This week's New Idea cover star is a curious one. He's not regular gossip mag fodder. Until a couple of years ago he wouldn't have even been able to buy a gossip mag at all. Although he's generated plenty of press over the years he doesn't have the matinee idol good looks of Johnny Depp, the ever expanding family of Angelina Jolie, or the notorious marriage of Katie Holmes.

Can you guess?

It's David Bain, and the New Idea's exclusive interview with the murder accused, convicted (and now acquitted) is definitely different cover fodder than the usual slew of Hollywood celebs.

"It's the story New Zealand has wanted to read for 15 years," writes editor Hayley McLarin in her editorial as New Zealand's most famous former prisoner ‘bared his soul' to the mag.

This article is the first of a two parter. It is rather a coup, depending of course on how much the mag paid for the interview, and given that I couldn't find the New Idea in the first shop I went to this week odds are that it'll be a good seller.

Delve into the seven pages for the 37-year-old's plans for a new life, growing up in Papua New Guinea with his parents and siblings, and how he was forced to adjust to 13 long years in prison.

After first verdict Bain says "I kept asking myself, "Why on earth am I in prison when it's so self-explanatory, I shouldn't be here? At the start I had faith in the system thinking it would do the right thing. It didn't. It betrayed me. It left me totally disillusioned."

"I had to rebuild my self-esteem, my emotional basis from which to start to cope with life in prison."

These days he loves riding his horse, Boysie, on the rugged west Auckland coast, and eating crays, and catching fish. Upon his release he was shocked that the price of admission to the movies had gone up from $5 to $15. David, I think the movies are outrageously priced and I've been on the outside for those 13 years! But I digress.

While behind bars he enjoyed watching Boston Legal, Friends and nature documentaries, and worked in the prison's kitchen and infirmary.

"The conditions were what you made of them. No matter how bad your situation is, there's always somebody that's far worse off than you are, so if you use that as a grounding you don't get too sorry for yourself or too depressed."

And Bain-mania isn't over yet! Read the rest of David's story in the New Idea next week. Now on to the frivolous stuff!

See photos from Playboy bunny and perky reality TV star Kendra Wilkinson's wedding in the Day. She went totally frou-frou, but looks beautiful. And for a girl who doesn't think twice about getting her kit off, Kendra's wedding dress is rather demure! I swear once when Girls of the Playboy Mansion was on and they were doing a shoot for the magazine she lifted her leg and I saw right up her hoo-ha.

New husband Hank Baskett looked rather sharp, although I hate the white wedding suit look for guys. It screams British boy band to me but hey, it's not my wedding! She doesn't look in the least pregnant at almost four months gone - but Kendra's young with a great figure, I bet she'll snap straight back into shape like a rubberband. She's due on Christmas Day.

Three hundred guests - including Hef and his three current girlfriends - watched on as the couple said their vows in the grounds of the Playboy mansion, Kendra's home for five years, in Beverly Hills.

Her 83-year-old ex-boyfriend put his plenty of years of romantic experience to use to issue this verdict on the couple: "She's a wild child, but her heart is as pure as gold. If opposites attract, and they do, they are perfect for each other."

The happy couple - who got together in September last year - is currently honeymooning in the Caribbean.

Bless! Congrats, you two.

Did a freak out by Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick's surrogate mother mean the star couple almost didn't get their hands on twin daughters Marion and Tabitha?

The Ohio woman had experienced death threats and her computer hacked, and to top it all off the pair were forced to race to Sarah Jessica's home state of Ohio when the couple found out the twins were to be delivered a month early.

The New Idea says the sisters have been sent mini Manolo Blahniks. How gorgeous!

"Sources say Marion is the name of a character in the couple's favourite Broadway show, The Music Man and Tabitha is from Bewitched, their favourite TV show."

Meanwhile, things are heating up between Britney Spears and her agent-slash-boyfriend-possibly-fiance, Jason Trawick. Sayeth the Day: "He's serious about his commitment to Britney. She feels Jason is the knight in shining armour that she has been looking for to sweep her off her feet...she now realises he was right there the whole time."

Third wedding's the charm, perhaps?

