Gordon in the morning: George Sampson can never go home

Having slagged off Simon Cowell in the press, George Sampson has now turned his attention to his hometown, as Gordon reports this morning:

He told me: "I'm getting complaints at the moment about not getting back to my roots. I've not been back to Warrington in months.

"Why would I want to go there? It's boring, there's nothing to do. It's like a ghost town.

"All people do there is hang around outside shops."

Unlike elsewhere, where teenagers fly about on spacescooters having special-touching parties.

I guess that, compared with Skins, Warrington might look a little pedestrian. But Imperial Phase Rome looks a little pedestrian compared with Warrington.

But if Sampson thinks it's dull right now, he should have seen it before Eileen Bilton worked her magic.

So, how is George's ahem career coming on? Apparently, he's tiring of life on the stage:

George - in London to launch new toy Battle Strikers this week - has signed up for his first major role in 3D film Street Dance, due out in 2010.

Yes, yes, he was launching a toy. You can see why after attending the launch of some plastic kids toys, Warrington must seem so quiet.

Anyway, George, tell us about this film. Street Dance, eh? What's that about, then?

He said: "It's all about street dancers. I play a character called Eddie.

"I like acting. It's a real challenge. I'd like to do it full-time. I like film and TV more than stage."

Ah yes. Playing a dancing bloke. That must be a real stretch for your acting talents.

There doesn't seem to be any reason at all for the Michael Jackson and "his" children at home video. Surely, Gordon, there must be some reason for this invasion into the privacy of children at such a raw time in their lives - especially one which appears under your byline?

The intimate home video gives a moving insight into the King of Pop as a parent to son Prince Michael, 12, and daughter Paris, 11, at his Neverland Ranch in California.

Um... no, don't think that quite justifies the invasion of privacy. Do you want to try again?

The video, available exclusively here on The Sun website, is a reminder of how close the star was to his young family.

Again, Gordon, that doesn't seem to be a reason for publishing a private video of the kids. Perhaps the explanation of why it was okay to ignore the Press Complaints Commission rules on children fell off the article?

Kiss and chips

There seems to be no end to the nasty old tat that Kiss are happy to flog to their fans - and, clearly, the fans are more than happy to dig deep into their pockets for the stuff. So, amongst the fence-sitting McCain and Obama Kiss t-shirts, the horrible lighters shaped like guitars and, probably, guitars shaped like lighters, this year they're launching Kiss Mr Potato Heads. They're squishy, plastic ovoids upon which you can slap some designs and pretend they're a heavy rock band, even though they look slightly ridiculous. And (inevitably) they've now just launched a range of Mr Potato Heads, too.

Thank you, Hornby

We're being spared a new Phil Collins record at the moment because he's too busy building a model railway:

"I just got sidetracked with model railroads for the boys - or me, really.

"I'm building a model railroad in my basement. That seems to be an obsession. There really isn't any room for music at the moment.

"I'm sure when the railroad gets close to being finished and I go into my little studio, if something happens I'll keep going with it.

"I have one or two things finished and one or two things that are half baked, but nothing that's even close to being called an album yet."

It's hoped that, should the railway be finished, we might buy ourselves a couple more years by sending him a bucket of sticklebricks and a Shakermaker.