects of the production," it said in a statement.

Dame Judi added: "I am thrilled to be returning to Madame de Sade, and would like to thank everyone for their support during this time.

"We are having enormous fun as a company, and I am looking forward to getting back to the role of Madame de Montreuil" she added.

The play, which stars Rosamund Pike in the title role, has received mixed reviews.

Press reviews: Priscilla Queen of the Desert

The road movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of Desert became a cult hit after its 1994 release.

Go West is one of the big production numbers in the stage version

It followed two drag queens and a transsexual on a bus trip across Australia, the home country of director Stephan Elliott.

Elliott reworked the story as a stage musical which opened to acclaim in Australia in 2006. It now transfers to London with Jason Donovan, who started his West End career sporting the many coloured coat of Joseph, in the lead role.

SIMON EDGE - THE DAILY EXPRESS

A full-cast rendition of Go West makes the Village People look restrained, while the disco anthem Don't Leave Me This Way becomes the soundtrack to a high-camp funeral.

Some of the jokes are as corny as Fray Bentos beef and, this being Australian humour, nobody gives a XXXX about polite language. Kanako Nakano's showstopping turn as a Thai bride doing unspeakable things with ping-pong balls is a benchmark for the level of humour - it really isn't Oscar Wilde.

But all wrapped up as a shiny, pinkbowed package, this sumptuously dressed show works gloriously, with its parade of ever more jaw-dropping costumes an utter feast for the eye.

Loud, lewd and lavish, it's about as subtle as a smack in the teeth with a didgeridoo, but who cares when it's this much fun?

MICHAEL BILLINGTON - THE GUARDIAN

Everything in the stage version is underscored and overstated.

Jason Donovan dons a head dress of many colours

The gags have got cruder and camper, so that the bus now bears a sign saying "Rear Entry - Upon Request".

What the show is really about is spectacle; which, thanks to Brian Thomson's production design and the costumes of Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, is hurled across in bucketloads.

It's all eye-poppingly extravagant; but, in the last resort, there seems something defiantly tasteless about the fulfilment of a drag queens' dream to do a Kylie medley on top of the sacred Ayers Rock.

Read full review

REBECCA JONES - BBC CULTURE CORRESPONDENT

It's gaudy and garish with plenty of crude puns. Camp, camp, camp in capital letters.

Jason Donovan has an easy charm, even if he is a bit bland, but Tony Sheldon is the star of the show as Bernadette, the character played by Terence Stamp in the film.

You could pick this show apart if you wanted to - it isn't subtle and the content is a bit thin, but if you want a fun night out with toe-tapping tunes, you'll love it.

NICHOLAS DE JONGH - THE EVENING STANDARD

London has never played host to a musical pitched on a higher level of gayness and camp comedy, transsexual barrier-breaking and bitchy, witty drag-queenery, than this ingenious adaptation of the sensational film of the same name.

At a time when escapist musicals are all the rage, here's a rare one that takes you happily out of yourself and into daring places your wildest fantasies might never have dreamed of visiting.

Read full review

BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE - THE TIMES

There's energy, fun, tunefulness and, above all, the most outrageous swirl of costumes that

The stage production weaves in classic 70s pop tunes

I, who have seen La Cage aux Folles and even boggled at Ian McKellen's Widow Twankey, have yet encountered.

Only one thing is missing, and that's the desert of the title.

This is inevitable, given that the Palace stage is the size of a sandpit, but still a pity. The vast stony, scrubby vistas we saw in the film weren't just decorative. The idea was to suggest that here was a pristine wilderness inhabited, if at all, by strange and exotic creatures.

Read full review

MICHAEL COVENEY - THE INDEPENDENT

Donovan, it has to be said, seems to have lost what little stage personality he had developed as Joseph in the dreamcoat, and turned, well, rancid - while the long-standing Australian drag queen Tony Sheldon, who starts off promisingly as a dead-ringer for Kim Cattrall and descends into big-mouthed anonymity, and Oliver Thornton as the wicked Felicia - look like Friday night acts at the long-ago Vauxhall Tavern.

