It was by far the hottest ticket in town and I managed to get my mitts on not just one, but six of the beauties.

So, I took five pals to the comedy night with Peter Kay at the Albert Hall this week as part of a five-night charity gala for the Teenage Cancer Trust. And this time, the Bolton comedian was performing at the London venue, rather than the one in his home town.

Kay instantly had the crowd on his side, joining him in a singalong and rolling in the aisle. My heavily-pregnant best pal Kerry sat holding her tummy while doing her best to stay as composed as possible.

I was worried her waters might break. Well, I?d put my expensive Gina shoes on for the occasion and suede is a nightmare to clean.

As Kay delivered the one-liners, I was relieved when he expressed his own boredom with hearing his chart -topping track (Is This The Way To) Amarillo. So it?s not just me then, although I never get bored of seeing Ronnie Corbett taking a tumble in the video.

Joining Peter on the bill were comics Ed Byrne and Noel Fielding, Cold Feet star John Thomson, US funnyman Reginald D Hunter and a crazy lady called Barbara Nice.

Yep she was slightly dotty to say the least and when she asked the audience to stand up and join her on a journey up the ?sunshine mountain?, a mass exodus to the bar broke out. Bless her, she was no Mrs Merton.

On my travels around the great hall, I spotted plenty of celebrities, including Mel Sykes, Paul Weller, Ralph Little, Corrie?s Shelly ? aka Sally Lindsay ? and Rupert Grint who plays Harry Potter?s ginger mate Ron Weasley.

Host Peter had to shoot off early, leaving the wheelchair-bound proprietor of the Phoenix Club, Brian Potter, to end the show in style. By the time I left, I could hardly stand up because my sides were hurting so much.

Of course it had nothing to do with the copious glasses of champagne I drank. While my pregnant pal was staying off the booze, I was drinking for two.

Public Relations company Halpern invited me to their autumn/winter press day this week. With a Vegas theme, I wasted no time in heading to the bar for a cocktail or two, after which I joined Nicole Appleton and Amanda Holden in indulging in a Jo Malone hand and arm massage. It?s a hard life.

Former All Saint Mel Blatt popped into the Capital studio this week to tell us about her new single, which is the title track for the new animation film, Robots.

I reminded her that the last time I?d seen her she was on a beach in Ibiza with her fellow bandmate Shaznay Lewis who was on her hen holiday. Ah, it?s not long now until the sunshine arrives.

This week, I did something really silly. I?ve signed up for the New York Marathon. I?ve joined the celeb?s favourite gym, Third Space in Piccadilly, and plan to run my socks off all summer in preparation for the event on November 6.

[Sam Mann || The Mirror, 15 Apr, 2005 || Original article found here]