Martha Stewart to return - 2004-12-09 4:51 PM
Reported here on the BBC, suprised no one had posted it.
- She may currently be behind bars, but shamed US TV presenter Martha Stewart is to return to American screens.
Ms Stewart, currently serving a five-month prison sentence for lying to US stock market regulators, has signed up to present a new show for NBC.
The series is due to begin late in 2005 and will revolve around Ms Stewart's cooking and lifestyle skills.
News of the TV deal saw shares in Ms Stewart's company - Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) - jump 7.7%.
Good wage
Ms Stewart's summer 2004 court case and subsequent guilty verdict took her long running former show off the air and hit the profits of MSLO, which in October posted a third quarter loss of $15m (£7.7m), compared with a shortfall of $3.9m a year earlier.
The company, which also operates magazine, mail order and internet divisions also saw a fall in advertising.
A self-made millionaire, 63-year-old Ms Stewart is scheduled to be released from prison in March.
The New York Times estimates she will be paid $8m a year for the show.