To a young girl obsessed with ballet Dame Margot Fonteyn was a legend, who thanks to her professional partnership with Rudolf Nureyev was regarded as one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of all time.

It’s apparent, after watching the BBC’s Margot (Monday 16^th January, 8.30pm), that Fonteyn’s life was a lot more complicated and scandalous than I’d been lead to believe aged seven. Amazingly, at 40 she experienced a career revival that turned her into a global star; at the same time as her turbulent personal life was falling apart. It’s a truly remarkable story.

This Sunday afternoon (L.A time, Monday afternoon for us) a who’s who of Hollywood, styled to within an inch of their lives, will step from their eco-friendly limos onto the red carpet for the first big award ceremony of the year, the 69^th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

He’s a funny little guy, Jools Holland, and yet anyone who has seen his concerts with the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra is blown away, and everyone who has seen his BBC2 music television show Later…with Jools Holland appreciates how good it is. Capturing a band’s music and doing them credit on live television is a very hard thing to do - I know, I spent years trying. While many bands are sceptical about appearing on live music shows because they’re concerned about sound issues I imagine no one turns down Jools Holland.

Michael Haneke is a German born, Austrian filmmaker whose bold and bare style is filled with bleak carnage and disturbing imagery, making him one of the most interesting and challenging contemporary auteurs. Haneke sees himself as “the last modernist”, and his work is known for its non-linear narration and his ability to infuse his films with unbearable tension.

As January’s featured director in our Rialto Directors Showcase, Rialto Channel is presenting an unprecedented look at his remarkable body of award-winning work.

There’s nothing I love more than the Christmas holidays which see us driving to Taihape and the Bay of Islands to spend time with family, but nor is there anything wrong with visiting a few slightly more exotic locations in December.