Split . . . Dannii Minogue and Kris Smith. Photo: Janie Barrett
DANNII Minogue has been so unlucky in love after announcing her split from partner Kris Smith. The parents of son Ethan experienced tension over their high-profile careers and schedules, Minogue as a judge on Channel Seven's Australia's Got Talent and Smith as a model for Myer. The duo patched things up last May but the cracks persisted, with Minogue tweeting yesterday that she needed to ''retreat for a while'' and Smith tweeted about their ''deep mutual love and respect''. Minogue has been at the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas, possibly reflecting that love can be a mirage, and back home she has two shoulders to lean on - the J'Aton designers Jacob Luppino and Anthony Pittorino, who are close friends. News of the split may have created a ''ding, ding, ding'' moment for Seven's publicists wanting to crank up stories about the talent show returning on April 16. Minogue is due at the Logies the night before, a celebrity break-up may warm the hearts of the bosses with their magnifying glass over the ratings.
Price Cruises with better transmission
STEVE Price must be busy cruising around in his Porsche and hopefully he's getting crispy clear reception on the 1377 signal. MTR's demise was blamed on the weak signal, not because it was ''Men Talking Rubbish'', and file this under cruel irony: the Australian Communications and Media Authority is pleased to announce that the 1377 transmission has been increased with a change in direction to its ''radiation pattern''. This is music to the ears of listeners in the north-west now glued to replacement music station MyMP. Unfortunately, Price hasn't returned my call to tell me how the car's transmission is going. There's more goss that the former breakfast host received a handsome pay-out from the station's half-owner, John Singleton's Macquarie Radio Network, and given he was only on air for two years out of a five-year contract, he could have pocketed millions. But Price knows his prices and was responsibly frugal when buying a second-hand Porsche Carrera with low mileage. Other scuttlebutt is that Price missed the sound of his own voice and offered to be a contributor to 2GB in Sydney but was told that his application would be kept on file. He made news at his former station 2UE when a court ruled that he didn't defame rugby league cougar Charmyne Palavi by calling her a ''slut'' during a chat with entertainment guru Peter Ford.
Scott sent off in Priscilla style
ST KILDA has lost part of its soul. That was the sentiment at the funeral of Renee Scott, the former drag queen farewelled with Priscilla, Queen of the Desert razzamatazz. Scott reigned at the Pokeys performances at the Prince of Wales and given the former operator Jan Hillier had her funeral at Ormond Hall in St Kilda Road, it was the venue for Scott. There was a white coffin, toy poodles with pink ribbons, friend Neil McNeill's composition Rhapsody to Renee and a video tribute of her Pokeys shows. Channel Nine newsreader Peter Hitchener, a friend who couldn't be there, wrote a tribute about her wonderful voice. The wake was at the Prince of Wales, Scott's favourite spot for a drink with the late actor Bill Hunter. Among the mourners were Ruth Krawat, the wife of chef Iain Hewitson, who runs Barney Allen's. It was another place where she perched.
Picking up seduction tips
HERE'S another acronym: PUA - Pick Up Artist. American Adam Lyons calls himself one and is in town to run a three-day boot camp for the special price of $1300 and launch the ''world's first seduction iPhone app'' for three personality types: ''thoughtful'', ''socialite'' or ''social explosion''. A search of the App Store shows there already are seduction apps but not one from the former self-confessed ''nerd'' gonged the ''Number 1 Pick Up Artist'' at the World PUA Summit in Hollywood. Only in La-La Land. If his advice doesn't work, bring back the Saturday night dance. It worked for generations of people before mobile phones.
