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PAOLO MOSCHINO Inside the Italian interior
designer’s dream home in West Sussex
JOSS STONE and DAVE STEWART The music
stars reveal why they love working together
FLEUR EAST Why the It Takes Two
wo co-host can’t
tear herself away from Strictly Come Dancing
ANTON DU BEKE welcomes friends, family and
his five-year-old twins to his sparkling new show
JAMES and OLA JORDAN celebrate 20 years
of marriage at the spot where they tied the knot
DAVID
VID BECKHAM is man of the
match at his Netflix premiere
ANDREW GARFIELD and
FLORENCE PUGH join fellow
A-listers at Paris Fashion Week
*UK res
ident
ANYA TAYLOR-JOY marries her
page s only
96
musician partner in Venice
PAUL YOUNG Hope after heartbreak
as star prepares to marry again
PRINCE GEORGE Testing times as the young
royal prepares for the next step in his education
THE PRINCE and PRINCESS OF WALES share
poignant hugs with Windrush elders in Cardiff
… as kind KATE helps pack supplies for Ukraine
… and emerges as a wheelchair rugby star
KATE SILVERTON on what children need from us
KRISTIN DAVIS meets Ukraine’s refugees
SIR ROGER MOORE London auction raises £1m
TINA TURNER Her favourite photographer PAUL
COX shares memories – and picks his top shots
SIMON and AYSHEN WEBBE open up about
losing a baby and their hopes to have another
MICHELLE KEEGAN on her love of being at home

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FOUR-NIG
STAY IN C HT
YPRUS

REGULARS
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53 7 DAYS Celebrity news in brief
70 HELLO! SUBSCRIPTIONS Great deals
and guaranteed delivery
WINT
79 PUZZLES Tea-break teasers
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82 HELLO! SOCIETY Party people

STYLE
& LIVING

• For daily celebrity news, fashion, beauty and lots more, visit hellomagazine.com
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87 ALISON HAMMOND Go glam
88 MARY PHILLIPS The make-up artist
to the stars shares her secrets
91 LEANNE PERO Beating breast cancer
93 HEALTH Perimenopause
94 FASHION Mellow yellow
97 COOKERY Mexican style
100 BARBARA KNOX The
Coronation Street star at 90
102 TRAVEL SPECIAL Winter sun
106 TRAVEL Historic York

SPECVEL
page IAL
10
2

WITH PARTNER PHILIP AND NEIGHBOURS

PAOLO MOSCHINO

THE ITALIAN INTERIOR DESIGNER ON
CREATING A DREAM HOME IN ENGLAND

This small round
stone table in the
landscaped gardens
(below) is made from
a Tuscan oil press
was love at first sight. Interior designers
IonlytPaolo
Moschino and Philip Vergeylen had
to see Hollywick Farm from the outside to

4

V

know that they wanted to buy it. The timbered
and ivy-clad property – half Tudor, half 19th
century – is in West Sussex, just an hour by train
from the couple’s London base, making it ideal
as a weekend retreat. As for the inside, Paolo
and Philip were confident that they could shape
it to perfection. And with a starry client list
taking in everyone from Valentino’s circle to
that of the late Amy Winehouse, they had every
reason to be confident.
That was 15 years ago. Since then, the pair
have not only remodelled and extended the
place into a six-bedroom idyll, they have also
transformed the barn into a stunning guest
house. In fact, Hollywick is a prime example of
the pair’s talents. With a perspective perhaps
born of their backgrounds – Paolo is Italian and
Philip Belgian – they’ve created a
sophisticated new take on the traditional

‘We’re pleased
with what we’ve
created — we can
use and enjoy
every nook’ Paolo

Philip and Paolo
with neighbours
Lady Louise Burrell
and her daughter
Teale. Paolo, who
loves gardening,
designed their
grounds to include
evergreens as well as
teak and oak trees

5

‘We usually come here for the
weekend. It’s easy for friends
to visit from London’ Paolo

In this living room, a
collection of ceramic
pumpkins sits on the
mantelpiece of a 19thcentury French marble
fireplace, while a set
of chinoiserie jars
(inset left) makes for a
stunning floral display

British country look. It certainly
meets with the approval of their
aristocratic neighbours, Lady
Louise Burrell and her 18-year-old
daughter Teale – daughter and
granddaughter respectively of the
12th Duke of Argyll – who helped
the designers show us around.
Paolo, what can you tell us about
the history of your home?
“The original part dates back to
1485 and was later extended with

On the table in front of the Tudor
fireplace is another of the couple’s
collections – a set of silver turtles

6

farm buildings like stables. We’ve
carried out a full restoration of the
listed part and created an extension
at the back to give us a larger
kitchen and dining room.”
You two live in London, where your
business is based. How much time
are you able to spend at the house?
“Unless we’re abroad, we usually
come here on Friday evening and
stay until Monday morning. It’s easy
for friends to visit, to stay overnight

‘When we came to view the house, the
estate agent was late. By the time he
arrived, we’d decided to buy it’ Paolo

V

on Saturday or just come for
Sunday lunch.”
What do you like most about it?
“We love both the facade and the
location. When we came to view it,
the estate agent was a little late. We
took a quick look at the house and
the fields behind, and by the time
he arrived, we’d already decided
to buy it.
“As for the inside, we’re pleased
with the openness of the ground
floor – it means we can use and
enjoy every tiny nook.”
Not only are your design skills in
demand on five continents, your
firm also sells furnishings through
your three London showrooms.
How do you manage to do it all?
“We’re workaholics who never
stop. Our work is our life.”
Which projects are coming up next?
“We have lots, all over the world,
from the Dominican Republic to
the island of Mustique and all
over Italy, including two

Paolo and Philip complemented the house’s original wooden beams
with Belgian oak flooring throughout the ground floor. In the hall
(below left), a bust of Madame du Barry sits in front of a 17thcentury French tapestry. The pair’s art collection also includes
Catholic sculptures (below) and terracotta pieces (below right)

8

Do you travel a lot for pleasure?
“We love to travel and there are very few
places we haven’t been to, but we’re always
looking for new destinations to inspire us.”
Teale, you have a lot to live up to style-wise,
because your grandmother is the famously
elegant Iona, Dowager Duchess of Argyll.
What does that mean to you?
“To me, being her granddaughter is
quite normal. Her title doesn’t define

V

major hotels in Milan and a boutique one
in Portofino.”
How would you describe your style?
“We call it classic with a twist – it never goes
out of fashion and we don’t follow trends.”
Paolo, how has your Italian background
influenced you?
“Really, Italy is like an open-air exhibition
of architecture and inspiration – it’s
everywhere you look.”

‘We come here a
lot — I find it very
relaxing. During
the summer, we all
go riding together’
Teale Burrell

Teale Burrell poses in
the dining room,
which boasts a
fresco of blue trees,
based on an 18thcentury French
painting that hangs
in the room (far left).
A collection of
Tournai porcelain is
mounted on the
walls. A table is
exquisitely decorated
(left) in the light-filled
office (above left),
which has views of
the garden

‘We call our style classic
with a twist — it never
goes out of fashion and we
don’t follow trends’ Paolo
Paolo relaxes with one of their pets. The
bedrooms in the house are each decorated in a
different style, including one with strong red
accents (below). In an attic bedroom (above
right), the ceiling beams have been painted to
create a brighter effect, and in another of the
guest rooms (below right), delicate leaves have
been hand-painted on the walls

10

her, nor does it define me. She is a wonderful
grandmother who enjoys long walks and picnics
by the river in Scotland as much as she enjoys
dressing up for a party. She keeps me grounded
and is the voice of reason when I need a nudge
in the right direction.
“As for me, I like fashion, but I don’t obsess
about trends; I like to be comfortable and wear
clothes I can afford. I have yet to discover if
there is any of her natural elegance in me.
Sometimes I think there is and sometimes it
seems unattainable. My strategy where my
amazing grandmother is concerned is to watch
and learn.”
You’re studying hotel management in
Switzerland at the moment. What interests you
about it?
“I love the way that the unexpected can
suddenly interrupt one’s routine; I enjoy
working with people and the different
challenges that can arise. Each day is different
from the last.”
What do you like doing in your spare time?

V

“I enjoy horse riding, skiing and team sports such
as lacrosse. I love immersing myself in nature, for
the beauty and positive energy it offers.”
Are you often here in Sussex?
“Yes, we come here a lot. The house belongs to
my paternal grandparents and it’s where I keep
my horse. There’s also quite a bit of farm
machinery around, and there’s nothing like
taking the wheel of a big tractor!
“Seriously, I find it very relaxing here. I’m
often sleep-deprived during term time, so I
come to the countryside to catch up. Then,
during the summer holidays, we all go riding or
walking in the woods together.”
Are you a family-oriented person?
“Yes, very much so. My family means everything
to me. I’m lucky to have a younger brother
who’s a lot of fun and whom I adore, even if we
have little fights sometimes. I also spend a lot of
time with my mother. We have a really close
relationship and throw lots of parties together.
Even when it’s just me and her, we start
dancing in the kitchen after dinner.”

11

The couple have converted the
barn into a stunning guest
house (also pictured below). The
property also has a greenhouse
(below right) and a swimming
pool (below second right)

12

‘It’s great fun to have Philip and Paolo as neighbours
— they designed my bedroom for me’ Teale

What’s it like having Philip and Paolo close by?
Do you ask them for advice on decorating?
“It’s great fun to have them as neighbours.
When I was little and came here for the school
holidays, they used to look after me. They
bought me lots of sweets and helped me hide
them in a box because they were forbidden at
boarding school. As for decorating, they
H
designed my room for me.”
PRODUCTION & INTERVIEW: CRISTINA LORA
AND ANA FERNANDEZ DE CORDOBA
PHOTOS: FERNANDA AND PALOMA COUCHE STUDIO
WARDROBE: CAROLINA HERRERA. PRADA. DESIRE.
THE WHITE COMPANY
HAIR & MAKE-UP: HELLEN MAKE UP

Louise and Teale pose in the garden.
Paolo’s partner Philip Vergeylen 13
(above left), who was working in
finance in Brussels before joining
Paolo in running his design studio

‘We’re like two kids in the
sandbox. We’ve been noodling
about for years — we’ve become
really good friends’ Dave

14

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS

AS THEY TAKE ON A NEW MUSICAL CHALLENGE

JOSS STONE AND
DAVE STEWART

(FAR LEFT) JOSS’S CAPE: ELIZA JANE HOWELL. DRESS: ZAIMARA X OUTDAZL. (LEFT) JOSS’S DRESS: OUTDAZL V JEN’S PIRATE BOOTY. NECKLACE: KIRSTIE LE MARQUE

STARS AND CLOSE FRIENDS ON HOW THEY
LOVE TO WORK — AND PLAY — TOGETHER

two-year-old daughter Violet is a chip off the old block.
“Violet doesn’t really care for too much else other
than making art,” Joss tells hello! as we join her with
her long-time collaborator, Eurythmics star, songwriter
and producer Dave Stewart, for hello!
hello!’s
’s exclusive
shoot in London.
“She is obsessed with her ukulele – she runs around

the house pretending to play it and sing – and she loves
paints and colours.”
Another thing keeping little Violet amused is being
big sister to her baby brother Shackleton, who turns one
on 18 October. “I saw them making each other laugh for
the first time the other day. It was great,” says proud mum
Joss, 36, who shares Violet and Shackleton – known by his
nickname Shack – with her partner Cody DaLuz.
“Shack is a very sweet boy, although Violet
doesn’t like it when he takes her things. She goes:

V

“There must be an
angel,” sang Dave
Stewart’s Eurythmics –
and his friend and
collaborator Joss Stone
certainly looks the part
as they pose in London
on our photoshoot

s a multi-platinum-selling music artist and Grammy
A
winner, it’s fair to say that Joss Stone has made a
successful career out of being creative – and it seems her

15

‘I saw my children making
each other laugh for the
first time the other day. It
was great’ Joss

(LEFT) JOSS’S DRESS: ZAIMARA X OUTDAZL. (RIGHT & BELOW) JOSS’S WAISTCOAT: ZEYNEP KARTAL. TROUSERS: NADINE MERABI

‘Joss has stayed in my house with
my wife in Los Angeles. We’d
write songs and jam in the
basement’ Dave

17

Joss was delighted
when Dave asked her to
join him in writing
songs for new musical
The Time Traveller’s
Wife (together below,
performing at the
launch at Ronnie Scott’s
in London in May)

18

something that other people are
performing is that you get to sit
and watch it yourself,” says Dave of
seeing the first audiences enjoy
the new musical. “When you’re
performing in a stadium, you’re
on the stage and you have no idea
what the audience are feeling.”
Adapted by playwright Lauren
Gunderson from Audrey
Niffenegger’s internationally bestselling novel of the same name,
The Time Traveller’s Wife
ife follows the
story of sculptor Clare, who falls
for a man named Henry – but
their love story traverses decades
as the pair are flung apart when he
unwittingly travels through time.
“I was in floods of tears when I

‘The musical is about
a strong, independent
woman, so I thought I
should write it with a
strong, independent
woman — Joss’ Dave

‘It takes us five
minutes to write a
song. We did one at
a dinner party’ Joss

The pair’s daughters also share
a love of music, with 23-yearold Kaya Stewart ready to join
Dave on tour and Joss’s twoyear-old daughter Violet already
“obsessed with her ukulele”

20

potential partner in mind. “Because
the musical puts a strong,
independent woman at the centre, I
thought I should write it with a
strong, independent woman. I knew
Joss would be really good. She does
everything her way,” he says.
“That makes me feel very happy,”
says Joss, who is making her musicalwriting debut. “Dave is the biggest
champion of women and he’s always
in my corner.”
Writing songs for a musical is very
different from writing a soul song,
says Dave, who produced Joss’s 2022
album Never Forget My Love
Love.. “It has to

propel the narrative and get you
from one feeling to another,” he says.
“It takes Dave and I about five
minutes to write a song,” Joss adds.
“For example, we wrote the title
track for Never Forget
et My Love in the
middle of a dinner party, when Dave
just picked up his guitar and I started
singing with him.
“So for the musical, it’s a bit like a
peony – we start off with a ball of
petals and they slowly turn into this
amazing thing, with the help of a
whole team of creatives.”
Now that they get to enjoy the
fruits of their labours, Joss and Dave

are enjoying turning their talented
hands to other exciting projects.
Next month, Dave is embarking
on a European tour to celebrate the
40th anniversary of Eurythmics’ Sweet
Dreams (Aree Made of This) album.
The Eurythmics Songbook: Sweet
Dreams 40th Anniversary Tour, which
comes to the Sunderland Empire on
10 November and the London
Palladium on 17 November, marks
the first time in 24 years that fans can
enjoy live outings of classics made
famous by the pop duo, which Dave
formed with Annie Lennox in 1980.
Although Annie no longer tours,

MUSICAL MILESTONE
Meanwhile, Joss is marking an
anniversary of her own – 20 years
since her debut album, The Soul
Sessions,, came out. “I didn’t realise
Sessions
until an interviewer reminded me,”
she says. “I thought: ‘Okay, I must do
a tour, because you can’t celebrate a
milestone like that in your kitchen.
You’ve got to celebrate with the
people who allowed it to happen. So
that’s what we did,” she says.
The 20 Years of Soul tour that she
took around the world earlier this
year is now being made into a live
album, thanks to popular demand
from her legions of fans. “I’ve
recorded everything I did this year
and it’s really good. I hope to have it
ready for Christmas time,” she says.
And there are big things
happening in Joss’s personal life,
too, with she and Cody looking to
expand their brood through
adoption. “We’re trying to do our
home study [the assessment process
for prospective adoptive parents]. I
hope we get to do it,” says the star,
who has her heart set on a big family.
“I want, like, 25 kids,” she
H
tells us with a laugh.
INTERVIEW: EMILY HORAN
PHOTOS: DAVE HOGAN
STYLING: ARABELLA BOYCE
HAIR: ALEX PRICE AT FRANK AGENCY
MAKE-UP: KIRSTIN PIGGOTT AT JULIAN
WATSON AGENCY USING WESTMAN ATELIER

Fo r t i c k e t s t o t h e m u s i c a l , v i s i t
timetravellerswife.com. To book Dave’s tour,
visit livenation.co.uk.

(ALL PAGES) DAVE’S OUTFITS: JOHN VARVATOS. HATS: LOCK & CO. HATTERS. ADDITIONAL PHOTO: JOSS STONE

she has given her blessing – and
Dave is paying homage to his musical
partner by performing alongside an
“amazing” all-female line-up of
musicians and singers, including his
daughter Kaya Stewart.
“She’s a belter of a singer and has
been brought up on music,” says
Dave, who lights up with pride as he
brings out his phone to show hello!
some videos of Kaya, now 23, making
her stage debut at the Troubadour in
West Hollywood – where Dave was
performing – at the tender age of 12.
“She loves singing and was born to
do it. She grew up surrounded by
music,” says Dave, who, along with
Annie, was inducted into the Rock &
Roll Hall of Fame last year.
“Liam Gallagher babysat her, she
was singing There Must Be an Angel
el on
her godmother Annie’s knee when
she was five and she ran around
[producer] Quincy Jones’s house,
with all his Grammys on the wall, as a
toddler. It was bound to happen,
really,” he adds of his talented
daughter following him into the
music industry.

Apples shown are British. Lidl also sells apples from other countries. From price refers to apples
sold in packs only. Loose apples may be sold at different prices. Subject to availability. Selected
stores. Excludes NI.

er energy, passion and talent
H
won Fleur East a legion of new
fans on Strictly Come Dancing
Dancing..
The singer made it to the 2022
final with her professional partner
Vito Coppola, after scoring the first
perfect 40 of the series with a
couple’s choice routine that head
judge Shirley Ballas said was “iconic”
and would “go down in history”.
Even so, when the BBC’s hit
show returned this year, Fleur, 35,
fully expected to be tuning in from
her sofa as the spotlight fell on the
new cast of celebrities.
Instead, she’s back in the Strictly
fold, having taken the reins from
Rylan Clark to co-host BBC2’s
spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two
alongside former professional
dancer Janette Manrara.
In addition, week two saw her
open Strictly
Strictly’s
’s Sunday night results
show alongside Beverley Knight
and Laura Mvula, with an
electrifying tribute to Tina Turner.

V

A DIFFERENT TUNE
“I imagined that when Strictly came
back around, I’d be watching all
the new celebs from home,
reminiscing, but now I’m in the
thick of it again,” she says.
“It feels like I’m doing it all over
again, but just from a lot more of a
relaxed perspective because I don’t
have to stress about doing a dance
every weekend.
“It’s lovely to be still part of it.
My Strictly journey hasn’t ended.”
After shooting to fame on The X
Factor
actor in 2014 and enjoying a
successful music career, Fleur
joined the team on Hits Radio’s
breakfast show.
But being on Strictly has brought
a host of new opportunities. Along
with her new presenting gig, she is
joining the cast of BBC school
drama Phoenix Rise as music teacher
Miss Meesha.
She’s also delighted that being
on It Takes Two
wo has given her the
opportunity to catch up with
Vito, who this year is partnering
former Coronation Street
eet star
Ellie Leach.
“ We b e c a m e l i k e
brother and sister on
the show and
at the end,

‘It feels like I’m
doing Strictly all
over again, but I
don’t have to stress
about doing a dance
every weekend’

While Fleur’s life has
changed a lot since finding
fame on The X Factor,
there is one constant –
long-time love Marcel
Badiane-Robin, whom she
married in 2019 (below) in
a ceremony brought to you
exclusively by HELLO!

