SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE: War of words flares up over Donald Campbell’s Bluebird 

A furious row has broken out overshadowing this week’s celebrations to mark what would have been the 100th birthday of the land-and-water speed hero Donald Campbell.

As two RAF jets flew over Coniston Water and dipped their wings in tribute, his family was engulfed in a turbulent war of words over the ownership of his famous Bluebird boat.

Campbell powered his hydroplane over Coniston Water in the Lake District 54 years ago in an attempt to break the world water-speed record — but he died after the boat flipped while travelling at 300mph and nosedived into the water.

A furious row has broken out overshadowing this week’s celebrations to mark what would have been the 100th birthday of the land-and-water speed hero Donald Campbell (pictured)

The wreckage of Bluebird was retrieved in 2001 by diver Bill Smith, who spent 15 years restoring it, but he is now refusing to give it to the Ruskin Museum in Coniston to put on display without guarantees he can operate and maintain it.

Don Wales, the nephew of Donald Campbell, is hoping Smith can be persuaded to change his mind.

‘It’s tragic that the iconic treasure in which my hero uncle lost his life has been imprisoned by someone who wants only to profit from it — rather than let it be put on public display,’ he tells me.

Smith explains why he is reluctant to hand over Bluebird. ‘We put together a deal with the museum in 2013 that we would have exclusive rights to maintain and operate the boat, then got a bunch of lawyers’ letters from the museum ignoring that and saying they wanted it,’ Smith tells me.

Campbell powered his hydroplane over Coniston Water in the Lake District 54 years ago in an attempt to break the world water-speed record (the restored jet-powered Bluebird pictured in Scotland in 2018)

Campbell powered his hydroplane over Coniston Water in the Lake District 54 years ago in an attempt to break the world water-speed record (the restored jet-powered Bluebird pictured in Scotland in 2018)

The restored Bluebird was last seen being lowered onto Loch Fad on the Isle of Bute two years ago (above)

The restored Bluebird was last seen being lowered onto Loch Fad on the Isle of Bute two years ago (above)

The restored Bluebird was last seen being lowered onto Loch Fad on the Isle of Bute two years ago, since when Smith has kept it locked up in his workshop in North Shields.

‘I want to inspire the next generation,’ he adds. ‘I’m not going to give up a life’s work and see it locked away in a museum.’

Jeff Carroll, vice-chair of the Ruskin Museum board of Trustees, won’t be drawn on reports that the museum is about to mount a legal challenge demanding Bluebird’s return.

Campbell (pictured with his tea) died after the boat flipped while travelling at 300mph and nosedived into the water

Campbell (pictured with his tea) died after the boat flipped while travelling at 300mph and nosedived into the water

‘Mr Smith refers to a 2013 agreement — yet the boat was brought up in 2001 and gifted to us by the Campbell family in 2006. Make of that what you will,’ he says.

‘Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, we will see it in the museum — where everyone will be able to visit it.’

But Smith isn’t relenting. ‘What I will never let happen is for Bluebird to end up in a museum without knowing what the future holds. I want to ensure it remains a living machine.’

She was a trailblazer for female broadcasters presenting That’s Life! for 21 years. 

But Dame Esther Rantzen says she does not regard herself as a feminist. ‘I’m not a feminist,’ she told Susannah Constantine on her podcast My Wardrobe Malfunction, ‘but I do believe that women deserve the opportunity to fulfil their potential alongside men. 

‘I was just at the cusp, where women were never allowed to read the news. Well, we changed that, didn’t we?’

Jazzy’s tribute to guardian angel 

Game Of Thrones actress Jazzy De Lisser has paid tribute to her stepfather, the Marquess of Bute, who died this week after a short illness, at 62.

‘You came into our life when we needed you the most, you made us whole again, you gave us the most beautiful family, the most wonderful life,’ writes 29-year-old Jazzy, who was eight when her mother, fashion designer Serena, married the F1 driver.

‘I am so lucky to have you as a father. I always said to you, you were my guardian angel, and now you really are. I can’t thank you enough for everything you did for us.’

Game Of Thrones actress Jazzy De Lisser has paid tribute to her stepfather, the Marquess of Bute, who died this week after a short illness, at 62

Game Of Thrones actress Jazzy De Lisser has paid tribute to her stepfather, the Marquess of Bute, who died this week after a short illness, at 62

Mogg’s posh old home — yours for ‘just’ £7m 

Fogeyish Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg may have his admirers, but his ‘stardust’ doesn’t seem to have done much for the sale of his sprawling childhood home.

Ston Easton Park, in Somerset, went on the market for £9.5million last summer. Now, the price has been slashed by a staggering £2.5 milloin, with the estate agent saying it’s available for ‘offers over £7 million’.

Perhaps Rees-Mogg himself could put in an offer for the Grade I-listed Georgian pile. The MP, who lives with his wife and six children a short drive away, has a fortune estimated to be from £55 million to £150 million.

Ston Easton Park has 20 bedrooms plus a coach house, lodge cottage and further outbuildings, as well as Grade II-listed gardens arranged around the River Norr. It was previously a four-star hotel.

Sharapova adds new string to her racquet 

New balls, please! Having retired from tennis, former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, who is engaged to Prince William’s friend, art dealer Alexander Gilkes, is venturing into furniture design.

‘Travelling the world, I have seen the way culture and design intersect,’ says Maria, 33. 

‘My first-ever home collection pays homage to my life as an athlete, designer, art enthusiast and entrepreneur.’

Her neutral-toned line from Rove Concepts, which comprises six items made from walnut and hemp, has already got the thumbs up from her Old Etonian fiance as the couple have acquired her £910 coffee table and £455 lamp for their Los Angeles home.

Having retired from tennis, former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, who is engaged to Prince William's friend, art dealer Alexander Gilkes, is venturing into furniture design

Having retired from tennis, former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, who is engaged to Prince William’s friend, art dealer Alexander Gilkes, is venturing into furniture design

Actor Martin Freeman admits that being an ill-tempered father in his comedy series Breeders is not far off reality. 

‘An awful lot of people scream at their kids,’ says Freeman, 49, who has two children with actress Amanda Abbington. 

‘How can you not, at some point, get severely tested. It doesn’t mean you’re a terrible person or a terrible parent.’

Birthday blooms for Boris’s girl  

She was conceived during a one-night stand between tennis star Boris Becker — whose then-wife was seven months pregnant — and Russian model Angela Ermakova on the stairs of Nobu restaurant in London.

Now Anna has reached a milestone as she celebrates her 21st birthday this week.

The Courtauld Institute of Art student, whose conception ended Boris’s marriage and cost him £20 million, described the occasion as ‘special’ as she was showered with pink balloons and flowers at the home in Chelsea she shares with her mother.

Boris marked the occasion remotely, sending Anna a heartfelt message in which he remarked: ‘My lovely daughter, how time flies!’

Anna, conceived during a one-night stand between tennis star Boris Becker and Russian model Angela Ermakova on the stairs of Nobu restaurant in London, has reached a milestone as she celebrates her 21st birthday this week

Anna, conceived during a one-night stand between tennis star Boris Becker and Russian model Angela Ermakova on the stairs of Nobu restaurant in London, has reached a milestone as she celebrates her 21st birthday this week