News

• 06/03/02 - The Mirror Pride of Britain Awards. -- ITV.com
  Tonight at 8pm on ITV, Carol Vorderman presents the awards ceremony which honours those unsung heroes whose achievements and endeavours are often overlooked. Through their bravery and courage, the winners of these awards have inspired and set an example to those around them. This year's awards include a special tribute to the heroes of 11 September in New York. Celebrities attending include Prince Charles and Tony Blair.
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• 13/02/02 - Grand Prix Party - Yahoo News
  As the Formula 1 fraterinty heads full throttle towards the start of the 2002 season, the Grand Prix Party, held last night at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of Professor Sid Watkins' charity, the Brain and Spine Foundation, proved a welcome night's diversion from some of the best known names in Formula One. For a second year, the nights entertainment was hosted by TV's Carol Vorderman and F1 pundit Tony Jarine.
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• 04/02/02 - Poll highlights public mistrust over MMR. -- BBC Online
  A poll finding that eight out of 10 parents want a choice between individual jabs and the combined MMR vaccination has highlighted public mistrust over government policy on measles inoculation.
  The survey comes as plummeting vaccination rates are spotlighted by a measles outbreak leaving one toddler seriously ill.
  Over half those surveyed, 55 per cent, also believe that Tony Blair should go public on whether his baby son Leo has had the controversial jab against measles, mumps and rubella.
  The NOP poll for an ITV programme follows Sunday's BBC programme focusing on new unpublished research linking the vaccination to autism and bowel disorders and a growing crisis in the Department of Health's immunisation strategy.
  Take-up of the MMR vaccine has declined sharply since 1998 reports linking the jab to the development of autism in young children.
  Although any link remains unproven and all leading medical bodies insist that the treatment is safe, public confidence in MMR has continued to decline raising concerns over immunity to measles - once responsible for many infant deaths.
  Downing Street has consistently refused to disclose whether the youngest Blair, 20-month-old Leo, has received the vaccine, although press reports indicate he was given it last month following a row.
  On the ITV programme to be shown on Monday night, television presenter Carol Vorderman will brand as a "scandal" the NHS's failure to offer parents the option of single vaccinations.
  "It's a simple thing. We are responsible parents, responsible mothers, trying to do the best for our children in the best way we know how," she will say. "We're being condescended to, we're being patronised. We feel the proper independent research hasn't been done that would satisfy us adequately."
  Vorderman will also attack the prime minister over his refusal to "practise what he preaches" and disclose whether Leo has had the treatment and she will claim that the MMR jab made her daughter "very ill".
  "Because I'm a mother, I know she wasn't ill before, I know the likelihood of coincidence is absolutely minimal. It was the MMR jab, I know it was," she will tell viewers. And an autism specialist Dr Kenneth Aitken, will claim a link with the development condition and the vaccination.
  "It's clear to me that there is an increase in the number of cases being reported. We've gone from when I was training, one in 2500, to now where there is one in 250. At the moment the only logical explanation is MMR," he is expected to say.
  The DoH has stuck to its claims that the single injection remains the best way to protect children despite regular scare stories and legal action by 2000 families claiming their children have been damaged by the jab.
  And last week's figures from the Public Health Laboratory revealing that national take-up for the jab has dropped below 85 per cent, falling to 73.5 per cent in London, have raised fears that if 95 per cent vaccination rates are not maintained Britain will see a return to epidemics of the three childhood diseases.
  Deputy chief medical officer Dr Pat Troop said: "If we were to offer single vaccines it would suggest to parents that there was a problem with the vaccine, we would end up with fewer children vaccinated rather than more.
  "There may be some who might come forward for single vaccines but I think many more parents would just turn away from the vaccine and...we would have many more children exposed to serious diseases."
  But East End GP and author, Dr Michael Fitzpatrick believes that government's own "scaremongering" over public health issues is damaging immunisation policy.