The Day leads this week with ‘Michael's Kids: Motherless, fatherless and grieving.' They don't look anything like him - not to me, anyway - but I don't doubt that he was a great daddy, or at least the very best that he could be after the messed up example he was set by his dad, Joe.

Tabloid fave TMZ has newfound respect from the mainstream media after being the first outlet to break the news of Jacko's death, and they're quoted as saying neither Michael Jackson nor ex-wife Debbie Rowe is biologically related to any of those three kids.

Rowe received around $20m in exchange for handing over full custody uncontested four years ago. Really, who would give kids back to a mother who would exchange the right to see them for cash?

The rest is more of the stuff you would have been reading over the past ten days.

J. Randy Taraborelli tells the story of his long-time friend's life in the New Idea.

The Weekly has a Michael Jackson tribute mini-mag, as does the Day, where local celebs speak on what Jacko meant to them and fans can take a trip down memory lane with an old photo album. My favourite is of Michael and Bubbles wearing old school aviator caps posing with a python.

Each mag also has a goodbye to Farrah Fawcett, whose death got almost completely swept away in the media mania which followed Michael Jackson's untimely passing. She was so beautiful back in the day! And that hair! Forget Jennifer Aniston's Rachel do, there is some hair for the showbiz ages.

The Edge's Jay-Jay Feeney and Dom Harvey talk about how life as they knew it has been turned upside down with the arrival of their nephew Seven - who came to live with them after his father, Jay Jay's brother, was sent to prison. It's in the Weekly. There's a tick in their column, how lovely of them. I have seen the trio at the supermarket and can report they look every bit the happy family.

Plenty of this week's goss is in small digestible snippets - handily packaged for your frazzled early-in-the-week brain.

See more pics of Sonia Gray's beautiful twins Thandie and Inez (love the names!) in the Day and read up on the medical drama that led to her engagement.

Is Prince Harry dating Aussie singer Natalie Imbruglia? Or his he pining for party girl ex-love Chelsy Davy? The Weekly says Chelsy's been seen out and about partying in London with Jack Osbourne. Jack Osbourne? That's a couple I would have to see to believe.

Kristen Bell is snapped on holiday in Hawaii with normal sized thighs in the Day. Can I get an amen?

Despite rumours of his demise on the day Michael Jackson died Jeff Goldblum is snapped very much alive in NYC, not even working in NZ like it was claimed he was when he ‘fell to his death.' Poor fella!

The New Idea and Day have disturbing photos of Mariah dressed as a man. Her brand of tacky fab doesn't translate well to a Satan-style goatee and baggy tracky daks.

Hot on the heels of Jennifer Love Hewitt's book of dating advice, the Day reports Alec Baldwin is writing a parenting book! What could he have to teach parents? The art of an abusive answer phone message left for a child? Baldwin, so brilliant on 30 Rock, swears he's learned a lot since calling his daughter Ireland a ‘rude, thoughtless little pig.'

"People come home, walk up the driveway, put the key in the door and they can't do another hard job. Parenting your children effectively is a tough job."

As an actress I think Julianne Moore is awesome, and she's beautiful to boot! But going on this picture in the Day she is possibly the palest person I ever saw - and I used to live in Ireland. Her bikini-clad bod is the same colour as the cement on the footpath. See her in the Day.

Over the page, Mary Louise Parker's boyfriend unwittingly hitches up her skirt to reveal her ass to New York City. Not a bad one either, I may add.

If you see TV3 newsreader Hamish McKay out and about during the day, he may well be heading home for a mid-week EastEnders date with wife Sarah. Mid-week Eastenders dates? Hee. More on McKay-ver in theDay.

Peek inside the same mag to see Ivana Trump's ‘understated' New York townhouse. It's like Donatella Versace, Borat and Elton John had an orgy, and this was the offspring.

The Weekly says Mel Gibson and daughter Oksana (whoops, typo, but I'm keeping it!) are expecting a baby girl.

My early-in-the-week head isn't in the right space for the article below the headline ‘My son was born a girl, and my fiancé used to be a woman!' in the Day, but knock yourselves out.

And that's all from the mags this week!

 

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