In 2008 Toyah has presented the highly prestigious ‘Tonight’ programme for prime time ITV 1. The programme was titled ‘How do you sleep?’ and was up against BBC 1's Eastenders, yet it successfully claimed one of highest viewing figures for the series at 3.9 million viewers and was critically acclaimed. Her home has also been the subject of a Living TV special when the cameras for ‘Living With The Dead’ spent the night successfully ghost hunting.

March saw Toyah fill P&O’ MV Aurora’s 500 seater theatre to capacity for three talks on life in show business and in April she raised £1500 for BBC 1's charity edition of ‘Cash in the Attic’ as well as walking in the Gobi Dessert to raise thousands of pounds for www.greatwalktobeijing.com in aid of Olivia Newton Johns cancer wellness centre in Australia.

Toyah's music goes from strength to strength. The video for her new single ‘Sensational’ has been shot and TV promotion is underway.

Toyah plays large festivals all over Britain and waves the banner for women over forty in the world of business and entertainment.

Songs we know about thus: Latex Messiah (Viva La Rebel In You), Heal Ourselves, Lesser God, Sensational, Legacy. [Toyah has also mentioned another two songs, Angel In You and Armageddon]

All, as far as I'm aware, written by Toyah and Simon Darlow. Toyah said in January (in her Official Blog) that she and Simon still had three songs to write and that would be the album complete.

As of today there is no confirmed release date, and no info on whether it will be download only or available on CD, though a physical release is expected.

Toyah Willcox has reportedly been defending her 80s look. 

The singer, who sported enormous pillar box red hair and outrageous stage outfits throughout the decade, told the Sun she felt "no shame" when she looked back on her wardrobe. 

"The decade was all about individuality and singers like myself, Kim Wilde, Carol Decker and Siouxie Sioux really pushed the boundaries of music and fashion," she apparently said. 

"In the 1980s women didn't have to fit into some perfect mould of what men found attractive. You could create your own look. 

"We took immense pride in making our hairstyles and make-up different from everyone else's." 

And it seems the 49-year-old, who had hits with Thunder In The Mountains, I Want to Be Free and Four From Toyah, looked fondly back at her most shocking outfit. 

"The most memorable outfit I wore back then was a black rubber dress for the video of Don't Fall In Love in 1985," she reportedly said. 

"I have never felt so sexy in anything since. It came with a price though and made me sweat profusely. 

"There is nothing from my 80s wardrobe that I would want to wear now and I don't think I could bring myself to put on a shoulder pad. But that doesn't mean I look back and cringe - in fact, I wouldn't change a thing." 

"I may be in the minority, but I certainly don’t cringe with embarrassment when I look back at the 1980s. 

And I feel no shame about my fashion sense. 

I certainly didn’t fit into the blueprint of the Farrah Fawcett lookalike that was so popular in the 1970s. Back then, women who weren’t over 5ft 2in didn’t have a chance of getting noticed because Farrah’s long-limbed, wavy-haired look was so popular. 

Then the 1980s came along and freed me. The decade was all about individuality and singers like myself, Kim Wilde, Carol Decker and Siouxsie Sioux really pushed the boundaries of music and fashion. 

In the 1980s women didn’t have to fit into some perfect mould of what men found attractive. You could create your own look. 

And it certainly wasn’t like nowadays, when everyone wears the same fashions from Primark or Topshop. We took immense pride in making our hairstyles and make-up different from everyone else’s. 

During the decade I shared a dressmaker with Bananarama who made me some very strange, geometric clothing. 

I also loved the high-waisted trousers of the Eighties, which were cut off at the calf. I loved the way they drew attention to the bottom, which seemed very risque and sexy back then. 

In the 1980s the only place where breasts were celebrated was on The Sun’s Page 3. People didn’t really show cleavage, they covered up more. Jordan would have seemed like a porn star back then. 

Power dressing was also a brilliant trend to come out of the Eighties. I thought Joan Collins looked extraordinary, and apparently shoulder pads are making a comeback. 

It is easy to laugh, but if you had a small waist and narrow hips, they gave a terrific silhouette. 

The Eighties was a time of self-promotion, which is now seen as slightly ugly, but it certainly didn’t do women any harm. Some very successful businesswomen came out of the power-dressing decade, such as Jacqueline Gold, chief executive of Ann Summers. 

And it was the decade in which women took over the music industry too. 

In the 1970s I would say the music business was made up of 70 per cent men. By 1982 it was 80 per cent women — it started with artists and spread to the boardroom. 