  "It is official scaremongering, the promotion of public fears about dread diseases in the cause of influencing public behaviour, that has fostered the climate of general anxiety about health which now nourishes the MMR panic. The fact that these same authorities are now trying to reassure parents that MMR is safe means that the future of the immunisation campaign is now in grave jeopardy," he writes on spiked-online.com
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• 31/01/02 - Sven and Carol Vorderman make it into Who's Who. -- Ananova
  Sven Goran Eriksson and Carol Vorderman are among the new entries for the 2002 edition of Who's Who. Nigella Lawson, Caroline Quentin and Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall are also among the 998 new additions. A panel of experts has to believe new additions have "long-lasting" public interest. Who's Who 2002 is now on sale.
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• 20/01/02 - Following on from last years successful Detox video,
  Carol has released a book on how to detox
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• 19/01/02 - Carol Vorderman says her outrageous image is nothing new. -- Ananova
  Carol Vorderman says she has been an outrageous dresser for years. She caused a sensation when she wore a revealing dress to the Baftas in 2000. But Carol says her sober look on Countdown is not her real image. "I've always loved clothes and in my 20s I was quite an outrageous dresser," she told the Daily Express Saturday magazine. "It's weird for me when people are surprised by what I wear because that's how I am and my mates and family know that. "People forget that for Countdown I had to dress in a certain way. I couldn't turn up in my leather trousers but that's the real me. "People saw this change in me but all my old friends said 'It's good to have you back.'"
  

• 29/12/01 - Carol Vorderman wins worst haircut vote. -- Ananova
  Carol Vorderman has topped a poll to find the worst celebrity haircut. She beat Bob Geldof and Anne Widdecombe to top spot.
  Friends star Jennifer Aniston was voted the celebrity with the nicest hair. The poll of 1,000 women was carried out by Tesco, reports The Times. Other celebrities in the best haircut top 10 included Catherine Zeta-Jones and Nicole Kidman. Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham made it into both lists.
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• 28/12/01 - Carol Vorderman launches search for brainiest teacher. -- Ananova
  ITV will hunt for Britain's Brainiest Teacher in a new series presented by Carol Vorderman. Twelve teachers will take part in the show starting on January 2. The series will be shown at 8pm on ITV1 on Wednesday evenings. Vorderman said: "The kids that took part last summer were absolutely amazing, we couldn't believe their breadth of knowledge and I'm sure that all the teachers that we've got coming up in this series will be just as impressive. "And I bet we'll find some great characters too."
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• 12/01 - Last year Carol had 758 major newspaper headlines about her.
  She ranked 2nd in the TV personalities chart. Anne Robinson was 1st with 867 headlines.
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• 28/08/01 - Carol Vorderman wants her own motor racing show -- Ananova
  Carol Vorderman wants to present her own motor racing show. She admits to being a "speed freak" who loves watching races. Carol says she has other commitments at the moment, but would like to present a show about motor racing in the next two years. She said she would love to swap places with ITV's Grand Prix pit lane reporter Louise Goodman. Carol told the Daily Express: "Ideally I'd love to have my own show, but I'd do it even if it were just to carry Louise's bag. "I'm fascinated by the mechanics of it all, and I love the smell of burning rubber." Formula One commentator Murray Walker said: "A good racing presenter needs to be unflappable, well informed and have a good personality. They must also be able to shut up when the situation calls for it."
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• 31/07/01 - Carol Vorderman invited on Brass Eye satire -- Ananova
  Carol Vorderman was invited to take part in the controversial Brass Eye paedophile programme. The Countdown star was asked to give an introduction to an anti-paedophile campaign video and website for the spoof documentary. Speaking at the launch of an NSPCC campaign in London to promote child safety on the internet, she said she declined to get involved in the project. She said: "I have received a number of letters from Brass Eye trying to get me to appear. "I had a number of letters under the guise of PC4, which said it was a voluntary organisation, which promotes responsible use of the internet asking me to give an introduction to a campaign video and website. "But I don't get involved in anything unless I know what I am talking about, I can't see the point. "I've seen Brass Eye a number of times and as a member of the media I think it is quite acceptable to puncture egos and that it should be done. So, I was looking for valid points in it and there were a few. "However, there were scenes in it which weren't about puncturing egos or mimicking what goes on in other TV documentaries." Ms Vorderman also disclosed that several years ago Countdown producers had unwittingly recorded an episode with a convicted sex offender. The victim contacted Channel 4 after reading in her local paper that he was to appear on the programme. She said: "The bosses refused to broadcast it and quite rightly so. That programme should not have been shown.
