THE MAN who found comedian Bob Monkhouse's stolen joke book was yesterday cleared of dishonesty by Marlborough Street Magistrates Court in London.
Stanley Allen Swaine (47) had been charged with handling stolen goods, but the prosecution decided to drop the charge. Swaine's solicitor said his client would be seeking compensation.
Former East 17 star Brian Harvey is to appear in next month, charged with assaulting a photographer.
It is alleged that the musician assaulted Alan Vargas during an incident outside Stringfellow's in central London earlier this month.
Sir Alan Ayckbourn (57) yesterday collected his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth.
Still trying to raise funds to keep his Scarborough theatre afloat, Ayckbourn is the first playwright to be knighted since Noel Coward in 1970.
Kirk Douglas youngest son, Eric (38), has been arrested in Los Angeles for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Last year he caused disruption on a US passenger plane in 1995 he did the same in a restaurant, and in 1992 he spent five days in jail for kicking a police officer.
The re-release of Star Wars took US movie theatres by storm at the weekend, topping box-office charts with $22.7 million.
Dante's Peak had to settle for second best with $1,8.6 million.
Kenneth Branagh (35) cannot stop thinking about his career and wondering if it has all been worthwhile.
"My friends have told me thousands of times to see a psychiatrist. But I have a basic suspicion of handing over a hundred quid at the end of an hour talking about myself during which time someone has apparently plucked out the heart of my mystery," he says in the new edition of Radio Times.