The Eighties also saw the birth of the pop video, which revolutionised the industry. You couldn’t release a song unless it had the video — people wanted to see their pop idols. 

It made us all competitive, we all had to outdo our own image and were under pressure to be more and more outlandish with our fashions. 

I remember I used to create a new look at least every three months. 

I went through a number of phases, from a David Bowie-ish look in the early Eighties, to New Romantic styles, right through to wearing high-street ra-ra skirts. 

It was fabulous that fashions changed all the time. Madonna was obviously the queen of reinvention. In the early Eighties she brought in a very New York look, lacy tights and lots of layers on top of each other. 

But by the end of the decade she had not only reinvented her look but also her body shape, showcasing her sculpted, chiselled look in the video for Vogue. 

The most memorable outfit I wore during the 1980s was a black rubber dress for the video of Don’t Fall In Love, in 1985. I have never felt so sexy in anything since. It came with a price though, as it made me sweat profusely. 

As for men’s fashions, I don’t believe there has ever been a decade quite like it. Men were peacocks who preened themselves in public.

While women slipped into men’s chairs in the boardroom, men were slipping into women’s seats in front of the dressing table mirror. 

But the Eighties were owned by Duran Duran. They were great, boys in make-up with coiffured hair. And they have survived too — they are the 1980s version of Take That. 

It is easy for people in the Noughties to look back and mock the Eighties. But what really defines the 1990s or the Noughties? No obvious looks or images spring to mind. I would like to see people nowadays take a leaf out of our book and take more risks with the way they dress. 

The hoodie has become a kind of uniform for teenagers today, but that style is all about anonymity and blending in.In the 1980s everyone wanted to stand out — and they weren’t afraid to use neon colours to do so. 

There is nothing from my Eighties wardrobe I would want to wear now and I don’t think I could ever bring myself to put on a shoulder pad. 

But that doesn’t mean I look back and cringe — in fact, I wouldn’t change a thing. 

I think it is brilliant that you can watch old episodes of Dynasty or Dallas and have a good laugh. To people watching today, the fashions and styles seem so alien that you might as well be watching something from the Dickensian era. 

Yes, you can accuse the Eighties of being bold, bright and even ridiculous . . . but you certainly can’t call them boring."

• Toyah's Official website has a new song listed on their Songlist page. 'Legacy' is a Willcox/Darlow composition. Could this be another track from 'In The Court of the Crimson Queen'? (Thanks to Marcus)

• 'Here and Now - The Very Best of The 80s' is released on CD on Universal on 12th May. This is a three-disc collection. So far I've been unable to find a tracklist so no word as yet if Toyah will be included.

• Toyah is mentioned in this very recent article, Under Pressure, at www.building.co.uk (25th April 2008).

• 'IC Wales' (24th April 2008) namechecked Toyah in their Controversy and big names sell shows article. Click here to read it.

• 'Cumbernauld News' (23rd April 2008) mention Toyah in their And the lesson today is - pop! Click here to go read.

Rather than have a duplicate Toyah Top 50 I've decided to abandon that idea as an Official Top 50 will now be compiled. Dreamscape has some interesting additions to bring you in the lead up to Toyah's birthday and on May 18th itself a brand new SUPERFEATURE - Toyah50 will go live, with oodles of Toyah bits and pieces, floating free, in there.

I'm also hoping to have a Dreamscape/Toyah50 competition online soon, with some truly Toyahlicious goodies up for grabs.

I'm glad so many of you are enjoying the variety of Toyah era banners. More will be added over the coming weeks.

Toyah's Official website also have some very exciting Toyah goodies in store to celebrate her big day, all to be unveiled on Toyah's birthday. Please visit the Official website for further information on these.

May 18th is, undoubtedly, going to be absolutely Toyah filled. A veritable feast for your eyes and ears. And rightly so - how else could we all say thanks to a woman who has entertained us all for nigh on two thirds of her life.

NB: I'm in two minds about making too much of an event of Toyah's 50th birthday, especially as she has mentioned in a recent interview she maybe won't even have time to celebrate it. Not everyone, myself included, likes a fuss being made about birthdays. How does everyone else feel about this?

The stars joining Olivia over the 21 days include Sir Cliff Richard, Joan Rivers, Scott Wolf, Dannii Minogue. Toyah Willcox, Anton Du Beke, Sarah Cawood, Tom Chambers, Martina Laird, Marcus Patrick and Liz Fuller.

