We may have only just learned last week that Dannii Minogue is pregs with her first child but we’ve had plenty of opportunity to see her out and about with baby bump in tow. Earlier this week we saw photos of Dannii and babydaddy/model Kris Smith arriving in London from Dubai (where they spent the weekend together) and now we know why they had to be in the UK this week. Dannii, Kris and Bump attended the National Television Awards last night to celebrate X-Factor‘s win as Most Popular Talent Show … behold:

As co-stars on the X Factor their relationship has been marred by rumours of rivalry and mutual dislike. But there is nothing like a baby to heal old wounds and it seems Dannii Minogue’s newly announced pregnancy has brought her and Cheryl Cole together. Cheryl stroked Dannii’s three-month bump as the grinning pair embraced in the audience at the National Television Awards at the O2 Arena. They were celebrating the X Factor’s triumph as Most Popular Talent Show. The two celebrated with Simon Cowell, who arrived with not one but two of his former girlfriends, as the show scooped the most competitive of the gongs. Cowell appeared delighted as he accepted the award from former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips. And he was quick to point out that Strictly had taken the award last year – before Arlene lost her job as judge. Cowell then confounded his fellow judges by dedicating the award to his dentist. It was Dannii’s first public engagement since she announced her pregnancy. The 38-year-old disguised signs of a bump with a full-skirted black and white striped vintage prom dress, which she wore with towering red heels. She kissed and hugged boyfriend Kris Smith, 31, as they arrived for the show. Dannii joined Tess Daly onstage to present the first award, and the two talked about her baby news. ‘I would just like to wish Dannii huge congratulations with her baby,’ said a smiling Tess. ‘Thank you, I’m joining the club, replied Dannii, referring to Tess’s two children. Tess then joked: ‘If you have twins you could have your very own Jedward.’ Dannii’s show the X Factor is nominated for an NTA in the Most Popular Talent Show category. But Dannii said she did not know whether she would be part of the new series. She said: ‘We don’t find out until April what they’re going to do… but I would love to be a part of the show.’

I am gonna love this Bump Watch! I’m so happy that Dannii was happy to attend the NTAs not only to bask in X-Factor‘s win but to bask in her own pregnancy news. I’m sure she didn’t mind showing off her hawt babydaddy either, lawdy! It will depend on when the next season of X-Factor begins filming but I would not be surprised at all if Dannii got edged out of the show due her to pregnancy needs. Whatever happens on that end, I am thrilled that she is going to be a new mummy. Let the Bump Watch! continue :)

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Happy news for fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise (and for Johnny Depp fans in particular) … the 4th installment of the series is a go and is scheduled to begin filming this Summer for a 2011 release. This new fourth film has already been given its name … get yourselves ready for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides:

Disney has its heading, and they’ve presumably soothed Johnny Depp after Dick Cook’s departure because Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is set to sail. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the fourth Pirates installment is scheduled to begin shooting this summer in Hawaii, and Rob Marshall will take the wheel as previously rumored. Depp is the only cast member confirmed to be on board, and the film is aiming for a summer 2011 release date. For awhile it seemed as though Pirates 4 was going to be shoved aside in favor of The Lone Ranger. But that proved to be idle rumor (or hopeful, depending on whether you prefer Tonto to Sparrow), and they decided to go with the tried and unsteady Captain Jack instead. It’s believed he’ll be chasing the Fountain of Youth this time, as indicated by the sequel grab in At World’s End, and they’ve optioned Tim Powers’ novel to give them an idea or two. Of course, it’s only January. A lot can happen between now and summertime, especially to a fourth installment of a franchise, and particularly when the third installment wasn’t very enjoyable. Perhaps Disney and Marshall will be unable to decide on a villain, or the budget will skyrocket higher than the studio likes. With all this talk of angst and Twilight, will the teens and tweens still spend their money on a drunk pirate, even if he wears eyeliner? Come March, we could have a Pirates of the Caribbean reboot that’ll focus on Jack Sparrow’s teen years and his struggle to find his sea legs. All bets are off with these things, especially if there’s a spin-off series just ripe for adaptation.

MOTHEREFFING HELL!! This article is SO right … it is entirely feasible that Disney could decide to reboot the entire franchise (much like studio bosses have decided to do with the Spider-Man franchise) and tell lame-ass films on a young Ensign Jack Sparrow in his younger years. My gut tells me that Disney isn’t that stupid, tho. As much as I didn’t really love the last film, I am looking forward to this new one. I guess I never realized how much I liked the Pirates films until they were gone for a few years. I’m glad to see that they aren’t wasting any time either … I think it’s perfectly reasonable to wait until next year for this new film. What do y’all think … who’s excited?

