MARK LESTER’S

life has taken more twists than a Hollywood movie since he was cast aged eight in the 1968 musical Oliver! But the latest chapter is a sad one: Lester, now 59 and an osteopath, has called off his wedding to Emma Canham. ‘It’s with regret and a sense of sadness that Emma and I have mutually agreed to end our engagement,’ says Mark, who declines to explain why. The former actor was a close friend of Michael Jackson and, after the singer’s death in 2009, claimed he could be the biological father of Jackson’s daughter, Paris, because he had acted as a sperm donor for him. However, the Jacksons’ lawyer rejected the claim.