Preparing to marry business consultant David Turner, 21 years after the death of playwright husband Jack Rosenthal, Dame Maureen Lipman encountered an unexpected obstacle at Camden Registry Office. Having arrived to meet the resident clerk with what she imagined were all the required documents before setting a date, irate Maureen reports: “She sent me out and told my future husband that there was no proof on Jack’s death certificate that I had been his wife.”
The actress indignantly adds: “I explained to her manager that if he googled Jack Rosenthal he would see 2,014 photographs of every year of our 33-year marriage - but it cut no ice. Rules are rules. Jobsworth.' Oh dear...
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Noting the BBC’s decision to go ahead with broadcasting the upcoming series of MasterChef, featuring now axed presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode, former Newsnight host Emily Maitlis considers her old employer's motives less than honourable.
“I guess the BBC will justify it by saying, ‘Well, it includes the work of a lot of people on the team,’” reflects Emily, who left the Beeb in 2022. She cynically adds: “[But] there's a little sneaky thought probably at the back of the BBC corporate mind which is, "the ratings will be better than ever on this one!’”
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Sending up Wayne and Coleen Rooney in daft stage comedy The Legend of Rooney’s Ring at Liverpool’s Royal Court, writer Helen Serafinowicz optimistically pins hopes on the real versions being in the audience.
“I sent the script to their agent and a nice request for them to come,” says Helen, also co-creator of current TV hit Amandaland. “It would be so great if they came, but who knows?”
Perhaps an evening’s entertainment Mr and Mrs Rooney can do without.
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Supporting calls for football’s triumphant Lionesses to receive damehoods, retired Sky News queen bee Kay Burley mischievously remarks: “Can I just point out the men have never won the European Championships...Beckham has been knighted for what? He's never won anything for his country.” Ouch.
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Waspish thespian Rupert Everett, 66, complains: “We have a culture of victimisation...when I was young, everyone was a survivor. Now everybody’s a victim.” Alas, that would appear to include Mr Everett - he’s recently been wailing about being “fired” from hit drama Emily In Paris, after a guest role in series four.
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Suing boyfriend Earl Spencer’s estranged wife Karen, after accusing the Countess of leaking details of her multiple sclerosis diagnosis, Dr Cat Jarman, clarifies why she originally wished to keep her condition secret.
Having been in a romance with Spencer since last year, Jarman now critically recalls of her former archaeologist colleagues: “When I was first diagnosed...the reaction of some people in my professional life, who I had to share it with, made me decide to keep it to myself. Some of the comments made me feel like people were discounting me.”
Cat's privacy has proved an expensive business - the legal battle with Countess Spencer is expected to cost “more than £2 million”.
