Ephraim Hardcastle
SIR Bruce Forsyth was laid to rest with simple dignity on Monday but we haven’t heard the last of the great showman. Talks are under way between the BBC and his family about a grand thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey early next year. Might an alternative be on the cards? A ‘knees-up’ was the entertainer’s choice for how he’d want to be remembered. The great actor Sir Donald Sinden was celebrated with a performance at the Wyndham’s Theatre. Shouldn’t Sir Bruce’s be at the London Palladium, where he became a star?
DAME Judi Dench has appeared on Graham Norton’s TV sofa – both at Channel 4 and the BBC – more times than any other celebrity. She tells Radio Times that she directed the camp rascal in a production of Macbeth at the Central School of Drama in 1989, enthusing: ‘He is really totally full of integrity, does all his homework and has an unbelievably kind nature.’ Quite a commendation! Of course, the fact that he obviously likes Dame Judi, and has her on his shows as often as possible, also helps explain her enthusiasm.
PRINCESS Diana’s publicity-friendly former chef, Darren McGrady, highlights online jokes about the balding Prince William, following news that he and Kate are expecting their third child, tweeting: ‘“Baldilocks and the three heirs,” Ha!’ No more royal employment for him!
APROPOS Westminster Abbey memorials. Sir David Tang, pictured, might get the Abbey treatment. Inquiries have been made about how the venue is hired and what its requirements are. ‘Essentially it’s pretty easy going so long as those wanting to hire the place have very deep pockets and the person being honoured is reputable,’ says my source. ‘A Knight of the Realm with Prince Charles’s private contact details in his phone probably fits the bill.’
WITH women now permitted to fight on the front line with the RAF and the Army and Navy following suit next year, will Princess Charlotte be allowed to serve time in the military? Or will mum Kate, still reluctant to take on military roles herself, voice her opposition when the time comes?
JEREMY Vine’s memoir, published tomorrow, has a photograph of the Radio 2 presenter with then PM Tony Blair taken in 2001 captioned: ‘He was about to win a second landslide. But now the Radio 2 switchboard is deluged with abuse when his name is mentioned, the audience as furious as a lover who was cheated on.’
IN THE book Vine reveals his curious encounter with Bee Gee Barry Gibb when he was perched in a locked BBC lavatory, writing: ‘From the outside, the security guard unlocks and opens the loo in a single movement that’s so fast I don’t even have time to move off the seat. Standing there in front of me is Barry Gibb. Yes, I’m suddenly visible to the person who wrote “How Deep Is Your Love” and “Islands in the Stream.”’