24

Vito was like: ‘Partner, you’re not
gonna be able to get rid of me!’ And
I was like ‘People always say things
like that.’ But I honestly could not get
rid of Vito,” she says, laughing.
“It’s nice to be able to have our
friendship outside the Strictly bubble,
but also to get to see each other and
cheer each other on within it.”
At first, seeing him with his new
partner was “the strangest feeling”,
she adds. “It was like: ‘Excuse me,
what’s happening here? I’m the one
who’s supposed to be on the
dancefloor with you.’
“[Former Strictly contestant]
Gemma Atkinson said to me: ‘You’re
gonna feel like Vito is dance-cheating
on you,’ and it is a little bit like that.
“But to be completely honest,
doing It Takes Two
wo has really helped
me adjust to that because now I’m
wearing this new hat.
“I think if I was sitting at home
watching it every week, it would be
very different.”
SUPPORT FOR ALL
Besides, Fleur is impressed with how
well Ellie and Vito are doing. The two
have made a great team so far, with
their bouncy jive and fun foxtrot
impressing the judges in the first two
weeks of the series.
“She absolutely smashed it – I
think everybody is so good this year,”
says Fleur. “It’s been nice to be able
to check in with all of the contestants
every week and say to them: ‘I’ve
been there – what are you doing this
week? How are your feet feeling?’
“Before I started last year, my good
friend AJ Odudu [who competed in
2021] gave me a lot of advice, but it
would’ve been invaluable to feel like I
had someone throughout the
journey that had experienced it, to
tell me exactly what to expect.”
Fleur is also full of admiration for
her It Takes Two
wo co-host Janette, who
has hit the ground running after
welcoming baby daughter Lyra, with
husband Aljaz Skorjanec, at the end
of July.
“I don’t know how she’s doing it –
she’s got so much energy. She’s
amazing,” she says. “Janette is such a
positive person to be around – me

and her are quite similar in that way.
We laugh a lot.”
With the pair splitting hosting
duties – Fleur helms the show on
Mondays and Tuesdays, while Janette
does Wednesdays and Thursdays and
they alternate Friday – she has yet to
meet Lyra. “I might have to just come
in on a day off because otherwise, I
won’t see her.”
LIFE LESSON
While relishing having so many
diverse opportunities, Fleur found
her new role on Phoenix Rise took
some getting used to.
“In my head, I still feel 18, so I was
like: ‘How am I going to be a teacher?’
But as soon as I got on set and saw the
kids playing the students, I thought:
‘Oh no, I’m a grown woman!’
“It’s fun to have many strings to my
bow because a lot of the skills I have in
acting, presenting, TV, radio, music,
they all spill into each other,” she
adds. “Learning lines is great for
presenting and for performing songs.”
But bringing all those strings into
perfect harmony at the moment is It
Takes Two,
Two, she tells us.
“Being a superfan of the show,
then having had the experience of
being on it, and now to be part of
everything behind the scenes,
H
it’s a joy. It’s the dream job.”
INTERVIEW: EMILY HORAN

Strictly: It Takes Two is on BBC2, Mon-Fri
at 6.30pm.

25

CHEERED ON BY HIS FAMILY AND
A HOST OF FAMOUS FRIENDS

ANTON DU BEKE

TAKES CENTRE STAGE AS
HE OPENS HIS SOLO SHOW

Strictly dancer
Katya Jones
arrives for the
26 show, joined
(right) by TV
presenter Kate
Garraway

H

e’s one of the most popular
faces on TV, so it’s no surprise
that so many famous friends
hotfooted it to the opening of Strictly
Come Dancing judge Anton Du
Beke’s cha-cha-charming new show.
Presenters Kate Garraway, Ruth
Langsford and Lucy Alexander,
actress Emma Barton and Strictly
dancers Giovanni Pernice and
Katya Jones joined head judge
Shirley Ballas at the London
Palladium for An Evening With
Anton Du Beke
Beke..
But the most special VIP tickets
were reserved for the 57-year-old
star’s biggest fans: his wife Hannah,
46, and their five-year-old twins
George and Henrietta.
“We’re going to have such a
tremendous time … songs, dance,
stories, laughter and special guests
too,” Anton promised, in an
Instagram post showing him
outside the historic venue. “I
can’t wait to see you there!”
He signed off with: “Much
love, Anton,” and emojis of a kiss
and a dancing man.
Anton, who’s appearing in
Strictly alongside Shirley and
fellow judges Motsi Mabuse and
Craig Revel Horwood, is also
touring the show, travelling to
22 different venues in the next
two months.
Speaking to hello! in 2020,
Anton told us how touring
made him appreciate even
more his happy home life with
Hannah and their children, who

were conceived via IVF. “I’m away a
lot so precious time in west
Buckinghamshire, playing in the
garden with them, is really special,”
he said. “I would have a hundred
children if we were younger,
wealthier and had a big enough
house. I love it more than anything.”
PAYING TRIBUTE
In the show, Anton performs the
songs and dances that have inspired
him and shares behind-the-scenes
stories from his time on Strictly
Strictly,,
from starting on the first series in
2004 as a professional dancer to
joining the judging panel in 2021.
He also honours two of his
heroes – former Strictly head judge
Len Goodman, who passed away in
April, and the show’s original host
Sir Bruce Forsyth, whose death in
2017, he said, meant “a part of my
heart will always be broken”.
Kicking off his new show’s run at
the Palladium was hugely poignant
for the Strictly star, as Sir Bruce –
whom he has described as “a true
inspiration” – has his ashes laid to
rest under the stage at the venue in
honour of his many performances
at the world-famous theatre.
“I am truly going to have Brucie
by my side as I walk out on stage.
He will be with me,” said Anton
when his show was announced last
year. “It’s going to be so great and
so emotional as well. Bruce has
H
been my hero forever.”
REPORT: BELINDA ROBEY

PHOTOS: BBC/RAY BURMISTON. PA IMAGES

The star with fellow Strictly Come
Dancing judges Craig Revel Horwood,
Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse

‘We’re going to
have such a
tremendous time
… songs, dance,
stories, laughter’

Cheering on the
Strictly star are
fellow dancer
Giovanni Pernice
(below) and (below
left, from left) Ruth
Langsford, Lucy
Alexander and
Emma Barton

Anton celebrates his
first night with his
favourite supporting
act – wife Hannah
and their children
George and Henrietta
– after the opening 27
of An Evening with
Anton Du Beke at the
London Palladium

28

omance and magical memories are high on
R
the agenda as we return with James and Ola
Jordan to the place where they married 20 years
ago, joined by their three-year-old daughter Ella.
“It is exactly as we remembered it. Our
memories are so vivid and it’s nice to be back
after all those years to reminisce,” says James of
Cooling Castle Barn in Kent, as the highlights of
their big day come flooding back on our exclusive
photoshoot to celebrate the former Strictly Come
Dancing couple’s anniversary on 12 October.
Their recollections are crystallised by the fact
that Ola has slipped into her wedding dress – the
first time she has tried it on for two decades – and
it fits like a dream.

V

PERFECT FIT
“Twenty years later and I’m wearing my dress;
that’s a nice thought. I surprised myself, if I’m
honest. I never really imagined I ever would. I was
21 then, now I’m 41, and my boobs are definitely
bigger since having Ella,” she says with a laugh.
If the anniversary had fallen a year earlier, Ola
is convinced she would have had no hope of
fitting into the strapless Monsoon gown. The
couple’s remarkable weight loss, revealed in

January, saw them lose over six stone between
them, with Ola dropping four dress sizes, thanks
to their healthy eating and fitness programme
Dance Shred.
“Seeing Ola walking down those same steps
towards me as she did for the ceremony, wearing
the same dress, I’ll never forget,” says James, 45.
“I remember that part of the day so well: I was
standing at the altar with my best man, and I
turned around and she looked so beautiful. I was
so nervous, so excited…”
“… and we were both so young. It was only two
weeks after my 21st birthday, and you were 25,”
Ola tells her husband.
“It feels as though we’ve been together
forever,” he says. “All the big decisions I’ve ever
made in my life have been with you; all the things
we’ve been through together in life, sharing
those moments makes our bond even stronger.”
Although some couples turn a milestone
anniversary into a romantic opportunity to renew
their vows, James and Ola have no such desire.
“Why would we?” James says. “When we said
those words the first time, that was forever. If we
did it again, it would spoil those memories.”
The couple, who found fame and fortune

29

on Strictly
Strictly,, reveal their wedding
was a modest affair, and all the
better for it. “I think it goes to
show that you don’t have to spend
thousands of pounds to have a
beautiful wedding. These days,
people often do it to impress
everyone else,” James says.
Back then, they were both on
the professional circuit “but we
had hardly any money”, he says.
“My suit was from a hire shop on
the high street, we managed to get
the venue at a discount price as it
was October, and we spent our
wedding night at my parents’
home because we couldn’t afford a
hotel. But I wouldn’t change
anything, looking back.”
The day also marked Ola’s
parents’ first visit to the UK from
her native Poland, and neither
spoke a word of English. “I told my
dad that when they ask who is
giving away the bride, I would
squeeze his arm, so he knew when
to say: ‘I do,’” she says.
Chuckles James: “He was
practising those two words for
hours: ‘I do, I do.’”

30

Ola says her
strapless Monsoon
dress (inset top in
2003) would not
have fitted before
the couple’s weight
loss – and laughs
that her figure has
also changed since
having Ella
(together opposite,
looking through a
wedding album)

DANCE AND ROMANCE
It was her parents – and
grandparents – who had held a
family meeting in Poland to decide
if Ola, Polish youth champion at
the age of 17, could move to the
UK to partner James in
competitions. “They knew there
were not many chances in life, so
they decided I could go,” Ola says,
although she had already made up
her own mind when she caught
sight of James a year earlier,
competing in Blackpool.
“Wow – I liked him from that
moment. I was thinking: ‘Oh my
God, this guy is gorgeous; he is
amazing. I want to dance with a
guy like that. I want him.’ He was
very tall and handsome and he
had slicked-back dark hair…”
“It was when I had hair,” chips
in James. “You are still gorgeous,
though,” she smiles.
Within a year of her arrival in
the UK, their partnership on the
dancefloor had turned to love.
“You’re sharing rooms when you
are in competitions, even if you’re
not a couple, and you become
close friends,” James says. “You see
things that you don’t see in other
working relationships. And, of
course, Ola had – has – an amazing
body. It progressed quickly for us.
We knew there was an attraction.”
The couple have since been
through highs and lows. The most
life-changing moment has been
becoming parents, thanks to IVF.

(ABOVE RIGHT) JAMES’S OUTFIT: MOSS. BOOTS: RUSSELL & BROMLEY. OLA’S BODICE & SKIRT: ISABELL KRISTENSEN. JACKET: BONMARCHE. ELLA’S
DRESS: RACHEL RILEY. HAIR BAND: STYCH. SHOES: PAPOUELLI. (BELOW RIGHT) ELLA’S DRESS: PEPA LONDON. SHOES & ACCESSORIES: PAPOUELLI

‘Ella is our biggest
achievement. To be
here with her is
special’ James

“Ella is the best thing that has
ever happened to us,” Ola says.
“Our biggest achievement,” James
agrees. “To be here reminiscing with
Ella, saying: ‘This was where Mummy
walked down the stairs, this is where
Mummy and Daddy put their rings
on,’ has been special.”

V

WISE ADVICE
The couple have brought their
wedding album with them and, as
they look through the photos, Ella
points out her grandad, whom she
adored. James’s father Allan died
two years ago, after being diagnosed
with a brain tumour in 2020 – and it
was Allan, as proud father of the
groom, who came up to his son
after the ceremony, taking him to
one side.

“He said: ‘Right, I don’t often
give you big bits of advice, but
marriage is like a job. You’re going
to have good days and bad days, but
it’s about working through it.’ I’ve
never forgotten his words.”
Ola adds: “We are lucky to both
come from families who believe in
marriage. We watched our parents,
and maybe in some way that is part
of why we are still together. You
grow together; your respect for
each other grows.
“We are like an old married
couple now, but there is no such
thing as a perfect marriage. It is too
easy to call it quits rather than
trying to work through things. If
you really want to be with that
person, you make it work.”
“We’ve morphed into one,”

31

TEAM WORK
In the early days, it was James who
took the lead, and not only in the
ballroom. “She was so shy, and so
sweet. And she is still sweet, but now
I don’t want to get into an argument
with Ola, as I know I’m on the
losing side there,” he says.
“I am still very outspoken, but
the decisions we make are usually
Ola’s decisions, and I’m the one
who gets to implement them. I’m
like her little wind-up doll. She
winds me up then lets me go and I
do what she wants me to do.”
So how will they mark their
anniversary this week – a re-creation
of their first dance, perhaps?
“When we did our first dance,
everyone was expecting this massive
performance, but Ola and I just
wanted to hold each other, and had
a smooch to Eternal Flame by The
Bangles,” James says.
“We didn’t want to show off or be
judged – it was our special moment
– although later in the evening, we
did a nice rumba. Maybe we will do
that. Ella loves dancing with us.”

The two women in his life make
cameo appearances in Strictly the
Truth, James’s video column for
hellomagazine.com on the highs
and lows of the hit BBC show. “I
genuinely think it’s going to be a
strong year. There is a lot of talent.
Bobby Brazier is a really good
dancer – he will go a long way. And
Angela Rippon, bloody hell: 78
years old, she is amazing,” he says.
After reminiscing, we look
forward rather than back: could it
be James walking his daughter up
the aisle in another 20 years or so?
“Well, [her future partner] is
going to have to be something so
s p e c i a l . O t h e r w i s e , i t ’s n o t
happening,” quips James.
“Oh my God, James on Ella’s
wedding day,” Ola exclaims.
“The bond they have is amazing.
She is such a daddy’s girl. He is
such a crier. He will be an
H
absolute mess.”
INTERVIEW: JANE DOWDESWELL
PHOTOS: LIZ McAULAY
STYLING: ARABELLA BOYCE
HAIR & MAKE-UP: ALICE THEOBALD AT
ARLINGTON ARTISTS USING TRISH McEVOY,
ARDELL LASHES & CLOUD NINE

Thanks to Cooling Castle Barn. To find
out more, visit coolingcastlebarn.com.
For a special video with James, Ola
and Ella, visit hellomagazine.com.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS: JAMES & OLA JORDAN

(LEFT) JAMES’S SUIT: HAWES & CURTIS. SHIRT: ETON. ELLA’S DRESS: RACHEL RILEY. HAIR BAND: STYCH

James says. “We each know what the
other is thinking without having to
tell them. Nowadays, people think a
long relationship is a few years –
we’re talking 23.”

JAMES’S SUIT & SHIRT: MOSS. OLA’S DRESS: ISABELL KRISTENSEN. SHOES: CLUB L LONDON. (LEFT) JAMES’S SUIT: MOSS. OLA’S DRESS: ISABELL KRISTENSEN. ELLA’S DRESS: PEPA LONDON. CROWN: STYCH

‘I liked him from the first moment
I saw him. He is amazing’ Ola

James and Ola raise
a glass to their family
of three (above left)
and re-create their
deliberately low-key
first dance (right) –
“a smooch to
Eternal Flame by
The Bangles”,
James says

33

WITH HIS FAVOURITE TEAM BY HIS SIDE

DAVID BECKHAM
IS MAN OF THE MATCH AT A
VERY PERSONAL PREMIERE

W

hen it came to the world premiere of
the eagerly awaited documentary
Beckham last week, it was very much a family
affair. Joining David and Victoria Beckham on
the red carpet at a cinema in central London
were the couple’s four children plus two
partners, as well as their own parents.
As the clan gathered to pose for
photographers at the event, held at the Curzon
Mayfair, the man of the moment looked
prouder than ever.

34

SPECIAL MOMENT
He and Victoria, looking effortlessly chic in a
white trouser suit from her own collection,
wrapped their arms around each other and
shared private words as they stood with their
children Brooklyn, 24, Romeo, 21, Cruz, 18,
and 12-year-old Harper.
Brooklyn brought along his wife, Nicola Peltz
Beckham, while Romeo was accompanied by
model girlfriend Mia Regan, both young
women posing with the family on the red carpet.
Other celebrities invited to the premiere
included actress Salma Hayek and her 16-year-old

‘I wanted
something for
my family and
friends and
fans, who have
all lived this’

The Beckham clan pose at the premiere:
(from left) model Mia Regan and her boyfriend
Romeo, Cruz, Harper, David, Victoria,
Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz Beckham

daughter Valentina, Dame Anna Wintour, actor
James Corden, comedian Jack Whitehall, singersongwriter Jess Glynne, former footballers Alex
Scott and Gary Neville and Victoria’s former Spice
Girls bandmate Emma Bunton, as well as her
sister Louise Adams and David’s sister Joanne.

V

THE RIGHT TIME
Inside the cinema, former footballer David, 48,
explained why he and his wife had decided to
open up about his life and career for the fourpart documentary, which began streaming on
Netflix last week.
“When I retired ten years ago, people started
to ask me if I was going to do a documentary
about my life and my career, and in all honesty,
I wasn’t ready to look back,” he said. “I wasn’t
ready to go over things – there’s been so much
going on, and I wasn’t ready to process that.
“But heading towards the ten-year anniversary
of me retiring, something felt right about doing
it. I wanted to have something for my family and
my friends and my fans, who have all lived this.”
In the documentary, the former England
captain and Victoria, 49 – alongside David’s

Victoria looks
typically chic in
a white trouser
suit from her
own collection.
Guests include
her former Spice
Girls bandmate
Emma Bunton
(far left) and Geri
Horner’s teenage 35
daughter Bluebell
and husband
Christian (left)

‘Victoria is everything
to me. We’re fighters
and what we had was
worth fighting for’

parents Sandra and Ted and his former
Manchester United team-mates Roy Keane and
Gary Neville – discuss the highs and lows of his
sporting career, including the sending-off in a
World Cup match in 1998 that resulted in
widespread abuse from football fans.
In one episode, fashion designer Victoria
speaks for the first time about how the couple
went through a tough time when personal
assistant Rebecca Loos said she and David had an
affair in 2003, while he was playing in Spain for
Real Madrid (Rebecca is not named in the
documentary and David has always described the
claims as “ludicrous”).
OPENING UP
“Here’s the thing: we were against each other, if
I’m being completely honest,” she revealed. “Up
until Madrid, sometimes it felt like us against
everybody else, but we had each other. But in
Spain, it didn’t really feel as though we had each
other either. And that’s sad. I can’t even begin to
tell you how hard it was, and how it affected me.”
David said he struggled to settle in Spain
without his family after Victoria initially stayed in
the UK so that Brooklyn and Romeo could
continue their schooling. “When I first moved to

36

David is joined at
the premiere by
parents Sandra
a n d Te d ( l e f t ) .
Former teammate Gary Neville,
an executive
producer of the
documentary,
poses with wife
Emma Hadfield
(right), while Dave
Gardner (far right),
David’s best friend
from their days in
the Manchester
United youth team,
attends with his
model girlfriend
Jessica Clarke

Spain, it was difficult because I had been part of a
club and a family for my whole career, from the
age of 15 to when I was 27. I get sold overnight,
the next minute I’m in a [different] city, I don’t
speak the language,” he said.
“More importantly, I didn’t have my family. We
both felt at the time that we were not losing each
other but drowning. I don’t know how we got
through it, in all honesty. Victoria is everything to
me – to see her hurt was incredibly difficult – but
we’re fighters, and at that time, we needed to
fight for each other, we needed to fight for our
family. And what we had was worth fighting for.”
After the premiere, David and Victoria led the
way at a star-studded afterparty held at Mayfair
venue The Twenty Two. The couple enjoyed an
impromptu dance outside the restaurant, with
both posting the moment on social media.
Victoria wrote: “Still making me laugh and I’m
still teaching @davidbeckham to dance. We all
love you so much and are so proud of you.”
Brooklyn’s wife Nicola also shared images
from the event, writing: “A really beautiful night.
Congratulations @davidbeckham a truly
H
beautiful documentary.”
REPORT: LAURA BENJAMIN

IDecco.com

Marz photographed by Ryan Lowry

AUTUMN-WINTER 2023 COLLECTION

ALEXANDER
McQUEEN

AS A LEGENDARY DESIGNER BOWS OUT

PARIS FASHION WEEK

A-LIST STARS GATHER TO WATCH
AND WALK IN SPECTACULAR SHOWS

azzling in a shimmering
D
silver corset and slinky
draped skirt, catwalk queen

WORTH THE TRIP
Meanwhile, Eva Longoria
Bastón wowed in a white
feathered gown as she
strode out for L’Oréal’s
Walk Your Worth show. The
4 8 - y e a r- o l d , w h o i s a n
ambassador for the French
beauty brand alongside
Dame Helen Mirren,

V

Naomi Campbell helped
ensure Sarah Burton went out
with a bang when the designer
presented her last collection
as creative director of
Alexander McQueen at
Paris Fashion Week.
The 53-year-old model and
mum of two was seen
shedding a tear as Sarah,
who had been with the
company for 26 years
and famously
created the gown
worn by the then
Kate Middleton in

2011 to marry Prince William,
took her final bow on the
McQueen runway.
Hollywood stars Cate
Blanchett and Elle Fanning
were among the famous fans
who bagged front-row seats
at the show.

