It's 8:15pm. I am standing in the lobby of the Science Museum and I am about to go speed-dating. There is nothing sexy about the surroundings: it's dinner time, the room is strip-lit and we are standing 3ft from an ice-cream concession.

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Credo: Ronan Keating

'When I look in the mirror, I see someone who's caught up with his age'

My Life In Travel: Ronan Keating, singer-songwriter

'New York is where I like to go to wind down'

Diary: All the King's men...

Colin Firth has been filming on the set of a gay porn movie. Once you've forgiven/sued me for that misleading opening sentence, let me explain: a series of photos acquired by the website QueerClick (best viewed – if at all – at home, using a computer for which you have administrator rights and can swiftly clear your browser history) appear to prove that the shabby office inhabited by Geoffrey Rush's character, Lionel, in The King's Speech, has also been the setting for a number of graphic mano-a-mano celluloid encounters. The owner of the location used in Firth's film, Edward Davenport, has already admitted to hosting sex parties there, while the walls and windows of the room in the aforementioned snaps are identical (though I don't recall that billiard table being there during The King's Speech). Remarkably, given the ripe-for-pornification male friendship at its core, there appears to be no "porn version" of The Kings Speech (à la Shaving Ryan's Privates) in circulation just yet. But might this online leakage – as it were – be yet another elaborate attempt to sabotage the film's substantial Oscar chances? The people behind The Social Network have both motive and expertise...

Duck for cover from these vapid veterans

New versions of old classics can be revelatory, says Elisa Bray – but more often than not, they're uninspiring chart fodder

Brighton Comedy Festival Gala, Brighton Dome

Brighton rocks with laughter

Maybe I'm amazed at being McCartney's chosen guitarist

The former Beatle's right-hand man tells Pierre Perrone what it's like working with a legend, and having him help you with your new album

Mother of mine! It's her day, so why not serenade her?

Victoria Richards counts down the top 10 cheesy tributes to our mums – and, four decades on, catches up with the boy for whom Opportunity Knocked

Owl City, Komedia, Brighton

A sugar shock of schmaltz

Abbey Road's greatest hits

As The Beatles' former studio faces closure, leading figures in music tell Mark Jewsbury what they think is the best album ever recorded there

Party Of The Week: Lady Gaga shows her poker face at Universal Brit bash

All of the major record labels threw Brits parties after the awards ceremony on Tuesday night but the hottest ticket was Universal's do, held in the ballroom of London's Mandarin Oriental hotel. A glum-looking Lady Gaga arrived, still wearing her massive bouffant wig, but she was clearly not in the mood to celebrate her triple win. Earlier in the evening she had turned her dressing room into a shrine for her late friend, the fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who committed suicide last week. She then dedicated her performance to him. Inside the party, she chatted briefly to Courtney Love, who was at the next table and was joined by fellow winners Florence Welch and Lily Allen, who took turns DJing. Girls Aloud's Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh arrived to a media scrum – but their bandmate Cheryl Cole was absent, keeping a low profile after allegations about her husband Ashley Cole.

Nerina Pallot - A degree of pop success

Nerina Pallot suspended her music career to go to university. Now she's writing for Kylie and her own album is a gem. By Chris Mugan

Outrage at 'vile' column about Gately's death

Complaints flood in after Mail writer links singer's death to his homosexuality

Boyzone 'overwhelmed' by support over Stephen Gately's death

Stephen Gately's grief-stricken Boyzone bandmates said they were "truly overwhelmed" as they arrived in Majorca to bring the body of their best friend home.

Pandora: Suralan's seat stays empty at conference

While the Labour Party's promise of "special VIP" attendances at this week's conference might have been something of an exaggeration, organisers still managed to impress by convincing Lesley Garrett and Jo Brand to provide the entertainment for Tuesday's gala dinner in Brighton. There was one big name, though, who was conspicuous by his absence.

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Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end