Read full review

Priscilla Queen of the Desert continues at the Palace Theatre, London.

Woodstock founder plans 'sequel'

An estimated 400,000 people attended the original Woodstock

Michael Lang, the co-founder of the legendary 1969 Woodstock festival, is reportedly seeking sponsors for a 40th anniversary reprise in New York City.

"The chances that something will happen are probable," he told the Times. "But I don't really have the answer yet as to what that will be."

Central Park has been suggested as a possible location for the event.

The Who were among the acts who played at the original concert, which took place in Bethel, New York State.

A 30th anniversary concert held in 1999 at a former air force base outside New York ended in looting and violence.

'Legacy bands'

According to Billboard magazine, Mr Lang hopes the concert would be "a free event" leaving "as small a carbon imprint as we can."

To this end, he is seeking raise $10m (

Pop art in the era of the pixel

by James Alexander BBC News

It is 70 years since the first album cover. But, now that discs are giving way to digital downloads, what is the future for album art?

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album over is iconic

For generations of music fans, the album cover has a special place. We all have our favourites (and least favourite) - images stared at and studied in teenage bedrooms the world over.

From Andy Warhol's banana on the front of the first Velvet Underground record to the underwater baby pursuing a dollar bill on the cover of Nirvana's Nevermind, these were pictures that teased and intrigued.

They offered a tantalising glimpse into worlds that seemed glamorous, exciting and strange. But the once vast canvas is shrinking - whereas on glossy LP covers these images enjoyed a full 12 inches of sleeve space, this reduced to five inches with the advent of the CD.

And now, with the shift from discs to downloads, the space allotted to album art is even smaller. On many MP3 players the sleeve appears not much bigger than a postage stamp - so can the album cover survive?

Album cover reform

It was in 1939 that young designer Alexander Steinweiss persuaded Columbia Records that the use of original artwork might attract more buyers.

Previously records came in drab brown cardboard covers with little to mark them out except the name of the artist and the album.

The change was a big hit. Label bosses soon found the extra sales more than made up for the added printing costs.

In the 1960s the Beatles took album art to a new level - Sgt Pepper, with its colourful cast of characters, came in a gatefold cover complete with a psychedelic inner sleeve and even a cardboard moustache to cut out and keep.

In the years that followed, no expense was spared in creating ever more extravagant and experimental designs.

The golden age of the album cover is pretty much over Simon Warner, lecturer in popular music at Leeds University

The multi-layered artwork for New Order's 12-inch single Blue Monday cost so much to produce Factory Records claimed it actually lost money on every copy sold.

Of course not every sleeve was memorable for the right reasons - some were tacky and cheap, others were simply bizarre. Even a classic like the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds suffers from a cover photo that takes a horribly literal approach to the album's title.

The art of Storm Thorgerson is as famous as the music it accompanies. A childhood friend of the founding members of Pink Floyd, he went on to become their designer-in-chief, fashioning a string of eye-catching creations.

There was the mournful-looking cow on the front of Atom Heart Mother, the burning businessman on the sleeve of Wish You Were Here, the giant pig flying over Battersea Power Station and - most famously of all - the prism spreading a spectrum of colour across The Dark Side Of The Moon.

'Cool graphic'

"It's a nice but simple idea," Thorgerson explains, surrounded by books and sketches in the same North London studio where the design took shape three decades ago.

Storm Thorgerson created a string of Pink Floyd covers including Pulse

"Refracting light through a prism is a common feature in nature, as in a rainbow. I would like to claim it, but unfortunately it's not mine!"

The idea was sparked by Pink Floyd's keyboard player, the late Richard Wright.

"He said, somewhat provocatively, 'Let's not have one of your photos, we've had your photos before. Can't we have a change? A cool graphic - something smart, tidy, elegant.'"

Thorgerson responded with seven rough suggestions that he pinned to the wall of Abbey Road studios.

The band took just seconds to plump for the prism, an image that seemed to perfectly embody the stark themes that underpin The Dark Side Of The Moon.

