Why write a biography? It only pins you down. Suffice to say I was born in Africa. And already that’s seeing the world without its skin. My father was the local gynaecologist. My mother was born in Strasbourg. My grandmother lived with us. In many ways I loved my childhood but not in others. I would have been cheating myself if I hadn’t left to study English literature in Britain. Before that I was lucky enough to live in Paris on the threshold of womanhood, in the spring, on my own, and of course that stays with you forever. We ate well and cheaply and I learnt to love wine and got engaged. At Edinburgh I got a First class MA Honours and the Janet Christie Bequest to study abroad. So we drove to Florence and lived in an old farmhouse for 8 months, learning Italian, studying at the British Institute.
In the slipstream of your life you imagine you’ll be a great writer, another Virginia Woolf, have the perfect family, be the best mother. So many impossible aims. I ended up being a journalist. A mother to one daughter. A lover. As a journalist I did quite a lot of good in the beginning. Campaigning stories, saving a horribly mistreated lioness in Italy, seals in the Hebrides, premature babies at Dulwich hospital in need of incubators, endangered leatherback turtles in Tobago. I have done a lot of travel articles, restaurant and hotel reviews, and many years of exciting seat-of-the pants Showbiz stories, travelling with Freddie Mercury, Rod Steward, Spandau Ballet, interviewing Angelina Jolie, Leonardo di Caprio, Bono, Jude Law. Now I’m writing a novel set in Venice and its working title is Behind the Mirror. With a novel, which takes years to write, you’re not the same person at the end of the book as you were at the beginning. The story has changed, the characters are deeper, but you have changed with them. You fall in love with all of them. I’m nearly ready to say goodbye to them and let them stand on their own.
Fans may be dismayed but Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart have been dropped from the Englands quad to make way for new heroes Jamie Vardy, Harry Kane and the injured Danny Welbeck. Well, sortof. The new team is actually made up of lookalikes who appear in a new £5m Mars advert designed to inspire team and … Continued
It’s a winning combination – the mamma, Maria, in the kitchen, and handsome son, Antonello, in the restaurant, in his black velvet jacket with designer beard, filling the room with warmth and charm. One of the best sommeliers I’ve come across, he chose a Vereto Rosso 2006 to go with our sumptuous meal. I had … Continued
Ember Yard isn’t a yard or even an outside space. But the name evokes a dusty, faraway location with exotic overtones. It’s a secret gem in Soho, immediately atmospheric, drawing you into its dimly lit, romantic ambience. I went with a painter who looks at things more carefully. She liked the earthy, rustic décor, low … Continued
Jennifer Lopez was beaten to the role of a Colombian drug cartel boss by Catherine Zeta-Jones in a forth coming film because she “doesn’t have the acting quality to pull it off”, its executive producer said. Zeta-Jones, who was born in Swansea, found herself at the centre of a discrimination row when she was cast … Continued
Michelle Keegan may be Our Girl, but she’s certainly one of the boys too. The actress spent two months as the only woman surrounded by burly men. But husband Mark Wright needn’t be jealous – as the show’s stunt chief revealed it was all part of Michelle getting into the mindset of her Army medic … Continued
On TV, the fictional midwives of Nonnatus House work tirelessly to aid pregnant women in a desperately poor community. Now, in a touching case of life imitating art, Call The Midwife star Helen George has vowed to help build a much needed childbirth clinic in an impoverished South African village. The 31-year-old actress, who plays … Continued
Helen George pops the rollers in to look her best for 10 million fans who love curling up on the sofa to watch Call The Midwife. The popular actress made sure her hair was just right as she and co-stars were pictured during a break from filming their Christmas special in South Africa. She then … Continued
Former Doctor Who star Matt Smith ‘almost broke his neck’ on the set of his new show – when the horse he was riding bolted. The actor was in the saddle in South Africa filming for new royal series The Crown when the animal rampaged into nearby filming equipment. Wildlife expert Luke Cornell said: “When I … Continued