L’OREAL

It’s a starry night
for L’Oréal against
the dramatic
backdrop of the
Eiffel Tower, as
Kendall Jenner
(above), Rochelle
Humes (left), Eva
Longoria Bastón
(right) and a
glowing Dame
Helen Mirren (far
right) all walk for
the brand

39

VALENTINO

Models at Valentino (above), watched by Nicky and
Paris Hilton (left), plus actress Sonam Kapoor and
model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (bottom right)

THINK PINK
Elsewhere, Kaia Gerber was a cut above for Valentino,
ruling the runway in an intricate white minidress.
Actors Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh attended
the show, both sporting pink – a Valentino trademark
since 2022 and the Barbie
Barbie-inspired
-inspired shade of 2023. TV
personality and DJ Paris Hilton equally went for
fuchsia, having flown into her namesake city with
sister Nicky Rothschild.
South Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech’s
look for Mugler was powerful, her black mesh
catsuit coupled with a dramatic flowing headpiece,
while Gigi Hadid made her return to the runway for
Chanel, opening the final day of Paris Fashion Week
in a black sequin pant suit.
Lighting up the red carpet for Louis Vuitton,
Spider-Man star Zendaya showed her mettle in a
plunging white gown with a double zip and
H
exposed locks and links on the shoulders.
REPORT: KIRA RICHARDS

Kaia Gerber,
daughter of
supermodel Cindy
Crawford, on the
catwalk at the
Valentino show,
where Andrew
Garfield and
Florence Pugh
40 (together right)
channel 2023’s
trademark colour
– Barbie pink

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES. LAUNCHMETRICS. REX FEATURES

looked radiant as she posed at the end of the catwalk.
The Queen star Dame Helen brought the drama as
she sashayed under the arches of the Eiffel Tower,
swishing the flowing sleeves of her off-the-shoulder
silver sequin gown, her long hair backcombed.
Kendall Jenner also proved she was worth it as she
walked in the star-studded show, which also featured
UK presenter Rochelle Humes in a floor-length
bronze gown with a huge matching disc on her back.

MUGLER

CHANEL

Actors Penélope Cruz
and Riley Keough are
white-on at Chanel

Zendaya turns
heads in a white
dress with zip
and lock details
at Louis Vuitton

41

The Inside Story

THE KING

HE CAME, HE SAWED, HE CONQUERED

H

e has always been at the cutting edge when it
comes to sustainability, so the King was
delighted to make a return trip to a sawmill in
Aberdeenshire to learn about its waste-free
production process – and no doubt chip in a few
ideas of his own.
Charles had visited the James Jones & Sons
sawmill – which handles a variety of timber,
including pine from the royal estate at Balmoral –

in 1999, when he was Prince of Wales, and photos
of the occasion, and of visits made by his mother
Queen Elizabeth II, were on display last week
(above). Thanking employees in Aboyne for their
efforts, he joked: “Whether I will be able to come
back in another 24 years… I don’t know if I will
be around.”
After touring the treatment plant and meeting
workers, including apprentices, a gap-year student

and a saw doctor who had been there in 1999, the
King unveiled a commemorative plaque and
signed the visitors’ book (above right).
He was impressed to learn that the firm sells its
timber not only to the construction industry in
Scotland, but also as far afield as Australia and New
Zealand. “I hadn’t realised what an area you cover
around the world,” he said. “It depends on all the
marvellous people who put so much into it.”

LEAH WILLIAMSON

PROUD LIONESS SCORES AN O.B.E.

42

ootball is all about missed opportunities. And
as President of the Football Association and a
passionate fan of the game, the Prince of Wales
was kicking himself after being unable to travel
Down Under to watch the England team play in
the Fifa Women’s World Cup final in August. So
he was doubly delighted to be present when
Lioness Leah Williamson accepted her latest
significant piece of silverware: an OBE.
The England and Arsenal captain (below) was
accompanied to the investiture ceremony at
Windsor Castle by her parents and grandparents,
and on Instagram
called it “a day we
will remember
forever”. It was her
second recent
encounter with
Prince William
after they had “a
bit of a catch-up” at
last month’s United
Nations Sustainable
Development Goals
Summit in New
York.
Leah is hoping
that her own goal of
getting back on the
pitch, after injury
kept her out of the
World Cup, is within
reach. “I’m looking
forward to coming
back after Christmas,”
she said.

Also honoured on the day was actor and
theatre director Oluwafemi Elufowoju Jr (far
left), who received an OBE for services to drama.
And there were two new additions to the trophy
cabinet at the home of Paralympic cycling couple
Lora and Neil Fachie last week. Collecting an OBE
each from the Princess Royal (above) – under the
watchful eye of Lora’s guide dog – was, Lora wrote
on X (formerly Twitter), “a real honour”.

REPORTS: KATHRYN WILSON. PHOTOS: PA IMAGES. REX FEATURES

F

THE DUCHESS
OF EDINBURGH

SHOWS OFF HER TOP GEAR ON
VISIT TO BROOKLANDS ACADEMY

A

lways stylish but rarely racy,
the Duchess of Edinburgh
stepped it up a gear on a visit to
motoring and aviation museum
Brooklands in Surrey.
But despite her top-flight
fashion – black leather separates
from Prada and Nina Ricci, plus a
pair of sky-high Reiss boots –
Sophie had not come for the
Concorde Experience. Instead,
she was meeting students taking
part in the Brooklands Innovation
Academy event, part of the
National Science Summer School.
Fans did not have long to
admire her outfit, however. As
hands-on as always, the mother of
two put on her lab coat and safety
glasses to join a group of
youngsters – and TV physicist

Professor Brian Cox (all below) –
for an experiment. She also hefted
a hammer in another of the
event’s workshops (bottom).
In a smooth-running schedule,
Sophie, 58, also fitted in a trip to
Nottingham to join the Flintham
Show as part of its centenary
celebrations and take part in an
arts and crafts session for children.
There was a visit, too, to the
offices of the NSPCC, of which she
is patron, to wish happy birthday
to its longest-standing fundraiser,
90-year-old Jenny Farr.
Making no attempt to hide her
current love of leather, during her
day out the Duchess showcased
wide-legged leather trousers,
which she teamed with a warm but
chic belted navy wool coat.

The Inside Story
NEIL JONES
AND CHYNA
MILLS

DANCING FOR JOY
AS THEY
WELCOME BABY

T

“Then we found out and I was like: ‘Oh, this
is brilliant, everything is coming together.’”
A Strictly stalwart since 2016, Neil has not
been paired with a celebrity this year. But
thanks to the new family member, he’s likely
to have his hands – and arms – full regardless.
Not that he minds. “I’m on cloud nine,” he
said last week.

SELENA GOMEZ

MAKES A CHARITY IMPACT
IN PETALS AND METALS

I

44

t might be rare for
celebrities to wear three
outfits to one event, but not
when you are hostess-withthe-mostest Selena Gomez.
The former Wizards of
Waverly Place star was hosting
her first Rare Impact Fund
benefit in Los Angeles and
wore a spellbinding
selection of showstopping
gowns, including a
silver full-length
custom-made
Valentino number
(right) and a
purple Rahul Mishra
minidress (left).
Inside the magical
gala, her Only Murders in
the Building co-star Martin
Short enchanted the crowd
as he acted as both MC and
auctioneer to raise money
for Selena’s non-profit
fund, which helps mental
health organisations.
Among lots on offer were
a pair of VIP tickets to see
Taylor Swift in concert,
which conjured up
$15,000 (a little
more than £12,200),
and a film night
with Ant-Man and the

Wasp
asp star Paul Rudd which
went for $5,000 (£4,093).
“This has been the
culmination of a lifelong
dream for me, but it has also
stemmed from some of the
darkest moments in my life,”
Selena said. “I struggled with
the world inside my head for
a long time and I felt lost
and I felt hopeless at times.
“In 2020, I received my
diagnosis of bipolar disorder
and ever ything quickly
changed. I actually got the
knowledge and the answers
I had been desperate for for
so long.
“With that knowledge, I
could seek out the support
I needed to be myself, to
find my joy again, and
tonight I’m very proud to
say that I have. I’m so happy
just to be alive and be here
with you guys today.”

REPORTS: KATHRYN WILSON. LAURA BENJAMIN. PHOTOS: CHANNEL 4. CIBELLE LEVI. GETTY IMAGES. NICKY JOHNSTON. REX FEATURES

he latest series of Strictly Come
Dancing has started, but for
professional dancer Neil Jones, all
routines are out of the window
following the birth of his first child.
Neil and his fiancée, Love Island star
Chyna Mills (together left), shared
news of their baby daughter’s arrival
in a social media post.
Uploading a photo of her tiny feet
(right), the pair added: “Our hearts
are so full.” And while they have yet to
disclose their little one’s name, they
told hello!: “Mum and baby are
doing really well. She’s everything we hoped
for and more.”
Neil, 41, and Chyna, 24, got together last
year after meeting at a party and opted to
reveal their double whammy of life-changing
news in an exclusive interview with hello! in
April. “I’d already planned to ask Chyna to
marry me before we knew she was pregnant,”
he said of his proposal on holiday in Bali.

ELIZABETH HURLEY

THINKS PINK IN ANTI-BREAST CANCER BID

B

arbie may have made it her own,
but nobody does pink like
Elizabeth Hurley. The actress,
swimwear designer and breast cancer
awareness campaigner made her
regular trip to the Big Apple to turn
the Empire State Building pink –
something she has been doing every
year since 2000.
Sharing photos (left and right) on
Instagram, she told fans: “It was
wonderful to once again illuminate
[the skyscraper] pink. I am honoured
to help recognise everyone touched
by breast cancer and support efforts
to fund research, education and
medical services.”
Calling it “probably my favourite
building in the world”, Elizabeth, 58,
was joined at the New York landmark
by her “old friend” William P Lauder,
chairman of the Estée Lauder
Companies, who flicked the switch
with her. She first worked with the
beauty giant in its mission to shine a
light on the disease, raising awareness
and funding life-saving research,
almost three decades ago.
“I’ve been in the breast cancer
world for 28 years now,” said Elizabeth,
who lost her grandmother to breast
cancer in 1992, speaking to TV’s Loose
Women on her return to London
following her whirlwind trip. “It never
stops being important. Because
women are still dying, it makes us
realise that we have to keep going.”

PAUL ‘P.K.’ KEMSLEY

ON HOUSES, HOUSEWIVES AND HAPPINESS

P

aul “PK” Kemsley is used to speaking his
mind. The self-made property millionaire has
dished out tough love as a mentor on The
Apprentice
entice and on Channel 4’s Selling Super Houses,
as well as The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, on
which he stars with wife Dorit (together, right).
But, PK tells hello!, he is not as tough as he
appears. “I was a rottweiler back on The Apprentice
but it’s a different world now, and you need to deal
with people more delicately; you need to
encourage them. I don’t believe the best way of
doing that is scaring the life out of them,” he says.
It’s an attitude that has been influenced by his
children – he has three from his first marriage

and Jagger, nine, and seven-year-old Phoenix with
Dorit. “I’ve got five kids and I want them to be
guided and employed by kind people,” he says.
“I only ever want to talk to people how I would
be happy for someone to talk to my own children.”
PK, 56, left the UK after he lost his property
empire in the 2008/9 credit crunch and
successfully rebuilt his career in the US, managing
singers Boy George (below left, with PK and Dorit
in Selling Super Houses) and Lulu.
He is now happily settled in Los Angeles, where
he and Dorit have starred in Real Housewives for
more than six years. However, being in the reality
show means cameras film every aspect of their
lives – including the
a ft e r mat h of wh en , in
October 2021, armed
burglars broke into their
home while PK was away,
and confronted Dorit.
While she was physically
unharmed, the mental
impact was clear in the
episodes filmed at the time.
“It was a terrible thing
and you’ll see the aftermath
on the next season, all
caused by the PTSD,” PK
says. “It’s had a horrible
effect, but eventually, time
will ease the pain.”

45

The Inside Story
SIR DAVID
ATTENBOROUGH
WAXING LYRICAL IN
EXOTIC LOCATION

T

here is nothing quite as special as seeing a rare
breed in its natural habitat. How fitting, then,
that when Madame Tussauds unveiled a new
waxwork of Sir David Attenborough, he was
surrounded by 1,500 species of plants and trees –
some of them endangered – in London’s Barbican
Conservatory. The naturalist and much-loved
presenter of groundbreaking documentaries such
as Planet Earth
th and Dynasties is depicted wearing his
trademark blue shirt and khaki trousers (left).
Created using hundreds of photographs and
hours of film footage, the likeness is an update of
one that first went on display in February 1992.
Back then, Sir David was photographed next to his
waxwork, which went on show in the Garden Party
section of the London attraction.
His new incarnation is due to take up residence
later this month at Madame Tussauds, where it will
observe the behaviour of visitors to the new Best of
Britain zone. He will certainly be in good company
as, according to reports, the zone will also be
home to waxworks of Diana, Princess of Wales,
suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, William
Shakespeare and Stormzy.
And for those still keen to see the real thing?
The third series of Planet Earth
th will be screened
later this year.

CHILDREN IN
NEED

STAR ATHLETES ROLL
BACK THE YEARS TO
SHOW SUPPORT

I

46

n her athletics career, Dame Jessica
Ennis-Hill always kept an eye on the
clock. But some of her very best times
were at school, which is why she was
happy to re-create an old school
photo for Children in Need.
“I loved school dinners,” the
multiple medal-winning Olympic
heptathlete (above right)
revealed. “I made some of my
closest friends there and loved
Sports Day.” Uploading the thenand-now shots to her Instagram, Jessica
joked to fans: “I’ve not changed at all.”
The record breaker was among the
celebrities enlisted to help launch
Children in Need’s 2023 schools
fundraising campaign, which not only
aims to set a new PB (that’s personal
best, not Pudsey Bear), but also celebrate
the positive relationships children forge
with adults in school, and the guidance
and support this offers them.
Joining Jessica were YouTuber Harry
Pinero and England Lionesses footballers
Leah Williamson, Demi Stokes and Chloe
Kelly. Ditching her usual kit, Manchester
City striker Chloe (left and below right)
modelled a yellow Pudsey T-shirt on social
media. “New [drop] alert…” she told fans.
“Go cop the tee and support the cause.”

JENNIFER LOPEZ

PAYS TRIBUTE TO CELEBRITY TRAINER
— WITH THE RESULTS TO PROVE IT

A

ttending the fifth annual Daytime
Beauty Awards in Los Angeles to
present the Outstanding Achievement
in Fitness honour to Tracy Anderson,
Jennifer Lopez was the per fect
advertisement for the celebrity trainer’s
results-driven routines. Both on stage
and in photos posted on Instagram, the
singer and actor looked spectacular in a

floral design by home-grown US talent
Bach Mai (right).
Calling Tracy “the original creator
whose methods and dedication to her
craft keep her at the top of her game”,
Jennifer, 54, paid tribute to the fitness
guru in her speech.
There was also an opportunity to chat
to fellow singer Sia. The Australian
Titanium star, 47, was
presenting an award to
aesthetic surgeon Dr Ben
Talei, whom she revealed
was responsible for her
own “amazing” freshfaced look.
After changing into a
breezy white Schiaparelli
shirt dress styled with
gold accessories, Jennifer
posed with Sia (left) in
the sun-drenched
gardens of the awards
v e n u e , t h e Ta g l y a n
Complex, in front of a
stand for her latest
business venture: the
Delola cocktail range
she launched in April.
Over the years, the
pair have collaborated
numerous times, with
equally intoxicating
results. “What a
charming, sweet, funny
person,” Sia tweeted of
Jennifer in 2013. “And
she can really SING!”

STEVIE NICKS

GOES HER OWN WAY WITH SELLOUT BARBIE DOLL

A

s part of the iconic 1970s band
Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks has
numerous awards to her name, and was the
first woman to be inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame twice. And now she
has received the ultimate accolade: her
own Barbie.
Rumours of the doll, part of the Barbie
Music series, sparked a frenzy among fans
keen to snap up the highly collectable
piece, which sold out within minutes.
Modelling an outfit styled on that worn
by the singer on the cover of the 1977
album Rumours, the Stevie Barbies also
feature a moon necklace and a tambourine
(left). One of the first to get her hands on
one was Stevie herself, who took the doll
on stage in New York, where she was
performing (right). Promising a “surprise”,
she brought out her mini-me, later giving
another one to a lucky audience member.
Stevie explained that she had sent her
original outfit to toymaker Mattel so it
could be replicated. “All the memories of
walking out on a big stage in that black
outfit and those gorgeous boots come
rushing back,” she later added on X
(formerly Twitter). “And then I see myself
now in her face.”

47

aptivating in a custom-made taupe tulle
C
Dior gown, intricately embroidered with
hummingbirds, thistles and delicate sparkles,

ANYA TAYLOR-JOY

IS THE LEADING LADY AS SHE WEDS
MUSICIAN MALCOLM McRAE IN VENICE
Anya arrives for her
big day and (above) is
transformed into an
ethereal bride, dressed
in embroidered Dior

48

SECRET LOVE
Despite the bride’s soaring profile, including
being announced as the new face of Tiffany and
Co’s Blue Book 2023: Out of the Blue jewellery
collection, the couple have kept their
relationship mostly private.
They are believed to have first met in March
2021, at the premiere for The Queen’s Gambit,
Gambit, in
which Anya played chess prodigy Beth Harmon,
and started dating shortly after. Their first red
carpet appearance together came at the Vanity
Fair
air Oscars party in 2022.
Their busy lifestyles mean they have often
been living on opposite sides of the Atlantic,
with Anya mainly residing in London and
Malcolm in the US.
While agreeing this could be difficult, Anya
last year said: “But it’s also kind of great because
when you’re together you’re really valuing the
time that you have. Everyday mundane activities
are so full of joy. I love going to the petrol station
with him and filling up.”
And she added: “I’ve finally found someone
who will happily sit in silence with me, reading.
We’re basically 80 years old and seven at
H
the same time, and it works really well.”
REPORT: KIRA RICHARDS

PHOTOS: COBRA TEAM/SPLASH NEWS/BACKGRID

AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS

actress Anya Taylor-Joy embraced her most
romantic lead role ever: as bride.
The 27-year-old star of the award-winning
Netflix hit The Queen’s Gambit looked ethereal as
she married musician Malcolm McRae, 29, at
the historic 15th-century Palazzo Pisani Moretta,
overlooking Venice’s Grand Canal.
Joining the happy couple were 150 guests,
including model and actress Cara Delevingne,
Top Gun: Maverick star Miles Teller and British
actor Nicholas Hoult.
Anya herself was seen gazing out onto the
floating city from a balcony, a classic long white
veil delicately flowing down her loose hair.
Continuing the celebrations on their first full
day as husband and wife, the newlyweds were
arm in arm as they travelled by water taxi to join
their guests for a terrace brunch at the luxury St
Regis hotel.
Dressed in a white, off-the-shoulder
minidress, her hair in a casual bun, Anya
smiled lovingly at Malcolm, who kissed her on
her forehead.