Design matters

Although Thorgerson remains best-known for his collaborations with Pink Floyd, his design credits also include albums by Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel and Muse.

Now he has collected his favourites into a limited edition box set, alongside signed prints and previously unseen drawings.

He continues to be in demand and says he's untroubled by the shrinking space given to album art.

Thorgerson's design credits also include albums by Peter Gabriel

"I think it's more about the design that matters. So, once that has been uncovered, then you have an image that will hopefully work everywhere and always," he says.

"I don't worry if it's an LP, CD or MP3 - I always see it as very big. Even though it may be very small, it will get used big somewhere - a hoarding or a poster or an advert in a magazine."

And this may be the future where designs are experienced less as album covers and more as billboards, concert images, screensavers, even as framed pieces of art.

"The golden age of the album cover is pretty much over," says Simon Warner, a lecturer in popular music at Leeds University.

"There has been a revival in vinyl sales the last few years driven largely by nostalgia. But, in overall terms, the era of vinyl - the era of the album cover - has gone," he says.

"We live in an age when you can download videos to your computer or iPod. We can still enjoy a wide range of imagery associated with an artist, but that idea of the static 2-D work of art is no longer necessarily the only way to enjoy an artist's essence."

It is doubtful the traditional album sleeve that has excited generations of music lovers will hold the same fascination for fans of the future.

But it seems likely the magical marriage of sound and vision, music and art will continue to colour the songs we hear.

Taken by Storm - album art by Storm Thorgerson is published by Genesis Publications.

Bafta nod for EastEnders' Brown

Brown (left) receives her first Bafta nomination at the age of 82

EastEnders star June Brown is among the stars nominated for this year's British Academy Television Awards.

Her nomination for best TV actress marks the first time the veteran soap star has been recognised by Bafta.

Stephen Fry, Harry Hill and Jonathan Ross compete for the best entertainment performance prize alongside ITV duo Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.

BBC drama Hancock and Joan has received three nominations, including a best actor nod for star Ken Stott.

Stott's competition includes rising star Ben Whishaw for Criminal Justice and Jason Isaacs, cited for his role as comedian Harry H Corbett in The Curse of Steptoe.

Documentary

Brown's fellow best actress nominees include Andrea Riseborough, recognised for playing the young Margaret Thatcher in The Long Walk to Finchley.

Elsewhere, Welsh star Rob Brydon gets a nomination for best comedy performance for his role in BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey.

The show was the big winner at last year's event, winning best comedy performance for James Corden and the audience award.

Peep Show's David Mitchell, also recognised in the comedy performance category, gets a second nod for best comedy programme for That Mitchell and Webb look.

Fry also gets a second nomination for his BBC Four documentary on the Gutenberg Press.

This year's awards will be held on 26 April at the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank.

Director faces child porn charges

Karl Francis denied charges of downloading child pornography

A film director and a former head of drama for BBC Wales has pleaded not guilty to charges of child porn.

Karl Francis denied eight counts of making indecent photographs of a child and one of arranging or facilitating sex causing a child sex offence.

Mr Francis, 66, of Cardiff, who has directed films such as Rebecca's Daughter starring Peter O'Toole and Joely Richardson, was released on bail.

The case at Cardiff Crown Court was adjourned until trial in the summer.

Mr Francis was released on bail on the condition that he attends the trial or any other hearing listed in the meantime.

Judge William Gaskell adjourned the case until 27 July to allow the defence team to seek expert evidence and produce a defence statement.

Mr Francis, who also directed One Of The Hollywood Ten in 2000 starring Jeff Goldblum and Greta Scacchi, was described by defending barrister Jonathan Rees as a "renowned film director".

Soap actor admits teenager attack

The actor has been in Emmerdale since the age of 13

A television actor has pleaded guilty to fracturing the jaw of a 16-year-old in an attack in Greater Manchester.

Luke Tittensor, 19, who plays Daz Eden in the ITV1 soap Emmerdale, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on the boy in Rochdale on 15 February 2008.

