Here's an early Christmas present for ya: In a deleted scene from Mamma Mia!, young History Boys hottie Dominic Cooper shows off his tanned, ABBA-firmed tushie in a bedroom tousle with Amanda Seyfried. (Just squint and pretend she's Colin Firth) 

Making the clip even more delightful (as though that were possible!) is the fact that the opening shot is clearly supposed to suggest that Cooper is being ... um ... "buggered" ... before it's revealed that his fiancee is merely giving him a good leg-stretch.  

Enjoy all the mildly NSFW dimeslot goodness, after the jump!

Daniel Radcliffe, James Corden

In February I wrote about what appeared to be an ambush-snogging of poor Daniel Radcliffe at the What's On Stage Awards in London by actor James Corden (The History Boys). Daniel was just stepping up the podium when James grabbed Daniel and gave him one heck of a kiss. At the time I wrote about how if I were Radcliffe, I would've kneed Corden in the crotch.

Well, I ran into Corden at the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles where he is promoting his new show on BBC America, Gavin & Stacey. I got a chance to ask him about the infamous kiss and why he did it. Says Corden, "If you spent enough time with Dan, you can’t help but kiss him on the mouth. It’s a fact. There’s something magical about him, which is I imagine why he got the part [of Harry Potter], where he just draws you in. There were no tongues involved in that kiss. But, we both enjoyed it very much."

Did Daniel know Corden planned on kissing him? "No," says Corden. "I’ve known Dan a while and I came up to him in the wings [of the show] and he said, 'You’re not going to make fun of me or anything, are you?' I said, 'No. I might kiss you on the mouth.' And then he had to go on, so I had given him some pre-warning, yes."

As to how good a kisser Radcliffe turned out be, Corden has nothing but praise. "A wonderful, wonderful kisser, with a beautiful penis."

It turns out the straight Corden is quite in touch with his gay side as an actor. He played Daffyd "The only gay in the village" Thomas' gay brothe on Little Britain. He guested on Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive where he had a scripted snog with out actor Russell Tovey (both actors also appeared in the gay-friendly film The History Boys).

James Corden

(Picture courtesy of Getty Images/Frederick M. Brown)

As for Corden's new BBC America comedy Gavin & Stacey, the outrageous comedian says gay viewers will find at least a little queer content in the show. "We've got me – James Corden! [With me] we've got something for bears and for chubby chasers! It’s me and Matt. We are essentially the gayest straight men in the world. We’re essentially lesbians, I guess because if you had seen us when we got into LA yesterday, we went straight shopping like. I think there’s plenty there. The show has got a pretty big gay following n the U.K. And Stacey’s brother who arrives in episode five, he’s a gay character and – but never in any way that we – he’s just mentioned. I think the show is respectful and I think there’s quite a lot there."

But another character might be gay as well. "And Rob Brydon’s character Uncle Bryn, there’s perhaps a latent . . . I don’t want to say he is gay because we’ve never said that, but I think people who watch it might . . . can make up their own mind about it."

I haven't seen enough gay chatter about the original stage version of Mamma Mia! to know if this is something to confess in hushed tones or not, but when I finally got to seeing the hit musical I didn't really care for it.

To some degree, my problem was a matter of expectations set too high: I was hoping for a show that would have me looking at songs I've listened to for decades in a new light, as Moulin Rouge did. Instead, it turned out to be ABBA-porn with a plot mostly focused on getting from one familiar song to the next. I wouldn't say I hated Mamma Mia!, but if I'm at a dinner party and the topic of stage musicals come up Mamma Mia! isn't one I'm eager to discuss.

And yet, when I watch the trailer for the Mamma Mia! movie, I can't wait to see it. I've even started plotting arguments that'll convince my partner to see it with me.

I think I can point to four reasons this trailer works:

1. The music is still ABBA

I may have been disappointed in how the songs were presented on stage, but in the right dosage, the energy and verve of an ABBA hit could make "I Married Ameera: The Epic Cinematic Trilogy" look exciting. I remember feeling underwhelmed throughout the first act of Mamma Mia! but then "Voulez Vous" sent me into the intermission in the bubbliest mood. The exuberance of most ABBA's hits is just hard to resist, especially when combined quick cuts of people merrily dancing.