Gemma will be walking the long, hard slog into the rugged Shanxi hinterland. She will walk with the rest of the team for five days covering 67kms. There will be few home comforts in this barren terrain - Gemma will have to camp at night and get used to no electricity or running water, so any beauty regime will be out of the window!

The money raised by the walkers will go towards the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre in Australia. The centre will be the primary site for clinical trials globally. It will provide dedicated research facilities and clinical trials, with the development of future cancer vaccines and therapies, which will help cancer patients worldwide.

Olivia says, “I’m touched and honoured to be supported by such an eclectic and interesting group of people, it’s really humbling and inspiring”.

Gemma says, “Being female I am very aware of how common breast cancer is and I want to do my part to help, I am looking forward to seeing China and meeting Olivia, I want to raise as much money as possible to help the cancer patients of today and tomorrow”

“After the walk I’ll look forward to having a long hot shower, as there is no running water during my stage! A massage would be nice and a cheeky drink on the plane” laughs Gemma, “I’m not worried about the camping, unlike Marcus (she jokes) I reckon it will all add to the experience!”

Each participant will support Olivia by appealing to their friends and fans to sponsor their steps via the Great Walk to Beijing website, Greatwalktobeijing.com, where progress reports on the trek and the ability for everyone to donate to support their favourite celebrity will be available.

They went up to the outside balcony to wave to the queue.

Up there already were Toyah Willcox and Mark Wingett, who starred in The Bill as Jim Carver.

Mark Wingett introduced the film with Toyah. Although Phil Daniels didn't join in with the introduction he did watch the film. The audience were shouting things in his direction about certain scenes during the film and he shouted back, to much laughter. The whole experience was surreal and must have been for him watching a younger version of himself, filmed 30 years ago, up on the big screen.

At the end of the film he posed for photos as did some of the others, although they must have been sick and tired of it as they'd been at the Quadrophenia convention at the Metropole hotel all day.

There was no way Sting, who played Ace Face, was going to attend. He was booed by the audience when he appeared on screen.

Lorraine Forbes, Belmore Road, Eastbourne

Tim Evans, who owns movie memorabilia store Video-drome, in Broad Street, Worcester, said Target 30 - a weekend-long event dedicated to the cult 1979 movie about Mods - was outstanding. "It was the first show I've done on my own," said Mr Evans, who also runs event company Reel Events.

"It was the first time I had to book everything from the venue to the MC and food. But everything went really well. Better than that."

Target 30 took place in Brighton earlier this month and reunited the original cast from the film including Phil Daniels and Toyah Willcox.

"We had a special cinema showing of the film which was fantastic," said Mr Evans. "We booked Toyah and Mark Wingett to introduce it, then John Altman and Phil Daniels came along to watch it. They stayed for the whole thing and, I think, that really impressed the rest of the audience. People were cheering and singing."

Another highlight was seeing hundreds of Mods riding scooters though Brighton and being greeted by the cast.

The event, which also saw Worcester historian and Quadrophenia fan Dilip Sar-kar interview cast on stage, was attended by people from all over the world.

"The feedback we've had has been incredible," said Mr Evans. "And people are already trying to buy tickets for next year."

The 2009 convention, again being held in Brighton in April, will mark 30 years since the film's release. To find out more go to www.quadcon.co.uk or call into Videodrome.

Quadrophenia was based on the 1973 rock opera album written by The Who and told the story of Jimmy, a Mod who is disillusioned with life and becomes caught up in the 1964 Brighton riots.

This, taken from 'The Great Walk to Beijing 2008' website: 

"The energy is uplifting and it has a positive influence on the group. English actor, Toyah Willcox wanted to come along because she believes the world needs to change the way it views cancer, she said she is also truly inspired by women such as Olivia who take control of their own lives. Now Toyah is glad she did, “This is an amazing journey”, she said.

The team joining Olivia includes Sir Cliff Richard, Joan Rivers, Scott Wolf and Dannii Minogue. The UK team joining Olivia include Toyah Willcox, Anton Du Beke, Sarah Cawood, Tom Chambers, Martina Laird, Gemma Atkinson, Marcus Patric and Liz Fuller.

The money raised will go towards the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre in Australia. The centre will be the primary site for clinical trials globally. It will provide dedicated research facilities and clinical trials, with the development of future cancer vaccines and therapies.

Actor Marcus Patric, famous for his role as Ben in Hollyoaks, and his more recent role in Echo Beach, joins Casualty star Martina Laird to tell us more. Both will be taking part in the walk.

Both of these stages are classed as "low difficulty" but they are by no means easy treks, it just means they aren't uphill.

