The return of Genesis, a feast of French film, and Beckett at the Everyman: arts/ents editor Des O'Driscoll has the lowdown

Diana Ross will be 76 by the time she crosses the Atlantic for pre-Glastonbury gigs at the Marquee in Cork

BORED by the usual alcohol stories in theatre and film which are “universally gritty and depressing”, Cork comedian Tadhg Hickey was inspired to write a surreal show about an alcoholic called Feargal using the Catholic calendar as a roadmap.

A good cause can often be seen to be an even better one when it attracts the support of the stars of stage and screen, especially those for whom a day not spent publicising a campaign or signing a petition is a day squandered.

To celebrate National Hug Your Cat Day, Nuala Woulfe chats to Irish celebrities about their feline friends.

A top Meath trainer has described a tweet by comedian Ricky Gervais in the aftermath of the Grand National as "very ill-informed and offensive".

AS a boy Ross Byrne was rarely seen without a rugby ball in his hand. Being motivated to play was never an issue for the Dubliner since he first took up the sport at the age of five or six, a passion that was cultivated in the rugby-playing schools he attended.

Here is this week's entertainment news.

The reaction to Margaret O’Connor’s decision not have kids was so extreme, she decided to write a thesis about it, she tells Pat Fitzpatrick.

We are the rats, the Aviva Stadium is our lab, and we’re going to get our arses electrocuted no matter what happens, writes Tommy Martin

Fans of Keith Chegwin are remembering his appearance on Ricky Gervais' TV show Extras.

Des O’Driscoll takes a look at what’s goes on around the country. 

Another star-studded couch.

Pop superstar George Michael's death at the age of 53 from suspected heart failure is being treated by police as "unexplained but not suspicious".

Mrs Brown’s Boys has beaten The Office and Gavin & Stacey to be named best British sitcom of the 21st century.

Ricky Gervais said his David Brent character is “not so bad” compared to the “ruthless D-listers” competing on Celebrity Big Brother.

David Brent’s big-screen outing has received mixed reviews, with critics calling the Ricky Gervais movie both “excruciatingly brilliant” and a “slowly unfolding disappointment”.

The big summer silly season of movies has pretty much come and gone but that doesn’t mean that it’s a quiet time in the cinemas as there’s plenty of family fare still on the way in August.

The Little Prince is coming to Netflix, and it looks absolutely delightful.

David Brent is back in a new movie which follows the character in the years after The Office. He's giving it a go as a singer in the band Foregone Conclusion and you can get a taste of their sound in this pretty hilarious music video.

Oh no he didn't!

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Aoibhinn McGinnity feature in Trial of the Century, on TV3 at 9.15pm tonight.

David Brent, star of BBC “documentary” The Office, is back…and not everyone is pleased to see him.

Richard Fitzpatrick hears about the art of the pun from stand-up comic Stewart Francis

Martin Freeman and Mackenzie Crook will not be joining Ricky Gervais in his David Brent movie.

‘Croydon-sur-Seine’, read the headlines.

Check out our guide to what to watch on TV tonight.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) called for him to be hanged.