Bolton Crown Court heard the boy was left badly injured and needed surgery after the attack.

Tittensor, of Ryecroft Avenue, Heywood, was given unconditional bail and will be sentenced on 29 April.

Mark Ford, prosecuting, told the court his victim suffered a displaced fracture to his lower jaw which needed corrective surgery.

Child actor

"He was in hospital for three days and had a metal plate and screws inserted into the bone in order to repair the damage inflicted."

Mr Ford said the young victim, who cannot be named, had displayed "an extremely mature attitude" towards the proceedings.

"He is a young man, only 16 at the time of this attack," Mr Ford told the court.

"His overriding concern, however, was that the defendant should accept responsibility for what he did to him."

Tittensor, who has been in the cast of the soap since he was 13, spoke only to confirm his name and enter his plea during the hearing on Monday.

Moyles rapped for Young gay spoof

Moyles previously breached Ofcom regulations in 2006

Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles was wrong to mock singer Will Young's sexuality in a satirical song, Ofcom has ruled.

The media watchdog said listeners could have thought the item, which aired in January, condoned "negative stereotypes based on sexual orientation".

Eight people complained after Moyles used a high-pitched, effeminate voice to parody the star, who is openly gay.

Ofcom said both the tone and content of what Moyles said had the "potential to cause considerable offence".

Ofcom said it had taken into account the fact that Moyles's show is known for its irreverent style and studio banter.

'Hostile and pejorative'

On this occasion, however, it ruled that the material had gone beyond what was acceptable and had not been justified by its context.

The breach in broadcasting standards occurred on 20 January, which Moyles had noted was Will Young's 30th birthday.

The DJ marked the occasion by singing alternative versions of Young's hit singles Evergreen and Leave Right Now that made reference to his homosexuality.

Although Ofcom recognised the comments were "intended to be humorous", it ruled they could reasonably be seen as "hostile and pejorative".

Ofcom previously found Moyles in breach of broadcasting codes in 2006 for calling women "dirty whores" and for swearing on air.

Spandau 'set to reveal comeback'

Spandau Ballet split after a bitter feud in 1989

Eighties pop group Spandau Ballet are set to announce they are reforming.

Journalists have been invited to HMS Belfast in London on Wednesday, where the five-piece are expected to reveal details of a comeback.

The band, who had a string of hits with songs like Gold and True, split after a bitter feud, which ended up in the High Court in 1999.

Tony Hadley, Steve Norman and John Keeble sued Gary Kemp for a

Tributes to 'courageous' Goody

A poem to Goody was among the tributes left outside her house

Hundreds of people have visited Jade Goody's house to pay tribute to the reality TV star, who died of cancer on Sunday, aged 27.

More than 100 bouquets of flowers have been left at the gates, along with candles and messages of condolence.

Goody died at home with her family in Upshire, Essex after a high-profile battle with cervical cancer.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown led tributes to the star praising her as "a courageous woman".

Mr Brown said he was "deeply saddened" by the news of her death, adding: "The whole country has admired her determination to provide a bright future for her children.

"She will be remembered fondly by all who knew her and her family can be extremely proud of the work she has done to raise awareness of cervical cancer, which will benefit thousands of women across the UK."

'Inspiration'

I am deeply saddened by the news Shilpa Shetty

Jackie Marron was among those leaving floral tributes at the gates. She described Goody's work to highlight the risks of cancer as an "inspiration".

"The way she's done her things is absolutely fantastic... her courage, her guts," she added.

Goody's mother Jackiey Budden, who was at her side as she died, said: "My beautiful daughter is at peace. Family and friends would like privacy at last."

Details of the star's funeral have yet to be finalised but Goody's publicist Max Clifford said it was likely to be a "celebration" of her life.

Her cortege is expected to process through Loughton - near her home - after a church service, he said.

Goody shot to fame as a contestant in the third series of Big Brother in 2002, and was taking part in the Indian version of the show when she was told of her diagnosis.

The disease spread to her liver, groin and bowel and she was told it was terminal in February.

