Heat Magazine

Ok. I’ll put my hands up and admit it. I’ve been sucked in. The marketing guys and gals down at Heat Magazine Headquarters have done their job nicely. They reeled me in hook line and sinker and yes I fell for it! February 9-15 edition displayed “Pop Idol Special Issue” with a photograph of gorgeous Gareth and Wacky Will on its front cover…and I just had to have it.

Now it has to be said, that I don’t go in for these types of magazines. I usually only tend buy magazines when I know I’ll be able to make some quiet time for myself (which isn’t often). So if some relaxation is the order of the day (or evening in my case) then it usually begins with a lovely warm bath, into my lovely warm pyjamas and curl up on the sofa with a large mug of coffee and a recent edition of Cosmopolitan. So buying a copy of “Heat” was a rather strange purchase for me.

Now if an intellectually stimulating read is what you’re after, then no doubt this isn’t the magazine for you. But on the other hand you desire some light entertainment over a mid morning cuppa then this may be just the ticket.

Heat is a weekly celebrity gossip magazine. You’ll find it in all newsagents and supermarkets for £1.45. It’s a relatively new addition to the newsagent’s shelves being in print for just under 3 years. This copy is edition 154.

Ok. So your attention has been grabbed after spotting Pop Idol on the front cover. So you go for a closer inspection. You pick the magazine up and you are then confronted with a rather rough looking Jamie Theakston with writing underneath which says in red writing “Sex Scandal: Jamie hits back!”. Whatever! Not my kinda thing. But I bought it anyway. The Pop Idol Special bit swung it for little miss Gullible me.

Open the magazine up and you’ll find a table of contents next to pictures of Bradd Pitt and Johnny Depp (feel a Ciaos Top ten most gorgeous men op coming on). Oh and there’s a photo of Gwynth Paltrow too.

Flicking over, Heats “Hot off the press” stories revolve around Natalie Appleton’s (from All Saints) pending wedding to her Fiancé Liam. But I became bored reading that and I skipped the rest of the story. Then we were informed of Kylie’s relationship with James Gooding and a will they/won’t they move in together ramble.

I could go on forever about all the celebrity info in the pages that follow, but I won’t. Needless to say it’s a mixture of revelations and scandal and pictures of Kym Marsh from Hearsay loading her car up with Ikea flat packed furniture assisted by her boyfriend Jack Ryder (Jamie in Eastenders). So there are loads of articles to get your teeth into here, by reading about many famous people who adorn our TV and film screens.

Intercepted throughout by various advertisements from hair care products and make-up to mobile phone ring tones (incidentally there is a free sachet of Fructis Garnier conditioner attached to one of these ads) you’ll find a letters page, a 7-day television and radio listings section, Top 10 films, Music CD’s, celebrity fashion and make-up items, celebrity interviews and film reviews and concluding with the weekly horoscope, a crossword competition and a selection of quotes (some funny, some not so funny) from the lips of famous celebs. In all 122 pages of take it or leave tabloid gossip.

So there you have it. If you're interested in the goings on of the media celebrities and fancy an enjoyable read , but don’t appreciate having your face rubbed in their glamour and wealth as other magazines such as “OK” and “Hello” tend to do, then this mag will make a pretty entertaining read. But if a cosy night in with you and your magazine is required then I’d suggest opting for something like Cosmo instead.

Incidentally, two previous issues which have displayed Pop Idol on its front cover have both netted over 4 million sales each. The highest number of Heat sales since the magazine began.