THERE is a distinct danger that Shakespeare will, gasp, become trendy.

Bury entertainer Lisa Riley is returing to the small screen in a new series called From Bard to Verse, when stars including impressionists Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona will deliver Shakespeare's soliloquies.

Comic Steve Coogan, who runs the production company involved, says they are trying to give the Bard's work broader appeal and "bring it alive to a generation of young people".

This week in Bolton there have been excellent open-air productions of Twelfth Night, and this follows the phenomenal success of the film Shakespeare in Love.

All this is all positive because, away from the thees and thous, Will could turn out a good tale using some really affecting prose.

I happily now await the pop musical "Much Ado About Nothing", featuring boyband Westlife in the leading roles.