Entertainment Live: Simpsons character comes out as gay

Tom Odell has revealed details of a new album and tour dates in April. 

The album Wrong Crowd is out on 10 June and is his first since his debut Long Way Down topped the charts three years ago.

Odell was named winner of the BRITs Critics Choice award in 2013 and was longlisted for the BBC Sound poll in the same year. 

If the Neighbours late night episode isn't your thing tonight then Sir Matthew Bourne has a tip for a bit of a high brow alternative - the uncut Olivier awards is on ITV3 at 23:00 BST. 

Sir Matthew tweeted his disappointment that the winners of the dance categories - such as outstanding achievement in dance and best new dance production - were not included in the ITV broadcast of the Oliviers last night. 

But all of the winners will be included in tonight's unedited broadcast of the ceremony. If you can't wait until then you can always check out our full winners list.

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Jon Favreau, who directs the new live-action remake of The Jungle Book, has said he felt Disney's original film, released in 1967, was gender biased. 

He thinks the animated adaption of Rudyard Kipling's tale of an orphan raised by wolves had a distinct lack of the female characters. 

The actor and director has set about putting things right by bringing on board Scarlett Johansson to give villainous snake Kaa a more feminine touch.

Quote Message: I liked the character of this mother figure who is welcoming and also menacing. I thought that there was something interesting psychologically about that. I thought (the original film) was a little gender biased. I have two daughters, and the world is different now. from Jon Favreau

I liked the character of this mother figure who is welcoming and also menacing. I thought that there was something interesting psychologically about that. I thought (the original film) was a little gender biased. I have two daughters, and the world is different now.

The (new) Jungle Book hits cinemas in April and stars American newcomer Neel Sethi, 12, as Mowgli, alongside Lupita Nyong'o as the she-wolf Raksha.

Benedict Cumberbatch has surprised shoppers in a comic book store in New York by paying a visit in his Doctor Strange costume. 

He popped into JHU Comic Books while filming the movie, based on the Marvel comic, in the city. 

Facebook / JHU Comic BooksCopyright: Facebook / JHU Comic Books

Marathon ArtistsCopyright: Marathon Artists

Hello, is it Baaba Maal you're looking for?

Like Lionel Richie before him, the Senegalese star has been sculpted in clay for his new music video, Gilli Man, which premieres today.

The project was the brainchild of director Nate Campion, who commissioned three artists to draw, paint and sculpt Baaba Maal - giving each a single day to create their artwork.

Quote Message: I’ve always wanted to make a video where we document art being created but in a way that feels flowing, magical and cinematic.

I’ve always wanted to make a video where we document art being created but in a way that feels flowing, magical and cinematic.

Quote Message: Baaba’s spiritual sound felt like the right coupling for that idea... [and] as we went along and explored, we discovered subtle visual connections between each scene and it felt like each piece of art was connected and driven by the music.

Baaba’s spiritual sound felt like the right coupling for that idea... [and] as we went along and explored, we discovered subtle visual connections between each scene and it felt like each piece of art was connected and driven by the music.

The song is taken from Maal's 11th album, The Traveller, which was released earlier this year.

He'll perform tracks from the record at Glastonbury and the BST Festival in Hyde Park later this year.

Earlier, we mentioned last night being a huge night for new TV shows.

The Durrells starring Keeley Hawes kicked off on ITV and a new series of Home Fires went head to head with BBC One's Undercover starring Sophie Okonedo and Adrian Lester.

The shows were neck and neck in the ratings with average audiences of 5.2 million but Undercover just edged ahead with an audience share of 24.1% over Home Fires' 23.7%.  

We asked what you thought of them and it's safe to say most of you won't be leaving the house on Sunday evenings for some time:

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Busted have revealed that British YouTuber Emma Blackery and US rock band Wheatus will support them at their upcoming UK gigs.

The band also confirmed the tour, which starts in May, will be named Pigs Can Fly (hence the promo picture above).

It's been more than a decade since Charlie Simpson, Matt Willis and James Bourne toured together as a trio.

More than 100,000 concert tickets were sold in the first hour of their release back in November.

Neighbours goes late night tonight with an hour long special on Channel 5, which sees an explosion at Lassister's hotel and a promise that not all the cast will make it out alive. 

Ray BurmistonCopyright: Ray Burmiston

The cast for the new Doctor Who spin-off show Class has been revealed and it will see Katherine Kelly (ex Corrie, Mr Selfridge, The Night Manager and Happy Valley) as the teacher at Coal Hill School and new talent Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins and Vivian Oparah as pupils at the school. 

The BBC Three show has been created and written by award-winning Young Adult author Patrick Ness and has Steven Moffat as executive producer.   