Toyah will be in China for a week. Please keep an eye on the Great Walk website (cick the logo above for a direct link to Toyah's page), there is much information there, plus they have a regularly updated Diary, and Image/Video Galleries to browse.

Stage 2: ‘Ming Dynasty Meets the Gobi Desert’
Will Desert Dust Storms Replace Sea Breezes?

April 13th - 14th: 23kms: Flat walk but potential for desert dust storms.

At least the terrain is flat (that’s why a Wall was needed) but a walk in this arid place 6,700 km from the coast can be demanding. Views of perpetually snow-capped 4-5,000 metre peaks refresh the spirit, as the team reflects on the ancient confrontations between the isolated western-most Chinese defenders and nomadic raiders on horseback. As the mileage builds up, the blisters begin to multiply!

Key geographic features: Gobi Desert, Qilian Mountains, Oasis, Talai River Canyon. 

Key historical landmarks to be visited: Visit from 3rd Century AD tombs for the Wei & Jin Dynasties. 

Stage 3: ‘Spirituality, Silk Road and the Han Dynasty’
Where China confronted other civilisations

April 15th - 16th: 14kms: Flat walk, through continued threat of dust storms.

The Walkers explore the oldest part of the Great Wall where Silk Road splits towards India, Persia and Europe. A melting-pot of civilisations, creative art and spiritual beliefs in the middle of the desert, where traders from the West and Buddhist missionaries from India once sheltered wind, dust and heat. Walkers will sense the loneliness of the Gobi and the Silk Road. Camels make the sand dunes come alive. Keep those muscles well toned and spirits elevated for the rigours of Stage 4!

Key geographic features: The flat Gobi Desert punctuated by sand dunes. The oasis fed by snow melts. 

Key historical landmarks to be visited: Oldest part of The Great Wall (150 BC), and the passes which it was built to protect. Mogao Grottoes where Buddhism first entered China.

A lot of money has already been raised. GOOD LUCK Toyah!!

Sat 31st May - Back To The 80's - Braehead Arena, Glasgow*
Fri 13th June - Wisley Music Festival - Wisley Gardens, Surrey
Sat 28th June - Grassington Festival, Yorkshire - Full band set
Sat 5th July - Kings Lynn Festival - Full band set
Sat 12th July - The Quarry, Shrewsbury - Here & Now band
Sun 20th July - Very Best of the 80s, Stanstead Park - Here & Now band
Fri 25th July - Wickerman Festival, East Kirkcarswell - Full band set*
Sat 26th July - Powderham Castle, Exeter - Here & Now band
Sun 27th July - British Motor Show, London - Here & Now band
Fri 1st August - Shugborough Music & Fireworks, Staffordshire*
Sat 9th August - Ascot Racecourse, Berkshire - Here & Now band
Sat 13th September - Brearmore State, Hampshire - Here & Now band
Sat 1st November - Embassy Ballroom, Selsey

NB. Three of the dates above aren't confirmed* as yet.

The Nordoff Robins Therapy Trust recently commissioned a portrait of Toyah to appear in an exhibition at St.Paul’s Gallery, Birmingham. This will appear alongside portraits of Ozzie Osbourne, Ocean Colour Scene and many others. Toyah’s portrait is by artist Melissa Mailer Yates. Limited edition prints may become available at auction to raise funds for the trust. 

Keep checking www.stpaulsgallery.com for more details. 

Please check back over the weekend for screen captures from the programme.

• Numerous websites have ran articles and stories (mainly re-using the Press Association article published a few days ago) in the last day or so on the programme and Toyah.

• Overnight ratings show that the Tonight special attracted a good precentage of viewers depsite being aired against BBC1's Eastenders.

Prepare for a chilling eye opener with LIVING’s brand new paranormal series Living with the Dead exclusively on LIVING this May. This dark investigative series is a frightening foray into the most haunted homes around the UK; ordinary people who are living in fear, with extraordinarily spooky tales of their own homes. Expect tension-filled, menacing journeys as the show tells the stories of terrorised families from Derby to York and Wales to Grimsby, having to share their homes with ghosts and spirits that are ruining their lives. The series will also feature the team paying a visit to singer/actress Toyah Willcox’s house in Worcestershire, and performing a séance to exorcise the demons that, she claims, haunts her home.

