Italian-born, London-based art dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi has emerged as the buyer of the world’s most expensive Roman bronze figures.

Eskenazi, who was bidding on behalf of a European private collector paid $28,600,000 at the Sotheby’s auction in New York.

A jubilant Eskenazi is proud that his client got the special figure of Artemis and the stag said: “This is certainly one of the finest, if not the finest, bronze or any sculpture that I have seen in my 50-year career.”

Actor Shai LaBeouf is determined to keep himself out of the public eye and not follow in the footsteps of stars like Lindsay Lohan, because he wants his career to be taken seriously.

The Disturbia star is instead modelling his Hollywood future on actors such as Nicolas Cage and Sean Penn.

Rockers Maroon 5 once played a gig to an audience of zero, prompting even the barman to leave and go home.

Frontman Adam Levine insists he will always remember the empty concert hall gig.

“In a small town in Oregon, we played this bar and there was nobody there,” Levine told US magazine Blender. “Halfway through the bartender left, so there was literally not one person in the building. We finished our set and put our things in the van and cried ourselves to sleep.”

Willy Wonka star Gene Wilder is hiding a surprising secret - he can’t stand chocolate.

The legendary funnyman admits he’s not a fan of the cocoa-based snack - despite enthralling a generation of children as the king of confectionary in the 1971 family film.

“I liked it as a little boy but I don’t now,” he says. “Most of the chocolate in the film was fake anyway.”

Rocker Billy Joel has rubbished reports his marriage to wife Katie Lee is over.

Biographer Mark Bego, who penned the recently released Billy Joel: A Biography, claims 26-year-old Katie Lee is “unhappy” with her decision to wed the 58-year-old singer in 2004 - claims Joel’s estate is keen to refute.

American Idol judge Paula Abdul is considering adoption if she is unable to have her own children biologically.

The single 44-year-old wants to raise a child with a father figure, but if she fails to find a suitable man before it is physically impossible for her to get pregnant, she will adopt.

A fundraising tribute concert to T-Rex frontman Marc Bolan will take place on the 30th anniversary of the rocker’s death in September.

Marc Bolan: The Celebration will feature Marc Almond, producer Tony Visconti, Shakin’ Stevens and John’s Children singer Andy Ellison.

The gig, which takes place at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London on 15 September, will benefit both Nordoff Robins Music Therapy and the PRS Members Fund.