Quote Message: There’s nothing more exciting than meeting stars that nobody’s heard of yet. We had the read through of the first few episodes last week, and there was a whole row of them. Coal Hill School has been part of Doctor Who since the very first shoot in 1963, but this new show is anything but history. Class is dark and sexy and right now. I’ve always wondered if there could be a British Buffy - it’s taken the brilliant Patrick Ness to figure out how to make it happen.”

There’s nothing more exciting than meeting stars that nobody’s heard of yet. We had the read through of the first few episodes last week, and there was a whole row of them. Coal Hill School has been part of Doctor Who since the very first shoot in 1963, but this new show is anything but history. Class is dark and sexy and right now. I’ve always wondered if there could be a British Buffy - it’s taken the brilliant Patrick Ness to figure out how to make it happen.”

Ray BurmistanCopyright: Ray Burmistan

The series is due later this year. This is the premise of the show:

Quote Message: Coal Hill School has been a part of the Doctor Who Universe since the very beginning, but that has come at a price. All the time travelling over the years has caused the very walls of space and time to become thin. There’s something pressing in on the other side, something waiting for its chance to kill everyone and everything, to bring us all into Shadow. Fear is coming, tragedy is coming, war is coming. Prepare yourselves, Class is coming.

Coal Hill School has been a part of the Doctor Who Universe since the very beginning, but that has come at a price. All the time travelling over the years has caused the very walls of space and time to become thin. There’s something pressing in on the other side, something waiting for its chance to kill everyone and everything, to bring us all into Shadow. Fear is coming, tragedy is coming, war is coming. Prepare yourselves, Class is coming.

Taylor Swift was the big winner at the iHeartRadio radio awards in the US last night. 

She won won four awards and thanked boyfriend Calvin Harris, or Adam, which in case you didn't know is his real name.   

"For the first time, I had the most amazing person to come home to when the spotlight went out and when the crowds were all gone," she told the crowd.

"So I want to thank my boyfriend Adam for that."

Calvin Harris, whose full name is Adam Wiles, picked up dance artist of the year.

One of her best friends Selena Gomez took home the "biggest triple threat" award as a singer, dancer and actor.

Bono and the Edge from U2 accepted the show's Innovator Award and other winners included Fetty Wap, Pitbull, Chris Brown and Justin Bieber. 

Bieber won male artist of the year and shared in the dance song of the year award with Diplo and Skrillex for Where Are U Now. 

He thanked his fans for standing by him through what he described as "tough times".

"It's just about our growth and learning," he said.

Read more.

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If you were excited about the news that Dolly Parton and Katy Perry teamed up to perform a medley at last night's Academy of Country Music Awards then we have a treat for you - a longer clip of their Nine to Five collaboration. 

Enjoy:

PACopyright: PA

In case you missed it over the weekend The Simpsons' Waylon Smithers Jr has come out as gay after 27 years in the closet. 

The show was aired on TV in the States last night and it apparently came about thanks to the son of one of the show's writers.

Rob LaZebnik, who is also a co-executive producer on the long-running animated series, has a 21-year-old son named Johnny, who is gay.

"I thought 'What better way to tell my son I love him than to write a cartoon about it?"' the 53-year-old told The New York Post.

Johnny added: "The revelation that my father loves me is not much of a revelation, thankfully. He's unbelievably accepting."

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Last week, former One Direction member Zayn Malik topped the UK album chart with his first solo record Mind of Mine.

Well, now he's repeated that success across the Atlantic, going straight in at number one in the US Billboard 200 albums chart.

Zayn, who performed at the iHeartRadio awards last night (pictured), shifted 157,000 combined copies of his album in the US last week to reach the top spot.

In doing so, he has become the first British solo artist to go straight in at number one with his debut album.

You may well be thinking, like us, "Hang on, what about Sam Smith, or Ed Sheeran?"

But Sam Smith's debut album, despite its considerable US chart success, only peaked at number two. Ed Sheeran, meanwhile, did reach the top spot in America, but only with his second album, not his debut.

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Backstage at last night's Olivier Awards it was inevitable that Dame Judi Dench would be asked if Tom Hiddleston would make a good James Bond.

"I would have thought so," replied the actress formerly known as M, pointing out that she and The Night Manager star had been in TV series Cranford (2009) but hadn't seen each other since.

The role of 007 was a difficult one to take on, she added.

Quote Message: I was there for Pierce's first day and Daniel's first day – and you see the whites of their eyes. It’s a huge mantle to take on but you’re very well looked after. from Dame Judi Dench

I was there for Pierce's first day and Daniel's first day – and you see the whites of their eyes. It’s a huge mantle to take on but you’re very well looked after.