‘I’ve finally found
someone who will
happily sit in
silence with me,
reading’ Anya

Continuing the
celebrations, Anya
and Malcolm head
off on one of
Ve n i c e ’s w a t e r
taxis for brunch
with their guests
at the St Regis
hotel, following
their wedding at
the 15th-century
Palazzo Pisani
Moretta (above
left), which
overlooks the
city’s historic
Grand Canal

49

FINDING HAPPINESS
AFTER HEARTBREAK

PAUL
YOUNG

IS IN PERFECT
HARMONY WITH
HIS BRIDE-TO-BE
LORNA
inger Paul Young has revealed he is to
S
marry again, five years after being left
heartbroken by the death of his first wife.
The star announced his engagement to
girlfriend Lorna Young last week, sharing
the happy news in an Instagram post.
“Lorna said Yes!” wrote Paul, 67,
alongside a diamond ring emoji,
underneath a photo of the smiling couple.
“We are both so happy and both looking
forward to a wonderful future together.”
Meanwhile, Lorna, who is in her early
50s, shared her own tribute to her new
fiancé, writing: “My world, my love, my
everything, 5 years of joy, I could not love
anyone more.”
A friend tells hello! that Lorna has
“brought joy” back into Paul’s life
following the death of his wife Stacey from
a brain tumour in January 2018, aged 52.
Irish-born Lorna lost her husband Geoff,
father to her adult son Aaron, around the
same time, and she and Paul, who have
been dating for five years, have supported

Paul performs with Los Pacaminos. The
star is no longer Senza Una Donna since
finding love with Lorna (together left); he
lost his first wife Stacey (together above
right in 2004) to a brain tumour in 2018

50

‘They’re inseparable
and love to have fun.
They’re an inspiration
for finding love again’

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES. PAUL YOUNG

one another through their grief. “They
are both widowed, so they have that
understanding of each other’s pain and a
desire to seize the day,” the friend says.
“They are so goofy and in love, like a
pair of teenagers. They’re inseparable
and love to have fun and spend lots of
time on little holidays together.
“It’s so good to see Paul happy again.
He was so sad and broken and I saw many
tears during the traumatic years of
Stacey’s brain tumour and death. Lorna
has put a spring back in his step and
given him joy, which is lovely to see.
“They’re an inspiration for finding
love again after the pain of losing
someone.”
Paul, whose hits in the 1980s included
Come Back and Stay and Wherever I Lay My
Hat (That’s My Home),
Home), married model
Stacey in 1987 and the couple shared
daughters Levi, now 36, and Layla, 29,
and son Grady, 27. They split up in 2006
and Stacey had a son, Jude, with a new
partner, but the pair later reunited.
FUN TIMES
Friends say Lorna often joins Paul as he
tours with his Tex-Mex band Los
Pacaminos and plays intimate shows,
including forthcoming Scottish gigs in
December and at The Forge in London
next March.
“Paul loves all things Mexican and these
gigs are about Paul hanging out with his
mates, being silly and having fun,” the
friend continues. “Lorna nearly always
joins him now and they love the party
atmosphere of these shows, which are an
opportunity to get to know Paul’s fans. He
often wanders around the audience
H
offering them tequila shots.”
REPORT: TRACY SCHAVERIEN

For tickets to see Los Pacaminos, visit
seetickets.com.

The couple, who
have been dating
for five years,
pose happily at
the Boisdale
Music Awards in
London in 2021

51

Coat

£36

Available at tu.co.uk
Subject to availability. Selected stores only.

7 DAYS

A ROUND-UP OF NEWS REPORTS

HOLLY WILLOUGHBY

JODIE TURNER-SMITH
Actress confirms separation from Joshua Jackson
Jodie Turner-Smith has filed
for divorce from her husband
of four years, Joshua Jackson.
The actress, 37, and her
husband, 45, best known for
his role as Pacey in the 1990s
hit series Dawson’s Creek, tied
the knot in 2019. They share
three-year-old daughter
Juno, with Jodie citing
“irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the
separation and also requesting joint custody of
their child.
“They are on very different paths in life,” a
source said. “It turned into an unhealthy marriage
that made her unhappy. They will co-parent their
daughter. They want her to continue to thrive.”
O Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville has
separated from his wife of 25 years, Lulu. The
couple have a 21-year-old son, Felix.

ROSE AYLING-ELLIS

Suspect appears in court over ‘targeting’ of TV star
A 36-year-old man has been
charged with soliciting to
commit murder, incitement
to commit rape and
incitement to commit kidnap
in relation to an alleged plot
to target television presenter
Holly Willoughby.
Gavin Plumb, of Harlow in
Essex, was arrested and
charged last week, with Essex Police saying: “This
was an extremely fast-paced investigation, with
many of our officers and national partners
working overnight to secure these charges.”
Holly, 42, did not appear in her usual presenting
role on ITV’s This Morning last Thursday and was
reportedly under police protection. The suspect
appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on
Friday and was remanded into custody to appear in
crown court on 3 November.

NAOMI CAMPBELL

Celebrates debut stage award
Rose Ayling-Ellis has scooped
the Best West End Debut
Performer at The Stage Debut
Awards. The actress, 28 – who
lifted the Strictly Come Dancing
Glitterball trophy in 2021 with
professional dance partner
Giovanni Pernice – won for
her role as Celia in Soho
Place’s production of As You
Like It, and said on Instagram: “Thank you sooooo
much to everyone who has voted for me. It is a very
cool category to be in.”
The deaf actress, who consistently advocates for
people who are deaf or hard of hearing, also
wrote: “This win is vital for the deaf community. I
do often talk about the lack of captions/accessible
shows in the theatre and the lack of advertising
over it, because I would love to go to the theatre
more often than I do.”

Museum to feature model’s groundbreaking work
London’s V&A museum is to
open an exhibition
honouring the career of
Naomi Campbell.
Titled NAOMI, it has been
created in collaboration with
the 53-year-old supermodel. It
is the first of its kind to follow
the South London-born star’s
rise to fame after being
scouted aged 15 and making history as the firstt
black model to appear on the cover of Vogue Paris
Paris,,
in 1988. The exhibition will open in June 2024
and will feature pieces from Naomi’s personal
wardrobe of haute couture, as well as some of the
outfits she has modelled on the catwalk.
“I’m honoured to be asked by the V&A to share
my life in clothes with the world,” said the mother
of two, who recently closed Sarah Burton’s last
Alexander McQueen show at Paris Fashion Week.

Quote of the week
‘We could probably solve some of the world’s biggest problems if
we put Dyslexic Thinking in the heart of the narrative’
COMPILED BY KIRA RICHARDS. PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES. PA IMAGES. REX FEATURES

Story of
the Week

Princess Beatrice opens up about parenting with dyslexia

BEYONCÉ
Announces film based on record-breaking tour
Beyoncé has revealed that her
history-making Renaissance
World Tour has been made
into a film.
The pop icon, 42, teased
fans with a trailer that
featured clips from her latest
tour, which broke the record
for being the highest-grossing
tour by a female artist in
history, raking in a huge $579m (£474m).
“When I am performing, I am nothing but
free,” said the mother of three, who performed 57
shows across Europe and the US, finishing her run
last Sunday. “My goal for this tour was to create a
place where everyone is free and no one is
judged,” she added.
In the trailer for the film, the superstar is shown
rehearsing with daughter Blue Ivy Carter, 11, and
recording the Renaissance album.

SARAH, DUCHESS OF YORK
Mourns death of murdered former assistant
Sarah, Duchess of York has
shared her shock and
heartfelt condolences after
her former assistant, Jenean
Chapman, was murdered in
Dallas, Texas last month.
“I am shocked and
saddened to learn that Jenean
Chapman, who worked with
me as my personal assistant
many years ago, has been murdered in Dallas aged
just 46. A suspect is in custody,” wrote Sarah, 63.
“Jenean was loyal, hardworking, beautiful and
fun, and my heart breaks for her family and
friends. I heard from her just a couple of months
ago and she seemed so happy.”
Sarah, who is recovering from a mastectomy
following a breast cancer diagnosis earlier this
year, added that she “will be supporting the family
in any way possible”.

Idris Elba opens up about
his therapy for bad habits
Elba has revealed he has been in
Ifromdris
therapy to help with issues stemming
being “an absolute workaholic”. The
actor, 51, talked about what he was going
through with broadcaster Annie Macmanus
during the latest episode of her podcast,
Changes.. “I’ve been in therapy for about
Changes
a year now. It’s a lot,” said Idris, who has
daughter Isan, 21, with ex-wife Hanne
Norgaard and son Winston, nine, whom he
shares with ex-girlfriend Naiyana Garth.
The Luther star said his work habits were
not good for his overall wellbeing. “It’s not
because I don’t like myself or anything like
that, it’s just because I have some unhealthy
habits that have really formed,” he told
Annie. “And I work in an industry in which
I’m rewarded for those unhealthy habits.”
And The Wire actor noted that his
upbringing played a large part in the lifestyle
he has today. “So I’ve been thinking about
this a lot and, oddly enough, a lot of our
childhood is really at the root of it,” shared
Idris, who married his wife Sabrina (together
above) in April 2019 after two years together.
Idris also shared that he’s been trying to
make time for himself and find activities he
finds relaxing, which has proved challenging.
“The things that make me relaxed end up
being work,” he revealed. “I could work ten
days on a film, underwater sequences
holding my breath for six minutes, and
come back and sit in [my studio] and [feel
relaxed], more so than sitting on the sofa
with the family — which is bad, right? This
is the part where I’ve got to normalise what
makes me relaxed – it can’t be all work.”
For the latest celebrity news,
visit hellomagazine.com

53

AS HE GETS SET FOR THE NEXT STEP OF HIS EDUCATION

PRINCE GEORGE

HOW HIS PARENTS ARE PREPARING THE FUTURE
KING FOR THE NEXT MAJOR MILESTONE IN HIS LIFE
is destiny has been mapped since birth,
but there are still a few challenges for
Prince George to overcome on his path to
becoming King.
Like many other Year 6 pupils across the UK,
George is preparing to sit entrance exams for
the next stage of his education, with his mum
the Princess of Wales choosing to stay home to
support him next month rather than travelling
to Singapore with her husband for the third
annual Earthshot Prize awards.
Last week, chatting to sixth-form students at a
secondary school in Cardiff, Kate said her tenyear-old son was revising, saying: “I’ve been
helping George prepare for his exams coming
up, so I know how hard maths can be.
“George is just at the beginning of being
tested. He says: ‘Mummy, I keep getting tested
all the time.’ But when it gets to A-levels, you
feel like you’re on it.”
The young royal was spotted with his parents
on a visit to the Prince of Wales’s alma mater
Eton College earlier this year, sparking
speculation he will follow in his father’s footsteps
and join the historic school when he’s 13.
But friends of the couple say they want him to
have the freedom to make his own decisions
and feel that nothing is set in stone.
And despite Eton’s reputation for producing
Prime Ministers and world leaders, George
could still potentially opt for another institution
when the time comes.

V

In his first major
public role, George
wears a scarlet and
54 gold tunic to act as
page of honour at his
grandfather the King’s
coronation last May

CHILDHOOD GOALS
In common with a lot of young boys, George
enjoys football, video games, reading and
parties, along with his schooling. But unlike his
peers, he faces duties and responsibilities that
are a world away from these activities.
This was best demonstrated at his grandfather
the King’s coronation in May, when he was a
page of honour. The young Prince’s unique
position was brought into sharp focus as he
stood in his smart scarlet and gold tunic at
Westminster Abbey to take on his most highprofile official role to date.
A historic photograph showing the new
monarch flanked by his two heirs – George and
his father Prince William – was hugely symbolic,
illustrating the future of the monarchy following
the death of Elizabeth II.
William and Kate are continuing to introduce
George slowly to the world of royal duty as they
negotiate the fine balancing act of raising a
future King with letting him have the space to
enjoy his childhood.
“I want George to grow up in a real, living
environment,” William has said. “I don’t want
him growing up behind palace walls. He has to
be out there.”
George’s latest milestone comes in a year that
has seen the youngster increasingly take part in
public engagements, most of which appear to
have been carefully hand picked to appeal to a
boy of his age while acting as stepping stones to
what lies ahead.
During Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee
celebrations last year, the Prince and his siblings
Princess Charlotte, now eight, and Prince
Louis, five, mucked in with volunteers to

‘I’ve been helping George prepare
for his exams. He’s just at the
beginning of being tested’
The Princess of Wales

The Prince and Princess of Wales take Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte on their
first school run to Lambrook School, near Ascot, in September 2022, where headmaster Jonathan
Perry is waiting to greet them (above). The young royal’s education begins at Montessori nursery in
Norfolk in 2016 (below), before he moves on to Thomas’s Battersea the following year (right)

‘When you’re very
young and one step
away from the
throne, it can weigh
heavily — and
George is quite shy’

George’s place in
history is captured
for all to see in a
highly symbolic
photograph of him
56 with the King and
his father the Prince
of Wales, taken
after the coronation

‘The family understands
Eton, which is really
important for any family’

Founded by Henry VI in 1440,
Eton College in Berkshire has
educated royals and nobility,
world leaders, authors, actors,
businessmen and more

renovate a Scout hut in Berkshire for The Big
Help Out initiative.
A few weeks later, George got another taste of
the future when he met well-wishers at Cardiff
Castle during his first ever royal walkabout.
The young royal has also been lucky enough
to have ringside seats at the 2020 Uefa European
Football Championship (held in 2021), the Six
Nations and Wimbledon, which he attended
dressed smartly in a suit and tie.
George, whom his father once described as
“helicopter mad”, also joined his family for this
year’s Royal International Air Tattoo in
Gloucestershire, where he was seen shaking
hands with RAF personnel in another example
of introducing an element of formality and duty
to a fun event.
The Wales children are tipped to take part in
an official royal tour next year, too, something
George and Charlotte last did in 2017 when
they accompanied their parents to Germany
and Poland.

V

SISTERLY SUPPORT
George’s confident younger sister, who has
been seen prompting him to wave and bow at
official events, is expected to continue to
support him, just as the Princess Royal has been
an unwavering ally to the King.
“When you’re very young and one step away
from the throne, it can weigh heavily – and
George is quite shy,” royal author Robert Jobson
told hello!
hello!.. “Charlotte is always giving him
little bits of advice and I think she’ll continue to
play a significant role in his life as they grow up.”
Meanwhile, the next few weeks will see
George putting an extra emphasis on his studies
ahead of the exams that will determine his
academic future.
He will sit the two-and-a-quarter-hour online
multiple-choice ISEB test, focused on verbal
reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths and
English, early next month. The marks are
standardised and age-adapted.
Eton also requires a report from a pupil’s
school, focusing on their academic strengths,
character and personal interests.
George would also need to sit a second
test at the college next spring and if

A TRADITION OF LEARNING
Wherever he goes to school, the next stage
of Prince George’s education will form a key
part of his preparation to be a future head
of state.
His school years will shape his character
and experience and become part of royal
history, as they did for his father the Prince
of Wales, and grandfather the King, who
was educated at Gordonstoun in Scotland,
like his own father the Duke of Edinburgh.
Prince William sat his Common Entrance
exam in 1995, joining Eton in June of that
year, when he was 13, and leaving in 2000
with three A-levels: an A for geography, B
for history of art and C for biology. He
then enrolled at the University of St
Andrews, where he got a 2:1 in art history.
His brother the Duke of Sussex also went
to Eton, joining in 1998 and gaining a B in
art and a D in geography in his A-levels.
Other members of the royal family to

have attended Eton include the present
Duke of Edinburgh – the King’s youngest
brother Prince Edward – Prince Michael of
Kent and Princess Margaret’s grandsons,
Arthur and Samuel Chatto.
William and Prince Harry’s uncle Earl
Spencer also attended, while other Old
Etonians include Prime Ministers Boris
Johnson, David Cameron, Harold Macmillan
and William Gladstone; writers George
Orwell and Ian Fleming; actors Damian
Lewis, Dominic West and Tom Hiddleston,
and TV adventurer Bear Grylls.

Prince William smiles on his first
day at Eton in 1995, more than 30
years after the then Prince
Charles, accompanied by his
father the Duke of Edinburgh,
arrives at Gordonstoun in Scotland

57

successful, would have to pass the Common
Entrance exam in Year 8 – something for which
his school, Lambrook, has a 100% pass rate.
STEPPING INTO HISTORY
William and Kate’s move to Windsor last year
makes Eton the obvious choice for their eldest
child, with the school situated just a stone’s throw
from the castle.
Explaining why the school has been regarded
as the pinnacle of education for centuries, Tony
Little, headmaster at Eton for 13 years, has said:
“If you live and grow up in a place where, for

58

The huge tennis fan cheers on Carlos Alcaraz
and Novak Djokovic, joining Charlotte to
watch the Wimbledon men’s final in July

almost 600 years, generations of boys have gone
on to do interesting things, there is an implicit
question asked of the current generation: ‘Why
not you?’ So, it builds confidence in an
individual’s ability to achieve things.
“Boys tell me that there is a very strong
expectation of excellence from each other. It is
interesting because it comes from other boys, not
just from the teachers.
“There is a culture of being independentminded and standing up for your own beliefs, as
well as being part of a community,” he added.
“When all these elements come together, it

PHOTOS: ALPHA/STEPHEN DANIELS. CAMERA PRESS/HUGO BURNAND/ROYAL HOUSEHOLD 2023. CHRIS JACKSON. DUCHESS OF
CAMBRIDGE/PA IMAGES/REX FEATURES. GETTY IMAGES. KEN GOFF. MILLIE PILKINGTON/KENSINGTON PALACE. PA IMAGES

His family by his side, George has
his first walkabout, at Cardiff
Castle in June 2022, the same
year he arrives at Twickenham
Stadium (below) to watch England
take on Wales in the Six Nations

‘I want George to grow
up in a real, living
environment. I don’t want
him growing up behind
palace walls’
The Prince of Wales

encourages young men to be people who
want to get things done, dynamic people
who believe they can make a difference.”
THE PERFECT CHOICE?
George would be required to board at
school, but could easily spend weekends at
the family’s Adelaide Cottage, said Melanie
Sanderson from the Good Schools Guide,
who discussed the Prince’s potential next
move on hello!
hello!’s
’s A Right Royal Podcast.
Podcast
odcast.
“[Eton’s] become much more relaxed
about the boarding side of things,” she said.
“It’s very common for mums to pop down
and meet students for a coffee or a cup of
tea on the high street. They’re allowed to go
home overnight if their house master allows
it on a Saturday or Sunday evening.”
While other schools would be open to
educating a future King – including
Marlborough College in Wiltshire, which
Kate attended – Melanie believes Eton is an
attractive choice, with its progressive
headmaster Simon Henderson and
unrivalled range of activities, as well as its
academic reputation.
“Eton has a proven track record on

security,” she said. “They can handle royals
– not just British royals, they’ve got members
of royal families from all over the world
there and other very high-profile families so
they can handle it.
“The family understands the school,
which is really important for any family.”
She added: “It’s got this brilliant blend of
the traditional and the modern. What’s best
about it is that whatever you want to do
there, you can do it. It’s not just the normal
sports, they do literally everything from
plain old football to polo, and they’ve got a
huge golf course.
“You can also do silversmithing, you can
sing in any number of choirs, play any
instrument from the violin to the bagpipes
or the harp. There is nothing that you might
want to try as a young person that Eton
won’t be able to deliver.
“For the royal family, it’s the heritage and
the tradition and that real melding of
traditional values, with the progressive
education that we know William and
H
Catherine want for their children.”
REPORT: EMILY NASH AND TRACY SCHAVERIEN

A Father’s Day photo from last June sums up the happy
childhood Prince William and Kate want for George and
his siblings as they gradually introduce George,
Charlotte and Louis to royal appearances and events,
such as Trooping the Colour (below)

59

HUGS, HEARTS AND FIST-BUMPS

THE PRINCE AND
PRINCESS OF WALES
FULFIL A PERSONAL PROMISE
ON A SPECIAL VISIT TO CARDIFF

Kate drops down to chat
to young well-wishers,
her Holland Cooper suit
proving the perfect
outfit for the relaxed
royal as she fist-bumps
youngsters (above)

‘It was just so heart-meltingly
beautiful for our elders to hold
the hand of the future King’

H

ugs, laughter and a game of table tennis
were on the agenda when the Prince and
Princess of Wales marked the start of Black
History Month in Cardiff.
The couple were greeted by crowds of wellwishers young and old as they visited the Welsh
capital to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the
arrival in the UK of the HMT Empire Windrush,
carrying people who were part of the drive to
rebuild post-war Britain.
Prince William got a big laugh when he
quipped: “Who’s pinching my bottom?” while
posing for photos with a group at Grange Pavilion
community centre and joked, while hugging
guests: “No kissing! I draw the line at kissing.”
Roma Taylor, 79, the founder of Windrush
Cymru Elders, which celebrates the
contributions of the Windrush generation and
promotes the understanding of ethnic minority
elders’ concerns and needs, was near the front
of the queue of the Prince’s admirers.
“It was a long one,” said the former member
of Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing
Corps after their embrace.
TALES OF TIMES PAST
Meanwhile, Yvonne Howard-Bunt, seeing her
friend Karen Lucock receive a hug from their
royal guest, asked: “Can I have one of what she
has just had?” The Prince happily agreed.
Discussing the experiences of the group,
Kate heard from Val Radway, 69, who was 11
when she came to Wales from Jamaica, about
the racism her family had faced.
“I told her the story of how, when I was
playing with the other kids, because I was black,
their mothers would come out and call them
inside,” she said. “That’s how it was then,
but now the grandchildren of the

The Princess of Wales
greets members from
the Windrush Cymru
Elders, Black History
Cymru 365, and the
Ethnic Minority Youth
Forum for Wales at
Grange Pavilion in
Cardiff (above),
where hugs were a
top priority (right) –
although the Prince
drew the line in a
group photo (below),
making everyone
laugh as he joked:
“ W h o ’s p i n c h i n g
P\ ERWWRP"ń

61

Windrush generation and the grandchildren of
white families can play together.”
The couple also met Black History Cymru
365 and young people from the Ethnic Minority
Youth Forum for Wales, which seeks to be a
voice of change for young people in Wales.

