In brief: McKellen to star in Prisoner remake

Sir Ian McKellen (pictured) is to star in a television remake of the cult 1960s thriller The Prisoner. He will play the part of Number Two alongside the US actor Jim Caviezel, who has been chosen to reprise the role of Number Six, first made famous by Patrick McGoohan... Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, has turned down the chance to be head of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. MacGregor, 62, was offered the job earlier this year when the Met was looking for a replacement for its existing director, Philippe de Montebello, who retires this year... The drummer of Brit pop band Blur, Dave Rountree, is repeating his efforts to become a Labour councillor in Westminster. He was beaten last year by the Tory candidate by 222 votes, but now he will fight a new seat that has come available because of a by-election... The former women's tennis champion Billy Jean King has seen fit to comment on the state of men's tennis shorts at Wimbledon: "In the Seventies they were too tight, but they have gone way too far the other way"... Meanwhile Tony Henman, father of the former British player and newly recruited BBC commentator Tim, has spoken out against the government's eco-towns, one of which could be built near his Oxfordshire home: "Gordon Brown said he'd be a listening prime minister and he's only got to listen a little bit and he'll realise that he's got a thoroughly bad idea – unrealistic, unsustainable and definitely not wanted"... American actor Henry Winkler, aka 'The Fonz', was spotted looking for bargains in the official Wimbledon shop yesterday: he bought one of the club's badges for £3...