This may well be the definitive Channel Nine-related news item of all time, in the context of Channel Nine having the annus horribilis to end all annuses horribilis: the network is considering picking up the dead-in-the-water Big Brother franchise!

Yes, in the television business equivalent of eating roadkill or taking a corpse to your school formal hoping to get lucky, Nine is eyeing the cancelled reality show as a possible revamp candidate for Nine's 2009 line-up.

"It's run its race in its present form," Nine chief executive David Gyngell said yesterday, The Australian reports.

"I still think it has some life in it in another form. Channel Nine will be looking at it."

The eight-year-old reality show ends on the Ten Network on Monday night.

Nine will hold talks with owners Endemol Southern Star about an overhaul.

"Big Brother was a very good show at its height and it is useful for the economic benefit it brings," Mr Gyngell said.

He is the only network chief interested in picking up the format. The Seven Network and Foxtel declined.

See that, Gyngell? Declined - no one else wants it for a reason! It's stale! Finished! Kaput! Irrelevant!

Actually, I think I've just hit the nail on the head - that makes it perfect for Channel Nine! Carry on, then.

In a shocking revelation sure to get pint-sized host (and Gold Logie nominee)de Rove McManus slipping on a lucky throat-punching glove of his very own, radio host Kyle Sandilands confessed on air yesterday that he loathes McManus with a furious passion.

So what exactly happened?

Sandilands attacked McManus after the TV host called in to discuss his seventh consecutive Gold Logie nomination. The pair played nice for most of the interview and Sandilands even signed off by saying: "Thanks mate, nice to talk to you."

But then, as things drummed up for extra publicity tend to do, it all took a turn for the vicious...

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Once we'd recovered from hearing that the So You Think You Can Dance Australia kids were happy to shag anything with a pulse, and then suffered the indignity of having respected choreographers calling their high-stepping "hideous", we kind of forgot about the show. Its momentum wasn't exactly captivating and we'd begun to realise that there was about as much personality in its combined cast as there is in fat-free granola.

So, along those lines, comes the scintillating news that Melbournites Rhys and Demi took a well-earned break this week just past. And, er, that's it:

They both let off steam at their favourite nightspots.

Rhys Bobridge dropped into Prahran's the Market, where he works as a drag queen, while Demi Sorono visited South Melbourne club Seven and tried a few of her moves.

"I wasn't up on a podium or anything but I busted out a few freestyle moves and I got a bit of a circle around me watching," she said. "It was pretty cool."

Bobridge also caught up with his boyfriend and said it was hard saying goodbye again and returning to the high pressure of being in the final 10.

Uh oh! Did you read that, sexuality-blind girls and excitable boys everywhere? Rhys is TAKEN!!

There goes whatever tenuous reason most people were using to watch the show. Now they'll have to, like, actually dance well and entertain the viewers, shock horror!

We are most chuffed to discover that Channel Ten have bought the rights to the TV show Flight Of The Conchords and it will (at last, perhaps, just maybe - MAYBE!!!!!) end up being shown in Australia before the year is through!

After becoming an internet and TV sensation, and picking up a Grammy Award along the way, one can only wonder what the three more popular acts have achieved compared to Flight of the Conchords.

The comedy team/folk music duo of Bret McKenzie, 31, and Jemaine Clement, 34 are two Kiwis who worked clubs for years building up a cult following before getting their big break.

Their eponymous TV show portrays the pair trying to make it big in New York City after leaving New Zealand.

Each episode is punctuated with outbreaks of their quirky songs.

Network Ten has bought the rights to the TV series and may screen the show in Australia later this year.

If you need a reason to feel excited about being able to dive into the beautiful comic minds of Bret McKenzie and our future husband Jermaine Clement, we urge you to watch the following clip.

We hadn't watched this in over a year (thanks to Ms Fits who originally gave us the gift of FOTC, incidentally), and now we're swept up in sickly, sticky, stalky adoration of the lads again.