Over the terrifying eight-part series, the Living with the Dead team; Psychic mediums Johnnie Fiori (also appearing in the West End musical Hairspray as Motormouth Maybelle), Ian Lawman (the ‘Bad Boy’ of the Psychic world who has talked to the Kray Twins) and paranormal investigator Mark Webb, will work together with home owners who are literally petrified to the point of despair about their unwanted spiritual house guests. 

This is the last chance saloon for families to reclaim their homes, and make them once again a place of comfort rather than a place of fear.

Will the team find resolution for one Derbyshire couple who claim to regularly sense orbs in their living room and in their bedroom breathing on them as they try to sleep? At their wits end, they haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since they moved in three and a half years ago. Can the team help one Yorkshire family who has experienced paranormal activity for the twenty-five years they have lived in their home?  The awful experiences include the son feeling like he is being strangled in his bed, the family waking up with unexplained scratches and eerie footsteps around the house alongside banging doors.  These families are in desperate need of help and are calling on the Living with the Dead paranormal team, to help transform their lives and cleanse their houses of these bad spirits once and for all. 

Johnnie’s role is to assess the paranormal activity in each haunted home, taking on the task of actually staying the night in each location, and working with the team to investigate what is spiritually holding their home to ransom. Ian’s psychic abilities will then help to bring calm and resolution, so each family can rescue their homes from their paranormal house guests.  The team will also confront the intruders by staying with the families to face up to the unrest and seek to find resolution for the tortured homeowners. 

Houses in Worcestershire, Derbyshire, Grimsby and York amongst other areas will be investigated during the series; one family home per episode. There will also be frightening reconstructions of sightings of poltergeists, unexplained activity, and dark first hand accounts from the families terrified in their homes and others who have lived there or witnessed the unexplainable themselves.

In How Do You Sleep? Tonight, chronic insomniac Willcox reports on why growing numbers of us are lying awake, and looks for a cure.

The singer keeps her own video diary of her restless nights, and how she functions on a few hours of sleep each day. The show airs at 8pm on ITV1.

Insomniac Willcox seeks a solution (Press Association), Toyah looks for answers to insomnia (This Is Croydon), and Toyah wants to be asleep (ITN News) are some of the headlines used to accompany it.

Singer and actress Toyah Willcox examines the problem of insomnia in Britain in a TV show - and tells how she hasn't had a full night's sleep in 36 years. 

In How Do You Sleep: Tonight, chronic insomniac Toyah reports on why growing numbers of Britons are lying awake and asks if there's a solution. 

As she heads on her search for sleep, the singer keeps her own video diary of her restless nights, what the causes could be and how she functions on just a few hours of sleep. 

As part of the investigation, Virgin Media did an experiment allowing call centre workers to nap at work in a specially created sleep pod. It took part in a three-week experiment in its call centre in Manchester, to help staff beat the post-lunch dip and be more alert. 

Employees trialled a sleep pod that lulls the participant asleep with music and then gently vibrates them awake after 20-30 minutes. 

Staff were allocated a regular slot each day for their nap - and 99 per cent said it left them feeling refreshed, more productive in work and improved their personal life because they had more energy later in the day. Only one couldn't fall asleep and Virgin Media is continuing trialling the device.

Toyah, who tests the pod, says: "I managed to fall asleep. That was really interesting because I resisted it to begin with. This is the first time I've been forced to have a nap in a custom-designed pod." 

How Do You Sleep? Tonight airs at 8pm on ITV1 on Friday.

Holy Moly was invited to the home of legendary singer, actress, presenter, voice-over artist and jack of many other trades Toyah Willcox for an interview.

The cameraman, however, did not turn up - leaving our presenter Matt with a camera and not much else...

From the age of 14, Toyah Willcox has suffered from chronic insomnia.

Most nights she has just four hours' sleep, much of it broken, and she has become used to starting her day at 4am, having given up on sleep in despair. 

Over the years she's resorted to a whole range of remedies, and at one stage became addicted to sleeping pills. 

"Exhaustion, stress and being unable to fall asleep became a part of who I am," she says, 'but it was like having a secret life, one that the people around me would not understand. It can make you feel very lonely." 

Toyah is speaking for the first time about her battle with insomnia as part of a special edition of ITV's Tonight With Trevor McDonald. The programme investigates the growing number of people seeking help for sleep problems and uncovers an unregulated internet trade in sleeping tablets and sedatives. Drugs, including the sedative temazepam (linked to the death of actor Heath Ledger), can be easily purchased - many are highly addictive, as Toyah discovered through bitter experience. 

Her battle with insomnia started when she was growing up in Birmingham. 

