Foul play at Xposé over Ronaldo 'short'

It caused the biggest splash in Irish showbiz this year. The setting was a press conference at Carton House, Kildare, when Xposé reporter Lisa Cannon caused an international sensation by quizzing Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo about his "teeny-tiny shorts".

The resulting exchange was broadcast live on BBC, CNN, and NBC. Joining Ronaldo in the spotlight was Lisa, who just a day later was doing interviews herself about her major scoop.

The only problem was that it was her Xposé colleague Glenda Gilson who set up the Ronaldo piece for TV3 and who had been due to interview the soccer star.

However, while Lisa (30) went live on TV around the world, Glenda found herself in Rathfarnham Dogs and Cats Home filming a piece on pet micro-chipping.

Speaking to The Diary this weekend, Glenda (28) said: "I'm still very shocked and confused about it. I chased the interview, got my accreditation and was supposed to go down. Then that morning I was told not to. That's all I know. I tried to find out what has been going on. It would have been a great interview. I'm speechless and don't know what happened."

Neither did anyone else at the press conference. There had been some scratching of heads as to how TV3's Xposé infiltrated a room full of 80 hardened football hacks to ask such an inane question.

Sources say this was the result of groundwork done by Glenda up to a month before Real Madrid came to Ireland.

"The stories Glenda goes after for Xposé are always a bit different from the rest of the girls. Glenda is into more boyish things," said an insider on the show.

A keen soccer fan, as well as recently interviewing Eric Cantona, Glenda had previously met and hung out with his former team mate Ronaldo, when he played for Manchester United.

It was on this basis that Glenda thought she had the Ronaldo interview in the bag when Real Madrid arrived in Ireland earlier this month.

"Everything had been arranged. Xposé was getting not just access to a press conference but a one-to-one interview with Glenda asking the questions."

However, for reasons unknown, it was not to be as TV3 dispatched Lisa Cannon to Carton House instead.

Despite the slight, Glenda is keen to point out there has been no falling-out between herself and Lisa over the Ronaldo interview.

"Lisa did a fantastic job in fairness. It takes balls to do something like that. If you watch the TV clip, you can see the football journalists on either side of her throwing their eyes up to heaven as she asked questions. You have to remember these are sports reporters, real fans. They don't want people coming dressed in pink asking silly questions," said Glenda.

Contacted by The Diary this weekend, a TV3 spokesman said it was strictly an operational matter as to why Lisa Cannon was given the Ronaldo interview over her colleague.

"Lisa was available at the time. I think Glenda might have been away on another story," said a TV3 spokeswoman.

Lisa Cannon told us: "I haven't a clue why I got the Ronaldo interview and not Glenda. It's just the way the jobs are given out. It happens all the time."

Meanwhile, Glenda took back some of the limelight last week after she was spotted dining in the window of Temple Bar's Elephant and Castle Restaurant with property tycoon Johnny Ronan.

In May, developer Ronan (52) issued a statement saying his three-year relationship with Glenda was over.

This weekend, a source close to the Castleknock model told The Diary that a re-union with Johnny was not on the cards.

They said:"Glenda and Johnny were friends for a long time before all this and remain so."

Jim welcomes Brett to Corr of clan

Jim Corr has revealed the reason he thinks younger sister Andrea and fiancée Brett Desmond choose Doonbeg Golf Club in Co Clare for their wedding reception next August.

"Brett loves golf. I presume that's why this location was chosen."

Jim says he couldn't be happier to have stockbroker Brett as a future brother in law. "I've known Brett longer than Andrea has. He's a very good friend of mine and such a lovely guy. They [Andrea and Brett] are totally in love with one another. It's going to be like a fairytale wedding."

The nuptials may also feature some heavenly music courtesy of U2. "I read online that Bono might be performing. It's the first I've heard of it. All the members of U2 are coming to the wedding. It would be fantastic if they got up and played."

Jim says he can rule out, however, another hugely successful Irish band performing on the day – namely The Corrs.

"I'd say I will be launching into a couple of pints at the bar. We will be taking a day off from work. After all, it is the last girl in the band to get married."

Public wants 'Xposure' to Anto

Every talent search has one: the contestant the judges hate but whom the public keep voting back.

Step forward Anthony Kelly from TV3's Total Xposure.

Last week, the 27-year-old Dubliner survived his third elimination despite a disastrous interview with recently married model Sarah McGovern, where he asked her if she knew judge Michael O'Doherty "better" than she should?

Reactions from the panel couldn't have been more savage. Yet Anthony survived a phone poll on Wednesday, pulling in 48% of the votes.

"The more you slag someone off, the more people vote for them," said a resigned Michael O'Doherty.

The talent-show judge said he's bemused by contestants who think the quickest route to winning the contest is by brown-nosing him.

"On this week's show the contestants have to present the public with the next big thing. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if some of them turn up at the VIP offices with a TV crew screaming; "Michael O'Doherty and VIP Magazine are the next big thing."

Scene and Heard

* Mario Rosenstock could be about to get a transfer onto an American sports network.

For the past year, the Gift Grub star (37) has been writing and performing on Special 1 TV, a football-themed comedy transmitted after Premier League games on Setanta Sports.

But when Setanta UK went under last month, with it went the puppet show, whose fans include Rio Ferdinand.

However, reports this weekend suggest ESPN, the US sports broadcaster who recently acquired Setanta's Premier League packages, now want Mario's show too. "We don't have any definite word yet but we've had thousands of emails from all over Britain," a hopeful Mario told me.

Filmed in Dublin with puppets made by local company Shadow Creations, it's hoped Roy Keane could soon be joining Special 1's cast of Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho, Wayne Rooney (the Boy) and Fabio Capello (Cabbage Man) and The Voyeur (Arsène Wenger).

* Gerry Conlon, one of the so-called 'Guildford Four', who were wrongly imprisoned in Britain in the 1970s for allegedly planting an IRA bomb, was one of the many VIP guests attracting the attention of photographers backstage at Oxegen.

However Gerry's story has yet to reach one hack, who ran over to see what all the fuss was about.

On being told Conlon (45) was one of "The Guildford Four", the reporter blankly enquired: "The Guildford Four? Are they a rap act?"

* U2 had their Croke Park aftershow party in the band's Clarence Hotel last night . It was decided to hold the bash on Saturday as the boys have a day off today from their run of Dublin shows. After tomorrow night's concert, U2 travel to Gothenburg, Sweden, for two monster gigs at the city's Ullevi Stadium.