Number 5: The Spice Girls‘ comeback

The Spice Girls‘ comeback happened - probably not coincidentally - at the perfect time to maximise their exposure: the announcement of the tour happened just days before the Beckhams long-awaited move to Los Angeles and their comeback shows kicked off just as Melanie Brown was winning the hearts of US audiences on Dancing with the Stars. Even without those events though, the comeback would probably have been just as huge - who could resist the return of their particular brand of bubblegum pop, wrapped up in designer outfits and accessorised by their children, Spice Boys and ever-so gossip-worthy lives?

Number 4: Vanessa Hudgen’s nude pics

Vanessa was barely known outside the High School Musical universe until she, well, bared all. Fans were divided whether they were a good or bad thing but everyone was interested in seeing what all the fuss was about. We still don’t know for sure when & where they were taken and who was the photographer (if there was one) or the intended audience but we do know that the furore around them has launched Vanessa’s star into the next level of the celebrity stratosphere.

Number 3: Paris Hilton’s jailtime

We said yesterday how surprised we were about Paris being actually set to jail - and being returned there after her release to house arrest - and we were equally surprised by how big the story was. At the end of the day, she’s just a socialite - albeit a very well known one - who was sent to jail on a dull charge (probation violation): it’s not like she’s a huge A-list star and it was something juicy, scandalous and soap opera-ish like the murder of her lover because he was about to reveal she stole the world’s largest diamond and had hidden it in Nicole Richie’s baby bump. But as massive as the story was in June, now it seems a distant memory: her pledges to only use her fame for good seem all but forgotten and the amount of celebrity DUIs since then suggests her time inside didn’t make her into the example the judge had hoped her to be.

Number 2: Anna Nicole Smith’s death

Not only was Anna Nicole’s sudden death in February a big story in itself, the whirlwind around it continued for most of the spring. First, there were many, many stories about the cause of her death and who was where and doing what at the time, then once it was generally agreed it was an accidental overdose, those rumours gave way to the custody battle between her partner Howard K Stern and Larry Birkhead over her daughter Dannielynn. Larry was eventually proved to be the father and got custody of the little girl - but that didn’t stop rumours of a collusion, even a romance, between the two men.

Number 1: Britney Spears

Without a doubt, Britney Spears‘ crazily turbulent life has been the biggest story of the year, with the photos of her shaving her head in February being some of the most amazing - yet disturbing - celebrity pictures we’ve ever seen. At the very start of the year, it looked like she’d just have a bit of a fun time before settling back down as a mum and relaunching her pop career but then it all seemed to spiral out of control. We’ve had pregnancy rumours; drugs rumours; sex rumours; run-ins with the police and social services; more bad extensions and tacky, ill-fitting outfits than you would have thought possible with all her money; lacklustre comeback performances; and her custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline, which looks set to run and run as more depositions are taken and claims (and counter-claims) made by everyone even remotely involved. It sure has been a wild year and we hope, for her sake, things are a bit calmer in 2008.