2. Two words: Meryl. Streep.

I can't say the comedic skills of Meryl Streep can make the worst movie watchable (Streep's hilarious performance in She-Devil easily proves that she can't save a doomed effort) but you certainly know that she'll give us a fully realized character. Here she comes off as a character whose life goes beyond coming up with excuses to break out into an ABBA hit. The plot of Mamma Mia! is pretty silly (Brian once hilariously summarized it as Lace: The Musical!), but if anyone can convince audiences to overlook those faults, it's a powerhouse actress like Streep.

3. And the rest.

Streep isn't the only performer that makes the Mamma Mia! movie an exciting prospect. After playing serious on Veronica Mars and Big Love, I'm looking forward to seeing Amanda Seyfried in a lighter role (her Sophie also seems to be a little more fully fleshed than the version I saw on stage, too). And then we also have hotties Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth, with Firth playing Harry, the dad who turns out to be gay. Meanwhile, Christine Baranski can always make me laugh with the way she delivers a one-liner, even in the worst films.

4. History Boys' Dominic Cooper dancing shirtless on the beach

Need I say more?

Well, there's also this.

What do you think? Fans of the stage version and otherwise, anyone looking forward to this one?

Out actor Russell Tovey 

Not that we needed further proof that American television is woefully behind the rest of the world in terms of censorship and content, but when the evidence is this round and perky, it's hard to ignore it.

Just this week on British television, two young actors bared their buns in two different dramas. Actually, probably a dozen more actors in a dozen more shows did the same, but for our purposes we'll focus on these fellas. Wait, did I say "focus"? I meant "drool".

First up is gay actor Russel Tovey, in the BBC drama Being Human. Well, the title says it all, really, as Tovey is featured as stripped-down and human as you can get several times in the show. Here's a relatively demure shot, and I've snuck in a few racier pics after the jump. 

Did I mention that Tovey plays a werewolf in this show? I guess even werewolves are manscaping in 2008.

Folks may know Tovey as sporty Rudge from The History Boys, but many don't know that he's openly gay. We're looking to see much more of this talent in the future ... wait, let me rephrase that ...

Our other bun-flasher is Mitch Hewer, who plays the beloved gay character Maxxie on the teen drama Skins. Nice to see that an otherwise straight show about teen relationships is objectifying the gay kid just like it does everyone else ... and it certainly doesn't hurt that Hewer has a body that could make a Bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.

Enjoy more pics (a few are NSFW) after the jump! (For more, check out this site, who was kind enough to screencap all of this wonderfulness.)

• Breaking! Magazine cover uses term "Million Dollar" to describe Survivor contestant Todd Herzog. THEY MUST KNOW SOMETHING!!!! Yeah ... like how to get free press.

• Hot off the press, I've got some Brothers & Sisters scoop! Those interested in Kevin's relationship with Jason will definitely want to watch the next couple of weeks. But you have to work for it! This Sunday Kevin is ***** ** **** ******** McCallister ******* ****** ***** to *** *** and ***** **** Scotty.

• Breaking! Magazine cover promises proof as to whether Tom Cruise is gay! I'm sensing a trend here...

• A few more tidbits about Torchwood Season 2 -- Ugly Betty's Alan Dale will guest star, and James Marsters plays a remorseless murderer.

• Hey, look: it's Blair's gay dad and his gay boyfriend from the upcoming Gossip Girl! On ice skates. Figures...

• Brian Williams responded to suggestions that he meant anything anti-gay about his "marriage under attack" comments the other night: "The simple fact is that nothing could have been further from my mind." Nothing? Really? How about ... I don't know, The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man?

• Torchwood Season 2 will be coming to the States via BBC America starting January 26th.

• Was this the gayest play opening ever? T.R. Knight, Peter Paige, Matthew Rhys and more!

• Finally, for all of you in the U.S. have a very Happy Thanksgiving. We'll be back next Monday!

One of our delightful readers across the pond tipped us off to a gay storyline in the Brit comedy Annually Retentive. Russell Tovey (best known as sporty Rudge from The History Boys) plays Ben, the new producer on the show-within-a-show. He's gay and masculine, which no one seems to be able to wrap their head around, and he seems get get a real kick out of messing with star Rob Brydon. A bit sociopathic, perhaps, but definitely a power shift from the norm!

1. Ben is caught macking with another man (played by fellow History Boy James Corden) by the game show's host, Rob Brydon (perhaps best know Stateside as playing Roman de Vere -- the ex-hubby of spa-crazed Bubbles de Vere -- in Little Britain)
2. A really creepy phonecall in which Ben comforts Rob
3. Ben freaks out Rob with a totally counterfeit story about his first time
4. No Ben in this one, but it's funny: Brydon discusses getting a wig with his makeup artist.