The royal couple meet
some of Wales’s next
generation at Fitzalan
High School, chatting
to pupils in lessons
(below and below right)

62

GOOD SPORTS
Teaming up with some of the forum’s members,
Kate demonstrated her famous competitive
streak in a lively game of doubles table tennis.
“You’ve got to watch her serve – she’s got a
slice on the serve,” William said after Kate won a
shot against him.
Amira Begum, 18, said later: “They were
quite good – surprisingly good,” while Eleeza
Khan, 17, added: “It was really chilled and
engaging. They got into it – we got into it.”
The visit ended with one more hug – this
time for Uzo Iwobi, founder and chief executive
of Race Council Cymru, Windrush Cymru
Elders’ parent body. She revealed the Prince
had promised to visit when he invested her with
a CBE at Windsor Castle this year.
“I told Prince William: ‘If you think anything
of what you are putting on my chest, come and
greet the elders in Wales. Shake the hands of

PHOTOS: CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY IMAGES. EMPICS.
MAX MUMBY. PA IMAGES. STEPHEN LOCK/I-IMAGES

‘We talked about
coffee. Princess
Kate absolutely
loves a cappuccino’

these elders who have sacrificed for 75 years to
make Britain what it is. They’ve never met
royalty,’” she said. “He said: ‘I’ll make this
happen. I’ll bring Catherine.’ Today he saw me
and said: ‘I promised you and I keep my word.’
“It was just so heart-meltingly beautiful for
our elders to hold the hand of the future King.”
The royals’ visit also took them to Fitzalan
High School in one of the most diverse and
disadvantaged communities in Wales, and sat in
on a history lesson looking at life in Tiger Bay,
where many of the Windrush generation settled.
Kate told A-level students how she was
helping elder son Prince George with his exam
revision, while William joined a lively debate
about the merits of e-books and paperbacks.
“There’s something about holding a book
that I like. But since having small children I
don’t read as much as I used to,” he said.
Sumayah Musa, 16, said afterwards: “We had
a very heated discussion. I can tell you that
Prince William is a strict fan of paperbacks. It
was very friendly. Then we talked about coffee.
Princess Kate absolutely loves a cappuccino,
H
but I prefer a white mocha.”
REPORT: TRACY SCHAVERIEN

Kate shows her love for Wales, with the keen gardener clearly at home 63
learning about the school’s gardening project (above left), which
teaches pupils how to grow plants and food from scratch, while
catching up with a school band (left) appeals to her musical side

SWAPPING STORIES ABOUT FAMILY

CARING KATE

SENDS A TOUCHING MESSAGE
OF SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE

‘I heard my
daughter singing
this morning… it
made me very
happy’

he Princess of Wales continued
the royal family’s support for
the people of Ukraine last week,
helping pack supplies to be sent to
the war-ravaged country.
After filling a box with food and
toiletries at the Vsi Razom
community hub in Bracknell, she
added a handwritten message that
read: “We are all thinking of you.”
She also told British and
Ukrainian volunteers and refugees
helping out: “Thank you. Please
keep up the amazing work you are
doing. It’s great to see the work
that’s going on.”
Kate’s unannounced visit
surprised shoppers at the Lexicon
centre, where Vsi Razom – “All
Together” in Ukrainian – meets.
Her office had contacted hub
founders Natalia Vil and Ashleigh
Toomey to ask if she could come
to see their work in person.
“I thought it was someone
joking, especially as the person was
called Marina, which sounds like
an East European name,” said
Natalia, 40, who is Estonian and
settled in Bracknell with her
Ukrainian husband 25 years ago.

V

BOXING CLEVER
Natalia and Ashleigh began
collecting aid when the war broke
out and have since sent six lorries
and dozens of cars and vans full of
supplies to the country.
Helping with the latest packages
last week, Kate asked her hosts:
“Which box are we doing? Is there
a technique?”
Natalia’s son Alexei Ovchinnik,
15, told her it was best to put
the heaviest items at the

Her handmade bow in the yellow and
blue of Ukraine on her top, the Princess
of Wales shows her support for the
conflict’s refugees – including threeyear-old Sofiya Ovchinnik (above left)
and Liza Sverdlova, eight (left) – at the
Vsi Razom community hub in Bracknell

65

Keen to hear their experiences, Kate chats to refugees and the people helping them to settle in Bracknell,
as well as sending her own message of support to the people of Ukraine (below right), writing: “We are all
thinking of you,” on her parcel, which she fills with supplies such as food and toiletries (below left)

‘I’ve never done a handprint with a glove on — it’ll be a
bit cleaner! The children end up putting paint everywhere’
the ongoing need for both donations
and volunteers.
The Princess later joined a group
making bows in yellow and blue
ribbon – Ukraine’s national colours
– to send to soldiers or sell to raise
money for more aid.
“I’m not sure you’re going to be
able to sell this one,” she joked after

66

attempting her own bow, but proudly
pinned another to her chest.
THE PAINTING PRINCESS
Admiring a yellow and blue emblem
cut in the shape of an angel, she
added: “I’ll have to try making one
of these with my kiddies at home.”
Art-loving Kate also put on a
disposable glove to add her

handprint to a “tree of peace”,
saying: “I’ve never done a handprint
with a glove on – it’ll be a bit cleaner!
Normally the children end up
putting paint everywhere.”
Kate shared photos of her
younger son Prince Louis covered in
paint after making handprint art
during the Covid pandemic in 2020.
Her children – Louis, five, and his

siblings Prince George, ten, and
Princess Charlotte, eight – were very
much on the Princess’s mind while
talking to eight-year-old refugee
Liza, who, along with her mother
Tetiana Sverdlova, has been living
with a local family in Bracknell
since April.
Chatting about music, Kate said:
“I heard my daughter singing this

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES. NUNN SYNDICATION LTD 2023. PA IMAGES

morning and it’s a song called Shine
Jesus Shine and it made me very happy
this morning.”
When Liza said she knew the hymn
from Ukraine, the Princess asked:
“Does it have the same tune?” She
later told Liza: “I’m going to look up
that song in Ukrainian.”
WARM WELCOME
Liza’s psychologist mum told Kate
about the weekly sessions she provides
for refugees to discuss the challenges
of adjusting to life in the UK.
She also said her host family were
“amazing people” and added: “It’s
been wonderful. Bracknell is a very
nice city. People are very welcoming.
We feel a lot of support.”
Her two sons, aged 23 and 16, and
her parents are still in Ukraine.
Speaking after Kate’s visit, cofounder Natalia said: “It was really
amazing. She was so friendly. She
took time and talked to everyone in
the room.
“It’s really good to see we are
noticed – and noticed by the royal
family. I hope it will lead to us getting
support from other businesses. We
want to go further.”
Both Kate and her husband the
Prince of Wales have been keen
supporters of the Ukrainian people
and the relief effort after welcoming
the country’s President Volodymyr
Zelensky and First Lady Olena
Zelenska to Buckingham Palace in
October 2020.
After voicing their support for
Ukraine at the start of the war, they

have visited refugees and those helping
them on several occasions.
L a s t N o v e m b e r, t h e i r R o y a l
Foundation held a virtual meeting on
how to support the First Lady’s
campaign to help her country with the
mental health impact of the war.
And in May, the Princess surprised
Eurovision fans by appearing at the

piano in the opening credits,
playing a few bars of Ukraine’s
2022 winning entry.
The King and Queen have also
been vocal supporters of the
Ukrainian people since the
H
start of the conflict.

Kate adds her handprint to the hub’s
“tree of peace” painting (above right),
although she wasn’t impressed with
her efforts at bow-making (top),
saying: “I’m not sure you’re going to
be able to sell this one”

REPORT: EMILY NASH

67

ON WINNING FORM AS SHE TACKLES A NEW SPORT

THE PRINCESS OF WALES

SHOWS HER COMPETITIVE SIDE AS SHE TELLS HOW
ALL THREE OF HER CHILDREN ARE RUGBY FANS
‘I think she’d been
having secret practice
sessions, because
she’s a natural. She
blew me away’

After taking to the
court, Kate is
presented with
personalised
shirts (below) for
Princes George
and Louis and
Princess Charlotte

68

he Princess of Wales showed
T
off her sporty side as she joined
in a game of wheelchair rugby –
and even impressed her coach by
scoring a conversion.
Kate, 41, who is patron of the
Rugby Football League (RFL),
ditched her signature trouser suit
for a navy training kit and a pair of
white trainers to join a session with
members of the World Cupwinning England wheelchair
rugby league squad in Hull.
The team were crowned world
champions last November, and in
January, Kate hosted a reception
for the players at Hampton Court
Palace, where she spoke about her
children’s love of rugby.
The royal mother of three
gamely joined in the session,
which was part of a rugby league
inclusivity day hosted by the RFL,
Hull FC rugby league club and the
University of Hull.
NATURAL TALENT
Despite sporting a bandage on two
of her fingers – a precaution after
recently injuring herself on her
children’s trampoline – Kate
impressed team coach Tom Coyd
by punching the rugby ball
between the posts, laughing and
raising her arms in celebration.
“I think she’s been having secret
practice sessions before coming
here, because she’s a natural,”
Tom said afterwards. “She even

PHOTOS: CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY IMAGES. PA IMAGES. REX FEATURES

finished a passing move with a try in
the corner. She blew me away.”
The pair also discussed how
Prince George, ten, Princess
Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old
Prince Louis enjoyed watching last
year’s World Cup action on TV.
COOL FOR KIDS
“It’s an amazing spectator sport,”
Tom said after the royal visit. “It
covers all bases. You’ve got the
inclusivity; it’s the only
sport in the world where, at
the top level, you can have
disabled and non-disabled
players playing together.
“And Kate herself said
that the collisions that
came through the T V,
when they were watching
it, were what hooked the
kids in.”
Wheelchair rugby league
is the most inclusive format
across the sport, providing
the opportunity for people
to play together regardless
of gender or disability.
During the visit, Kate
learnt more about physical
disability rugby league
(PDRL), a full-contact
version of the game adapted
for players with physical
disabilities who want to access

a running version of the sport, and
learning disability rugby league
(LDRL), a non-competitive version
of the sport specifically adapted for
those with learning disabilities.
She also took part in ball skills
and drills with PDRL and LDRL
players, alongside students from
Hull FC’s Centre of Excellence.
The centre provides a holistic,
industry-specific programme for
young people aged 16-18 who are

interested in physical activity
and working in sport, to attract
and develop talent both locally
and from further afield.
Before heading home, the
Princess was given gifts for her
children – personalised
England wheelchair rugby
league shirts bearing
H
their names.
REPORT: DANIELLE STACEY

FINDING JOY IN NEW THERAPY CAREER

KATE SILVERTON

ON WHAT ALL CHILDREN NEED TO
THRIVE — AND HOW YOU CAN HELP
A broadcaster, journalist,
2018 Strictly Come Dancing
contestant and the author
of best-selling parenting
guide There’s No Such Thing
as Naughty
Naughty,, Kate Silverton
has retrained as a child
therapist. She has children
Clemency, 11, and nineyear-old Wilbur with
husband Mike Heron and
lives in London.

The charity Home-Start
Richmond, Kingston &
Hounslow is delighted to be
supported by Kate (inset
right with children Clemency
and Wilbur in 2020)

PHOTOS: SIM PHOTOGRAPHY

T

wo years ago, I swapped a
successful career as a BBC
journalist and newsreader to become
a child therapist.
Motherhood and my academic
background in child psychologyy
inspired me, as did what I had
learnt from years of interviewing
extraordinary people working in
mental health. I now volunteer at a
primary school in London, working
clinically with young children, some
of whom have high and complex
levels of need. I find immense joy in
my work and my clients, who inspire
great hope in their healing.
Children can teach us so much
about life, about what’ss really
important and what all of us
ultimately need: connection. Feeling
connected to others makes us feel
safe, secure and cared for. To thrive,
children need three things: to feel
safe, loved and understood. And
parents need that too.
The difficulty is that we are all still
emerging from one of the most
traumatic events in our recent
history. The isolation that families
endured during the Covid-19
lockdowns and the difficulties many
face as a result, whether in the form
of mental-health challenges or
financial hardship, have been
devastating.
In my book There’ss No Such Thing as
Naughty, I explain the neuroscientific
basis for a child’s behaviour – thatt
what a child experiences when they
are young will influence the adult
they become. Without support, many
children, and their parents, will carryy
the scars of the experiences of the
past few years.

It doesn’t have to be that way. I
share research that speaks of the
value of a “wisdom circle”, created
when parents and communities
come together to offer support in
times of crisis.
My work and research in the field
of trauma has shown me that it’s not
necessarily the crisis that creates
trauma wounds, but rather
what doesn’t happen in the aftermath.
To have hope, we must help each
other, and to do that we need
connection, in the form of emotionally
available others. In short, it’s in our
relationships that we can overcome.
CHANGING TIMES
Sadly, since the Industrial Revolution,
the nuclear family has become more
prevalent and we have moved away
from an extended-family model that
gave parents support through crises.
A lot of traditional support networks
– grandparents, aunts, uncles,
siblings and members of tight-knit
local communities – simply aren’t
available any more. There are also
more single-parent households,
where parenting can often be an
isolating experience.
I always tell parents that if you are
finding things difficult, it’s not you
who is failing, it’s society. We need to
change that.
One of the charities leading the
way is Home-Start Richmond,
Kingston & Hounslow in London. Its
work centres on in-home support,
offering families a crucial

replacement for that missing human
connection. Home-Start RKH can
put a trained volunteer on the
doorstep of every family that needs it,
offering compassionate, nonjudgmental and confidential support.
Families may be struggling to cope
with things such as perinatal mental
health; disabilities and physical
health problems; separation,
bereavement, loneliness and
isolation; multiple births; financial
wellbeing; domestic abuse and more.
The charity’s volunteers are 99%
female and they change the lives of
women and their families by sharing
their own experience of parenting
and acting as positive role models.
This is passed down to the next
generation, building confidence and
independence.
As psychoanalyst and paediatrician
Donald Winnicott argued in the
1970s, home is where we start from.
As we mark the International Day of
the Girl on Wednesday, I am proud
to be supporting Home-Start RKH
and a major charitable initiative it is
part of, which is raising funds for
women’s and girls’ charities.
Over the past 16 years, the charity
Big Give has pioneered the concept
of “match funding”: asking funders –
typically philanthropists, foundations
or companies – to match individual
donations to charities. So, £50 from
one person becomes £100 for a good
cause after being doubled by a Big
Give match-funding champion.
It is the UK’s biggest match-

U.N. AMBASSADOR AND
‘SEX AND THE CITY’ STAR

KRISTIN
DAVIS

ON HER ‘EMOTIONAL’
JOURNEY TO MEET
UKRAINE’S REFUGEES
hen the invasion of Ukraine began in
W
February 2022, actress Kristin Davis was
in her home in Los Angeles, watching the
devastating reports of women and children
leaving their homes and crossing their country’s
borders in search of safety.
A little more than a year later, the goodwill
ambassador for the United Nation’s refugee
agency was in the area herself, visiting Chisinau
in Moldova, where Ukrainian refugees have
been welcomed with open arms.
The “emotional” experience gave her a new
perspective once she got home to daughter
Gemma Rose, 12, and five-year-old son Wilson.
“I’m looking at the news in a whole different
way [now] and I’m worried about the US’s
support – will our support continue and the
international support?” the actress, who is best
known for the hit TV shows Sex and the City and
its sequel And Just Like That…,
That…, tells hello
hello!.
!.
INSPIRING VISIT
“I certainly have a renewed commitment – I feel
very personally involved,” she adds. “But I also
feel kind of guilty when I come home to my
beautiful house and my beautiful children.
We’re so lucky that we’re not going through
this. You have to really be thankful.”
During her trip, Kristin visited a community
centre supporting vulnerable women and
children. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to a host
community where they are accepting the
refugees with such incredible warmth. It was so
inspiring and moving to see,” she says.
“You read about something in the news, but
to actually meet the people and hear their
incredibly vivid and horrible stories that forced
them to leave. One woman, Anhelina, is 20

72

‘We’re so lucky that we’re not going
through this. You have to really be thankful’

Above: Kristin meets Ukrainians Masha (left) and Damir, both nine, at the AO AVE Copiii in Moldova, which is helping support vulnerable refugee
children and adults from Ukraine, and (below) hears from President Maia Sandu (on the right) about how the small country is dealing with the
humanitarian crisis. The actress in New York (below left) with And Just Like That… co-stars Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES. UNHCR/JORDI MATAS

years old. She was telling us that her grandfather
and father had to stay behind and fight, though
they’ve never shot a gun. It’s mind-blowing.”
Kristin also explains her work with the
refugee agency to her children. “I can talk to
the 12-year-old a little bit more. My five-year-old
knows. I went to his school and he had drawn a
picture of our house and talked about how his
favourite time is when we’re at home, which is
so cute.” However, she adds: “You don’t know
how much to say. It’s an interesting thing.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-LOVE
Kindness is another important subject, she
adds: “Sometimes we have conversations and
they’ll ask: ‘Do you love yourself the most or us
the most?’ As Mom, I say: ‘You! I love you the
most!’ You want to say: ‘But you should love you
the most. You need to take care of you.’ Kindness
starts with you being kind to yourself, right?”
Last month, Kristin was also honoured for
her work at The Perfect World Foundation
Award ceremony, when she received her prize
from Sarah, Duchess of York.
“It’s amazing when you’ve seen someone in
the news and when you meet them they are so
very interesting and yet really making such an
effort to be kind to everyone in the room,”
H
she says. “It’s impressive.”
INTERVIEW: SOPHIE HAMILTON