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The now Olivier Award winning actress Denise Gough told me earlier this year how she had almost given up acting in 2015 and had applied to be a cleaner.  

Now her career is going stellar with her role as a recovering addict in the National Theatre's People, Places and Things.

"I'm having the time of my life," said the Irish actress on stage at the Olivier awards last night.

Gough used the main part of her speech to draw attention to the lack of diversity in her category, praising the work of actresses Noma Dumezweni, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Sharon D Clarke.

Backstage, she elaborated:

Quote Message: When people are giving storming performances like that it needs to be recognised. We need things to change. I felt that the Oscars was a really great opportunity. If every winner had said one thing it brings massive awareness.

When people are giving storming performances like that it needs to be recognised. We need things to change. I felt that the Oscars was a really great opportunity. If every winner had said one thing it brings massive awareness.

I asked Gough how she was finding the play now it had transferred to the Wyndham's Theatre in the West End.

Quote Message: When I look out it's the most diverse audience I've ever seen in the West End. And it's the youngest. Coming up the red carpet there was a line of young girls and boys shouting about our play - that makes me feel tops."

When I look out it's the most diverse audience I've ever seen in the West End. And it's the youngest. Coming up the red carpet there was a line of young girls and boys shouting about our play - that makes me feel tops."

MarvelCopyright: Marvel

Sound the Spidey speculation siren, but it looks like we have a title for Sony’s upcoming Spider-Man reboot. And it’s… Spider-Man Homecoming.

The studio registered the web-slinging web domain name SpiderManHomecomingTheMovie.com late last week.

But can we glean anything from this possible title reveal? Well, in the 1980s, the Spider-Man comic book storyline Homecoming also featured appearances from characters like Captain America and Iron Man.

Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr, who play the pair on screen, have hinted they’ll be doing something together in Atlanta, Georgia, soonish. And that’s where the new Spider-Man film will be filmed in a few months time.

Plus Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has said the deal struck between Sony and Marvel not only allows Spidey to make an appearance in Disney’s Cinematic Universe (he’ll pop up in this month’s Captain America: Civil War), but also allowed other Marvel characters to appear in the Sony Spider-Man films.

The idea of the Cap and Tony Stark appearing in Homecoming is sure to get fans' spider senses tingling!

The new Spider-Man film which stars Brit Tom Holland as a high school-aged Peter Parker will be released in 2017.

ITVCopyright: ITV

There were a few new shows on TV last night that look like becoming essential Sunday night viewing. 

First up at 20:00 GMT on ITV was The Durrells based on the books by Gerald Durrell and starring Keeley Hawes, 

It proved a hit with an audience of 6.4 million and a share of 29% and received a lot of love on Twitter.

BBCCopyright: BBC

The Durrells was followed on ITV by a new series of Home Fires while over on BBC there was the start of new thriller Undercover starring Sophie Okonedo and Adrian Lester.

They were neck and neck in the ratings with average audiences of 5.2 million but Undercover just edged ahead with an audience share of 24.1% over Home Fires' 23.7%.

Did you watch any of them - what did you think? Let us know @BBCNewsEnts

BBCCopyright: BBC

If you've been listening to Radio 1 lately it probably won't have escaped your notice that the station's annual music festival is on the way.

Radio 1's Big Weekend is being held in Exeter this year, and 50,000 tickets were released at 08:00 GMT during Nick Grimshaw's breakfast show. They were snapped up in just over an hour, with music fans in Exeter, Teignbridge and the surrounding areas being given priority.

The two-day event takes place at Powderham Castle on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May. The lucky ticket-holders will enjoy performances from the likes of Coldplay, Ellie Goulding, The 1975, Chase And Status, Bring Me The Horizon Jake Bugg and Craig David (We hope he's playing on the Saturday because he chills on Sunday).

Read more.

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He spent the whole of Trainspotting simmering away, his quick temper and fondness for a fight making him a terrifying character to be around, but it seems Francis Begbie might have met his match in his creator Irvine Welsh's new book.

The Blade Artist sees Begbie reinvented as a successful artist in California, thanks to a prison art therapy course, but his past and his enemies are catching up with him.

At a Manchester Literature Festival talk last night, Welsh revealed the book came from reviving the character in a Christmas short story for The Big Issue.

"I started thinking 'what if Begbie was the least violent character in the room?' and the idea grew from there," he said.

The Edinburgh author also spoke about writing screenplays, saying "writing your own scripts is a bit like necrophilia... once the books done, you want to move on and do something fresh”.

And he revealed that he sees the big screen adaptations of his works as a "win-win" because if the film’s rubbish, "you say it’s nothing to do with me”.

Much like Begbie would if you found him walking away from the scene of a fight.