One of Prince Philip’s favourite actresses, West End musical star Sheila Mathews — who once turned up at a Buckingham Palace garden party wearing a broad-brimmed straw picture hat to disguise the fact that her hair was in curlers — offers an unusual sidelight on Dame Vera Lynn, who died last week at the age of 103.
‘When ITV opened in 1955, my first show for them, Friday’s Girl, became a runaway hit and topped the ratings. Vera, who was about to return to TV in her own show, must have been watching. She demanded the services of my director, Edward Kebbell. Eddie didn’t want to leave me, but of course a request from Vera was like a royal command, so he had to go.
‘I was angry about it at the time,’ admits Sheila, who is still tap-dancing at the age of 93, ‘but then, years later, Vera and I met and she was utterly charming. How could anyone hold a grudge against that wonderful lady?’
West End star Sheila Mathews recalled meeting Dame Vera Lynn (above) in 1995
Matthews is known to be the favourite West End star of Prince Phillip
Queen’s briefs called in for tycoon’s latest tussle
He is arguably the most flamboyant tycoon in the land — a man who, at the age of 59, reputedly shares the fourth floor of his £20 million London mansion with his 29-year-old mistress as his estranged wife sleeps three floors below.
But the foundations of Robert Tchenguiz’s extraordinary, rollercoaster life are now under threat. For I can disclose that Tchenguiz — son of Victor Tchenguiz, one-time jeweller to the Shah of Iran — faces a High Court action brought by IG Index. It has served him with a statutory demand which is often the prelude to full-scale bankruptcy proceedings.
But Tchenguiz, who owns a 160ft yacht, My Little Violet, has responded by enlisting the assistance of Farrer & Co, the Queen’s solicitors, who have asked the High Court to set IG’s statutory demand aside.
Flamboyant tycoon Robert Tchenguiz is using the Queen’s briefs in his latest legal tussle
IG declines to comment, but it was one of a number of City firms from which Tchenguiz borrowed last year as he acquired a shareholding worth between £70 million and £100 million in the FirstGroup rail company.
At the time, FirstGroup’s shares were trading at between 90p and £1.30. But then came the pandemic and a collapse in its share price, which at one point slumped to 28p.
It was then that the firms which had lent Tchenguiz millions called in their loans.
A spokesman for Tchenguiz alleges that, by doing so, the firms behaved incorrectly. ‘The amounts claimed by them from Robert, as a result, are disputed,’ he tells me.
‘It is unclear whether any amount is owed by Robert to any of the traders, or whether in fact any of them need to account to him for damages he has suffered as a consequence of their actions.’
The forthcoming legal battle promises to be stimulating. Two years ago, in an entirely separate High Court action, Mr Justice Popplewell declared that Tchenguiz was ‘not a good witness’ and was prepared ‘to say whatever he thought would assist [his] case’.
Lily Cole channel her inner Ermintrude!
With face masks now de rigueur, model Lily Cole has found a way to stand out from the crowd — even if she does look a little like Ermintrude off The Magic Roundabout.
The 32-year-old Cambridge graduate has created her own line of safety gear via her eyewear company, Wires.
Sharing a picture of herself sporting one adorned with fake flowers, she explained: ‘They hang from your glasses instead of your ears. Less lens fog, and they look good.’
Proceeds from the £20 masks go to charity.
Lily Cole and her face mask (R) bears a resemblance to the Magic Roundabout’s Ermintrude
Despite having a lot of time on his hands in lockdown, panto dame Christopher Biggins admits he and his partner, Neil Sinclair, never get anything done.
‘We go to bed late and we get up late, so we get up and have breakfast and then we say what we’re going to do — but we never do it.
‘Because suddenly it’s tea time. And then we do Zoom and then we have a bit of dinner and suddenly it’s time to go to bed! And all the things we were going to do, we haven’t done.’
Panto dame Christopher Biggins admitted he has not got much done during lockdown
Boris Johnson’s aide Dominic Cummings has begun moves to close a controversial personal service company which he used to channel income before entering No 10.
Cummings is winding up his company Dynamic Maps.
The business, which at one point had more than £100,000 in assets, caused consternation when it emerged last year that a private health company, Babylon Health, had paid Cummings as a consultant.
Babylon, which specialises in artificial intelligence, one of Cummings’s areas of interest, has previously confirmed it paid Boris’s adviser via Dynamic Maps in 2018.
Downing Street adviser Dominic Cummings is winding up his personal service company
Hank Marvin declined the OBE awarded to fellow members of The Shadows, rhythm guitarist Bruce Welch and drummer Brian Bennett.
Marvin refused to elaborate on the reasons for rejecting the 2004 honour, amid speculation that his religious beliefs may have been a factor, since Jehovah’s Witnesses do not salute the flag.
Now the guitarist has finally disclosed his objection. ‘I’m happy just being plain Mister. I appreciated the honour but too many people are getting them.’
Marvin, who settled in Australia, would return for a higher honour. ‘I said to Cliff [Richard], “I’m stopping at nothing short of a lord’
The Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin revealed how he turned down an honour in 2004
But who got taken for a ride, Nell?
She played the Queen’s head dresser, Skerrett, in ITV’s Victoria, but actress Nell Hudson, 29, is sartorially savvy in real life, too.
The daughter of journalist Cressida Connolly — first wife of the late writer, AA Gill — demonstrated her ingenuity when she took her Jack Chi dog, Maggie, on a bike ride near her family home in the West Midlands.
Short of a basket in which to carry her pooch, Nell tucked her inside the front of her dungarees.
‘Tried taking Maggie along on the bike ride on her lead but she seemed to think that the bicycle was chasing her the entire time,’ she captioned this picture online.
She added: ‘This was the solution (she loved it btw).’
Actress Nell Hudson tucked her dog Maggie inside her dungarees to go on a bicycle ride
It’s a wrap for model Cora in her headscarf
Dame Vivienne Westwood’s granddaughter Cora Corre appears to have inherited the fashion designer’s quirky sense of style.
The 23-year-old model, whose parents are Agent Provocateur co-founders Serena Rees and Joe Corre, found an unlikely way to make use of a headscarf this week when she turned it into a mini dress.
Posing in the shower for a picture, she captioned her snap online: ‘Different ways to wear a headscarf?’
Dame Vivienne Westwood’s granddaughter Cora Corre found a new way to wear a headscarf
Queen drummer Roger Taylor is relieved at the easing of lockdown — as it means he won’t have to watch dire daytime TV any more.
The musician spent the last few months in Cornwall and says: ‘It was an anxious time for everybody.I got up a bit later than normal, had poached eggs on toast and watched something called Below Deck, which is some really awful TV show.
‘Things will slowly get back to normal — humanity is very clever and we’ll find ways round it. I think things can only get better.’