Ephraim Hardcastle
THE Queen’s visit to Berlin next week (June 24 – 26) won’t see the monarch doing much ‘Deutsch sprechen’, as they say locally. ‘Although she has spoken French when in France, and Gaelic during her 2011 state visit to Ireland, HMQ declined a suggestion that she use some German in her opening remarks at the state banquet,’ according to my source. Why so? Maybe to avoid stirring up pesky republicans by reminding them how the Royal Family changed their name from the (German) Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the (English) Windsor in 1917. THURSDAY’S 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington’s historic victory, is being ignored by the BBC. However, tomorrow night BBC2 viewers can watch historian Andrew Roberts’ favourable (some say fawning) documentary about Wellington’s defeated foe, Napoleon. ‘Perhaps the EUloving BBC regrets the French losing,’ snickers a source. Surely not! RON Moody’s award-winning portrayal of Fagin as a lovably crooked Jew in Oliver! – emphasised in obituaries of the 91-year- old star – disturbed a rival, Peter Sellers. His biographer, Ed Sikov, said: ‘Sellers planned to play Fagin simply as an old rogue.’ The non-offensive Fagin planned by Sellers ended up being smothered by a legal dispute. HOUSEWIVES’ favourite broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh, 66, boasts in Radio Times: ‘Bette Davis walked out on me on Radio 2. That’s the one I’ll never forget. I was trying to be a bit sparky, but she confiscated the tape and wouldn’t let us run it.’ As Ms Davis, pictured in her prime, who died in 1989 aged 81, observed: ‘Until you’re known as a monster you’re not a star.’ RADIO 4’s Sandi Toksvig, 57, claims she was first choice to host the BBC’s Have I Got News For You but lost out to Angus Deayton. ‘Producers said they preferred my version, but couldn’t have a woman in charge,’ she asserts. Now the host of Radio 4’s News Quiz, Sandi has also founded the Women’s Equality Party. What, becoming a politician? Perhaps HIGNFY producers had a point. ERSTWHILE Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson, 55, welcomes the CBE awarded to Paddington Bear writer Michael Bond, saying: ‘He has brought a lot of joy to a lot of people.’ The Clarksons in particular. Jeremy’s mother, Shirley, made Paddington Bear toys. They helped pay for Jeremy’s private education at Hill House, Doncaster, and Repton in Derbyshire. But what might mild-mannered Paddington think about his dismissal from Top Gear for punching a producer in the mouth? THE 800th anniversary of Magna Carta reminds his fans of Tony Hancock’s selfrighteous cry, while pretending to be one of the 12 Angry Men, from the film about a disputatious New York murder jury: ‘Does Magna Carta mean nothing to you? Did she die in vain?’