73

A LICENCE TO THRILL

SIR ROGER MOORE
AUCTION OF BOND
COLLECTION GETS BUYERS
SHAKEN AND STIRRED
F

ilm fans hoping to own some
of the magic – and gadgets –
that Sir Roger Moore brought to
the role of James Bond were in
luck last week when 224 lots of his
personal possessions were sold at a
London auction.
Dinner suits, silk cravats, skis
and Omega watches were among
the memorabilia on offer that
helped make the actor, who died
in 2017, one of the most suave and
sophisticated 007 spies.
“The sale will be of huge
international interest,” said Harvey
Cammell of Bonhams before the
auction. “There’s never been a
Bond actor who’s put so many
items of his up for sale. It’s a
unique position to be in.”
WORLDWIDE APPEAL
Roger’s three children, Deborah,
Geoffrey and Christian, who
organised the sale, added: “We
know how much our father meant
to so many people across the globe.
“For many he was James Bond,
as well as The Saint. But he was
also a kind and generous
individual, as understandably
proud of his charitable work as his
acting career. We are delighted to
be able to share his legacy with his
many fans.”
Sir Roger played the legendary
spy in seven films between 1973
and 1985, beginning with Live and
Let Die – the 50th anniversary of
which coincides with the sale –

74

Sir Roger with Bond costars Maud Adams and
Britt Ekland, a classic
image from 1974’s The
Man with the Golden
Gun (above) loved by
film fans around the
world. The actor’s sons
Geoffrey and Christian
at the auction launch
w i t h f i l m p ro d u c e r
Barbara Broccoli (left)
and (right) joined by
their families including
Christian’s wife Lara
(standing left) and
Geoffrey’s wife Loulou
(on the right)

‘There’s never
been a Bond actor
who’s put so many
items of his up for
sale. It’s a unique
position to be in’

UNDER THE HAMMER

PHOTOS: BONHAMS. EON/UA/KOBAL/REX FEATURES. RICHARD YOUNG/REX FEATURES

and ending with A View to a Kill
Kill..
Arguably the wittiest, most
irreverent Bond, he was also an
icon of British cool and the items
on sale also reflected his love of
the finer things in life.
There were dinner suits, a ski
suit from A View to a Kill that sold
for £28,160 (including the
auctioneer’s 28% premium),
Lamborghini competition skis
(£4,096), and a pair of Asprey
cufflinks (£8,960).
STAR LOTS
Topping the sale list at £76,600 was
a collection of 20 Swatch watches
in a 007-branded attaché case,
made to mark the 40th anniversary
of Bond on film. Other unique
lots included his Hollywood Walk
of Fame plaque, presented in 2007
(£24,320) and even his British
passport (£12,160).
A keen artist, Sir Roger’s large
portfolio of drawings, sketches
and studies also went under the
hammer, along with a contacts
book featuring the addresses and
phone numbers of public figures
including Princess Margaret and
Sir Paul McCartney.
Sales were estimated to reach
£400,000 – however, after the
hammer went down on lot 224,
that figure had leapt to more than
£1.1m. Part of the proceeds will be
donated to children’s charity
Unicef, for which Sir Roger was a
passionate ambassador.
Launching the sale at an event
joined by Bond producer Barbara
Broccoli, Geoffrey described the
actor as: “A father, a friend,
debonair movie star and
ambassador… all four seasons
H
all in one day.”

Sir Roger’s Douglas Hayward
double-breasted mohair dinner
suit, made for the film A View to
a Kill, was one of the star pieces,
selling for £25,600

Lots included a
signed portrait
of the star in
the 1990s (top)
and posters
from his films
including A
View to a Kill
( a b o v e ) ,
showing him
with co-star
Grace Jones,
which sold for
£13,440, and
The Spy Who
Loved Me
(right), also
signed

REPORT: ROSALIND POWELL

Twenty Swatch
watches (above)
marking 40
years of James
Bond on film
sold for a total
of £76,600, and
a poster for
Moonraker
(left) from 1979
went
for
£4,096. There
were also sets
of photos of
the
star
(right), both
as 007 and
as himself

75

SPECIAL MEMORIES OF THE SOUL AND ROCK LEGEND

TINA TURNER

PHOTOGRAPHER PAUL COX SHARES STORIES AND
IMAGES AS HE TELLS WHY SHE WAS ‘SIMPLY THE BEST’
own-to-earth and superstar
D
are not usually words that
s i t e a s i l y t o g e t h e r, b u t f o r
photographer Paul Cox it’s the
perfect combination to describe
Tina Turner.
“Anyone who knew her will
know what I mean. Whether it
is her background that grounded
her I don’t know, but she was just
an incredibly nice person,” he
says. “Even when she was around
other superstars who played the
part – I won’t name names – she
was still down to earth.”
Paul photographed the
legendary singer, who died in May
aged 83, over a 20-year period,
and his memories and images are
now captured in his new book,
Simply Tina.
Tina.
A “jobbing photographer” in
1983, he was asked to capture Tina
on Channel 4’s The Tube
ube by record
company EMI. David Bowie had
persuaded the label to sign his “alltime favourite singer” after a
tough time that saw her without
a recording contract and playing
cocktail lounges.
But, says Paul: “The power she
had that day, she just tore the
house down.”
The performance is considered

Paul’s photos show Tina’s
exuberance and energy,
76 but also her warm spirit,
as in this photo (right)
taken in Birmingham in
1985 with David Bowie

‘Anyone who
knew her will
know what I
mean. She was
just an incredibly
nice person’
one of the significant moments of
her remarkable comeback. “I
think it actually stopped the news
that was to follow as it was a live
programme and she just didn’t
stop singing,” Paul says. “Everyone
wanted her to carry on.
“She has so much energy – she
had so much energy,” he adds,
correcting himself. “It is hard to
think she is no longer alive. She
had such a presence.”
GROWING RELATIONSHIP
Following that first encounter,
Paul was often booked by Tina’s
manager and mentor at that time,
Roger Davies, for video shoots and
studio sessions.
“He knew I worked quickly. The
video shoots could go on for days
and often I’d be waiting for that
moment to capture some shots.
I’d have one minute, then maybe
two minutes, and gradually four as
I built up a relationship with her
and they liked what I’d got.
“I’d battle to get that time.
Roger would go: ‘No, no, no,’ and
Tina would say: ‘Yes, yes, yes,’ and
she was always accommodating.”
Not surprisingly, his last shoot
with Tina in 2004, when he
was given dedicated time to

Tina captured in action
by Paul on the video
for her 1988 hit Typical
Male, one of the
images in his book,
and (below) one of his
very first images of her
on Channel 4’s hit
1980s show The Tube

77

‘She had so
much energy.
It is hard to
think she is
no longer
alive. She
had such a
presence’

photograph her in the garden of her
home in the South of France, is one of
his favourites.
“It was special as it was the longest
period of time I’d had with her,” he
says. “I’ll always remember how she was
wearing high heels and they kept
getting stuck in the grass.
“She was coming down some steps in
her garden and she tumbled down. I
thought the shoot was over and she’d
hurt herself, but instead, she somehow
did a forward roll across the lawn, stood
up and laughed it off.
“It was a wonderful moment and
everyone laughed with her. After the
shoot we had some drinks on her
veranda and it was all very relaxed.”

Paul’s last photoshoot with Tina, at her home in Cannes in the South of France in 2004
(above
and above right), is one of his favourites – and most memorable. “She was coming
78
down some steps in her garden and she tumbled down. I thought the shoot was over and
she’d hurt herself, but instead, she somehow did a forward roll across the lawn, stood up
and laughed it off. It was a wonderful moment,” he tells us

INTERVIEW: JANE
DOWDESWELL
PHOTOS: PAUL COX

Simply Tina: Tina Turner
Photographs by Paul Cox
(Omnibus Press) is out now.

PAULCOXPHOTOS.CO.UK

TENDER MEMORIES
Many of the most captivating images
show Tina in action: “She was on the
move the whole time – it was always fast
and energetic.
“My daughter Charlotte, when she
was only about eight or nine, used to
call her Tina Tippy-Toes because of the
way she danced – quite pointy. I told
Tina this and she signed a photo for
her, writing: ‘From Tina Tippy-Toes.’”
He wanted to include it in his
book, but, he says: “I couldn’t find
the Polaroid. We’re determined to track
it down.”
He had also planned to ask Tina
to write the foreword, but sadly it
wasn’t to be.
“It was three-quarters finished and I
was about to send it to Tina
and then I saw on the news
she had died,” he says. “I
would have loved for
her to have seen it.” H

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79
puzzlelife.co.uk

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

SHARING THEIR STORY FOR BABY LOSS AWARENESS WEEK

SIMON AND AYSHEN WEBBE

OPEN UP ABOUT THE HEARTBREAK OF MISCARRIAGES
AND THEIR HOPE TO CONCEIVE A SIBLING FOR CYAN
he happiest moments of Blue star Simon
T
Webbe and his wife Ayshen’s lives have
played out in the pages of hello! over the

80

years – from their star-studded London
wedding in 2018, to starting a family together
and introducing daughter Cyan, to celebrating
their magical first Christmas with her.
But now, Simon and Ayshen are giving us
their most personal interview yet, as they raise
awareness for a topic very close to their hearts.
To mark Baby Loss Awareness Week this
week, the couple are sharing the details of
their turbulent fertility journey in the hopes of
breaking taboos surrounding the subject, and
to help prevent others having to go through

the same kind of heartache. “I kept our fertility
journey very private, but after my last miscarriage,
I thought: ‘I’m over hiding what I’m really going
through,’” explains talent manager and lifestyle
blogger Ayshen, 43.
“The word ‘embarrassment’ comes up too
much when talking about infertility, and there is
no shame in it,” adds Simon, 45. “We have to break
the generational cycle of not speaking about it.”
Before welcoming their “miracle baby”
daughter Cyan in April 2021, Simon and Ayshen
experienced two miscarriages as well as a failed
round of IVF.
Incredibly, they conceived Cyan naturally,
although Ayshen endured a complex and difficult

‘I wish I’d looked into
freezing my eggs sooner
— the later you leave it,
the harder it is’ Ayshen

PHOTOS: DAVID VENNI. ROSIE HARDY. SIMON AND AYSHEN WEBBE

pregnancy and birth. Wishing to give Cyan a
sibling, the couple tried for another baby but,
heartbreakingly, suffered a third miscarriage last
November, as well as a failed frozen-egg transfer.
“We often feel ashamed and like we’re not
good enough,” says Ayshen, who with her
husband is partnering with Tommy’s – the UK’s
leading charity funding research into pregnancy
complications, miscarriage and stillbirth.
“A lot of it is to do with how you were raised.
I don’t want to blame it on my culture, but I’m
Turkish-Cypriot, and I feel like there’s this
mentality that Turkish women are proud and
strong, and we’re taught not to tell the world
our business, but it’s so much more than that.
Miscarriage is so common, and I want women to
have the support that they desperately need.”
She continues: “When I did talk about my
miscarriages, I couldn’t believe how many
females in my life had experienced it too. It was
crazy to me that we were going through such
trauma, yet living life every day like we’re fine.”
Adds Simon: “I wanted to be strong for my
wife but it’s a massive loss for me too. Ayshen
and I speak about it to each other and I can talk
to my boys [his friends] about things, too.”
SPREADING THE WORD
The couple urge people in their 30s to research
their options if they want to start a family.
“If you’re thinking about having a child and
you can afford it, I would recommend educating
yourself about freezing eggs. I froze my eggs
when I was 40, but the later you leave it, the
harder it is due to egg quality. I wish I’d looked
into it a lot sooner, as soon as I met Simon,”
explains Ayshen, who started dating the singer
in 2015, six years after their paths first crossed at
a charity football tournament when she was in
girlband Fe-Nix. Ayshen was 38 when the couple
married at the Corinthia London hotel.
“When you’re young, it’s easy to be blasé, but
there should be more awareness,” says Simon,
who has recently been touring with his Blue
bandmates Lee Ryan, Antony Costa and Duncan
James. “Women do have a biological clock. It’s
unfortunate, but it’s nature.”
Despite their heartache, Simon and Ayshen
– who run talent management company Webbe
Industries – are hopeful for the future.
“We have got three embryos left [from IVF],
which we are planning to use. We will give it a
go and see what happens,” says Ayshen, who
cherishes being a mum.
“Cyan is my world – I want to devote every
second of the day to her. I feel like I’ve found
my purpose,” she says. “The tiredness and the
worry that come with being a mum are unlike
anything else, but she’s the best thing that’s ever
happened to me.”
“When we held Cyan in our arms, all the
heartbreak was washed away,” says Simon. “She’s
our miracle, but we’re not going to stop trying
for another child. Hopefully we will be
H
blessed again.”
INTERVIEW: EMILY HORAN

Baby Loss Awareness Week is from 9 to 15 October. For
more information or support, visit tommys.org.

Ayshen and Simon
with their “miracle”
daughter Cyan,
who celebrated her
second birthday
in April (right).
T h e c o u p l e a re
backing charity
Tommy’s mission
to focus the
conversation
about pregnancy
complications. As
Ayshen says: “I
want women to
have the support
they desperately
need”

81

Leanne
Robinson
shares a
moment
with Chloe
Delevingne

Vernon Kay charms
as host of the glitzy
fundraising event

Society

As the social scene settles into autumn,
HELLO! continues its much-loved party
round-ups. From glittering launches to
star-studded charity events and cocktail-fuelled
afterparties, HELLO! Society is your exclusive
invitation to the season’s celebrity events. Here,
we take a look at the best recent gatherings…
REPORTS: ROSALIND POWELL AND TRACY SCHAVERIEN

LADIES LUNCH IN THE PINK
WHO: Elizabeth Hurley, Dame Darcey Bussell,
Yasmin Le Bon
WHAT: The Lady Garden Foundation Ladies
Lunch
WHERE: Langan’s Brasserie, London
It was a typically glamorous and glittering event when the Lady
Garden Foundation celebrated its ninth annual Ladies Lunch
in London’s Mayfair, in a room bursting with gorgeous blooms
bringing life to the “touch of pink” theme and dress code.
Co-founders Josephine Daniel, Mika Simmons and Tamara
Beckwith Veroni were joined by Samantha Cameron, the wife of
former Prime Minister David, Chloe Delevingne and Vernon Kay.
The TV presenter hosted the lunch, held to raise awareness and
funding for gynaecological health. A silent auction – at which
lucky bidders could win a Jimmy Choo subscription or a stay at a
luxury London hotel – added to the £2.8m raised to date.

Lady Garden
Foundation cofounders Josephine
Daniel and Tamara
Beckwith Veroni

82

Luxury footwear
designer Tamara
Mellon with
Yasmin Mills

Model
Yasmin
Le Bon is
elegant
in black

Phoebe Vela
Hitchcox and
Samantha
Cameron lend
their support to
a good cause

Dame Darcey
Bussell brings the
“touch of pink”
theme to life

Actor Matt
Smith makes
an appearance

Daphne Guinness
pauses by one of
Robyn’s paintings

TOP GUESTS ARE ALL ART
WHO: Lottie Moss, Matt Smith, Daphne
Guinness, Lady Mary Charteris,
Victoria Aspinall, Samantha
Morton, Elena Ora and Vera Sahatçiu
WHAT: Private viewing of the Walking in the
Dark art exhibition
WHERE: The Old Sessions House,
Clerkenwell, London
A stellar crowd lit up the former 18th-century courthouse
for a sneak preview of Walking in the Dark by contemporary
artist Robyn Ward, whose nomadic lifestyle has inspired
his large painted canvases and free-standing sculptures.
The immersive installation is open to the public this
week (11-15 October) as part of Frieze London, one of
the world’s most influential contemporary art fairs, and
is curated by the Shanghai Modern Art Museum’s artistic
director Shai Baitel.
The show also features a piece by Robbie Furze,
frontman of rock band The Big Pink and husband of Lady
Mary Charteris, who was there to support him. Proceeds
from the exhibition will go to Cancer Research UK.

Lottie Moss
takes in the
immersive
installation

Maria-Olympia of
Greece and
Denmark with Lady
Mary Charteris

MUSES, MAGIC AND MUSIC IN PARIS

PHOTOS: DAVE BENETT/GETTY IMAGES. KRISTY SPAROW

WHO: Kate Moss, Jourdan Dunn, Michaela Jae Rodriguez
WHAT: Charlotte Tilbury’s Holiday Campaign
WHERE: Club Magic, Le Molière, Paris
Over in the City of Love, Charlotte Tilbury celebrated the launch of her latest Holiday campaign with her
muses, Kate Moss and Jourdan Dunn, as well as her gorgeous nieces, Sofia and Bella. The doors of Le Molière
were thrown open to 200 guests for a night of glitz, glamour and dancing as legendary DJ Fat Tony took to the
decks to get the party started. Charlotte’s new campaign not only showcases her latest range, but also supports
the Elton John Aids Foundation. As the official founding beauty partner of the Rocket Fund, the campaign
shines a light on the mission to end HIV/Aids throughout the world.

Parisian chic: Bella Tilbury,
Jourdan Dunn, Charlotte
Tilbury, Kate Moss and
Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury

Ready to rock:
Kate Moss and
Charlotte Tilbury
soak up the
atmosphere

83

‘My perfect day would
include a lovely lunch
with family and friends. I
like staying in, cooking,
socialising at home’

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

AHEAD OF HER
MAJOR NEW ROLE

MICHELLE
KEEGAN
ith temperatures yet to take a dive,
W
Michelle Keegan has the perfect place to
dip her toe in the water if the urge takes her.
Her spectacular mansion in Essex, where she
lives with TV and radio presenter husband Mark
Wright, has an impressive pool – unveiled as the
centrepiece of their housewarming celebrations
over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
So it’s hardly surprising that the actress tells
hello! her perfect day is spent not in some
exotic faraway location, but at home.
“It would start with coffee outside, if it’s not
too cold. I’d have the dogs with me. I’d say I
would take them for a walk, but they don’t like
going for walks – they just like to mince around
the house,” she says. “Then I’d go for a lovely
lunch somewhere local, or have some friends
and family over. I like staying in, cooking,
socialising at home.”
We’re catching up with Michelle, 36, to
celebrate her latest autumn/winter collection
for Very, and although our Zoom interview was
scheduled to be off-camera, she pops up on the
call with her dazzling smile.
“I put my camera on as I’ve been out this
morning and got make-up on and hair done –
it’s the first time I’m not sitting in pyjamas, so I
thought I’d prove it,” she says, laughing.
After a summer that took in idyllic stays in Italy
and Ibiza, is she ready to embrace the autumn?
“I love cosy evenings in comfy clothes, watching
a good series, but I love my summers as well.
Looking back, I had the best summer,” she says.

84

NETFLIX, THEN CHILL
At the end of July, Michelle finished filming Fool
Me Once,
Once , the much-anticipated Netflix
adaptation of Harlan Coben’s novel in which
she stars with Dame Joanna Lumley. She has
described it as “a once-in-a-lifetime job”, adding:
“I never took it for granted, not once.”
It had another bonus, too. “I had most of
August off, which I’ve never had before. I had a
lovely time with Mark and my friends and family.
“Normally I’m heading somewhere for
filming, so I miss out on events, even family
barbecues on a Sunday evening. It was the first
time I stayed put and I enjoyed being around
friends and family,” she says.
Michelle’s acting talent, which has
seen her win major roles in series
including BBC1’s Ten Pound Poms,
Poms,
is matched by a passion for
fashion – her first Ver y
collection launched in
September 2017.