Jeff Brazier, father of Goody's two sons Bobby, five, and Freddy, four said he was "grateful the boys were able to say their goodbyes and spend that precious time with their wonderful mother".

"Bobby and Freddie are my absolute priority and I will be doing everything I can to be their rock and to give them all my love and support to get them through a confusing and upsetting time."

Media interest

Goody's illness had featured in the media on a daily basis and she allowed digital TV channel Living to film her treatment as well as documenting her wedding to partner Jack Tweed a month before her death.

OK! magazine also paid a reported

Bruce Willis weds for second time

The couple have been together for more than a year

US actor Bruce Willis has married British model Emma Heming in the Caribbean, his agent has confirmed.

The couple wed in a small, private ceremony at the Die Hard star's house in Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos Islands on 21 March.

It is the second marriage for Willis, who divorced actress Demi Moore after 13 years together in 2000.

Moore and her third husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, were among the guests at Saturday's ceremony.

Also present were Willis and Moore's three daughters - Rumer, 20, Scout, 17, and Tallulah Belle, 14.

Willis, 54, and Heming, 30, had been dating for just over a year after meeting through mutual friends - although they both starred in 2007 film Perfect Stranger.

The couple plan a civil ceremony when they return to California, the actor's publicity agency, Rogers & Cowan, said in a statement.

Willis was last seen in cinemas last November in Robert De Niro comedy What Just Happened.

Singer Quinn wins Dancing on Ice

Ray Quinn was partnered by Bulgarian former champion Maria Filippov

Former X Factor finalist Ray Quinn has won ITV1's Dancing On Ice final after 10 weeks of the competition.

The celebrities performed twice before former Liberty X singer Jessica Taylor was eliminated by public vote.

Quinn and investigative journalist Donal MacIntyre then did their own version of Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean's famous Bolero routine.

The 20-year-old winner said: "I have been dreaming of this moment since the beginning. I'm so proud."

Quinn had been the favourite to scoop the prize, with Ladbrokes saying he was a 1/5 chance to skate off with the crown. More than 70% of all bets had been for the singer.

'Breathtaking' performance

Singer Taylor, 28, wept as she bowed out of the final after receiving the fewest public votes.

MacIntyre, 42, received praise from the judges, but said: "It doesn't really matter what the judges think, I was lost [in the dance]."

But it was Quinn who stole the show, leading judge Robin Cousins to say: "You capture the love story. It blows me away."

Quinn received perfect scores of 30 in his two rated dances in the final.

Cousins said the singer's dance to Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now was "breathtaking".

MacIntyre achieved his best score of the competition of 25.5 after dancing to Everybody Hurts by REM.

Bedingfield 'ties the knot in US'

The couple attended Sir Elton John's Oscars party

British singer Natasha Bedingfield has married her fiance in Malibu, according to reports from the US.

Bedingfield, 27, wed California businessman Matthew Robinson in a 30-minute outdoor ceremony on Saturday.

Around 150 guests watched Bedingfield walk down the aisle in a Vera Wang dress beside the chateau at the Church Estates Vineyards.

Bedingfield has enjoyed a string of hits on both sides of the Atlantic, include Single and Unwritten.

The couple announced their engagement last year, after dating for the previous two years.

She is understood to be working on her third album.

In 2002, her brother Daniel Bedingfield recorded UK chart hits Gotta Get Thru This and If You're Not The One.

Reality TV star Jade Goody dies

Goody was catapulted to fame after appearing on series three of Big Brother

Reality TV star Jade Goody has died at the age of 27, her spokesman Max Clifford has confirmed.

She died at home in Upshire, Essex, overnight on Saturday after a battle with cancer.

Goody was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2008 but the disease spread to her liver, groin and bowel and she was told it was terminal in February.

She had been treated at the Royal Marsden Hospital in west London but wanted to die at home with her family.

She wanted "to spend all the time she had got left" with new husband Jack Tweed and sons, Bobby, five, and Freddy, four.

Media interest

The star was christened in a 20-minute ceremony at the Royal Marsden on 7 March while in a wheelchair and was assisted by nurses during the service.