"I was in the middle of my O-levels and finding it very stressful, not least because I am dyslexic. 

"Permanent anxiety about achieving good results kept me awake, so I downed flu remedies to try to go to sleep. 

"My mum and sister also struggle to sleep so there could be a genetic link. 

"I reached the point of sleeping only a couple of hours at night, then feeling exhausted and stressed during the day." 

She left school at 17, working in theatre and playing live gigs. 

"I built a lifestyle around the fact that I was awake at night," she says. 

"Going on stage could be at any time, from 7.30pm to 2am. There wasn't time to sleep. 

"I have a lot of natural energy that kept me going, even when the insomnia left me physically shattered." 

Toyah adds: "In those days, doctors had no qualms about handing out pills, especially the private doctors I saw. 

"When I was 25 I was prescribed temazepam to help me sleep. It worked immediately. 

"For the first time in years, I was sleeping a full eight hours. 

"Unfortunately I became dependent and over time the pills were less effective. 

"After two years I decided I didn't want to be controlled by the pills. 

"I was performing my songs on Top Of The Pops, my acting career was incredibly successful and I wanted to continue taking control of my life. 

"This included giving up alcohol and switching to a vegetarian diet. 

"I didn't want to do anything to compromise my immune system or alter my mood in any way, whether with food, drink or medication." 

She decided to stop taking the sleeping pills literally overnight. 

"I had no idea how hard it would be. The worst aspect was the boredom, with your body heavy with fatigue but your mind still buzzing away. 

"You are not really awake enough to concentrate on reading, and in the early hours, particularly then before the advent of the internet and a more widespread 24-hour culture, there was so little to do. 

"I gritted my teeth, got on with my job and was incredibly relieved when I found myself able to shut my eyes and sleep, if only for a few hours, 14 days after I took my last sleeping pill. 

After that, never again." After her alarming experience with sleeping pills, Toyah was shocked to see how easy it was to buy such drugs on the internet. 

For Toyah, the problems did not end with giving up the sleeping pills because the insomnia remained. 

"I hadn't known what a decent night's sleep felt like since I was 14." 

Marriage in 1986 to guitarist Robert Fripp, now 61, brought a new set of sleep issues. 

"My insomnia meant I was pacing the house, with him trying to persuade me to go to bed at a reasonable time. 

"But when I did go to bed there was Robert's terrible snoring. 

"Bless him, he's tried everything, including an operation on his nose, but he still snores like an earthquake and wakes both of us up." 

Over the past 36 years, Toyah has tried many ways to induce sleep, including lavender oil massages and listening to "wave" sounds. 

"Nothing has made any difference," she admits. 

"I count four hours as a good night's sleep. 

"I rarely go to sleep before 1am, and I'm often awake again by 4am. 

"The best quality sleep I have is between 8am and 10am, and if I have that I usually feel refreshed," she adds. To see if there was another solution, Toyah, who is 50 this year, investigated a range of sleep remedies for the Tonight programme. 

These included sleep pods being trialled at a Manchester call centre. 

The pods, which look like a cross between an egg-shaped chair and a day bed, enclose the sleeper and block out light and sound. 

She tried one and found it did induce a 20-minute power nap. 

"I was incredibly sceptical but it worked." 

But she is resigned to the fact she is "programmed" not to sleep. 

Dr John Shneerson, director of the Sleep Centre at Papworth Hospital, Cambridgeshire, says those with long-term sleep problems can find their insomnia is intractable. 

"The longer a person has been living with sleep deprivation, the longer it will take to find ways to treat it," he says. 

"It was Robert who recognised that I have a phobia about going to sleep," says Toyah. 

"I fight the signs of sleep by avoiding going to bed. 

"It's true, I see sleep a waste of time. I rarely want to go to bed because I find it boring. 

"I am naturally up and busy and that's how I am happiest. 

But the problem with insomnia is that too many of your waking hours are spent feeling as if you have jet lag." 

Unlike many insomniacs, her health doesn't appear to have been affected. 

Intriguingly, for Toyah, through the TV programme she discovered a trial drug designed to keep people awake indefinitely, apparently without side-effects. 

"If such a pill was ever available, I'd take it like a shot." 

Meanwhile she is keen to concentrate on the positive side of spending so much time awake. 

"I have at least four more hours every day in which to achieve my aims. The internet has been a godsend. 

"I've built up a multi-million pound property empire overseas, traded stocks and shares and built up my financial knowledge because I'm awake in the small hours. 

"No-one would want to have their mind busy at 4am and their body exhausted, but I think there's a case for making the best of it." 