PHOTOS: MARK WRIGHT. VERY. (LEFT) KNITTED STRIPE HIGH-NECK TOP. (RIGHT) PRINTED RUCHED STRIPE MIDI. (INSET ABOVE RIGHT) OVERSIZE CABLE-KNIT JUMPER. ALL MICHELLE KEEGAN FOR VERY

ON WHY HOME
IS HER FAVOURITE
PLACE TO BE

“It’s totally different to my acting and I really
enjoy the process, from going to design meetings
and looking at swatches, colours and shapes to
seeing how it all comes together,” she says.
Her collection “has evolved as I’m evolving”,
she says. “I’m getting older now and you can see
how it is growing with me. I’ve always loved a
classic look and now I prefer neutral tones.”
SUIT YOURSELF
The important thing is “to wear clothes that
make you feel good and make you feel
comfortable”, she says. “I don’t follow a
particular trend. I know what suits my body
shape and I know what I feel comfortable in.”
Michelle’s latest collection focuses on day-tonight designs – perfect for the busy star as she
returns to filming the sixth series of Sky One’s
comedy hit Brassic
Brassic.
assic.
And her sights are already set on ending the
year with more family time. “We had Christmas
at ours last year, so I don’t really know what
we’re doing this time,” she says. “No doubt it
will be a big one, though. It always is with
H
our families.”
INTERVIEW: JANE DOWDESWELL

Visit very.co.uk.

Busy Michelle is back with a
new fashion line after taking 85
the rare opportunity to enjoy a
relaxing summer with husband
Mark Wright (together left)

PARTNERSHIP

BALANCING ACT

N

Solutions
Skin
Balancing
Serum
30ml,
£27.95,
available in
Boots stores
and at
boots.com

avigating the world of skincare
can feel confusing, with a wealth
of brands, ingredients and price
points to unpick as you determine
what’s best for your skin.
Aware of the frustrating cycles of trial and
error that customers face, leading beauty
brand No7 has conducted a “Skincensus”
with more than 10,000 people in the UK. It
found that 76% of those polled believe they
have symptoms associated with ‘unhealthy’
skin, and 48% find shopping for skincare
confusing.*
In a bid to remove the guesswork and help
customers rebalance their skin, No7 has
created Derm Solutions, with a range of
targeted products to troubleshoot common
concerns such as oiliness, dryness and
blemish prone skin. The range is
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defend it against internal and external
triggers, including sleep, the weather, diet,
hormones and everyday stress.
Among the collection is the Skin
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Clinically proven, it reveals visibly healthy
and balanced-looking skin in four weeks**.
You can also seek expert help with the
new free No7 Skin Solutions Service,
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To discover the entire No7 Derm Solutions range
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*QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH CONDUCTED IN 2023 WITH MORE THAN 10,000 MEMBERS OF THE NO7 CONSUMER PANEL. **HEALTHIER LOOKING SKIN IN 4 WEEKS BASED ON CONSUMER
STUDIES. †SOURCE: KANTAR TOTAL MARKET UK 52 W/E 14TH MAY 2023 BOOTS NO7. VALUE SHARE OF MASS FEMALE/UNISEX SKINCARE. EMAIL UKGB@BOOTS.CO.UK TO VERIFY.

Cut through the confusion of skincare with No7’s Derm Solutions range

FA S H I O N [ B E A U T Y [ W E L L B E I N G

Emolyne
Defining Lashline
in Bobende
Black,, £18. Visit
Black
emolyne.com

Clarins Tinted
Oleo-Serum in
Shade 10,
10, £39.
Visit clarins.co.uk

RESS

Laura Mercier
Caviar Stick in Dark
Cacao,, £26. Visit
Cacao
lauramercier.co.uk

Arkive The Good
Calmer Cushioning
Moisture Cream,
Cream,
£13. Visit
arkiveheadcare.com
Beauty Pie
Japanfusion
Genius Lift Elixir,
Elixir,
£60 (£14 for
members). Visit
beautypie.com

Avon Exxtravert
Extreme Volume
Mascara,, £11. Visit
Mascara
avon.uk.com

COMPILED BY LYDIA MORMEN. PHOT

Alison Hammond
MAC Squirt
Squir
Plumping Gloss
Stick in Lower Cut,
Cut,
£22. Visit
maccosmetics.co.uk

GET THE LOOK

Rising to the occasion, Alison Hammond went
all-out glam at last month’s National Television
Awards in London. Make-up artist Mikey
Phillips says the key to making the 48-year-old
The Great British Bake Offf host’s red-carpet look
last was the skin preparation. “I used Beauty
Pie’s Genius Lift Elixir, with ice sticks to take
down any puffiness,” he tells us.

87

s for:
ated look s
re
c
s
a
h
)
in photo
réal Pari
Mary (ma ndall Jenner’s L’O
y cola
) Ke
z’s “cherr
e
p
(from top
o
L
r
e
if
ing off the
n; Jenn
campaig ailey Bieber, show
H
lips”; and girl aesthetic”
y
rr
“strawbe

T

ikTok has been serving us a
steady stream of beauty trends
for some time now, from
“strawberry girl aesthetic”
(that’s a creamy red blush over
a smattering of freckles) to “cherry cola
lips” (rich brown and berry shades with a
high shine texture).
The mastermind behind most of these
viral looks is Los Angeles-based make-up
artist Mary Phillips, whose celebrity clients
include Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber.
But undoubtedly the most popular trend

she has created is “underpainting”, in
which she applies contours and highlights
to the face before foundation.
On a flying visit to London, Mary called
in to hello! for an exclusive chat about her
trademark looks and working with Kendall
on her first L’Oréal Paris campaign since
the model became a brand ambassador.
Mary, were you surprised when your
underpainting technique went viral?
“Completely. I had no idea that people
didn’t know about it, that it wasn’t well

BEAUTY

known. It completely caught me off guard.
A lot of professional make-up artists have
been underpainting for years. I didn’t know
people did it the other way around.
“I learnt it from reading Kevyn Aucoin
books when I was young because there was no
YouTube or Instagram or anything like that.”
How do you come up with your looks?
“It’s a totally collaborative process. There’s
always a conversation between the
hairstylist, the make-up artist, the fashion
stylists and the client.
“I’ve worked with J-Lo [Jennifer Lopez] for
years and she’s heavily involved in what we’re
doing. It’s the same with Kendall. Usually her
hairstylist, Jen Atkin, her wardrobe stylist and I
have a conversation before starting – you have
to pick what element is going to be the star of
the show – whether it’s the dress, or a bright
lip or an updo. When there’s too much going
on you don’t know where to look.”
Which of your viral looks is your favourite?
“‘Latte make-up’ is really fun. I love rich, warm
caramel tones. And I loved creating the cherry
cola lips look. It’s fun to see which ones catch
on and which don’t. The strawberry girl
aesthetic I did with Hailey and Rhode [Hailey’s
skincare line] was surprisingly popular.”

INTERVIEW: EMMA NORTH. PHOTOS: L’OREAL PARIS. MARY PHILLIPS

How has it been working with Kendall on her
first L’Oréal Paris campaign?
“I’ve had so many pinch-me moments in my
career and this is one of them. I feel very
grateful and blessed to be able to do what I
love with people I love. Kendall is beautiful
inside and out. It’s been so much fun.”
Do you feel the pressure when your clients are
attending events such as the Met Gala?
“With red carpet events, I always feel a lot of
pressure because you’re sending them out and
you have no control over the lighting, or
sometimes they change the red carpet to a
colour that’s not flattering. Sometimes it’ll be
green or blue and it’s hard to make that work.”
Have you ever had a last-minute red carpet
disaster?
“Yes! I was at one of my first red carpets
working with Jessica Simpson for The Dukes
of Hazzard
d premiere in LA. She was wearing
a really pretty, light-blue dress and I got
body make-up all over it. I felt gutted. I
thought her stylist Jessica Paster was going
to kill me but she was like: ‘It’s fine.’
“I’ve never gotten make-up on anybody’s
dress ever again.”
What products are you using now?
“I’ve never been a huge fan of liquid lipsticks
– they always feel so dry – but the new L’Oréal
Paris Infallible Matte Resistance Liquid
Lipstick is light and really comfortable, I don’t
even notice I have it on. When liquid lipsticks

IN MARY’S KIT

first started being developed, the colour never
looked how it should when it dried; they
tended to be a little on the ashy side. But these
colours are stunning. I’ve been using them on
clients since Kendall and I shot the campaign
and everybody loves them.
“The other thing I can’t live without is
L’Oréal’s Infallible More Than Concealer. It
lasts all day and
looks so natural on
‘I’ve had so
the skin. It’s great
for underpainting,
many pinchtoo; just pick a
me moments
deeper shade.”

1. L’Oréal Paris Infallible
Matte Resistance Liquid
Lipstick, £11.99. From
superdrug.com
2. Augustinus Bader The
Cream, £71 for 15ml. Visit
augustinusbader.com
3. Byredo Young Rose Eau
de Parfum, £140 for 50ml.
Visit byredo.com 4. L’Oréal
Infallible More Than
Concealer, £9.99. From
boots.com 5. Shani Darden
Facial Sculpting Wand,
£364. From cultbeauty.co.
uk 6. La Mer Crème de la
Mer Moisturizing Cream,
£80 for 15ml. Visit
cremedelamer.co.uk

in my career. I
feel grateful to
do what I love
with people I
love. Kendall is
beautiful inside
and out’

How did you get
started in the
industry?
“When I was little,
I would watch my
mom do her makeup. I loved playing
dress-up, I loved
Barbie and I was
really fascinated by
all things hair,
make-up and clothes. Any time I had a friend
over, I’d put my mom’s make-up on her.
“As I got older and went to school dances,
everybody would come to my house and I
would do their hair and make-up. I never
thought it could be a job, but my dad was a
chiropractor and one of his clients told him
how she did make-up for movies. And I was
like: ‘Oh, I think that’s what I want to do.’”
Do you have a signature scent?
“I really love Byredo’s Young Rose or
Tom Ford’s Lost Cherry, it just depends on
my mood.”
How do you look after yourself when
you’re travelling?
“On the plane, I get really dehydrated so I
make sure I drink a ton of water. I love to add
in electrolytes, too. I also take lots of vitamin
supplements.
“For my skin, I love La Mer’s moisturiser
and Augustinus Bader’s whole line. Shani
Darden created this vibrating facial tool and
that helps with water retention when I’m
travelling. It really lifts my skin.”

89

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SPEAK UP

S

INTERVIEW: KATE LOCKETT. PHOTO: JOHN ANGERSON

even years ago, Leanne Pero was
diagnosed with breast cancer at the
age of 30. But as she went through
months of treatment, she realised
she had a second battle on her hands: the
prejudices she faced as a black woman.
It led to her setting up the support network
Black Women Rising, to advocate for all
women of colour going through diagnosis and
treatment so they didn’t feel alone, as she had.
Now the group supports hundreds of
women across the UK, and South Londoner
Leanne is an ambassador for the Estée Lauder
Breast Cancer Campaign and has been made
an MBE.
She has also contributed to the new book
From the Margins
gins by research-based
biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences,
sharing her story to raise awareness of health
inequality in the UK.
Here, Leanne tells us about overcoming
cultural misconceptions around cancer and
life after treatment.
Leanne, what was your experience with
breast cancer?
“I had a lump on my breast, but the doctors
told me I was being paranoid because my mum
had recently been diagnosed [with breast
cancer] for the second time. ‘You’re probably
stressed out. You’re way too young. Don’t worry
about it, it’s probably hormonal,’ they said.
“Three months later, the lump was showing
through the skin. My massage therapist saw it
and urged me to call the doctor. They saw me
the same day and this time it was a female
doctor. She actually felt it and within 14 days,
after various tests, I knew I had breast cancer.
“The reaction from the first people I had to
tell wasn’t all sympathetic. There were

breasts checked and seeing Black Women
comments such as: ‘It must be the white gene,’
Rising posters in the waiting room makes me
because my mum is mixed race, or: ‘It’s your
smile. We’ve also consulted on lots of leaflets
drinking,’ because I’m a sociable person.
for cancer charities, which is fantastic.
“One of my friends said: ‘Stress can cause
“Some cancer trusts are now providing a
cancer. I think it’s because you’ve been
more diverse range of colours for the
working from a young age.’ There was a
prosthetics and nipple covers, and the most
religious aspect, too. People said: ‘It can be
forward-thinking trusts provide wig grants.”
seen as a curse for things in your past.’
“I thought the best thing was to keep it to
What is your advice for women if they notice a
myself and I lived in a bubble for eight
change in their breasts?
months. The day after I had my last
“If in doubt, check it out. The NHS is fantastic
chemotherapy, I posted on Facebook about
and it saved my life, but it is at capacity so it’s
what I’d been through and it went viral.
about advocating for
Getting such a reaction to
something I felt so
‘The doctors told me I was ourselves. That means
regular checks in the
ashamed of was a beautiful
being
paranoid
because
mirror and knowing every
feeling of acceptance.”
my mum had recently been crevice of your body.
“I’ve noticed, in the
Why did you contribute to
diagnosed with cancer’
black community, there’s
From the Margins?
gins
massive distrust of the
“It was really powerful
medical system. People are either treating
telling my story without a filter, because as a
black woman, sometimes people like to silence themselves at home or ignoring symptoms.”
parts of the story. I’m not just cancer; there’s so
How do you like to take time for yourself?
much more about me. When you have these
“I do acupuncture regularly and speak to a
illnesses, especially at a young age, they can
therapist. I have a lot of massages, too, because
overpower your life.”
my body gets really tired and the chemo has
caused aches and pains.
Tell us about the impact Black Women Rising
“Cancer can consume you and be quite
has made…
traumatising, so lots
“We’ve been able to diversify the cancer
of walks, having time
narrative in this country. When people are
with family and friends,
included in narratives or see things that look
and social media breaks
like them, they pay more attention. This is
as well.”
important because black women are twice as
likely to die from breast cancer than white
women. And black women in their 30s and 40s
To get From the Margins,
are disproportionately affected by breast
visit gilead.co.uk/our-purpose/
cancer, but the screening age is still 50-plus.
partnerships-and-community/
“Walking into the hospital to have my own
from-the-margins.

91

WELLBEING

Bioenergetics practitioner and nutrition adviser
Simone Thomas tells us how getting the right
treatment for perimenopause changed her life

A

INTERVIEW: LYDIA MORMEN. PHOTO: STEVE KRAITT

fter putting her low
mood, bloating and
dizzy spells down to
being a busy mum of
two, Simone Thomas discovered
her hormone levels were falling
and she had entered
perimenopause – the years
leading up to menopause, when
women can experience symptoms.
Here, the 42-year-old founder
of supplement brand Simone
Thomas Wellness tells us how she
managed to get a handle on her
symptoms and why menopause
isn’t something to be afraid of…

Louise Newson [newsonhealth.
co.uk] who is a menopause
specialist. I saw an incredible
doctor at her clinic and she said:
‘Let’s do a hormone profile.’
Turns out, I had almost no
testosterone and my oestrogen
was depleted. Basically everything
was running on minimum, so she
put me onto everything that
would help without affecting my
endometriosis. The difference
within weeks was insane.”
What advice would you give to
other women who are unsure if
they’re perimenopausal?
“I was in denial that it was
perimenopause because I thought
I was too young. I would definitely
recommend for women to get a
hormone profile if they can, but
it’s just such a shame that you
have to pay for that and not
everyone can afford it. It’s great
that actress Tamzin Outhwaite has
started a charity [wefreewomen.
org] supporting women in that
stage of their life.”

Simone, tell us about your
experience with perimenopause…
“Looking back now, I think I’d
been in perimenopause for quite
a few years prior to it being
confirmed. For the last few years,
I’ve had very irregular cycles and
on-and-off bleeding.
“I suffer from endometriosis
and my cycle was all over the
place, but about two weeks before
I was due on, I would get severe
abdomen bloating, bowel issues,
and tiredness. I felt low mentally,
When did you add a menopause
but I thought that was because I
supplement into your range?
was managing a busy business and
“I had the Pause the Meno
had a lot going on in my life. I just supplement in the pipeline for a
thought it was stress.
couple of years because I knew
“But when things started to
I’d go through it at some point
calm down, my symptoms
and actually, it does help with
persisted and it felt like my mind
some of the symptoms of
wasn’t able to keep up. I take all of endometriosis as well.
the right supplements, so there’s
“It’s a creamy chocolate-flavour
not much else I could do from
vegan protein powder. It soothes
that point of view. I
had all sorts of tests
‘My mum said: “Simone, when you
for other things, but
everything came
reach 40, they’re the best years of
back clear.
your life. Don’t waste them”’
“I read about Dr

hot flushes, improves
cognitive functions and helps
balance hormones. I have it
every morning.”
What advice would you give to
women going through the physical
changes of menopause?
“HRT can be really helpful for
those with hair-loss issues. I’ve
always worn hair extensions and
for the last three months, I haven’t
worn them for the first time in 20
years. It takes time, and it’s not the
same for everybody, but I don’t
feel tired any more. I feel good.
I remember my mum saying:
‘Simone, when you reach 40,
they’re the best years of your life.
Don’t waste them.’”
What about your mental health?
“I started training with a PT who
does menopause programmes and

it’s nice to work with someone
who understands hormones and
how I’m feeling, so that’s helped.
“I hated the weight gain so I
had to dig deep on that and it’s
not been easy. I’ve had to work
harder on training and what I put
into my body.”
Has your approach to how you
exercise changed?
“I listen to my body and sometimes
I might just go swimming, but I try
to do my PT twice a week and get
my 10,000 steps in a day. I live by
the beach so sometimes I’ll go on
a bike ride for an hour.”
What will we find in your kit bag?
“I love New Balance trainers,
they’re my favourite. And I wear a
lot of Adanola clothing. I’m always
in a baseball cap and I’m never
without my echinacea.”

Ganni logo T-shirt,
T
T-shirt
,
£85. Visit ganni.com

Zara fabric
bag,, £22.99.
bag
Visit zara.com
Colorful Standard classic
organic socks,
socks, £9. Visit
colorfulstandard.com
Essentiel Antwerp ecru
ecr
knit sweater with floral
embroideries,, £260. Visit
embroideries
essentiel-antwerp.com
Modström ArisMD
scarf,, €49.95
scarf
(£43.25). Visit
modstrom.com

Reiss Tamara
amara square
neck ribbed vest,
vest, £40.
Visit reiss.com

Zimmermann

If you’re wearing the same tone from head-to-toe,
mix up the textures to add dimension to your look

Annie Bing Jay
pleated pants,
pants,
£220. From
net-a-porter.com

H&M wrap jersey
dress,, £27.99.
dress
Visit hm.com

New Balance
997h trainers,
trainers,
£95. From
asos.com

95

PRIZE DRAW

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treatments, including the
serene experience of the Dead
Sea Climatological room. Then
guests can indulge at any of
the three stylish restaurants or
sip sundowners and local
tipples at the hotel’s two bars.
Enjoy the holiday of a lifetime
at the Royal Apollonia with
easyJet holidays; visit
easyjet.com/holidays and
royalapollonialimassol.com.

Indulge yourself with hot stones
therapy at the Royal Spa

TO ENTER, VISIT HELLOMAGAZINE.COM/PRIZE
TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Entries close on Sunday 15 October at 11.59pm. Prize includes four nights for two adults in a suite at the Royal Apollonia on a B&B basis, plus flights
with easyJet holidays. This package is strictly not transferable, resaleable or exchangeable and there is no cash alternative. Prize is subject to hotel availability and blackout dates
will apply including UK bank and school holidays. The prize is valid until 31 December 2024. Entrants must be UK residents and over the age of 18 unless otherwise stated. Prize
excludes: transfers to and from airports and to and from the hotel; any other costs incurred in addition to those set out above and that are incidental to the fulfilment of the prize,
including meals other than breakfast, drinks or spa treatments, are the responsibility of the winner. The winner will be drawn at random and notified by email within 14 days of the
closing date. The winner must respond within seven days. The promoter reserves the right to replace the prize with an alternative of equal or higher value, should circumstances
beyond the promoter’s control make it necessary. For standard terms and conditions, please visit hellomagazine.com/competition-terms-and-conditions.

