Bear Grylls was chased by lions and pulled underwater by snakes when filming his television adventures, but his elder sister, Lara Fawcett, prefers the treacherous waters of politics.
I hear that the PR executive, 57, is due to host a gathering of ‘populists’ in July — some of whom will be battling it out at the next General Election.
Among them is actor-turned-controversial activist Laurence Fox, veteran Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope, Tory-turned-Reform MP Lee Anderson and an unnamed Labour MP.
The private invitation, promising ‘cocktails, canapes, and conversation’ at an unspecified house in the North of England, explains: ‘We are gathering a group of politically interested, involved and influential individuals who want to ensure that the next group of leaders we choose understand how to best serve those ‘ordinary’ people’.
Lara Grylls, daughter of the late Tory MP Sir Michael Grylls, appears to have been politicised in the Covid pandemic. She tells me: ‘During the lockdowns, I became quite disillusioned with everything
Bear Grylls and his sisters Shara (left) and Lara (centre). Bear Grylls was chased by lions and pulled underwater by snakes when filming his television adventures, but his elder sister, Lara Fawcett, prefers the treacherous waters of politics
Among those attending the ‘populist’ gathering is actor-turned-controversial activist Laurence Fox , veteran Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope, Tory-turned-Reform MP Lee Anderson (pictured) and an unnamed Labour MP
Lara, daughter of the late Tory MP Sir Michael Grylls, appears to have been politicised in the Covid pandemic. She tells me: ‘During the lockdowns, I became quite disillusioned with everything — the control. I’ve organised similar events before.’
But will Bear be there? ‘No – he’s too busy in the jungle.’
While the pop world may be enraptured by Taylor Swift’s release of her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, opera lovers are far more excited by Danielle de Niese’s return to the stage at Glyndebourne this summer.
The soprano, 45, will perform the role of Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow.
‘My journey as an artist has always been about using all of my skill sets to blend tradition with innovation and I’m excited to reinvent 120-year-old stories like The Merry Widow for a 2024 audience,’ she tells me.
Danielle de Niese’s return to the stage at Glyndebourne this summer. The soprano, 45, will perform the role of Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow
‘Opera has a big future ahead, and will still be going in 100 years’ time.
‘If a star like Taylor Swift can make tortured poetry cool and relevant again, then why can’t the same be said for opera? Its stories are timeless.’
She plays a feral young woman in the forthcoming film Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, but Freya Allan was keen to show her sophisticated side at the London premiere.
The 22-year-old actress — an alumna of Harry Potter star Emma Watson’s alma mater, Headington School in Oxford — wore a daring but chic vintage Giorgio Armani semi-sheer crystalised halter neck one-piece at the BFI IMAX Waterloo.
Actress Freya Allan was keen to show her sophisticated side at the London premiere of the forthcoming film Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
Freya, who is best known for her role as Princess Cirilla in hit Netflix fantasy drama The Witcher, is still getting used to fame.
‘I always manage to feel incredibly detached from it all,’ she says.
Actress Hannah Waddingham, who recently chided a photographer at the Olivier awards for asking her to show a leg, says she has little vanity about her appearance.
The Ted Lasso star, 49, who appears opposite Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling in forthcoming Hollywood film The Fall Guy, says she doesn’t worry about how she looks.
Statuesque blonde Hannah says of the role: ‘I’m in deep, deep disguise.
‘Dark wig, glasses, I basically look like Slash, from Guns N’Roses, which I love. I genuinely don’t care what I look like for a role. I look like I’ve been dug up many times. It’s deeply satisfying.’
Actress Hannah Waddingham, who recently chided a photographer at the Olivier awards for asking her to show a leg, says she has little vanity about her appearance
Though far too discreet to be photographed with Anne ‘Weakest Link’ Robinson — with whom, it’s said, he’s now sharing his life — Andrew Parker Bowles was very publicly on parade in London this week barely a furlong from Buckingham Palace.