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• 13/05/01 - Carol Vorderman 'covers up' at Baftas. -- Ananova
  Carol Vorderman says she was told to "cover up" for this year's Baftas. Last year the Countdown boffin wore a skimpy, strapless turquoise dress which drew admiring glances. But this year she opted for a long red satin frock with matching arm-length gloves. She commented: "I've been told I have to. My boss told me to cover up." Other glam stars at the event included EastEnders favourite Tamzin Outhwaite, who wore a £10,000 de Beers necklace with a backless gown.
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• 28/04/01 - Vorderman to host new quiz for brainy kids. -- Ananova
  Carol Vorderman is to host a new ITV quiz programme for children. Ms Vorderman is to front Britain's Brainiest Child, which is made by Celador, the makers of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. The final of the competition, featuring 12 boys and 12 girls, will be recorded in June and shown at a later date. Carol has an IQ of more than 160. "There are a huge number of very bright children throughout the UK. We intend to celebrate their talent, enthusiasm and knowledge," she said.
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• 21/03/01 - Clean up internet for children, urges Vorderman. -- Ananova
  Carol Vorderman has called on the internet industry to do more to protect children as she launched guidelines for schools to combat web paedophiles. The Countdown hostess welcomed the new Government advice for teachers to guard against computer perverts luring youngsters into abuse. But Miss Vorderman, attending the launch at an East London school, said there was "a hell of a long way to go" before children were safe. "The internet can be a dangerous place and that is why I have been having a go at the industry to clean their act up. They have a duty to be responsible and protect children," she said as she joined Education Minister Michael Wills at Hermitage Primary School. "Everybody realises there is a big problem and now we have got to get some action going. I am going to keep a close eye on it and I am going to continue until I and the people concerned with this are satisfied. There is a hell of a long way to go." The guidelines urge teachers to avoid setting up individual e-mail addresses for pupils because abusers can use them to track down potential victims, especially if the address features the school's name.
  Instead children should use an e-mail address accessible to the whole class so messages are not sent in private and can be monitored by teachers. The updated Superhighway Safety tips also say schools should think carefully before they publish photographs of pupils on their website. Miss Vorderman added: "I have got two children and I do not let the younger one use the internet at all. But I will not let the older girl, who is eight, on the internet without standing over her shoulder. "Nor would I if she was 12 or 14 without being able to see what she was doing. Parents are right to be concerned."
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• 23/02/01 - Conman uses TV show to steal cash. -- Ananova
  A conman is using Carol Vorderman's Find a Fortune to raid victim's bank accounts. He steals bank cards then calls the victim claiming to be a researcher from the show which reunites people with lost cash. After getting personal details he uses the information to empty their bank accounts. He made £10,000 in one day after stealing a card near Bristol and touring banks in Weston-super-Mare, Bridgewater, Burnham-on-Sea and Taunton. He also raided an office in Street, Somerset and tried to get cash from a bank in nearby Wells, reports the Daily Star. A police spokesman said: "This man even had the cheek to ask one victim if he would be free to appear on Find a Fortune." Police and LWT have urged people not to give financial details over the phone.
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• 14/01/01 - Carol has a new video out. It details how to carry out her Detox Diet.

• 12/12/00 - Queen presents Carol Vorderman with MBE. -- Ananova
  Carol Vorderman has met the Queen at Buckingham Palace where she was presented with an MBE. The Countdown co-presenter wore a figure-hugging, black outfit with knee-high boots for the Palace investiture. She says she will be 40 on Christmas Eve and this is her first birthday present. "I had to ask her if she watched the programme. But the Queen said she didn't get much time to watch television. I told her it's on after Channel 4 racing and she said in that case she must have seen it," she said. Carol, who is one of the highest-paid women on TV, appears on numerous programmes, including Better Homes, Stars and Their Lives and Find a Fortune.