96

FOOD [

C U LT U R E

[

R EV I EWS

[

T R AV E L

MEXICO WAY
In her book Cocina
Mexicana,
Mexicana
na, chef
Adriana Cavita
invites readers on
a culinary journey
across Mexico,
sharing her own take
on traditional dishes
to tell the story of
her heritage and the
people who taught
her to cook

“This soup is very common in the
state of México. The region is
surrounded by forests and the
weather is generally colder, which
makes this soup very popular.”
INGREDIENTS
• 200ml/7fl oz vegetable oil
• ½ white onion, peeled and
thinly sliced

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely
chopped
• 350g/12oz sliced mushrooms
(use whatever types are in season)
• Salt and freshly ground black
pepper
• 400g/14oz chopped tomatoes
• 1ltr/1¾pt vegetable or chicken
stock
• 40g/1½oz chopped fresh

Serves 4 Takes 50-55 minutes
coriander, plus extra to garnish
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over

a medium-high heat. Add the
onion and cook for 5 minutes or
until translucent. Add the garlic
and cook for about 2 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, season with
salt and black pepper and cook
for about 5 minutes. Add the

tomatoes and cook for about
8 minutes, then add the stock.
Leave it to boil for about
5 minutes, then add the
coriander and stir through.
2. Taste and adjust the seasoning
if needed. Simmer for about
20 minutes, then serve garnished
with a little extra chopped
coriander, if liked.
W

SOPA DE HONGOS (mushroom soup)

97

FOOD
CHILES RELLENO NORTENO (northern-style stuffed peppers)
Serves 4 Takes About 1 hour
“This is one of the most
representative dishes from the
northern regions in Mexico.
Poblano chillies are stuffed with
minced beef or pork, baked and
served with a delicious sauce.”
INGREDIENTS
• 4 poblano chillies (or similar –
Anaheim or bell peppers work)
• 180g/3¼oz grated cheese
• 25g/1oz chopped fresh
parsley, to serve
For the filling
• 100ml/4fl oz vegetable oil
• 1 onion, peeled and finely
chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
and finely chopped
• 1 potato, peeled and diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 500g/1lb 2oz minced
beef or pork

98

‘This is one
of the most
representative dishes
from the northern
regions in Mexico’

• A pinch of ground cumin
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 40g/1½oz chopped fresh
parsley
For the tomato sauce
• 8-9 tomatoes, quartered
• ¼ onion, cut into 3 pieces
• 1½ tbsp salt
• 50ml/2fl oz vegetable oil
1. First, make the filling. Heat

the oil in a saucepan over a high
heat. Add the onion and cook for
about 1 minute, stirring
continuously. Add the garlic and
after another minute, add the
potatoes and carrots. Cook for
about 3 minutes. Add the minced
meat and cook while moving it
constantly to break up the meat
and ensure it cooks evenly. Lower
the heat to avoid burning the

meat, then add the cumin, salt,
pepper and parsley and cook for
a further 15 minutes until the
meat has browned. Continue to
cook until the meat juices have
reduced by half. Set aside.
2. Char the chillies over a direct
flame or with a cook’s blowtorch
until the skins have blackened
all over. When the chillies are
cool enough to handle, remove
the skins. Make a slit in each
chilli lengthways, just long
enough to be able to stuff them.
Carefully clean the insides,
keeping the shape of the chillies
as far as possible. Stuff the chillies
with the filling mixture and seal
them closed with a toothpick.
Place the stuffed chillies on a
baking sheet lined with non-stick
parchment paper.
3. To make the sauce, blend the

tomatoes, onion and salt
together in a food processor or
blender and then strain through
a fine-mesh sieve. Heat the oil in
a saucepan over a high heat, then
add the tomato mixture. Let it
boil for about 5 minutes, then
add 500ml/18fl oz water and
bring back to the boil. Taste and
add more salt if needed. Keep
simmering on a low heat.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C,
fan 160°C, gas 4. Sprinkle the
stuffed chillies with the grated
cheese and bake in the oven for
15 minutes, or until the chillies
have warmed through and the
cheese has melted.
5. Spoon the warm tomato sauce
into a deep serving plate and
nestle the stuffed chillies in the
sauce. Scatter over the chopped
parsley before serving.

MEXICAN
MAGIC

‘The local bakers
have a funny way
of cooking these
cakes in recycled
sardine cans’

CO-ORDINATED BY SARAH HAMILTON-WALKER

PAN DE ELOTE (corn cake)
“This cake is well known all over
Mexico. In the area where I grew
up, Azcapotzalco in Mexico City,
you can find them at the local
bakery, where the bakers have a
funny way of cooking them in
recycled sardine cans. I think that
makes them a very special
preparation. Also, I will say that
using native Mexican corn gives
the best flavour, but it is not always
easy to find outside Mexico.
Sweet yellow corn is usually easier
to find. It has a lower starch
content, but with this recipe, you
will still get a really good result.”
INGREDIENTS
• 3 tbsp nixtamalised white

Growing up in a small village in
Mexico, Adriana Cavita was
inspired to enter the food
industry by her grandmother,
who ran a street-food business.
She was 19 when she landed a
job at Mexico City’s Pujol and
then, in 2011, she became chef
de partie at El Bulli in Spain.
She opened her own
restaurant, Cavita, in London,
in 2022, aged 35.
Inspired by her travels, the
recipes in her debut cookbook,
Cocina Mexicana
Mexicana, tell the story
of her heritage and the people
who taught her to cook.
Cocina Mexicana by Adriana
Cavita, with photography by
Clare Winfield, published by
Ryland Peters & Small, £22.

Makes 1 large cake (serves
ves 6-8) Takes 1 hour 15 minutes, plus cooling

corn flour (see Tips below)
or gluten-free flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 125g/4½oz caster sugar
• 540g/18½oz fresh corn,
at room temperature
• 2 tbsp full-fat milk, at
room temperature
• 3 large eggs
• 140g/4¾oz unsalted butter,
melted, plus extra for greasing
To serve
• Vanilla ice cream
• Good-quality caramel sauce
1. Preheat the oven to

170°C, fan 150°C, gas 3 and
grease a 20cm/8in round
cake tin with butter.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients

in a large bowl, then add to a
food processor with the corn,
milk and eggs and blend
together. Continue mixing and
gradually add the melted butter,
a little at a time, until the
mixture is very smooth.
3. Pour the cake mixture into
the prepared cake tin and bake
in the preheated oven for 45-60
minutes. To check if the cake is
cooked, insert the tip of a knife
or skewer in the centre; if it
comes out clean, then the cake
is cooked.
4. Leave the cake to cool in
the tin for 20 minutes, then
remove from the tin and leave

to cool completely.
5. Serve warm with ice cream
and caramel sauce. This cake
tastes best when freshly made,
but it will keep for up to 3 days
in the fridge and can be
reheated to serve.
TIPS
X I sometimes use frozen corn
for this recipe, which works
well as long as the corn is
defrosted to room temperature,
otherwise the mixture will
separate if the corn is too cold.
X Nixtamalised corn flour is made
from corn that has been treated
with lime, making it easier to
digest. It can be bought online.

99

CULTURE

DON’T MISS
THIS WEEK…

TV FRESH CUTS:
BLACK IN FASHION

REPORTS: KIRA RICHARDS. LAURA BENJAMIN. PHOTOS: CAMERA PRESS/JOHN SWANNELL. ITV. NETFLIX. PA IMAGES. REX FEATURES

Barbara greets Queen
Elizabeth II (above) as
Coronation Street marks its
60th anniversary in 2021;
and meets the then
Duchess of Cornwall (right)
in 2010. She has made a
new documentary with
Bradley Walsh (together
far left) about her career

appeared in a one-off episode in 1964 before returning full time
in 1974, but securing the long-term role was no small feat.
“I still had a few weeks doing the Ken Dodd show, but
Coronation Street
eet wanted me in a week,” she says. “I went back to
rehearsal and said: ‘I know I have seven weeks to do, but
Granada want me to go in Coronation Street
eet and I would like to.
What am I going to do?’ We carried on rehearsing and Ken just
looked up at me and said: ‘Don’t let me down in Coronation
Street.’
eet I will never forget that. That was generous.”
Over the years, Barbara – who has three children from one of
her two marriages – has seen many famous characters come and
go. And Rita has faced challenges, including three marriages,
two close encounters with trams and one brain tumour, an illness
that the actress felt honoured to portray.

LASTING FRIENDSHIPS

But it was the departure of her close friend and regular on-screen
companion Thelma Barlow – who left in 1997 after playing Mavis
Wilton for 26 years – that was most difficult to come to terms
with. “We saw each other through thick and thin,” says Thelma,
94, in the documentary. “In life and in this business,” Barbara
adds. “Weren’t we fortunate to meet each other?”
The pair take a trip down memory lane, looking at a photo
album that shows them working together, including the heartwrenching scene when Mavis tells Rita she is leaving Weatherfield
for the Lake District. Wiping tears away, Barbara reflects: “She’s a
wonderful, wonderful, wonderful woman. Great to act with and I
cried when she left.”
The scene remains bittersweet for the soap stalwart, more
than 25 years on. “I can tell Barbara’s trying not to cry here,”
Jack P Shepherd, who has played David Platt since he was 12
years old, says on the film. “She’s desperately trying not to!”
It’s not only Thelma who speaks highly of “the queen of
British television”, as Barbara is described by Bradley Walsh.
Several of Barbara’s current co-stars rallied together to celebrate
the much-loved actress as she marked her milestone birthday.
Sue Nicholls, who plays Audrey Roberts, says in Barbara Knox
at 90
90: “I love working with her – I think she’s such a super actress
and I love her as a person.” Jimmi Harkishin, who plays Dev
Alahan, adds that Barbara “still has this huge gravitas”.
And Malcolm Hebden – who played Norris Cole, Rita’s close
friend and colleague at The Kabin newsagents before leaving the
show in 2021 due to ill health – says: “I can’t imagine Barbara
Knox ever retiring; she is an icon. She’s done it for so long and
she’s done it so well.”
REPORT: KIRA RICHARDS

Barbara Knox at 90 is on ITV on Friday 13 October at 9pm.

Exploring the contributions of
black culture from the catwalk to
the high street, this documentary
follows black fashion gala GUAP as
organisers (right, Jide Adetunji and
Ibrahim Kamara) aim to put on a
first-of-its-kind show in London.
Available now on ITVX and showing on
ITV on Sunday 15 October.

FILM FAIR PLAY
A couple’s relationship hangs in
the balance when they go head to
head for a coveted promotion at
their cut-throat financial firm,
making once-supportive exchanges
much more sinister. Starring
Phoebe Dynevor and Alden
Ehrenreich (both left), with Eddie
Marsan and Sia Alipour.
Out now in cinemas and available
on Netf lix.

PODCAST
MONDAY MILE
Olympic snowboarder Aimee Fuller
(right) returns with her charttopping podcast, where she’s joined
by famous friends including Fred
Sirieix, Dame Denise Lewis and AJ
Pritchard for a walk and talk about
mindset, motivation and resilience.
New episodes every Monday on all
major podcast platforms.

BOOK NOW TO WONG
FOO: THE MUSICAL
Three drag queens in 1990s New York
embark on the journey of a lifetime: a crosscountry trip to Hollywood to attend the
final of a drag competition. This musical
adaptation, based on groundbreaking 1995
film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie
Newmar, comes to the Hope Mill Theatre in
Newmar
Manchester for a nine-week run.
From 21 October to 17 December. To book, visit
hopemilltheatre.co.uk.

BOOK THE GOOD PART
Fed up with work, bad dates and no money, Lucy
fervently wishes she could skip to the part where
she is happily married, running her own office and
in possession of a healthy bank account and
bulging wardrobe. After one particularly disastrous
night out, she wakes up to find herself 16 years in
the future. Her dream has come true – but should
she have been careful about what she wished for?
Out now, published by Hodder & Stoughton, £20.

101

Broaden your
horizons while
enjoying some
downtime with these
atmospheric stays
– just right for those
who like a good
dose of culture

and then some…
THE BEACHFRONT HACIENDA
Maroma, A Belmond Hotel
THE STAY: On Mexico’s dew-drenched Yucatán
Peninsula, thick jungle spills right down onto the
beach, where huge opalescent waves pound silky
shores the colour of buttermilk. It’s serene but
deliciously wild, and half-hidden in the vegetation are
some of the world’s most remarkable Mayan ruins.
Having emerged from a masterful zhoosh-up care
of interiors guru Tara Bernerd, Maroma takes the
prize for the most enticing stay in these parts. Nestled
between the beach and coconut groves, it’s a hacienda
with soul that has gardens to make you gasp. Chalkywhite walls are offset by pops of cerulean, yellow and
green, echoing the landscape and flora, and artisan
wares are scattered about the sunshine-filled spaces.
Wander the untamed stretches of coast before the
heat hits, then explore majestic Chichén Itzá,
marvelling at its intricately carved pillars and keeping
cool in the shadow of the El Castillo pyramid.
THE STARS: Suki Waterhouse (right) has lazed on
Mexico’s jungle-backed beaches.
DETAILS: Elegant Resorts offers seven nights at
Maroma on a bed and breakfast basis from £7,645
per person, including return flights from Gatwick
with British Airways, transfers and UK lounge passes;
visit elegantresorts.co.uk.

TRAVEL

THE DESERT HIDEOUT
Caravan Agafay by Habitas
THE STAY: A smattering of cream-coloured tents melding into the
rocky, sun-scorched swathes of Morocco’s Agafay Desert, this gem of a
camp draws on nomadic Bedouin culture and lends a welcome sense
of context to the rugged surroundings through an unmissable line-up
of immersive experiences. Along with sunrise treks and horseback
expeditions, guests can throw themselves into desert survival skills
workshops and post-supper stargazing with resident astronomers, after
which a basil and black tea-infused Tojito will hit the spot.
As far as downtime goes, there’s nothing quite like a few hours spent
resting poolside, with the jagged Atlas peaks looming in the distance –
and languid afternoons here
melt into heavenly lanternlit evenings, with DJs
spinning mellow beats as
sunset streaks the horizon
electric-pink.
THE STARS: Morocco’s
soul-stirring landscapes
have impressed stars
including model Imaan
Hammam (right).
DETAILS: Rooms at
Caravan Agafay by Habitas
begin at £190 on a B&B
basis; visit ourhabitas.com.
British Airways flies London
to Marrakech from £51 one
way; visit ba.com.
Caravan Agafay
by Habitas makes
a decidedly stylish
jumping-off point
for unforgettable
desert adventures

103

TRAVEL

THE ISLAND ESCAPE
Ambergris Cay
THE STAY: On the south-eastern edge of the Turks
and Caicos archipelago sits a gem of a private island,
reached by turboprop plane. Pencil-thin palms sway
in the breeze, huge sun-drunk iguanas dot the paths
leading down to the shore and the shallows are
blindingly blue.
Though the idyllic surroundings make a strong
case for stretching out and doing very little, it’s worth
pulling yourself away from your lounger if you can.
Barefoot days beneath blue skies can be punctuated
with kayaking expeditions through mangroves,
whale-watching trips – humpbacks begin their
migration through these waters in the winter – and

flights to bigger (and more bustling) Providenciales
– or Provo – to explore the Crayola-bright towns.
Ambergris Cay resort’s pretty beachfront
bungalows, strung along shell-strewn Monck Beach,
have an elegant feel, and the views from their sunken
dipping pools may well leave you in raptures.
THE STARS: The palm-fringed Turks and Caicos
Islands are a hit with model Jasmine Tookes (left).
DETAILS: A Beachfront Bungalow at Ambergris Cay
starts at $2,640 (approx. £2,168) per night including
flights from Providenciales, food, drinks and activities;
visit ambergriscay.com. Virgin Atlantic flies London to
Providenciales from £552 return; visit virginatlantic.com.

COMPILED BY HARRIET CHARNOCK-BATES. PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES. REX FEATURES

Home to pristine
beaches and lofty
palms, Ambergris
Cay couldn’t be
more alluring

THE UNFORGETTABLE
VOYAGE
P&O Iona
THE STAY: Into the idea of exploring
a significant chunk of the planet in
one fell swoop? Hop aboard P&O
Cruises’ glistening ship Iona and sail
through Portugal, Spain and the
Canary Islands over the course of a
fortnight.
Taking in Lanzarote’s volcanic
expanses and parasol-dotted playas,
along with Madeira, Lisbon and Cádiz
– to name just a handful of highlights

on the itinerary – the voyage marries
relaxation with heaps of sightseeing,
encouraging passengers to be both
intrepid and blissfully idle.
Following mornings out and about,
restless types can hit The Club House
or work up a sweat in the ocean-gazing
gym, while those with less energy can
loll on the deck, sipping something
ice-cold. Kitted out in a marine palette
of white and steel blue, the spacious

suites are no hardship to return to,
and the snazzy round-the-clock butler
service means you’ll want for absolutely
nothing.
THE STARS: Model Barbara Palvin
(left) has spent time in the Canaries.
DETAILS: P&O Cruises offers a 14-night
Spain, Portugal and Canary Islands
cruise aboard Iona from £799 per
person, based on two people sharing an
inside cabin; visit pocruises.com.

105

DREAM ESCAPES
Steeped in history and oozing character, this picturesque city
is a superb destination for an autumn city break

STAY

A few minutes’ walk from the
bustling city centre sits No.1 by
GuestHouse (3
(3), a handsome
grade II-listed Regency
townhouse that is chic, charming
and dog-friendly. The rooms are
decorated with curios – hello!
hello!’s
’s
had an old-school record player
and a selection of LPs – and each
is just a step away from a pantry full
of complimentary treats. Downstairs,
the bar serves an imaginative
selection of cocktails, while the
Marmalade Lounge offers cosy sofas
and board games for autumn
evenings in.

TASTE

Mackey has
spent time in York

106

No.1’s intimate restaurant Pearly
Cow puts the spotlight on locally
sourced produce, with 45-day, saltaged steak alongside mouthwatering seafood from the North
Sea. Alternatively, head to Grape
Lane and Los Moros, with its
North African-influenced menu,
or Pairings wine bar (1
(1)
on Castlegate, with its
delicious selection of wine,
charcuterie and cheese. For
an on-the-go sweet treat, the
cream-topped cardamom buns at
Flori are a must.

INDULGE

No.1’s cocoon-like spa is
an oasis of calm, with
treatments including
massages and facials
alongside indulgent rituals
using herbal poultices and
reflexology. If shopping is your
therapy, Snowhome stocks a
brilliant edit of homewares plus
elevated accessories and
stationery, while Freckleface is
full of beautifully scented
candles and diffusers.

EXPLORE

York Minster (2), with its
dramatic gothic towers and
beautiful stained-glass windows,
is a must-see – follow in the
footsteps of Romans and Vikings
in the Undercroft Museum.
One of the best ways to see
the city is by walking its
medieval walls, stopping
off for a wander through
the cobbled Shambles
and taking in the
panoramic views from
Clifford’s Tower, the
Clifford’
largest remaining part of
York
k Castle. Or hire a
Brompton bike from No.1
and head out to explore.

iRooms
Rooms at No.1 by GuestHouse, York begin at £170 on a B&B
basis; visit guesthousehotels.co.uk. Trainline sells tickets for rail
vices to York; visit thetrainline.com, or download the TTrainline app.
services

WHAT TO PACK
Sarah Chapman
Morning Facial,
Facial, £62.
Visit sarahchapman.com

Omhu Fanø
sweater,, £195.
sweater
Visit omhu.co.uk

Wandler
andler Poppy
high-rise organic
jeans,, £200. From
jeans
net-a-porter.com

COMPILED BY ROSALIND POWELL & HARRIET CHARNOCK-BATES.
PHOTOS: ALAMY. GETTY IMAGES. REX FEATURES

York

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A WORLD OF OIL-INFUSED BEAUTY
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