APB, as he’s invariably known in Household Cavalry circles, was at the Guards’ Chapel for the memorial service for General Sir Richard Vickers. It was a doubly piquant moment for Parker Bowles, Queen Camilla’s first husband.
Princess Anne with Andrew Parker Bowles. Andrew Parker Bowles was very publicly on parade in London this week barely a furlong from Buckingham Palace
Not only was he representing his close friend, Princess Anne (pictured with APB), with whom he enjoyed a youthful romance, but he was also bidding his own farewell to Vickers, a man of verve and charm who was the first to command the newly merged Blues and Royals in 1969.
Vickers’ adjutant at the time? A thrusting young officer called Andrew Parker Bowles.
Huw Edwards – who finally quit the BBC this week on ‘medical advice’, nine months after he was suspended over allegations he paid a teenager thousands of pounds for sexual images – has also lost a lucrative sideline.
The newsreader, 62, who continued to receive his salary of about £435,000 while suspended, used to rake in big money appearing as an after-dinner speaker for businesses or hosting annual awards ceremonies and conferences.
Huw Edwards – who finally quit the BBC this week on ‘medical advice’, nine months after he was suspended over allegations he paid a teenager thousands of pounds for sexual images – has also lost a lucrative sideline
He was on the books of leading agency JLA alongside BBC colleagues including Fiona Bruce and Clive Myrie, and was in the firm’s A-rated bracket meaning that his fees were between £10,000 and £25,000. But he’s now been removed from the firm’s website and visitors are told: ‘Huw Edwards does not currently appear on the JLA website, but you may still enquire about availability.’
Don’t all rush at once.
Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour’s first album in nine years, Luck And Strange, is a family affair. Co-written with his wife, author Polly Samson, the tracks feature harpist daughter Romany Gilmour, with backing vocals from her sibling Gabriel.
Political activist son Charlie provides lyrics on one track.
Gilmour snr, 78, embraced the Sound Of Music-inspired approach during lockdown. ‘Polly and I have been writing together for over 30 years and the Von Trapped live streams showed the great blend of Romany’s voice and harp-playing,’ he says.
‘And that led us into a feeling of discarding some of the past I’d felt bound to and that I could throw those rules out and do whatever I felt like doing.’ With eight children from his two marriages, there could yet be additions to the Gilmour musical ensemble
More than two years have passed since Jodie Kidd accepted a proposal from former Royal Marine Joseph Bates, left, but they have still not set a date for the big day.
The 45-year-old TV personality is clearly planning a big wedding.
‘We’ve got quite an extensive friends and family range, so it’s not going to be small,’ the great-granddaughter of Canadian press baron the 1st Lord Beaverbrook tells me at a red-carpet event in London. ‘It’ll be impossible to be small. We’re actually seeing a wedding venue, so it’s getting there.’
More than two years have passed since Jodie Kidd accepted a proposal from former Royal Marine Joseph Bates, left, but they have still not set a date for the big day. The 45-year-old TV personality is clearly planning a big wedding
Jodie, who runs The Half Moon inn in Kirdford, West Sussex, has two former husbands and a 12-year-old-son, Indio, with her ex- boyfriend Argentinian polo player Andrea Vianini.
Indio will have a special role at the wedding. ‘He’s like a mini best man,’ she says.
In a carefree youth, he enjoyed romantic entanglements with Jade Jagger and Kate Moss — not entirely sequentially, as Jade, whom he entertained first, was less than delighted to discover.
But now, in his 50th year, Dan Macmillan — more formally, Viscount Macmillan, only son and heir of the Earl of Stockton — is a contented father and also a patron of the arts. This week, for example, he presented one of his own works to the Colony Club – a Kalashnikov, encased in Perspex.
Will it inspire similar generosity from Jade? She has a talent for creating innovative presents — famously demonstrated when, after learning that la Moss was seeing Dan behind her back, she sent the supermodel a bespoke necklace, whose inscribed stones spelt out SLAG.