Goody's illness had featured in the media on a daily basis over recent weeks.

Goody's husband Tweed is awaiting sentence for attacking a taxi driver

She married partner Jack Tweed on 21 February at Down Hall Country House Hotel in Essex. OK! magazine paid a reported

Director Scott gets BFI honour

Scott is directing Russell Crowe in a new version of Robin Hood

Renowned film director Sir Ridley Scott has received a Fellowship from the British Film Institute.

The 71-year-old is the 62nd recipient of the award, joining other luminaries such as David Lean and Clint Eastwood.

Scott's career began as a television set designer in the 1960s before going on to direct films such as Alien and the 2000 Oscar-winning movie Gladiator.

Greg Dyke, chairman of the BFI Governors said Scott was "one of the foremost directors of his generation."

The BFI Fellowship was presented by one of the organisation's former governors, director Stephen Frears.

Created in 1983, the Fellowship is the highest accolade the BFI can bestow and is given in recognition of the outstanding achievement of those who have helped shape film and television culture in the UK.

Scott's 1982 sci-fi thriller Blade Runner recently took first place in the BFI's 75th birthday poll Visions for the Future.

The poll asked people to vote for one of 75 nominated films that they would wish to preserve for future audiences.

Scott is currently working on Robin Hood, which will sees him team up with Gladiator Oscar-winner Russell Crowe for the fourth time, and Cate Blanchett.

Jury directed in Spector retrial

Spector's lawyers claim actress Clarkson killed herself

The judge in the murder retrial of Phil Spector has advised the jury they can consider a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Music producer Spector, 68, is accused of shooting dead actress Lana Clarkson at his home in 2003.

The jury in his 2007 trial could not reach a unanimous decision, with the majority favouring a conviction on second-degree murder.

Closing prosecution and defence arguments are scheduled for Monday.

Defence objection

Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler's ruling reverses his decision in Spector's first trial, when he refused to instruct the jury that it could consider voluntary or involuntary manslaughter in the death of Clarkson.

Defence lawyer Doron Weinberg has objected to the ruling, saying it could confuse the jury and that there was "not a shred of factual or legal support" for involuntary manslaughter.

Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson told jurors at the start of the trial last October that Spector was in a "fit of rage" when 40-year-old nightclub hostess Clarkson tried to leave his home, and that the producer "put a bullet in her head".

Spector's lawyers claim the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.

Chamberlin leaves the Pumpkins

Smashing Pumpkins played the Reading and Leeds festivals in 2007

Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, one of the original members of US band Smashing Pumpkins, has left the group, it has been announced.

In a statement on the band's website, singer and founding member Billy Corgan said that he would "continue to write and record as Smashing Pumpkins".

Chamberlin, who joined the alternative band in 1988, played on its recent 20th anniversary reunion tour.

Corgan said the band plan to head into the studio this spring.

Chamberlin played on all the Chicago band's albums except 1998's Adore.

Following the 2000 break-up of the band, Chamberlin joined Pumpkins frontman Corgan in the short-lived Zwan, before re-forming Smashing Pumpkins in 2005.

The band released their latest album, Zeitgeist, in 2007.

Family hold wake for Richardson

Richardson's family have asked for donations instead of flowers

Liam Neeson and the family of actress Natasha Richardson, who died in a ski accident, have held a wake in New York.

Neeson and the couple's two teenage sons were joined by Richardson's mother, Vanessa Redgrave and sister, Joely Richardson.

The wake was held at the American Irish Historical Society in Manhattan.

On Friday night, more than 50 theatre venues in London's West End dimmed their lights in tribute to the respected stage actress.

Nica Burns, president of the Society of London Theatre, said it was "a gesture of condolence at this sad time."

Broadway theatres dimmed their lights on Thursday in honour of the 45-year-old actress, who died earlier this week following a skiing accident in Canada.

Richardson's husband Liam Neeson was present to see the theatre community commemorate his wife's passing.

