Beatles fail to come together for Liverpool culture show

When Sir Paul McCartney headlined at Live8 two years ago, he cold-shouldered his fellow Beatle, Ringo Starr.

"I was never asked to do it, he didn't ask me," said Ringo at the time. "It's too late now – it's very disappointing."

Now, Starr has been similarly shunned by his former bandmate for next year's celebrations which mark Liverpool's year as the European Capital of Culture.

Although Starr will be attending the launch event in January, I'm told he definitely won't be performing alongside McCartney when he plays a sell-out show at Anfield stadium six months later. It's a blow to organisers, since the celebrations seemed like the most fitting event for the two surviving members of the city's most celebrated cultural export to perform. It's now thought that they will not appear together at all during what's meant to be one of the proudest years in their home city's history. Relations between the two surviving band members have been rickety in recent years, notably when Starr was openly critical of McCartney's decision to reverse the Lennon-McCartney songwriting credits on a live album, describing it as "underhanded".

When I ask whether there was any possibility the pair might still be persuaded to appear together in 2008, a spokesman for the event (in slightly poor taste) responds: "We don't know what will happen, but I can confirm we definitely won't be getting John Lennon or George Harrison."

Sweet talk from the Queen of Mean

Clearly, it takes more than a broken marriage and a £30m divorce bill to quell Anne Robinson's waspish sense of humour.

On Monday morning, Robinson returned to Pinewood Studios to record several forthcoming episodes of her TV show The Weakest Link.

Although the news of her divorce from her husband of 27 years, John Penrose, had been announced just 24 hours earlier, studio sources tell me Robinson was in fine fettle.

"If there is anyone young and single out of you who likes the older woman can they please line up outside my dressing room after the show," she reportedly told contestants, before joking: "Although I'm not as rich as I used to be."

Unsurprisingly, I'm told, none of the self-styled Queen of Mean's petrified male guests dared to offer their services.

Back after a long Stretch

The former British boxer turned Hollywood tough nut Gary Stretch has received a touching gift from the Retired Boxers Foundation of America.

Stretch, a former welterweight champion who has since appeared in films such as Alexander and World Trade Centre, has been informed by the foundation that it has found his long-lost WBC championship belt.

Stretch apparently lent the belt, which he won in 1990, to the promoter Frank Warren for a photoshoot several years ago but he was never given it back.

"It's a massive relief, because it's been missing now for ages," Stretch tells me. "So I'm extremely happy that I'm now finally going to get it back."

Jungle drums

As Gordon Brown bathes in the glory of his extended political honeymoon, one of the key members of his "awkward squad" has just returned from the wilderness.

Labour backbencher Peter Kilfoyle completed a 140-mile trek through the Nicaraguan rainforests to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation.

"Yes, I survived. I got back last night," he tells me. "I didn't enjoy the blisters or insect bites. "The temperature was more than 35C and it was very humid and energy-sapping."

Mr Kilfoyle, the Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, was surprised when he emerged from the jungle to hear that Britain was awash with talk of a snap election.

"I can't see it personally," he adds, confidently.

Naked truth about Niall

Lock your doors! Sky News's political correspondent Niall Paterson has suffered an embarrassing bout of sleep walking.

Paterson, who is part of Sky's team covering the Tory party conference in Blackpool, has been holed up for the past few days in the town's Parkhouse Hotel.

According to his fellow political reporter Joey Jones, Paterson surfaced in the wee hours of Tuesday morning inside his producer's suite, naked and muttering whether he had got the right room.

"Niall has form," says Jones. "At the Scottish Labour conference last year, he left hotel staff traumatised by strolling oblivious into the night chill in the car park."

Quips Paterson: "I had to do it here too for editorial balance."

Email pandora@independent.co.uk