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• 05/12/00 - Vorderman helps extend maths year promotion. -- Ananova
  Carol Vorderman is helping the Government launch a £250,000 drive to boost the profile of maths. The cash will be spent on extending Maths Year 2000 in a project named Count On, designed to get adults as well as children to appreciate the value of numeracy. Vorderman is due to join Emmerdale star Tim Vincent, Disney Channel's Emma Lee and Education Secretary David Blunkett for Number Day, an event to mark the end of the Maths Year being held at Lord's Cricket Ground in London. The TV stars were expected to play a maths quiz game with 150 children invited to take part. Johnny Ball is due to present prizes at the event, which has been organised by the Department for Education and Employment and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Vorderman said: "I have been really impressed by the innovative projects that have been developed throughout the year to encourage adults and children alike to develop their maths skills. "Number Day has demonstrated just how enjoyable maths activities can be. Everyone has joined in to make the day really special - it has been enormously successful and great fun too." Mr Blunkett said: "With the extra £250,000 for Count On, maths and numeracy will continue to have a high profile with learners of all ages."
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• 04/12/00 - Employers say they would count on Carol -- Ananova
  A poll has found employers would prefer to have Carol Vorderman rather than Liz Hurley working for them as their personal assistant. The television presenter has topped a list of suggestions from managers, well ahead of the actress and other contenders, including Anne Robinson. But the research also shows that employers believe the perfect PA would combine the looks of Liz Hurley, the personality of Davina McCall and the intelligence of Carol Vorderman. The survey, for the Pitman Training Group, shows that managers regard reliability, initiative and computer literacy as the most important assets for secretaries. Almost one in three employers says they are finding it difficult to recruit staff with the proper training even though an average of 15 people are applying for every vacancy.
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• 25/10/00 - Carol gets her own Countdown conundrum. -- Ananova
  Carol Vorderman has been left with her very own Countdown conundrum because of the show's new sponsorship deal. The 39-year-old is currently starring in a series of advertisements for the cholesterol-lowering spread, Benecol, but rival Flora pro.activ has announced it is paying £1.9 million for sole sponsorship rights to the top Channel 4 quiz. Industry insiders say the move represents a deliberate "poke in the eye" for Benecol and its campaign with the popular presenter. Flora's manufacturers insist they only chose Countdown because of its popularity and because its core mature viewers are its perfect target audience. Neil Kimberley, business group director of makers Van den Bergh Foods, said: "The fact that the show features Carol Vorderman is not any reason why we have chosen to sponsor it. "Obviously we are aware she is on the programme, but we are not going to use her in any pro-active way." No-one from Benecol was available to comment on whether the Countdown sponsorship would affect Vorderman's deal with the American-based firm. Under the one-year-deal with Countdown, Flora pro.activ will be featured on the programme's opening and closing credits and will have extended adverts during the breaks. David Charlesworth, Channel 4's director of sponsorship, said: "Countdown retains a loyal audience - an average of four million viewers per day - and its format invites active participation from the viewer. This provides an ideal association for the Flora pro.activ brand."
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• 24/09/00 - TV Carol in marriage split. -- Ananova
  TV presenter Carol Vorderman has officially separated from her second husband. The 39-year-old Countdown star has been married for 10 years to Paddy King, 44, with whom she has had two daughters, aged seven and two. The News of the World reported that the final straw for Vorderman's husband came when she appeared at the BAFTA Awards wearing a revealing thigh-length dress. It quotes a friend as saying: "Her constant late-night boozing and schmoozing had all become too much for him, but that dress was the final humiliation. He begged her not to wear it and said it was 'too tarty' for a woman her age. But she went ahead and did it anyway." A spokesman for the pair said: "I can confirm that Carol and Paddy have separated. They will, for the time being, continue to live in the family home. Carol has asked me to make it clear that there is no-one else involved and that the separation is amicable," the paper reported. The family live in a mansion in Maidenhead, Berks, along with Carol's mother, Jean. The presenter with a mathematical brain shot to fame as the quick-thinking assistant on Countdown. In July last year she slimmed down and reinvented herself with a modern image change and went on to front ITV's Better Gardens, Better Homes, Find A Fortune and the Pride of Britain awards.
