Virginia Blackburn

THERE’S fooling yourself, there’s self-delusion and then there’s James Stunt. This awful man, who absolutely no one would have heard of had he not been married to Petra Ecclestone, has just given an interview to Tatler magazine of such breathtaking unpleasantness it makes you wonder if he was on something. He refers to the mother of his three children as “a girl who has had a lobotomy” and “a C-list celebrity’s daughter”.

There was a lot more along these lines, as well as boasting about how rich he is and saying that he was doing just fine until he married Petra. Really? James Stunt is one of those people who would not have appeared on the radar of the national consciousness at any time were it not for his marital connections. Who is he trying to kid?

But what is really awful about this is that there are three young children. It’s bad enough going through a divorce but if the two parents are so publicly and bitterly unleashed on each other it’s going to make the situation worse. It’s like Ewan McGregor’s four daughters, who appear to have taken his departure even worse than their mother.

It does not help if the so-called mature adults unleash the furies in each other’s direction. James Stunt should peer over his ego and put his children first. DANCER Tamara Rojo, 43, director of the English National Ballet, has been asked about her 18-month relationship with her fellow dancer Isaac Hernandez, who is 16 years her junior. “I highly recommend it!” says Tamara, not actually winking but not leaving you in any doubt as to what she meant. I have seen Tamara on stage many times and can only say that with that body, honed through decades of ballet training, it’s Isaac who is the lucky one. Incidentally should you ever wish to chat up a ballet dancer of either gender, apparently the one thing you should never say to them with a meaningful look is: “You must be so… flexible.” They hate it.