MTV News Round-Up 30/07/2004

*** P Diddy is said to have had $7.2 million worth of jewellery stolen from the head offices of Bad Boy Records. "He is absolutely gutted," said a source close to the rap mogul. "He loves his jewellery and most of the pieces are one-offs so they can't be replaced very easily." Because of the precision of the robbery, suspicions have been raised that it may have been a member of the Diddy camp.

*** Will Young is to make his film debut alongside Bob Hoskins and Dame Jundi Dench, according to reports. The vocalist will apparently star in 'Mrs Henderson Presents' - a musical about one of England's most prominent society figures, Laura Henderson " after a number of meetings with Hoskins and casting directors.

*** In other Will Young news, the 'Pop Idol''s twin-brother could face a retrial in case concerning the assault of an Iraqi Kurd man. The Jury failed to reach a verdict on the 25-year-old's involvement in the attack and as such, the Crown Prosecution Service now have a week to decide if they want a retrial or to drop the matter. Young denies the charge.

*** Mariah Carey is said to be dating an exec from her record company, who was recently assigned as her personal photographer. Apparently, Carey and Mark Sudack got very close while travelling all over the place together. Def Jam boss L.A Reid says he planned to get the pair together by assigning Sudack the 'house photographer' job.

*** The Bloodhound Gang are to return to the UK with a mini tour. The band, who have received renewed interest thanks to the heavy use of their track 'Fire Water Burn' in Michael Moore's new anti-Bush film 'Fahrenheit 9/11', will call at London Astoria on August 16, Glasgow Garage (17) and Manchester Academy 2 (18).

*** The Darkness' Justin Hawkins has spoken of how he got his penis pierced after cheating on his girlfriend. The perhaps unsurprisingly high-pitched vocalist says that he gets piercings to reflect his moods and actions. "Whenever I have a down I always put a piercing in to mark it," he said, "I didn't like myself much. I thought, 'what's the most painful place to have a piercing?"

DL