Gossip

last updated 8 January 2015

Speculation is rife about who will replace David Letterman as host of the Late Show. The talk show legend, 66, made the surprise announcement that he would retire after 32 years in late night TV during one of last week’s shows, just two hours after informing CBS chief Les Moonves of his decision. Chat show host Ellen DeGeneres and 30 Rock star Tina Fey are two people being seriously considered as his replacement, but the network’s top pick is apparently Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert, whose contract runs out at the end of the year—just when Letterman is due to step down. Letterman’s protégé, The Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson, is least likely to get the job due to the fact that he’s largely unknown, but has reason to be cheerful regardless: His current contract stipulates that he’ll be paid between $8 million and $12 million if he’s passed over for the role.

Actor James Franco has publicly apologized after trying to seduce a 17-year-old girl into meeting him in a hotel room. Scottish teenager Lucy Clode was on a visit to the Big Apple with her mom when Franco spotted the pretty teen snapping a selfie outside the stage door of his Broadway show. When she “tagged” him in her photo on Instagram, the 35-year-old quickly struck up a flirtatious conversation. “You’re 18?” asked Franco, followed by, “Do you have a bf [boyfriend]?” and “Should I rent a room?” Clode leaked the messages, forcing Franco to apologize for his “bad judgment.”

Nigella Lawson is convinced her bitter ex-husband is behind a recent humiliating ban on her traveling to the U.S., says the Sunday People (U.K.). The TV chef was stopped from boarding a plane from London to Los Angeles last week because of her admission in court that she had snorted cocaine. She now suspects Charles Saatchi, her husband of 10 years, of using his influence with the U.S. ambassador to London to tip off the authorities, as revenge for their highly publicized split last year. “Nigella has said several times that she believes Saatchi is out to ruin her,” said a friend.