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Awards season here in the US is heating up, as we all know, but that doesn’t mean that our friends on the other side of the pond don’t want in on the action. The nominations for The British Academy Film and Television Awards were announced in the UK earlier today and it looks like it’s gonna be a dogfight to win those BAFTAs this year. Avatar, An Education and The Hurt Locker each received 8 nominations in a various categories, many of which will pit these 3 films against one another for ultimate supremacy … here are some deets about this year’s BAFTA noms:

Sci-fi adventure ‘Avatar’ – which won two Golden Globes on Sunday – is up against British hit ‘An Education’ and war movie ‘The Hurt Locker’ in the Best Film category, while all the movie’s respective creators, James Cameron, Lone Scherfig and Kathryn Bigelow, are up for Best Director. Others in the running for Best Film are ‘Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire’ and ‘Up in the Air’, while Neill Blomkamp and Quentin Tarantino are the remaining contenders in the Best Director category for ‘District 9′ and ‘Inglourious Basterds’ Meryl Streep gained her 13th BAFTA nomination after being recognised for her role in ‘Julie and Julia’ and will fight it out in the Leading Actress category alongside Carey Mulligan for ‘An Education’, ‘Coco Before Chanel’ star Audrey Tatou, Saoirse Ronan for ‘The Lovely Bones’ and Gabourey Sidibe for her portrayal of an abused teenager in ‘Precious…’. ‘Up in the Air’ star George Clooney is up for the Leading Actor prize along with Jeff Bridges for ‘Crazy Heart’, Colin Firth for ‘A Single Man’, ‘The Hurt Locker’ star Jeremy Renner and Andy Serkis for ‘Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll’. Other nominations include Alec Baldwin and Stanley Tucci in the Best Supporting Actor category for ‘It’s Complicated’ and ‘The Lovely Bones’ respectively, while Best Supporting Actress nominees included Kristin Scott Thomas for ‘Nowhere Boy’ and ‘Up in the Air’ star Anna Kendrick. The BAFTA Awards – which stands for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards – take place at London’s Royal Opera House on February 21.

Yes, these noms look familiar … which means that nomination announcements for other awards shows will look just as similar. In the case of the BAFTAs, tho, there are always a few unrecognized British films in the mix for award contention. In the animated film category, Coraline has a better chance at winning against Up considering it is roughly a British film (well, at least it was based on a distinctly British story, written by a British author). If it’s gonna win any of the big awards, I think the BAFTA is its best chance. In any event, congrats to all the nominees today. Click HERE to see a full list of 2010 BAFTA award nominations.

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Welp, it’s official … Conan O’Brien and NBC have finally reached a deal wherein NBC will play O’Brien for essentially firing him from his contract to host The Tonight Show. As you may recall, O’Brien issued a letter last week that informed NBC that he would NOT be staying with the network in breach of his contract with them (ie. doing The Tonight Show at 12:05AM) and the matter fell to NBC to figure out a way to pay him accordingly for their eff up. After much negotiation, a deal was finally agreed upon … and Conan O’Brien will get at least $32 million (and up to $45 million) for his trouble:

Conan O’Brien and NBC worked out their final conflict hours ago and have reached a $45 million settlement … and we’ve learned it’s a sweeter deal for Conan than anyone thought. Network sources tell TMZ the “mitigation” clause was taken off the table. Translation — Conan will get a severance of $32.5 million, regardless of whether he gets another hosting gig. Not bad for seven months work. As we first reported, NBC will pay $7.5 million to Conan’s “Tonight Show” staff — and our sources believe the network added several thousand more to the pot at the last minute. In addition, NBC will pay a whopping $4.5 million to the executive producer. Conan’s last show is Friday. We’re told NBC hasn’t decided who will replace Conan for the period between Monday and the Winter Olympics.

As crappy as ALL of this is all around, at least Conan will be gettin’ a nice chunk of change for all the trouble he’s been thru. If he so desires, he could retire with his $45 million and live a nice, long life of workless leisure. I wouldn’t be surprised if he took some time off for a while after this fiasco before he even entertains a new gig … but Conan is a pro and if the right offer comes along, I’m guessing he’ll take it and will be back on TV soon. None of this is ideal but I’m happy to know that Conan and his staff aren’t gettin’ royally screwed by NBC‘s eff-up. The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien is dunzo, y’all. Let’s wish it a hearty Peace the Spork Out, officially.

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