Producers of the forthcoming James Bond sequel have refused to comment on reports British star Daniel Craig has won the coveted superspy role. Craig, 37, was in competition with Closer star Clive Owen for the part of the spy, after Pierce Brosnan was ditched for demanding a staggering $42 million for his next Bond film. But Owen has since decided the role would limit his acting career and a leak from movie giant Eon Productions suggests producer Barbara Broccoli has offered the Layer Cake star a contract for the next three films. An insider explains, "Everybody who works at Eon Productions, which makes the Bond movies, has been told Daniel is the new 007."

Police investigating the alleged bugging of Nicole Kidman's Australian home will given a DNA sample from the accused celebrity photographer following a fresh court order. Sydney's Waverley Local Court magistrate Lee Gilmour yesterday ordered photographer Jamie Fawcett to provide a sample of his DNA after investigators said they want to compare it with two sets of DNA found on the listening device. A bug was found outside the Moulin Rouge actress' home in Sydney on January 23 during a search by her security staff. Fawcett, who hasn't been charged with any offence, had earlier refused to give police a DNA sample.

Singer and actress Lindsay Lohan has furiously blasted reports she's secretly dating actor Christian Slater. The Mean Girls star, 18, has denied press claims the True Romance hunk regularly visited her trailer on the Los Angeles set of her latest movie Just My Luck. And she's disgusted by the insensitivity of journalists who have spread the rumor just two months after Slater filed for divorce from estranged wife Ryan Haddon. Lohan's spokesman says, "As far as I know he did not visit her in her trailer. I was told he was visiting the head of photography." Slater is the second older man Lohan has been linked to this year - last month Lohan and Bruce Willis fervently denied rumors they were enjoying a two-month relationship.

Michael Jackson was found showering with an eight-year-old boy, the star's former housekeeper told his child molestation trial on Tuesday. Blanca Francia was called to the stand, after her 24-year-old son was cross-examined about his claims he was molested by the Bad singer more than a decade ago. Francia, who worked for Jackson for five years, told jurors she caught Jackson showering with Britney Spears' former choreographer Wade Robson, now 22, when she went to clean the singer's private suite at his Neverland ranch in California. She also alleged Robson, who appeared in Jackson's Black Or White and "Heal The World" music videos, regularly slept in Jackson's bed, and that she frequently found the child's clothes on the superstar's bedroom floor. She told the court, "There was one time I walked into his bedroom - at first I thought they were playing. I thought they were playing in the bathtub or Jacuzzi but I did not see them and I thought maybe they were playing outside. I was going to walk outside to the garden, but on my way I peeked into the bathroom and they were in the shower."

OJ Simpson and Michael Jackson were among the hundreds of mourners in attendance at famed lawyer Johnnie Cochran Jr.'s funeral yesterday morning. Jackson, whose molestation trial is in recess, walked slowly into Los Angeles' West Angeles Cathedral with his entourage and attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. Jackson, who had employed Cochran's services when he settled a lawsuit in the 1990s, whispered, "He was a great man," as he was led into the church by his security team. Simpson, who was successfully defended by Cochran in his in famous murder trial, said, "I thought he represented the best of Los Angeles, and certainly the best in what our adversarial legal system was about. Johnnie fought for his clients, no matter how popular or unpopular the cause was - or the verdict was. Johnnie stayed true. He didn't try to half-step when it was over like some guys have done. That's Johnnie. Johnnie's the best."

Actress Grace Jones has denied attacking a train manager during a row over ticket fares on a trip from Paris to London. The 56-year-old was reportedly thrown off the Eurostar service shortly before it arrived in the British capital on Tuesday after she was discovered in a premium carriage with a first class ticket. A Eurostar spokesperson alleges she became abusive and grabbed the female manager after she was asked to pay to upgrade her ticket. But Jones insists there was "definitely no physical confrontation" and asked to be let off the train - claiming she was issued with an incomplete ticket without a price on it.

Screen star Sean Penn has hit back at those who criticized his trips to war-torn Iraq, labeling them "envious". The Mystic River actor was prepared for a cynical backlash before even embarking on the trip because he recognizes many of the people who attack celebrities for trying to make a difference politically are simply "failed actors" themselves. He says, "It's interesting. I haven't broken this down but I would say that about half of the loudest talking heads are people who are on the record as failed actors, people who are envious. So I just feel you ignore them. I knew what it was going to be like before I went on that trip."

Rock matriarch Sharon Osbourne and her eldest daughter Aimee were forced to pull out of run in a London production of The Vagina Monologues because the aspiring singer discovered a breast lump. Sharon jetted her 21-year-old daughter back to Los Angeles where she has undergone surgery and tests to determine whether she has breast cancer - but the Osbourne family are still enduring an agonizing wait for the results. Sharon says, "Aimee's had a breast cancer scare. She found a lump on her breast which she's had removed. The operation went very well on the whole - but there have been a few minor complications and she will be having more treatment and lots of rest over the next few weeks."

Britney Spears has been barred from looking after her eight-month-old stepson Kaleb, because she's not "experienced" enough. Spears' husband Kevin Federline welcomed his second child into the world just two months before he walked down the aisle with the beauty. While Federline's ex-girlfriend Shar Jackson allows the newlyweds to look after her two-year-old daughter Kori, she's refusing to leave them with baby Kaleb until he's much older. She tells America's Star magazine, "As a mom, I won't put my baby in the hands of somebody who can't handle it. Britney has no experience with babies, and Kevin's a great dad, but his only experience is with Kori, and he had my help the whole time."

Dutch actress Famke Janssen has signed up to reprise her X-Men role in the movie franchise's third installment - despite her character's death in the previous film. Janssen's psychic character Jean Grey perished at the end of X2 to save her fellow mutants, but she will now evolve into new character Phoenix in X-Men 3. Other stars onboard for the third installment of the Marvel Comic adventure include Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and Patrick Stewart. Shooting is slated to start this summer, for a May 26, 2006 US release.