Lord Owen branded Margaret Thatcher ‘disgusting’ for breaking from tradition and taking the salute from the returning soldiers in the Falkands victory parade and claimed the Queen would’ve thought the lesser of the ‘Iron Lady.’ Royals Declassified: Queen Elizabeth: Politics, Power and Prime Ministers, which airs on Channel 4, Sunday, 9pm, examines how the Queen has dealt with … Read more
It is starting to spit in Barnsley and, just like in days of old, Dickie Bird is nervously looking up at the sky. ‘No, I wouldn’t take you off for this — play on,’ smiles the legendary umpire, who jokes he no longer has his light meter to consult. Dickie, it transpires, has called it … Read more
Film nominations BEST PICTURE Da 5 Bloods (Netflix) Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) Mank (Netflix) Minari (A24) News of the World (Universal Pictures) Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures) One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios) Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios) The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) BEST ACTOR Ben Affleck – The … Read more
TELEVISION Best Television Series, Drama The Crown – WINNER Lovecraft Country The Mandalorian Ozark Ratched Triumphant: The Crown nearly swept all of the dramatic television categories including Best Television Series, Drama as creator Peter Morgan accepted the award Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical Emily in Paris The Flight Attendant The Great Schitt’s Creek – … Read more
TELEVISION Best Television Series, Drama The Crown – WINNER Lovecraft Country The Mandalorian Ozark Ratched One to watch: Lovecraft Country is up for Best Television Series, Drama Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical Emily in Paris The Flight Attendant The Great Schitt’s Creek – WINNER Ted Lasso Best Limited Series, Anthology or TV Movie Normal … Read more
BIOGRAPHY FALL: THE MYSTERY OF ROBERT MAXWELL by John Preston (Viking £18.99, 352 pp) There have been many books written about Robert Maxwell, but surely none as pacy, entertaining and jaw-dropping as this one. The author of Fall, John Preston, is also a novelist: he brings those talents to bear on a person whose entire … Read more
Shaun Bailey, Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, admits he is facing an uphill battle to unseat Sadiq Khan in the May election. Lockdown, he says, has made campaigning nigh on impossible and he sees himself very much as the ‘underdog’ in the election, postponed from last year. But there’s no denying that 49-year-old Bailey … Read more
Gavin Williamson must stand up to the school unions like Margaret Thatcher, say Tory MPs – as Education Secretary is under fire for being ‘too weak’ to resist them Backbenchers rounded on National Education Union in a call with Mr Williamson Two senior Tories said Gavin Williamson is ‘too weak’ to stand up to the … Read more
A friend who campaigned for Brexit sent me a message which said: this year Christmas dinner was not only a celebration of Christmas, but a celebration without Brussels. It is the season to celebrate and it is terrific that Boris has achieved a deal. New Year’s Eve was turned from a wake to a joyful … Read more
She made her name as a society beauty in Upstairs Downstairs more than 45 years ago. Lesley-Anne Down then starred in US soap Dallas as a glamorous publicist. So she never dreamed she would play such a formidable figure as Margaret Thatcher. In fact, when approached about the role as the Iron Lady, the 66-year-old … Read more