Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts underwent her bone marrow transplant last Thursday, surrounded by her closest friends and

family. The procedure, which saw donor stem cells from her sister Sally Ann injected into her body, took just five minutes, after which the

group broke into a rendition of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. Roberts, 51, who was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, earlier

this year — a disease which attacks blood cells and bone — told GMA afterwards: “I will now wait and anxiously watch and see what happens. ‘In the next seven to 10 days, my counts will continue to go up and we’ll be on to phase three, which will be to get out of here. Go home. It’s a journey.” The atmosphere beforehand was informal, with her sister by her side and a visit from her pastor to lead the group in prayer. On arrival, surgeon Sergio Giralt was greeted with applause. He acknowledged the volume of people in the small room, joking: “What part

of ‘Let’s not have crowds’ did we not understand?” He was seen injecting the stem cells into Roberts through an IV, and on completing the

procedure, said: “Go Sally, go!”

ABC News co-workers Diane Sawyer and Sam Champion were among the

intimate group present. Roberts will be closely monitored by doctors

over the next few days, as they wait to see if the new donor stem cells

will take hold.

— Daily Mail

What do you mean he’s not real

There are few moments sadder in a child’s life than finding out Santa Claus is not real.

But it seems discovering Sesame Street favourite Elmo is in fact a puppet was just as devastating for Mario Lopez’ daughter Gia on the set of the TV show Extra in Los Angeles. The disappointed two-year-old was given a kiss on the cheek and consoled by the Saved By the Bell star after she began to get emotional. The presenter may have had a good reason to be so cheerful if the rumour he is to be the new host of The X Factor turns out to be true. Sources told celebrity blogger Perez Hilton he has been locked in to host the revamped season two alongside Khloe Kardashian, though the Fox show has yet to confirm this. However, Simon Cowell hinted he was interested in casting the reality television personality, lending credence to the rumours. He said: “I know whom I would like, but now I have to get it approved by the network. We have screen-tested a load of people. It could be a Kardashian. I think that would work. I’m quite a fan of not putting [experienced] hosts on this show.”

— Daily Mail

She snaps rabbit photos; he takes pictures of her bottom

She’s in the city of love with her toyboy, and the couple seem to be taking full advantage of their romantic surroundings. But as Sharon Stone stopped to photograph a spot of wildlife during her trip to Venice, Italy, her 27-year-old lover Martin Mica seemed to have a very different idea of what would make a good picture. While strolling through a local park, the 54-year-old actress seized the opportunity to snap an adorable rabbit which was grazing on some grass. And as she squatted down beside the super-cute creature, the Argentinian model evidently decided her bottom would make a better photo. Giggling away to himself as he crept up on his sexy girlfriend, the hunk snapped away at the Basic Instinct star’s behind — making sure he had some pleasant memories of their Italian trip to take home with him. Last week, the couple put on a particularly amorous display of affection as they took a wander around the city of love, before being spotted deep in conversation as they enjoyed a boat ride down Venice’s famous waterways. Stone is currently enjoying a short break from her current project What About Love?, which she has been filming alongside Adam Garcia in Bucharest, Romania. She and Mica, who is 27 years her junior, have been dating since May.

— Daily Mail