Richardson's mother, Vanessa Redgrave, and her sister Joely Richardson were also present alongside actors Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker and Laura Linney.

The lights went down at 2000 EST (0000 GMT), the traditional starting time for evening performances in New York.

'Unique contribution'

In London, the two-minute mark of respect started just before 1900 GMT.

Because plays do not start simultaneously in the West End, however, the two-minute tribute was staggered over an hour.

Lights at 52 major venues in the capital went down just before curtain-up "as a mark of respect for both Natasha Richardson and her immediate family, and for the Redgrave family as a whole who have made such a unique contribution to British theatre."

Richardson's family went to Broadway as the lights were dimmed

Lights in London's theatre district were last dimmed in January as a mark of remembrance for the playwright Harold Pinter, who died in December.

Richardson's uncle, Corin Redgrave, is currently appearing at London's Jermyn Street Theatre in a play based on the writings of blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.

The theatre will join the tribute by dimming its own lights before a performance that the actor is dedicating to his niece's memory.

"She was the most adorable niece, most adorable person," said Redgrave on Friday. "Generous, kind, funny with a brilliant talent.

"I will miss her terribly and my thoughts - at this time - are with Vanessa, Liam and the children."

Funeral

On Thursday the New York medical examiner's office said Richardson, who had two children with Neeson, died of epidural haematoma caused by a blunt impact to the head.

Doctors said she might have survived had she received immediate treatment.

I loved her very much. She was a supreme friend. I shall miss her deeply Ralph Fiennes

According to officials, funeral arrangements will be made by the Greenwich Village Funeral Home in Manhattan.

Instead of flowers, Richardson's family have asked for donations to be made to the amfAR foundation for AIDS research.

The actress, whose father Tony Richardson died of complications from the disease in 1991, was a long-time supporter of the charity and served on its board of trustees for the last three years of her life.

The autopsy found that Richardson died from bleeding in her skull caused by a fall she took on a ski slope on Monday.

Such bleeding is often caused by a skull fracture that can quickly produce a blood clot that puts pressure on the brain.

'Loyal friend'

That pressure can force the brain downward, pressing on the brain stem that controls breathing and other vital functions.

Patients with such an injury often feel fine immediately after being hurt, as symptoms from the bleeding may take time to emerge.

Richardson was skiing at Mont Tremblant at the time of her accident

The death of Richardson, who was not wearing a helmet at the time of her fall, has heightened the debate over skiing safety.

Questions have also been raised about why the first ambulance sent to the Mont Tremblant resort in Quebec after Richardson's accident was turned away.

Medics arrived shortly after the 45-year-old's fall, only to leave after the actress refused medical attention.

Another two hours elapsed before a second emergency call was made from Richardson's hotel room.

It was at this point that the actress, still conscious, was moved to a hospital 40 minutes away.

Actor Ralph Fiennes, who starred with Richardson in Maid in Manhattan and The White Countess, has joined the host of celebrities who have paid tribute to the Tony award-winning performer.

"She was a star," he said. "A great actress, a beautiful woman, a fiercely loyal friend, a brilliant and generous companion.

"I cannot imagine a world without her wit, her love, her mischief, her great, great talent and her gift for living," he continued.

Three more Two and a Halfs on TV

The Emmy winning series has brought Sheen two Golden Globe nominations

US sitcom Two and a Half Men, starring Charlie Sheen, has been commissioned for another three seasons.

The show is already in its sixth year and Warner Bros have now sold a further three years of the programme to CBS.

Charlie Sheen plays a layabout whose straitlaced brother and young nephew come to live with him. The star is not yet confirmed for the extra seasons.

The show is the highest rated comedy on American television with an average of 15.4 million viewers per episode.

The deal between CBS and Warners also covers newer programme The Big Bang Theory.

Now in its second season, the comedy about physicists reunites Roseanne co-stars Sara Gilbert and Johnny Galecki.

CBS has committed to two more runs of the show.

Both programmes were created by Chuck Lorre whose previous television hits include Dharma & Greg, Cybill, Grace Under Fire and Roseanne.