Natasha Kaplinsky

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Stephen Brook: I'm a celebrity, which show should I go on?

This Sunday, 10 million television viewers whose appetite for celebrity has not been sated by Strictly Come Dancing, I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! and Celebrity Big Brother, will tune into ITV at 7pm for the start of the fourth season of Dancing on Ice. Melinda Messenger will battle ace investigative reporter Donal MacIntyre and blonde southern soap queen Gemma Bissix (EastEnders) will attempt to trump brunette northern soap queen Roxanne Pallet (Emmerdale) - but Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean are believed to be the show's biggest earners. While the programme will attract vast audiences, and its winner and competent skaters will join a 30-date tour, it is clear that, in celebrity land, it is not the best programme to score a berth on. For a start, there is the gruelling training. While that might tighten your bum, tum and thighs, there is the risk of tumbling mid-performance or, worse, of a serious injury. Then there is the pay, which is solid but not exceptional. Certainly not as much as the £175,000 that Channel 4 has reportedly forked out for inviting Ulrika Jonsson into the Celebrity Big Brother house. But at least celebrities on Dancing on Ice are beloved by its audience. On Strictly, the chance to become the nation's sweatheart is tempered by weekly judicial humiliation and the risk of being paired to dance with Brendan Cole. The perks on I'm A Celebrity, an enterprise so vast it is said to cost ITV £1m an episode, include a free business-class flight to Australia for you and your family, who are put up in a six-star Palazzo Versace hotel. For many celebs, eating a kangaroo's testicle is a price worth paying. Celebrity Big Brother might not be physically taxing but it can be just plain nasty. If it is not racist bullying (Shilpa Shetty), it can be national humiliation (MP George Galloway). Or even worse, your unhinged ex-mother-in-law, Jackie Stallone, might unexpectedly walk through the door to spend the next fortnight with you (Brigitte Nielsen). But if you are famous and C4 wants you, it can be a nice little earner. Fees are a great source of contention. Ben Adams, a former member of boyband A1, was said to have collected just £20,000, a fraction of Jonsson's payment. By consensus, Strictly is at the lower end of the pay scale. All celebrities are paid a fixed amount, estimated to be about £25,000. And that is for three months of pretty gruelling rehearsals, 10 hours a day, six days a week. "If you work that out at an hourly rate, you are better off working at McDonald's," jokes Malcolm Blair, manager of 2007 winner Alesha Dixon. He says most singers could earn more in three gigs than they do on Strictly. But despite this, Strictly is the one that most celebs want to be on. It is a talent contest and gives massive exposure. It propelled Natasha Kaplinsky from a breakfast TV presenter to the nation's highest-paid newsreader, earning in excess of £1m a year on Channel Five News. In last year's Strictly final, compere Bruce Forsyth was moved to proclaim Dixon "Britain's Beyoncé!". Not quite, but after winning last year, her album has gone gold and her single has been in the top 20 since November.CelebrityDancing on IceI'm a Celebrity ...Big BrotherStrictly Come DancingTelevisionguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Claims against ageism at work triple in a year, according to Tribunal Service figures

The number of people claiming to have faced discrimination at work because of their age has more than tripled in a year, according to official statistics. Figures released by the Tribunal Service show that claims rose from 962 in 2006 to 2,940 in 2007.The figures come just days after Selina Scott reached a settlement with Channel Five, thought to be worth £250,000, after claiming she had been the victim of ageism. The 57-year-old presenter sued the broadcaster after claiming she had been lined up to provide maternity cover for Natasha Kaplinsky on Five News but was subsequently overlooked.The figures will reinforce the belief among solicitors that the number of age-related cases will soar over the next few years. Legislation outlawing age discrimination was introduced three years ago, and Melanie Thomas, a solicitor at discrimination law specialists Palmer Wade, said: 'It takes a while for people to understand that they have new rights.'Other figures show that there were 1,032 age discrimination claims in tribunals between April and June, compared with 700 claims in the same period last year. In 2007, the average payout for successful age discrimination cases was £8,695, compared with £10,044 for sex discrimination and £17,308 for race claims. Meanwhile, some people have tried to exploit the laws to their own advantage. Margaret Keane, 50, applied for a series of jobs for 'recently qualified' chartered accountants and, after failing to get any, tabled compensation claims on the grounds of age discrimination. Gillian Shaw, a solicitor at employment law specialists Ledingham Chalmers LLP, said: 'There is a financial incentive for claimants to look for an alternative to a straightforward claim of, say, unfair dismissal because age discrimination, like sex and race discrimination, does not have an upper limit on the amount of compensation that can be claimed.' Scott argued that Channel Five had backed out of a £200,000 presenting deal because they felt she was too old, choosing Isla Traquair, 28, instead. A string of former BBC faces - including Kate Adie and Anna Ford joined forces to accuse television of discriminating against mature women. Dame Joan Bakewell claimed the medium was dominated by the 'hideously young'.In an interview in today's Observer, Ford claims women suffer the most. Ageism against women, she adds, is a peculiar British tradition. 'In America, there are women with white hair who are heads of banks, heads of corporations,' she said. 'Where are those women here?'The latest government figures, released earlier this year, showed that the pay gap between men and women had widened for the first time in years. The new Equality Bill is due to be presented to Parliament this spring, and not a moment too soon, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's fifth annual Sex & Power report, which recorded a drop - for the first time - in women attaining top jobs. In 12 out of 25 job categories, it found fewer women in top posts than in 2007.Discrimination at workTelevisionguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Natasha Kaplinsky First photo of baby boy

Five newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky has given birth to a baby boy.

Her latest news: Kaplinsky releases baby pictures

Newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky has released the first pictures of her baby boy who was born last week.