Birthday boy Salman celebrates with harem

DESPITE his chequered marital history, Sir Salman Rushdie’s love of female company shows no sign of abating as he enters his eighth decade. An intimate dinner this week to mark the author’s imminent 70th birthday was almost a women-only affair, with the four-times-divorced writer squeezing himself between husky-voiced blonde broadcaster Mariella Frostrup and comely TV chef Nigella Lawson. Guests at the dinner, hosted by literary agent Caroline Michel in a book-lined dining room, also included Lady Jane Wellesley, historian Lady Antonia Fraser, former BBC chief Alan Yentob, novelist Ian McEwan and Rushdie’s eldest son, Zafar, with his new wife Natalie Coyle. Classical singer Natalie wrote next to a picture of the event she posted online: ‘So much love for the main man of the moment.’ No doubt she sang her father-in-law some satanic verses as he blew out his candles (right).