Helen Mirren

Richard Gere makes his debut on Graham Norton's chat show tonight to plug his new film, Arbitrage. He'll share the sofa with John Malkovich, who stars in Red 2 with Helen Mirren and Bruce Willis, and Atonement actress Saoirse Ronan, with country star Taylor Swift providing the music. The absence of a comedian may mean Norton putting in extra legwork to keep the atmosphere light, but as often happens on this show, Hollywood A-listers prove surprisingly funny given half a chance.

Norton's sofa is graced by the presence of thespian heavyweight Dame Helen Mirren, who gives us the lowdown on her Bafta-nominated performance in Hitchcock. Casting her as the wife of the legendary director, the film gives an insight into Hitchcock's obsession with his female leads, telling the other side of the story shown in BBC2's The Girl screened over Christmas. Also chatting with the host are US actors Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann bigging up their own film, This Is 40, the sequel to smash hit Knocked Up. Music comes from The X Factor winners Little Mix, still spinning out their 15 minutes of fame.

Fabulous Helen Mirren takes her place on the Norton sofa tonight to talk up her new film, Hitchcock. She's been nominated for a Bafta for her role as the director's long-suffering wife, Alma Reville, opposite Anthony Hopkins as the Master of Suspense.

Mirren is teetering dangerously close to becoming, like her fellow Dame, Judi Dench, a national treasure - she's funny, never appears to take herself too seriously and is a super-fantastic actress who played the best EVER television detective, Jane Tennison in all of those Prime Suspects.

Keeping her company is the underrated, hugely brilliant comic actor Paul Rudd, who can make any ropey old movie (have you seen The Object of My Affection?) seem not so bad after all. He's in London promoting his new film, This Is 40, Judd Apatow's sequel to Knocked Up.

Why Paxo won't dare host Have I Got News For You

Jeremy Paxman is regularly asked to chair the show at least once every series, but always says no. Helen Mirren is always 'too busy'. Joanna Lumley declines. 'I think the host's job is done better by men,' she says.

Jonathan Ross saw hurricane Louie Spence hit the studio

Louie Spence and Harry Hill ensured The Jonathan Ross Show was bouncing off the walls this week, while Dame Helen Mirren brought a trademark touch of elegance to proceedings.

The garrulous host seems to have stuck with the same Friday Night formula, as he settles into his new home on ITV1. He still lavishes his guests with compliments while making hit-and-miss jokes, but the calibre of guests is as strong as it ever was. His first, Helen Mirren, is always a delight to watch on a chat show and she's there to plug her new espionage thriller The Debt which also stars Tom Wilkinson and her Calendar Girls co-star Ciarán Hinds. Also on the show is entertainingly camp dance teacher Louie Spence, who will have no trouble stopping Ross from stealing his limelight. Music comes from Brit-rock band Kasabian but you can always change the channel before the end.

Helen Mirren backs Russell Brand over Sachsgate

The British acting legend says comedians like Brand are supposed to step over the line.

Video: Russell Brand on 'Arthur' remake

Talking Movies has been speaking to comedian-turned-actor Russell Brand, who has taken on the role Dudley Moore made famous 30 years ago in a remake of the romantic comedy classic Arthur.

Can this new version, which also stars Dame Helen Mirren, match the much-loved original?

Interview: Russell Brand, Helen Mirren on Arthur remake

Russell Brand and Helen Mirren talk about the challenges of remaking an 1980s tale of a drunken millionaire during an era of recession.

Big Top, a new sitcom set in a travelling circus, is one of those programmes that get you wondering about the commissioning process. You'll need something to entertain you while it's on and speculating about the way it came into being will do as well as anything, unless you've got a dog that's overdue for a combing or some socks to pair up. One assumes that the performers' names came first on the pitch document. One certainly hopes that they came first on the pitch document, since the idea that it was sold on the essential concept and a sample of the writing seems implausible, to say the least. We've thought of a vehicle for Amanda Holden, somebody said, and what's more it's a role that will make it feasible for her to wear hotpants and black stockings nearly all the time. And if you bite there's a good chance that we can bolt on John Thompson, Tony Robinson and Ruth Madoc. How's that for belt-and-braces coverage? Cold Feet, Blackadder and a dab of Hi-De-Hi! behind the ears.

"So what's the sit?" asks the commissioning editor. Down-at-heel circus, replies the pitcher, run by Lizzie, a mildly over-controlling ringmistress who's the only grown-up on payroll. There's a terrible husband-and-wife clown act, a depressive East European acrobat with a crush on Holden's character, a cynical soundman called Erasmus (Tony Robinson) and the self-seeking Welsh dame who does a performing-dog routine. Oh, and it's written by Daniel Peak, who wrote Not Going Out, so there's a bit of pedigree there. Lot of running gags, lot of slapstick, comedy of types. Think Dad's Army with red noses and spandex tights. And then, one guesses - since it's not very often these days that sitcoms get green-lit without jumping through this particular hoop - there would have been a rehearsed reading of the script, so that a collection of executives could mull over its prospects. And it's at this point that speculation hits an obstacle. How could they sit in the presence of gags this lame and character depiction this arbitrary and not say no?

It does go out at 7.30pm, so it's possible that the younger audience will be advanced as an alibi. It seems heartless to use children as a human shield in this way though, and surely they deserve better than gags about ferrets down trousers and punch lines that audibly creak as they're winched into place. "I was so worried that you'd fail us on the raw sewage round the hot-dog stand," blurted out Lizzie when the health and safety inspector gave her the all clear, a line that not even Helen Mirren could have made psychologically plausible. And without an underlying psychological plausibility (the urgent cartoon drives that you'll always find in Hi-De-Hi! and Dad's Army if you dig deep enough) it just isn't comic. That line isn't an inadvertent revelation - it's hopelessly, mechanically advertant, only there to be funny. In the end, an exchange between Plonky the clown and Erasmus offered the best verdict: "If we're so terrible why do we get a big cheer when we finish?" "I think you've answered your own question there."