ABC - HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL AS A TV TALENT CONTEST

ABC will attempt to capture some of the ratings magic of its sibling Disney Channel's High School Musical when it debuts a talent contest based on the franchise on June 20. The network announced Wednesday that the series, tentatively titled High School Musical: Summer Session, will be hosted by Nick Lachey, the former 98 Degrees boy-band member and star, with ex-wife Jessica Simpson, of MTV's Newlyweds. That show ended in a flurry of tabloid scandal that mostly focused on Simpson as the pair ended up in the divorce courts. But Disney may have reconciled itself to the fact that tabloid reporters are forever carrying shovels around its stars. Last year nude photos of High School Musical star Vanessa Ann Hudgens turned up on the website TMZ.com, and this week a photo posted on the Internet of 15-year-old Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus playfully flashing her bra touched off renewed tongue-wagging.

25/04/2008