A few months ago, we learned that the BBC were creating a new Aussie soap called 'Out Of The Blue' to replace Neighbours, as the folks from Ramsay Street were moving over to another channel. Now we read Australians will be able to watch the show, for Channel Ten have excitedly grabbed the series for themselves.

Reports News Ltd -

The BBC commissioned the series last year after it lost rights to Neighbours to rival channel 5 in a deal worth $750 million over eight years. The BBC needed a replacement and ordered 130 episodes of the five night a week soap from Australian production company Southern Star Entertainment - but no local networks were involved.

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While Hollywood continues to gnash its teeth through the Writer's Strike, and favoured dramas, comedies and chat shows go silent without scripts, it seems the Strike is bringing about some goodness - for the Australian television industry.

Media boffins predict that because there are less new episodes of favoured US shows to buy, but networks will still be charging the same amount for advertising - even if repeats are being shown - the local networks could be left with money to burn, which would hopefully be spent on commissioning local content. In fact, that looks highly likely already.

Tim Worner, programming head for ratings leader the Seven Network, agreed that a repeats overkill could be dangerous.

"We have to be careful - with some shows, you're starting to see their bum through their pants," he said.

Mr Worner said Seven devised a plan last October to prepare for the worst. "The essence was turning a problem into an opportunity." That plan included holding back US programming that could have run during the summer, and expanding and extending Australian production.

Other networks have also made contingency plans. Nine Network's programming boss Michael Healy said the network had decided to make more local programs: "There are shows we have already commissioned because of the writers' strike."

Ten Network's programming head David Mott is also in commissioning mode, with the network to reveal more local shows "within the next week".

This is all well and good, provided said proposed local content doesn't feature a) Hotdogs or b) Kyle Sandilands. Which, given the recent run of new Australian television, is probably almost guaranteed.

Who knew there'd ever be a time when we pined for repeats of Just Shoot Me! and The Nanny?

Channel Ten's days as the darling of the ratings - or at least the critics - looks on shaky ground, with the news that one of their pet projects may not return for another year.

Thank God You're Here, one of Ten's only recent runaway successes (and a much-needed one in the light of Idol's crumbling appeal and a wash of US re-heats and dud local content) may not be signing on for 2008, and the pundits don't favour Ten's chances without the Working Dog theatresports show.

[Media commentator Glenn] Dyer said the appointment of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O as the new Big Brother hosts could prove problematic.

"Kyle is one of the judges on Australian Idol. Its final was down 700,000 [on debut] ... Kyle and the other judges bear some responsibility for that.

"On that basis, I think Kyle and Jackie O will probably make people nostalgic for Gretel Killeen.

"Big Brother's been bland for two years. Ten wants to go back to being a bit outrageous, a bit controversial to get people to watch."

Ten also faces stiff competition from Nine following the unveiling of the latter's new branding, clearly targeting Ten's predominantly younger audience.

Media buyer Steve Allen said: "If you ask people around town, Seven looks good; Nine looks promising; Ten, there's a question mark over it."

If you ask us, Ten started going down the gurgler when they put Secret Life Of Us on during the day and capped it off by insisting on shite local versions of overseas reality/talent hits.

But as for "the young people" going over to Nine, that's probably also about as likely as Nine ever showing a drama series in full, chronological order, at the same time each week.

Despite some initial speculation as to whether Rove had lost the will to make the funnies after the death of wife Belinda Emmett and his head-shaving Iron John period in the Northern Territory, he has confirmed that his return season of Rove was a good idea and has told Ten he'll do another year of the show.

Also signing on (grumble grumble) is Natalie Bassingthwaighte, who is hosting the Australian series of So You Think You Can Dance. Ten head of programming David Mott was pleased with Rove's decision to continue.

"He didn't know if wanted to continue trying to make people laugh in the long term, but now he's in a great place and moving on with his life so was very happy to talk about a longer deal."

While Big Brother and Australian Idol will also return next year, Mott said there would be changes to both - especially the ailing BB franchise.