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• 24/09/00 - Vorderman and husband "to split". -- Ananova
  Television presenter Carol Vorderman is on the verge of splitting up with her second husband, according to press reports. The News of the World claims Vorderman and husband Paddy are looking for separate flats. The final straw for Vorderman's husband came when she appeared at the BAFTA Awards wearing a revealing thigh-length dress, the newspaper claims. It quotes a friend as saying: "Her constant late-night boozing and schmoozing had all become too much for him, but that dress was the final humiliation. He begged her not to wear it and said it was 'too tarty' for a woman her age. But she went ahead and did it anyway." Vorderman, 39, and Patrick "Paddy" King, 44, married in 1990 and have two young daughters. The Sunday People quotes a spokesman for the couple as saying: "I can confirm that Carol and Paddy have separated. They will, for the time being, continue to live in the family home. "Carol has asked me to make it clear that no-one else is involved and that the separation is amicable."
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• 31/07/00 - Watchdog raps TV companies over Vorderman adverts. -- Ananova
  Commercials featuring Carol Vorderman have earned a rap for broadcasters after falling foul of advertising rules. The star, one of Britain's highest-paid presenters, appeared in the ads for low cholesterol spread Benecol. But they were screened next to shows which she hosted, prompting complaints from viewers which the Independent Television Commission upheld. Regulations prevent ads and programmes with the same stars from being shown together to stop them being seen as an endorsement and influencing consumers. Central TV showed the commercial shortly before an on-air promotion for ITV's Year Of Promise campaign on May 1, while the following day Channel 4 showed Countdown with a Benecol ad in the break. Both broadcasters have apologised for the error and the ITC has decided no further action should be taken because they were isolated incidents.
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• 16/06/00 - Head for figures can add MBE to her CV. -- Ananova
  TV brainbox Carol Vorderman says her MBE is "two consonants and a vowel" of which she is especially proud. The 39-year-old maths wizard - who has an IQ of 169 - took time out from filming Countdown to declare her new honour "fab" news. Married mum-of-two Vorderman said: "It's fantastic. You get a letter asking you if you mind your name being put forward, and then you don't hear any more for about two months. "I'll celebrate properly over the weekend, because I'm doing Countdown today, but these are two consonants and a vowel I'm very proud of." Vorderman, who is involved with the Government's Maths 2000 initiative to promote the subject among youngsters, added: "I know it says this is for services to broadcasting, but I think it's really because I've always, always tried to popularise maths, sometimes against the odds. But I've got a long way still to go - I haven't even started yet." Though Vorderman is now one of the most familiar faces on British television, her rise to fame has been a surprisingly long time coming. Her quickfire calculations and dry sparring with Countdown presenter Richard Whiteley have been staples of the Channel 4 quiz show since its early Eighties beginnings. Yet only in the last few years has her true TV potential been realised, leading to the meteoric rise which has turned her into the highest paid woman on British TV. Vorderman was born in Bedford in December 1960. After leaving school, Vorderman went to Sussex College, Cambridge, but surprisingly only narrowly passed her degree in engineering. Her lucky break came just as she was settling into her traineeship with a frozen food distribution firm - when her mother spotted the advert for a resident Countdown maths expert. Now, nearly 20 years on, she is seen as the embodiment of beauty and brains on TV, regularly winning popularity surveys of the nation's viewers.
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• 17/05/00 - Whatever happened to clever Carol? -- Ananova
  As Carol Vorderman defends her BAFTA dress, Melanie Henderson wonders whether we didn't prefer her when she was the dowdy consonant queen. Once she was a mumsy, size-14 know-it-all who wore nice, sensible blouses, knee-length skirts and doled out Ps and Qs to Countdown's nerdy contestants with a pleasant, if uninviting, smile. Now she is middle-aged man's main fantasy icon, giving Caprice a run for her money in the "just something I slipped on" stakes, while flashing more thigh than a heptathlete underneath cheeky frills that really should have stayed on suburban curtains. Oh, how Carol Vorderman has changed. So much so that you really do wonder whether some laboratory has abducted her, taken her to bits and put her back together again to the design spec of a lascivious mad professor. It is a makeover as Frankenstinian as it is fabulous. It is a makeover to end all makeovers. It is a final result that means anyone who says "I'll have a consonant please, Carol" may well get a "You should be so lucky" - for the new Ms Vorderman is now one of those untouchable objects that is just too good to be true.
