On TV

Challenger: Countdown To Disaster (C4)

IS GMTV presenter Ben Shepherd sexier than Conservative leader David Cameron? Not a question that has been occupying the House of Commons of late but breakfast show GMTV knows where its priorities lie.

A poll of the world's 100 sexiest men, it was revealed, had put Brad Pitt at the top (I wonder how many times Angelina Jolie voted) and young Ben near the bottom at 97 - above Will Young, Gordon Ramsay and "international sex god" Alec Turner.

Co-presenter Kate Garraway wasn't convinced. She asked viewers to vote whether Ben is sexier than Cameron. So much for political debate. GMTV moved on to more pressing matters - the first live TV interview with Celebrity Big Brother winner Chantelle. She demonstrated all the cunning and self-promotion of an MP - perhaps she picked it up from one of her fellow housemates - when answering questions about her alleged romantic link with fellow inmate Preston.

Kate pointed out a front page story about Preston getting engaged and Chantelle being gutted. "I haven't had a chance to read about them," said Chantelle. Not only did she neatly dodge having to answer but added a plug for the magazine in which she's telling her story. "If you want to know, see OK," she said. But Kate didn't give up. What if Preston asked her out?, she demanded to know. Again, Chantelle resorted to the old politician's standby of "No comment".

She even has George Galloway eating out of her hand. "Good luck to you darling, I hope you do very well. You deserve it," he said through gritted teeth and a large cigar in a pre-recorded clip.

Chantelle is making the most of her 15 minutes of fame. It took just 73 seconds for space shuttle Challenger to get into the history books 20 years ago this month, when it exploded shortly after launch.

Challenger: Countdown To Disaster replayed the story with the aid of interviews, documented evidence and American government records. Seven astronauts, including the first "ordinary" person, teacher Christa McAuliffe, died in front of the millions of people watching the launch on TV.

It was a tragedy waiting to happen. Solid rocket boosters were faulty but engineers' bid to halt the launch went unheeded. For Nasa, it was one of hundreds of problems that needed to be ironed out as the Challenger programme proceeded.

They took a calculated risk, mindful that any delay in the launch could jeopardise future funding. The facts were finally uncovered by the Presidential commission set up to investigate the doomed Challenger mission.

The mix of real people's recollections and reconstructions was a potent one, never more so than when we heard from June Scobee Rodgers, widow of shuttle commander Dick Scobee. She told movingly of watching the launch go wrong as the shuttle shot up into the sky. "And then all of a sudden it looked different and then began to shatter into a million pieces, just like our hearts," she said.

The Full Monteverdi, The Sage Gateshead

The Sage Gateshead's hall two was transformed into a Mediterranean restaurant for its latest performance. And the plants on the tables were not the only ones. With everyone having taken their places, first one, then another person in the audience broke into song as members of I Fagiolini revealed themselves. The fare for the evening was Claudio Monteverdi.

Diners, appetite wetted by drizzled olives and bruschetta, became completely immersed in the experience as the singers performed. The music from Monteverdi's Il quarto libro de madrigali is a work of extreme passion, conveying love and sorrow. The singing was magically modulated with dissonant parts blending into an organic whole. The range of techniques and styles of virtuosity were delivered with stunning precision. The spectacle was given an added resonance with I Fagiolini, supported by accomplished actors, acting out their lines. It was convincing too. When the hour-long performance concluded, no-one was quite sure it was over and there was almost a minute of complete silence before a tentative clap set off the applause to end a magnificent evening.

l The Kings Consort, under its director Robert King, presents Claudio Monteverdi's Vespers setting of 1610 at the Sage Gateshead at 7.30pm on Saturday. Box office: 0191-443 4661.

Gavin Engelbrecht

Writing Wrong, The Customs House, South Shields

THE South Tyneside venue's annual February Drama Festival got off to a cracking start with a new play from Paul Buie, whose Jump You B***ard was a winner at last year's event.

I hesitate to suggest what it's about - in essence a man writing a play about a killer playing a pseudo Macbeth in a serious drama. But it's about much more, exploring relationships and all those things like change and constancy.

On the face of it, it's a complicated dark comedy with limited appeal, but Buie manages to keep us well entertained with a whole gamut of laughs. There's a lot of clever writing in the comedy lines and beyond. Neil Armstrong as the slouching, chauvinistic and money-grabbing Trevor is an enjoyable anti-hero to Alex Elliott's writer, Michael, an idealist with human frailty. The three girls are all well cast in their parts - Phillippa Wilson, as Michael's intense girlfriend; Kate, as Trevor's long suffering partner, and Laura Norton as the seemingly dumb brunette who grows into a slightly mysterious peacemaker.

Writing Wrong was well appreciated by a packed and partisan first night audience, but then, new writers deserve our support, especially when the work is as full of promise as this.

l Runs tonight and tomorrow. The festival continues with Green Beans by Rosalind Wyllie and Five By One by Tom Kelly. Box office: 0191-454 1234.

Nicola Marsden