Surprisingly, he revealed he agrees with Idol judge Ian 'Dicko' Dickson, who described this year's contestants as "beautiful but boring."

..."You only know so much about a particular person going in and I don't particularly disagree with Dicko's comments. But that's not to say they aren't outstanding performers - but they probably lacked the all-roundedness you need at times," Mott said.

We'd just like to take this opportunity to let Mr Mott know that if screening the Australian SYTYCD means they won't be picking up the next series of the American version, he might want to make sure his pillows are ScotchGuarded.

Because, you know, we've heard that horses' head blood is particularly difficult to get out.

Just sayin' is all.

*ominous glare*

Oh god. Oh god. It's not often we break our weekend silence, but when we woke up to a text message saying "IT'S OFFICIAL, GRETEL'S BEEN GIVEN THE ARSE" we knew we had to let you know as soon as possible.

We'd heard whispers a few weeks back, but desperately hoped against hope they would prove to be untrue because her rumoured replacements were going to be two of the world's least likable television personalities. But our worst fears have been realised - not only has Gretel left the show, but they've signed Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O for the 2008 season.

Gretel Killeen has been dumped from Big Brother as Ten seeks to revamp the struggling show by introducing new hosts, radio duo Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O.

"Working on Big Brother has been an extraordinary, challenging and rewarding experience," Killeen said.

"I'm really proud of what we've achieved but I now have the seven-year itch and am busting to get on with a million new things, including my first feature film, which we're shooting in the new year."

After seven years, the show is in dire need of a change.

The 2007 series was criticised for its boring and predictable housemates, resulting in poor ratings and speculation the show might be axed.

But producers Endemol Southern Star have confirmed the show will return in 2008 in a "tighter, re-energised format".

WHY MUST TIGHTER AND RE-ENGERGISED MEAN KYLE SANDILANDS AND JACKIE O?

"I would like to see them shake it up, especially with the contestants because I think everybody is sick of the same old contestants going in," Jackie O said. "It actually gets really boring after a while. As a fan, I have always wanted a bigger variety of people in there and also to push the contestants more."

"I want that conflict, that real sense of drama rather than that frat house drama that we've seen over the last few years," Sandilands, who is also a judge on Ten's Australian Idol, said.

We don't know, Kyle. We recall times the house has been filled with a real sense of drama over the past few years, like when that fucking idiot in the Sean John cap had a tantrum and sooked his way off the show.

Don't be fooled by our open letter, we bloody LOVE Gretel Killeen. No, really. When she's good, she's good - it's just she's obviously not wanted to be there for the last couple of years, and it's made an already dying show even harder to stomach. We simply want the little lady to be happy with all the exciting new things going on in her life. Perhaps, as our gay and UK correspondent Will once suggested, she can be "Garretted through" the ranks of the Labor party and find herself a sweet position in Rudd's posse? In any case, we wish her well.

But Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O - seriously, Ten? As far as most viewers with taste go, the Austereo pair are the television hosting equivalents of a punch in the genitals. By all means, prove us wrong next year, but we fear this may be the final nail in the coffin for our Big Brother addiction.

On the upside, at least we'll start doing something productive with our Sunday and Monday nights in 2008.

She might have have been due to give birth in three days, but evidently Angela Bishop is either a) so devoted to her job or b) so terrified someone else might snatch it from her if she stayed off work to spend some time nesting that she kept on truckin'!.

However, there will be a brief window of opportunity for anyone keen to snare Bishop's onscreen gig, as she is - amazingly - planning to take maternity leave.

The TV personality and her auto electrician hubby Peter Baikie's first child Amelia weighed in at 3.08kg on Friday.

Bishop - the daughter of Liberal pollie Brownyn Bishop - will be on maternity leave until mid December when she returns to fill in as weathergirl while Tim Bailey goes on hols.

We'll miss Bishop's special brand of interrogatory leaning-forward interviews, but we'll live!

Defamer Australia sends its heartiest congratulations to the new family and will be posting a 'Position Vacant' flyer at Channel Ten this afternoon.