  She is fabulously rich, fabulously famous and - most notably - fabulously thin. She has no doubt caused mums and aunties everywhere to offer their life savings to Weight Watchers in bids to match her amazing shrinking woman act. The answer, apparently, is not very nice. It is a detox diet or, more specifically, grass juice, prescribed by her own personal naturopath. But it works.
  So now Carol, who used to look like your favourite teacher, now sports halterneck rubber tyre tops, green PVC minis, spray-on leather trousers, girly cardigans and...basically all those naughty things that make women of a certain age bang on about their vast plains of cellulite, their humungous derrieres and finish with a wistful "not at my age." Carol, you see, is 39 although whatever soluble fibre she has been ingesting is evidently packed with the longevity gene. And the flirty, bath-towel style turquoise mini she turned up in at this year's BAFTAs was just about the fairy on the cake - indeed, that's just what she looked like. Lambasted by some journalists - probably many of them women - for her provocative attire, she has now defended her mini-sensation, saying: "'I am pleased I wore it. Why can't women of my age wear daring dresses? This is about believing in yourself, feeling confident and dressing to please yourself'." Why not, indeed? Even if there is a fine line between taste and indecency, lines are there to be flouted, preferably with swirly baby-doll numbers in which most fathers would not let their 16-year-old daughters out of the house. Yes, Carol looks fabulous. But there is also something deeply worrying about all this. The cult of celebrity now seems to demand that big personalities have no personality and that they are famous simply for being famous - see Liz Hurley, Victoria Beckham et al.
  Carol used to be renowned for her large IQ, not her long legs. She used to be respected for her mind, not celebrated for her body. Now she is a Jill of all trades who is as happy to get her leather trews on for the bilge that is Carol Vorderman's Better Homes as she is to go head-to-head with Kirsty Young on celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire? The former evangelist for the message that, actually, maths is really interesting has even stunned us all by not knowing her Bard from her beauty bible. Shakespeare, she said very publicly, was "as dull as dishwater." The new Carol is as ubiquitous as M&S cotton underwear but you can bet she doesn't wear it herself. The new Carol seems to revel in being just a little bit shocking. But not too shocking, because she is still the darling of every TV show that needs to hire an anchor woman.
  In fact, the new Carol is straight off the celeb production line - the production line that performs miraculous liposuction and painless face lifts for all. This production line demands that no one who is more than a size 10 gets off at the other end. So those who get on it must diet, exercise, diet more, and practically disappear before our eyes. Even if they are the kind of age when most women are beginning to think they're too old to worry about the odd bar of Dairy Milk.
  You only have to look to the US, where Calista Flockhart, Courtney Cox and co are also vanishing into nothingness. We used to look to Carol Vorderman for comfort - for a clever, normal influence within an image-obsessed, thin-fixated media. Still, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. If Carol has sold her soul to the Goddess Diet, then so be it. The only thing she's counting now is calories.
  But, sour grapes aside, you have to wonder just how bad that grass juice tastes. What do you think? Do you prefer the old Carol Vorderman or do you think her new image is great? Should we be celebrating women who conform to the thin stereotype?