•TONIGHT With Trevor McDonald: ITV1, Friday, 8pm.

Scan one is from 'RTE Guide' (the Irish equivalent of 'Radio/TV' Times) and scan two is from 'We Love Telly' the 'Daily Mirror' magazine.

Toyah is namechecked in two articles in the print and online media in relation to her involvement in The Great Walk to Beijing 2008. The Daily Star and Daily India both have ran features over the last day.

More than 350 scooter boys and girls packed into the Holiday Inn, King's Road, Brighton, at the weekend to celebrate the cult 1970s film.

Fans in smart suits and parkas queued to meet the stars of the movie, including former EastEnder Phil Daniels, singer Toyah Willcox, and actors Phil Davis, Garry Cooper, Mark Wingett, Gary Shail and Trevor Lair.

They also staged a scooter rally in Madeira Drive.

Convention organiser Tim Evans, of Real Events, said: "People have come from as far as America, Switzerland, Holland and France.

"Everyone has come to this convention because they like to reminisce. Most people discovered the film 30 years ago at an influential age so they feel as though they are reliving their youth.

"It's great to be in the city where the film was set. The actors are also here because they have fond memories of making the film in Brighton when many of them were only teenagers."

Quadrophenia, which is inspired by the 1973 double album released by The Who, tells the story of the 1964 Whitsun weekend violence in Brighton.

Hundreds of teenage Mods and Rockers clashed on the beach and on the Palace Pier before attacking police officers who were trying to disperse them.

Members of scooter clubs from across Britain travelled to the convention.

Sam Madrell, 25, of the South London Revival club, said: "We are having fun on Brighton seafront as our counterparts did all those years ago in the 1960s.

"We are here with lots of scooters of all different shapes and sizes from various eras. We've also brought all our accessories including lights, mirrors, parkas, suits and ties."

Rupert Langdon, 37, of Kemp Town, Brighton, is a member of the Brighton-based Aces High club.

He said: "We ride up and down the country on these scooters, which is not what they are actually designed for. It gives us a lot of grief along the way but we get there in the end."

Quadrophenia, which also starred singer Sting, was filmed on Brighton beach, along the seafront and in The Lanes.

Check back soon for scans.

The 80’s rock singer has sought the help of the real life Ghostbusters in Living TV’s Living With The Dead to rid ghosts from her Worcestershire house, which she shares with her rock guitarist husband, Robert Fripp. 

The investigative team includes psychic medium Ian Lawman, who claims to have talked to the Kray Twins amongst other spiritual entities. 

Seance

And they are set to visit Toyah’s house as part of a UK-wide crusade to rid people of unwelcome houseguests. 

The mediums plan to assess the paranormal activity in Toyah’s home by staying the night. This will also help them investigate what is spiritually holding the singer’s home to ransom before confronting the intruders during a séance. 

As well as trying to help the 49-year-old star, the eight-part series will also see the team helping a Derbyshire couple who regularly sense orbs in their bedroom that breath on them while they are in bed, and a Yorkshire family who wake up with unexplained scratches on their faces.

UK chart toppers Atomic Kitten will headline Festival Too's summer spectacular on Saturday, July 12, as part of an exciting bill which also includes '80s pop star Toyah Willcox and Dublin's saviours of soul, The Commitments.

This year's festival line-up is the most expensive to date and also includes top local acts the Red Hot Soul Band, After Hours and Kuda along with tributes to Led Zeppelin and T Rex.

Festival Too chairman Alan Taylor said the organising committee has been keen to build on the terrific success of recent years, which has seen record-breaking crowds cram into Lynn's Tuesday Market Place for acts such as Deacon Blue and Heather Small.

He told the Lynn News: "Due to the phenomenal success of Festival Too, and to celebrate our 23rd year, we wanted to make this bigger and better than previous years.

"Once again we have gone for a cross-section of music to appeal to everyone in the community with everything from local groups and tribute acts through to the present day with Atomic Kitten.

"Every year we have gone from strength to strength. 

"We have evolved Festival Too to have more modern acts thanks to help from the borough council and our supporters.

"It is still one of the biggest free festivals in Europe and we have to look for acts which appeal to everyone."

The festival opens on Saturday, June 28, and runs over three weekends, including a new and improved line-up of street entertainment during the day. 

Atomic Kitten, the most expensive act ever to appear at the festival, have enjoyed huge success in the UK as well as across Europe and Asia.

