Hardcastle Ephraim
WHILE attention is focused on what the Duchess of Cambridge and Jeremy Corbyn will wear at next week’s state banquet for Chinese President Xi Jinping, what ‘medals and decorations’ will the Prime Minister display with his white tie and tails on this glittering occasion? David Cameron has only one significant honour that I know of – the Order of Abdulaziz al Saud, awarded in 2012 for ‘meritorious service to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’. Surely it would provide a great banquet talking point during the current controversy about the Saudis vowing to lash a British old-age pensioner for making his own wine?
THE appointment of Sandi Toksvig to replace Stephen Fry on BBC Two’s cerebral quiz show QI is a parting gift from ‘edgy’ outgoing BBC director of television Danny Cohen, 41, champion of female panellists. Copenhagen-born Toksvig, 57, previously a radio presenter, is co-founder of the Women’s Equality Party.
MICHAEL Portillo’s tailor, Pimlico-based Adrian Holdsworth, tells me ‘Miguel’ coordinates his bright wardrobe with the locations of exotic railway journeys for his BBC series, confiding: ‘We spend a great deal of time discussing the impact that his colourful combinations may have on the audience and the lens of the camera. Great care is taken to produce outfits which lift the mood of his audience, and often designed to match the surroundings. The colours may be more marmalade than Marmite, and the reaction on social media may be as polarised as the enduring flavour of Marmite, but garish – never!’
‘HAS the Duchess of Cornwall been moonlighting as Marina, played by Jean Fergusson, 70, (both pictured) in The Last Of The Summer Wine?’ wonders one of my readers, Derek Wilson. Judge for yourselves. I don’t find the comparison unfavourable to Camilla, although she might think differently.
COMEDIAN Stephen Mangan, 47, says he has been playing Tony Blair in a new Comic Strip production, confiding: ‘I breakfasted in the make-up chair as a 70s glam-rock Tony Blair, who I’m playing in a spoof on the phone-hacking scandal. I was sporting a long wig, silver platforms and red pantaloons. Lunch was with (actress) Maxine Peake in a curly red wig as Rebekah Brooks.’ Can’t wait!
FURTHER to my item about Manchester’s lack of Michelin stars, Man United manager Louis van Gaal has hailed a low-key Cantonese joint, Wing’s, as the city’s ‘best restaurant’. My source says: ‘It’s a great plug for Wing’s (proprietor: Wing Shing Chu), but van Gaal’s claim has gone down like a lead balloon among local gourmands.’
APPEARING on the BBC Breakfast sofa yesterday, a fidgeting Charles Aznavour, 91, was asked by presenter Naga Munchetty: ‘Is your phone switched off?’ The elfin crooner produced a device, crying: ‘No, no… Eet is for my ’earing. I do not ’ear very well, but my eyesight is good.’ Be that as it may, on November 3 the French-Armenian entertainer becomes the oldest top-of-the-bill artist to perform at the Royal Albert Hall.