Contestants from Channel Nine's Aussie Ladette To Lady left quite an impression on fellow guests at the Sebel Hotel in Surry Hills on Valentine's Day. Far from being models of deportment, as Nine would have viewers believe, a hotel source confirms the ladettes drew at least a dozen complaints after having a topless romp in the hotel swimming pool at 1.30am, throwing objects from windows and trashing a hotel room, resulting in a cleaning bill worth several hundred dollars. The ladettes had been reunited by the network for a special final episode, screened on Tuesday night, designed to show how refined they had become after their time at Eggleston Hall in Britain. What it didn't show was the wild Saturday night before the shoot, apparently led by chief ladettes Skye, Bianca and Kristyn. All but one, Sarah, hit the bars of George Street, after which several were spotted flashing their breasts to bus drivers in an effort to get a ride back to the hotel. The hotel complained to Nine, which promised a written apology that could be passed onto offended hotel guests. "I actually thought they were for next year's show, that they were the ladettes who hadn't turned into ladies yet," our source said. Heidi Virtue, director of publicity at Nine, declined to comment, as did the hotel.
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A BIG DAY FOR BEN COUSINS
html,body { border: 0px; }The AFL's wayward son lines up for his season-opening first game with the Richmond Tigers tonight at the MCG against his old West Coast Eagles teammate Chris Judd, now with Carlton. The Tigers offered Cousins - exposed as an ice addict and linked with gangland criminals - a shot at redemption when no other club would touch him. The gamble has paid off, financially at least: Cousins' pulling power led to tickets sell out by Tuesday.
SHHH, MPS AT WORK
The NSW Parliament is not called the bearpit for nothing: attempted throttlings, drunkenness and dozing off have all featured in recent years. So we were surprised to learn about new rules of behaviour being discussed yesterday - for members of the public. Under a crackdown proposed by the legislative council procedures committee, headed by the upper house president, Peter Primrose, visitors to the public galleries will be banned from talking, applauding, jeering, protesting (including wearing protest messages), eating or drinking. The penalty for transgressing? Instant removal. The committee says the rules are in response to concern about "excessive noise" in the president's gallery, which seats invited special guests but also MPs' staffers. The Greens MP Lee Rhiannon told The Diary she finds the whole idea slightly ridiculous and is pushing to have "quiet conversations" allowed. "We can't raise standards in Parliament if there is no corresponding attempt made to change the bad behaviour of MPs," she says.
OPERA TRICK SEATING
Nathan Rees is obviously not overly familiar with the seating arrangements at the Opera House. The Premier was seated next to Joern Utzon's son, Jan, and daughter, Lin, at yesterday's memorial service for the great architect. But Rees came unstuck when he rose to congratulate the chairman of the Sydney Opera House Trust, Kim Williams, on his speech as he returned to his seat. Rees's seat had automatically flipped up; as he sat back down, he ended up in a heap on the floor in front of the guests of honour. At least we hear Rees spoke well.
BOOK FOR A SONG
The drama surrounding Barack Obama's gift for Gordon Brown, an unplayable set of DVDs, had the media salivating at the prospect of a gift gaffe involving Kevin Rudd. Obama presented Rudd with a historic score of The Star Spangled Banner. In return, Rudd presented Obama with a hardcover copy of Thomas Keneally's work on Abraham Lincoln. Rudd's office initially wanted to give Obama the paperback British version (available on Amazon.com for $15.92) before Keneally intervened, producing a hardback American version. "Even though I'm a bit of an agnostic, I signed it 'With the author's hopes and dreams'," Keneally said. "The present situation would make anyone pray."
THE COLBERT CUBICLE
NASA's attempt to engage the public in a competition to name a new module on the International Space Station has been ambushed by fans of Stephen Colbert. The US comic, host of the Colbert Report, urged his viewers to vote for his name in a virtual ballot, resulting in "Colbert" beating the nearest rival, "Serenity" by 40,000 votes. But it seems NASA is not amused, to the point of not honouring the ballot. Scientific American reports that as consolation NASA is considering naming another part of the space station after Colbert: the toilet.
WHATS ON TODAY
- Formula One Australian Grand Prix begins, Melbourne
- Media launch for the Sydney Writers' Festival
- Welsh popstar Duffy performs at the Sydney Opera House
- Liberal leader Barry O'Farrell marks two years until the NSW election at a dinner in Lilyfield.
WITH PAY-TV AWARDS
THE newly married Kristy Hinze struck gold again yesterday at the announcement of nominations for the ASTRA awards, the pay-TV equivalent of the Logies. The Foxtel reality show hosted by the former Sports Illustrated model, Project Runway Australia, garnered four nods.
Hinze was not in Sydney to accept the nominations - she was still on honeymoon with tech billionaire Jim Clark in the Virgin Islands - but organisers hope she will return from her New York base for the awards show next month.
Nominations for Project Runway included the viewer-voted categories of Favourite Program and Favourite Female Personality for Hinze, as well as the critical choice categories of Most Outstanding Event for the series finale and Most Outstanding Light Entertainment Program.
Other multiple nominees include Merrick and Rosso, for The Merrick And Rosso Show, in the categories of Favourite and Most Outstanding Program, as well as picking up a joint nomination for Favourite Male Personality.
That other Foxtel fashion-reality series, Australia's Next Top Model, picked up several nominations, including both Favourite and Most Outstanding Program. Its former host, Jodhi Meares, who made headlines last year when she pulled out of the live finale due to stage fright, was not nominated. However, the contentious episode, hosted at the last minute by series judge Charlotte Dawson, was nominated in the Most Outstanding Event Category. Meares quit the show soon after with fellow model Sarah Murdoch stepping into the hosting role for this year's series.
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