NAME THAT CELEBRITY - CANADIAN EDITION

Bell Canada annually hosts its Celebrity Gala at Metro Convention Centre in Toronto. The event has celebrities from all around the country in radio, television, film and sports come in to help raise money for Sick Kids' Hospital.

This year's star-studded line-up included Canada's favourite comedian Russell Peters, who just signed recently with the same agent that represents Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in America. Yes, he's that big a deal and you will hear of him soon if you haven't. I got to chat with Peters for a bit tonight and he's hilarious. We have a running joke of him calling me Lloyd, because he insists I remind him of that character from HBO's Entourage which I have never watched. But a few people have told me that before so he can't be that far off I suppose!

The event was headlined by UK's Natasha Bedingfield who flew in specially to perform a four-song acoustic set consisting of mega-hits These Words, Pocketful of Sunshine, Wild Horses and Unwritten which garnered her a Grammy nomination. My friend Christine and I got to hang with Bedingfield a bit before her performance and she was lovely in-person. We exchanged hugs and kisses and talked about her debut album Unwritten which I still hold in high regard. She is completing work on her third album now she says and it will be released early 2010 via SONY/BMG. She even personalized my CD with a cute note. Love her.

Here are some candid shots taken from earlier this evening of Bedingfield, Peters and me:

It was also a pleasant surprise seeing Beverly Hills, 90210 heartthrob Jason Priestley in person with his wife Naomi. He's working on a television show here in Canada now and he was very nice. Hands down, the fiercest of the ladies was City TV personality Dina Pugliese who hosts Breakfast Television. She is an absolute doll and we even exchanged e-mails. Perhaps you'll be posting these pics on your show tomorrow, Dina? She was dressed by hot local boutique, Fashion Crimes, which did a stellar job on Dina, Naomi Priestley and another highlight of the night, Ivana Santilli.

Multiple Juno-award winner Santilli looked and sounded stunning in her after-party performance, showcasing her signature brand of soul. It was also fun seeing her fill in as vocalist on Kardinal Offishall's smash hit Dangerous (normally featuring Akon) which really got the audience going during the gala. It baffles me why she never caught-on abroad. She's amazing.

In all, this was one of the best galas yet and this was my fourth time attending. It was great seeing my friend Ross Mayer's designs featured in this evening's fashion show too. Go Ross! That segment of the show also featured designs from the Northbound Leather collection which were a little on the risqué side for a Black Tie Affair.

For those of you who couldn't make it, click below to watch Bedingfield's chilling rendition of Wild Horses:

More pics from the evening can be found here.