World briefs

British TV star Amanda Holden has given birth to a baby girl, but has spent three days in a “critical condition”.

The Britain’s Got Talent judge is now stable after being treated in an intensive care unit following her admission to hospital on Monday morning.

Her new daughter, Hollie Rose Hughes, was delivered on Monday and is said to be healthy, her spokeswoman said.

No details of 40-year-old Ms Holden’s condition have been released, but she is expected to make a full recovery.

Alison Griffin, a spokeswoman for Ms Holden and her husband, Chris Hughes, said: “Amanda has been in a critical condition for the past three days.

“She is now stable and we expect her to make a full recovery very soon. We thank you for respecting their privacy at this time.”

Hollie Rose weighed in at 6.1lbs. Holden is thought to have been more than eight months pregnant although she had not made public her due date.

The actress, who had been due to be on the BGT panel at auditions this week, already has a daughter, Lexi. But complications during that pregnancy with a low lying placenta meant she gave birth by Caesarean section.

Ms Griffin said she was unable to give any further details about Holden’s medical condition at present.

Dirty advert is banned

An “overtly sexual” advertisement for a rock band which featured a semi-naked model leaning back in a sexual pose has been banned.

The poster, for comedy metal band Steel Panther, showed the woman striking a pose with her eyes closed. The title of the band’s latest album Balls Out was printed over the picture with the resulting image deemed

likely to cause “serious and widespread offence”, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled.

Granny is pregnant

A grandmother has described her shock at finding out she was pregnant again at the age of 53.

Despite taking the contraceptive pill, Debbie Hughes, from Daventry, Northants, found out she was expecting a baby when she began putting on weight.

She had been made so “paranoid” by her family and her partner that she made a trip to see the doctor, who confirmed she was going to have another child.

‘Oldest dog’ Chichi dies

A toy poodle, whose owners had sought to put him in the Guinness World Records book as the world’s oldest dog, has died.

Uncle Chichi was 24, 25 or 26. Owners Frank Pavich and Janet Puhalovic, from New York City, adopted Chichi from an animal shelter in Charleston, South Carolina, when he was one to two years old. Records proving his age were lost. He was put down after battling cancer.

Guinness’ official oldest living dog was a 26-year-old Japanese canine. It died in December.

Portrait fetches £1.28m

A 17th century portrait that hung in Elizabeth Taylor’s Bel Air home has sold for two million dollars (£1.28 million) at a New York City auction.

It was only recently reattributed to the Dutch master Frans Hals.

Christie’s says Portrait of a Man went to a buyer bidding by phone. Its presale estimate was up to one million dollars (£640,000).

In 1974, a scholar attributed it to one of Hals’ followers, based on a photo of the work.

Christie’s says it was reattributed to Hals last year by an ex-curator at Holland’s Frans Hals Museum. Taylor received the painting from her art dealer father. Christie’s London will sell other paintings from Taylor’s collection on February 7-8. The Hals was the only Old Master in her collection. The actress died in March last year aged 79.