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• 01/05/00 - Carol clinches millionaire challenge. -- Ananova
  Carol Vorderman has won £125,000 for her favourite charity by going head-to-head with ITN news reader Kirsty Young in a special charity edition of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Ms Vorderman had the chance to win twice as much for Express Link-Up, which provides computers for children in hospital wards, but with all three lifelines used up, she decided to play it safe. The mathematician, who fronts Channel Four's Countdown quiz and has an IQ of 154, says: "It was the most nerve-wracking experience in my life. "My skills are in maths, not general knowledge. I thought I knew the answer to the £250,000 question but if I'd gone for it and got it wrong I would have lost £93,000, and that's a lot of money for a charity to miss out on." Express Link-Up has received a further boost when Tiny Computers called and says they will match the sum won by Ms Vorderman on the ITV show. The money raised means Express Link-Up will be able to install another 200 computers which sick youngsters can use for educational purposes and to keep in contact with friends and relatives via e-mail. Young, who secured a lucrative contract with ITN after finding fame on Channel Five News, won £64,000 for her chosen charity, Centrepoint, which works with young homeless people. The one-off version of the hit quiz show drew to a close ITV's Day of Promise event, which aimed to encourage viewers to record promises on a national register that they would fulfil either for themselves or their community. Promises were pledged for free over the telephone and those willing to donate £25 were offered the chance to have their vows inscribed on one of more than 100 landmarks across the country. Among those celebrities who have already made promises are Damon Hill, who pledged to spend less time driving round in circles; Martine McCutcheon, who has vowed to buy The Big Issue every week; and the Generation Game's Melanie Stace who has promised to shower with a friend every day to save water.
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• 30/04/00 - Kirsty and Carol head-to-head in millionaire charity bid. -- Ananova
  Maths mastermind Carol Vorderman and current affairs golden girl Kirsty Young will tomorrow go head-to-head in a bid to win £1 million for charity on TV's top quiz show. The pair are set to appear before millions of viewers battling it out for the coveted jackpot on a one-off edition of ITV's Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Vorderman, known for her quickfire solutions to sums on Channel Four's Countdown, is pledging her winnings to little-known charity Express Link-Up, which provides computers for children's hospital wards. ITN newsreader Young, who found fame on Channel Five News, will donate the money she wins to Centrepoint, the national charity for young homeless people. While the two competitors recorded their grillings by quizmaster Chris Tarrant last week, the show's producers have stayed tight-lipped about the outcome, and the nature of the questions they faced. But a spokesman said: "It's a brilliant hour's worth of entertainment, and all we can say is that their chosen charities do fantastically well out of the evening." Asked about her prospects last week, Young said: "It's nerve-racking. I have a reputation to defend but I'm doing it for charity." The quiz special is set to bring to an end ITV's Day of Promise, organised to encourage viewers to record promises they aim to fulfil for themselves or their community on a national register. While the promises were due to be taken down over the phone for free, those willing to pledge £25 were being offered the chance to have their vows inscribed on one of 100-plus landmarks nationwide. It is also set to coincide with the release of a 76-track Who Wants to be a Millionaire? album featuring the entire score from the top-rated quiz show, and a triple-A side CD single. The single, called Is That Your Final Answer?, in reference to Tarrant's famous catchphrase from the show, features a radio edit, club version and special Chris Tarrant mix. The Day of Promise was being hosted by Vorderman and GMTV presenter Eamonn Holmes, with help from stars including David Ginola, David Jason, Des Lynam, Westlife and the cast of Coronation Street. Among those who have already made promises are Damon Hill, who pledged to spend less time going round in circles; Martine McCutcheon, who vowed to buy the Big Issue each week; and the Generation Game's Melanie Stace, who said she would shower with a friend every day to save water.
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• 03/04/00 - Television stars to face each other on millionaire quiz show. -- Ananova
  Carol Vorderman and Kirsty Young are to go head to head on television's Who Wants to be a Millionaire. A one-off charity version of the show will give both stars the chance to win a six figure sum for their favourite good causes. Carol Vorderman, 39, made her name on Channel 4's Countdown as the show's quick-thinking mathematician with an answer for any complicated sum. Newsreader Kirsty Young, 31, is seen as ITN's rising star and looks set to take over from Sir Trevor McDonald on ITV's flagship evening news programme. Their contest will be recorded for ITV's Day of Promise appeal later this month, according to the Daily Mirror, and could even produce the UK show's first millionaire. The biggest prize paid out by the programme, hosted by Chris Tarrant, so far is £500,000. A spokesman says: "The combination of two of TV's brainiest people battling it out should make for an edge-of-the-seat atmosphere."