Who guitarist Pete Townshend posted an open letter on his website in defense of alleged pedophiles - claiming they were victims of a government "witch hunt". In the letter, which first appeared last October but has since been deleted, Townshend claims innocent people are being arrested in connection with child abuse allegations - because of "over-zealous" police. The "My Generation" rocker was arrested yesterday after admitting he logged onto child pornography sites, but claims he did so for research purposes. Townshend also writes in the letter of "a man who briefly worked for me who was arrested in the UK for downloading child pornography." This is thought to be a reference to shamed glam rocker Gary Glitter, who was jailed in 1999 for possessing child pornography. He worked with The Who on their rock opera Quadrophenia. Townshend continues, "I was cautious of openly condemning him until he had been tried. When he went to trial the buzzword that the newspapers kept reprinting - the word he had allegedly used in his regular internet searches - was 'Lolita.'" Townshend then states he discovered the term was one of the highest words used on web searches in Britain. "It seemed to me that there was some hypocrisy going on. Who were all these people typing 'Lolita' into their browsers? They were surely not all pedophiles. Perhaps they were simply curious of what they might find." He has been released on bail without any charge.

Flame-haired Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman has unveiled her star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, wisecracking, "I've never been so excited to have people walk all over me for the rest of my life." The Hours screen idol was at the ceremony yesterday where her star was placed next to that of Hollywood director Steven Spielberg. Golden-Globe nominated Kidman, 35, says, "I love to act and this is sort of the icing on the cake. I can't believe that this is happening in terms of the work and in terms of the films being embraced. My New Year's resolution is to savor it."

Veteran actor Richard Chamberlain is outing himself as gay in his autobiography. The star shot to fame as Dr Kildare in the 1960's series, starred as a sexy priest in hit 1983 mini-series The Thorn Birds and previously refused to comment on his sexuality. But in his memoirs Towards Love, Chamberlain details "the painful but rewarding process of reconciling his deepest self with his public persona." Chamberlain, 67, resides on Hawaii with manager Martin Rabbet.

Music superstar Madonna has been ordered by her record company to re- record her new album - because it's too extreme. The pop queen has been forced to return to her Los Angeles recording studio with producer pal Mirwais after label Warners warned her the LP's electro-pop sound is over the top. A source close to the singer tells British tabloid the Daily Mirror, "Madonna feels like she delivered her best album yet last week but the record label have insisted that the material needs to be changed. They really liked what they heard and it's another example of Madonna reinventing herself. But the problem is that it's too avant-garde to be a commercial success. She had used far too many electronic synthesizers on her voice and had morphed a lot of her vocals to sound like a robot. There was even a 12 minute long track. She was reluctant, but in the end has no choice but to go back to square one." The LP - Madonna's tenth studio recording - has reportedly been provisionally titled Ein Sof, Hebrew for "Endlessness."

The partner of opera legend Luciano Pavarotti has given birth to twins, but only one has survived. Nicoletta Mantovani was in the thirty-first week of her pregnancy when complications arose and was taken into a Bologna hospital, Italy, to undergo an emergency Caesarean. It was discovered that there was a lack of oxygen reaching the baby boy, who later died. The other twin, a girl, weighs 4 pounds and is under observation at the hospital's neo-natal unit. A hospital spokesperson says, "The pregnancy was a complicated one right from the beginning and Nicoletta was being constantly monitored. The boy died but she and the baby girl are both doing fine." It was the first child for Mantovani, 33, but the fourth for Pavarotti, 67. He was previously married to Adua Veroni for 35 years, with whom he has three grown up daughters. The portly singer also became a grandfather last April.

Tough-talking music mogul Simon Cowell is set to take on a new role on American TV when he plays cupid for hopeful romantics. The American Idol judge has inked a deal with TV network CBS to create and executive produce a dating reality show. Called Cupid, the show is set to air over 11 hour-long episodes this summer, where a single woman and two best pals travel all over the country and judge a range of men. Cowell says, "If there's one subject which people have more opinions on than music, it's dating. We're going to let the people do what they do best. They'll probably put the completely wrong couple together, so it'll be humiliation at the beginning and a total disaster at the end. After Sex And The City, women all over the world have been empowered to belittle men. And because I love humiliation so much, I thought we had to make this into a TV show." Around 10 finalists will be chosen and flown to Hollywood, where they will be given the chance to date the single girl, with audiences deciding each week who gets eliminated. British network Itv has signed up for UK rights of the show, which will feature Cowell - unlike the American version.

Hollywood's couple of the moment Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have been threatened with legal action after a plan to divert prying eyes went horribly wrong. The incident reportedly occurred when Deanna Higley, 56, was temporarily blinded and fell on to rocks after the star couple's security guards shone mirrors at crowds watching the filming of Lopez and Affleck's romantic comedy Gigli in Malibu, California. Deanna alleges to Britain's Daily Sport newspaper, "One minute I was picking my way along the beach, the next second I couldn't see anything. It was totally irresponsible. If they refuse to help me pay for the medical bills then I will consider starting legal action against them."

Mike Tyson and his second wife were granted a divorce yesterday - with the former boxing champion agreeing to pay her $6.5 million from future earnings. The deal ends a year-long dispute between Tyson and Monica Turner, who accused the boxer of adultery when she filed for divorce in January 2002. Tyson, 36, must pay Turner a percentage of his future earnings on top of an undisclosed sum he already has given her, according to Turner's attorney, Sanford Ain. The figure rises to $9 million if Tyson fails to pay on time. Turner, who is a pediatric resident at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington DC, was awarded the couple's $4.75 million mansion in Connecticut, and the $4 million Maryland, house where she lives. She also gets custody of their children, Rayna, six, and Amir, five. Ain says, "She's ready to get on with her life." The boxer, once married to actress Robin Givens, met Turner while serving a rape sentence in an Indiana prison. They married in April 1997.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will be out of action for a while, after undergoing an operation to remove torn cartilage from her right knee. According to Buckingham Palace, the 76-year-old monarch's surgery on Monday was successful. She is expected to be "fully active again within a few weeks", says the Palace, after the operation at the King Edward II Hospital in central London. The Queen had strained a ligament in her right knee just before Christmas and was using a cane to walk.