Exclusive (no, seriously!) - Heroes

Working in an ad agency can be unremarkable and the pay is just adequate, but the perks can be great. One such perk is that TV stations invite you to parties where you can drink for free and stars from their shows will pose for photos with you. In Ireland, the highlights of such events could be watching Fizz from Coronation Street hammer back vodka and Red Bull or spilling your drink over a leathery blonde who you later discover had a pivotal role in Footballer's Wives.

Last week I had the good fortune to be invited to one such party in Toronto with various members of the cast of Heroes. In attendance was Sylar (main villain), Ando (comedic sidekick), Mia (no idea, she hasn't appeared yet) and the kid that fixes things. As a 30-something woman I draw the line at asking a ten-year old for his autograph, or gushing over a woman I couldn't pick out of a line-up, but I did set the schmooze factor to maximum and pushed my way into the company of Sylar and Ando for a chin wag, in the hope they would reveal some exclusive Heroes scoop. And they did, in a way.

Ando, or James Kyson Lee, as his mother calls him, is a charming, very smiley man who seemed to genuinely enjoy all the attention. When I asked him what was coming up on the show, he claimed ignorance, that the actors don't know until they get the scripts. But he did let slip that some of the story takes place in Ireland. Every piece of the show is filmed in Los Angeles, so they won't be filming in the Emerald Isle, but I did make him promise that leprechauns would not be involved. I asked him if Ando would discover a power of his own, and, surprise, he said he didn't know. I asked if there is a particular power that he would like and he said he was very fond of animals and it would be cool to talk to them. What about morphing into them, I asked? He was very excited about that suggestion. I told him I'd talk to the producers and see what I could do.

Getting some face time with Sylar proved a little tougher so I segued my way via Jeff Loeb, a producer of the show. He revealed very little about future developments, but, being the pushy fan-geek that I am, he did reveal that Christopher Eccleston had a major plot sidelined because he had to return to the UK unexpectedly. He didn't elaborate but said that when he's ready to come back there is a place for him. And it seems that Peter Petrelli ends up in Canada when he finally returns from his explosive trip into the stratosphere.

Zachery Quinto, who plays Sylar, cuts quite a dashing figure in the flesh and I admitted to him that he smelled great. He told me that he worked in the Cafe Java in Galway for 4 months several years ago, which proves you should always be nice to your server; you never know when they will turn into a brain-eating mutant. And speaking of which, does he actually eat the brains or just absorb the power? He said that detail is yet to be explored but they are planning to do something cool with it. I talked to him about his role as Spock in the new Star Trek movie. I thought he'd enjoy my anecdote about Leonard Nimoy having to wear dozens of pairs of fake ears a day, which melted under the studio lights. He said he'd ask Nimoy, the next time they met, if that was true. Gulp! I hope my source stands up. He was divulging no further casting details about the film. Finally I had to ask him about Kristen Bell's arrival on the show. He proudly admitted he was responsible for her signing. She is a good friend of his and when Veronica Mars was cancelled, he knew that Heroes was one show she would be interested in joining. Ms Bell will make her debut in episode 5 of the show.

A few exclusive scoops, excellent voignier and some tasty canapes. I thought my first venture as official reporter for Media Cake was quite a success.