Having released their debut single Right Now in 1999 the group have sold more than seven million albums and have a catalogue of hit singles to entertain the Lynn audience.

Toyah Willcox appears on Saturday, July 5, to perform hits from her highly successful and diverse career while The Commitments make a welcome return on Friday, July 11.

Their show features all the great soul classics from the film and multi-million selling soundtrack including Mustang Sally, Take Me To The River and In The Midnight Hour.

Mr Taylor said: "All we can do is keep our fingers crossed for the weather. 

"We have to say a big thank you to all our supporters and to the people of Lynn and West Norfolk for continuing to back the festival." 

For all the latest Festival Too news and information visit www.festivaltoo.co.uk

King's Lynn hosts a week of free entertainment each year with bands playing to a packed Tuesday Market Place.

T-Rex and Led Zeppelin tribute bands, The Commitments and the winner of KLFM 96.7's Battle of the Bands competition will also be appearing.

Festival Too starts with the usual bang on June 28, with a firework display on King Staithe Square, and ends with the Atomic Kitten show on July 12.

Simon Rowe, head of programming at KLFM, said he expected the Kittens would draw a large crowd on a par with recent headline acts such as Deacon Blue and the Human League.

“It's brilliant, it wasn't so long ago they were at Number One in the charts all the time,” he said.

Festival Too is sponsored by local businesses from across West Norfolk. Chairman Alan Taylor said this year's festival, which is costing £75,000 to put on, was the most expensive in the event's 23 year history.

“This year is probably our most exciting programme,” he said. “It's going to be our biggest and best line-up.

“We have to thank all of our sponsors from the council to individuals who give us a donation out of their own pockets, every penny raised helps to put the festival on.”

Local bands account for a third of this year's line-up. The winner and runner-up in KLFM's Battle of the bands competition will support the two headline acts.

The source said she wasn't mentioned in pre-launch publicity press as she is included in the "huge final three episodes" of the series. I am fairly confident that this is false, however if it does happen I apologise for this spoiler, though I'm not sure why revealing she is included would matter as a plethora of other names, Billie Piper, Elisabeth Sladen, John Barrowman et al, have all been already.

It would be great if Toyah was in there, though judging by the PA story below she isn't, as the finale is sure to be Davrostastic!! (oops!)

It's A Mystery Why Toyah's Not in Who

Actress and singer Toyah Willcox admits she's a sci-fi addict with a soft spot for a certain Timelord.

Would she like to appear in the new series of Doctor Who?

"Oh God yeah, but I don't think it's going to happen," she sighs. "I think the queue is as long as the world is wide. I've had meetings and everything, it's just never happened."

Guesting in Doctor Who may be a long cherished dream, but one thing that is going to happen is her involvement with The Great Walk to Beijing. 

Toyah jumped at the chance of taking part in the charity walk which begins on April 7: "The email came into my agent and I thought: 'Wow. If I ever go to Beijing, I'd like it to be for that reason'. 

"I think it's a fabulous concept, and it's quite mega because you've got Australia, America and England entering people."

The fundraising adventure, in aid of Olivia Newton-John's Wellness Centre - the primary site for clinical cancer trials worldwide - can be seen in an upcoming documentary for BBC Worldwide, and coverage will also be featured on GMTV. 

Toyah Story: The Next Chapter

Although Toyah Willcox turns 50 in May, the actress and singer seems to have as much energy as when she burst into the public eye in the 1980s.

Aside from jetting around the world taking care of her assorted properties, she's been busy working on a new album with her band the Humans, and preparing for upcoming charity event The Great Walk to Beijing with Olivia Newton-John.

"For me it's about looking at cancer in a positive way, and I think what Olivia Newton-John is doing is taking terror away and putting a quality of life back and this is supporting that," she explains.

However, Toyah is keen to point out the charity walk isn't a race.

"I'm not going out there to be competitive with other people. We're all there to raise money and raise awareness that this is about palliative care and quality of life and to see cancer as something that you can live with as well as fight against."

So, what training has she been doing?

"Just living," she laughs. "I do concerts all the time, so I'm very active. I had to estimate my health for the officials and I said: 'Well actually, I do walk about eight to 14 miles a day anyway'. I don't like being in the car or catching trains, so if I can walk, that's what I do."

The fund-raising adventure, in aid of Newton-John's Wellness Centre, can be seen in an upcoming documentary for BBC Worldwide, and coverage will also be featured on GMTV. 

You can sponsor Toyah and the other participants by going to www.greatwalktobeijing.com

There are also some Nightingales photographs at Facebook too.