Manipulated by men... but Sharon still has that basic instinct to speak up

SHARON Stone’s new autobiography is, in a depressing way, everything you might expect: the story of a beautiful woman manipulated by men.

That scene in Basic Instinct, above, was – it turns out – never intentional on Stone’s part.

Indeed, she was told the camera wouldn’t be able to see a thing. Later, when the actress, also pictured right, had benign tumours removed from her breasts, her cosmetic surgeon gave her a larger cup size without her consent.

The stories go on. And yet, at 63 years of age, she is still here and determined to be heard.

How liberating it must be, after so many years constrained by the Hollywood PR machine, to finally speak up.

MEDICAL students have been told to study Shakespeare in order to improve their empathy skills.

Is there really nothing more upto-the-minute they can read? After all, they’d never study the works of the Bard for medical advice, would they?

THIS weekend my fiancé and I will finally break our Lenten fast, in which we rather madly cut out meat and alcohol. There will be gin, wine, duck pâté and a leg of lamb so large I could barely fit it in the freezer. It almost makes the last six weeks of self-induced denial worth it...

I HAD to pop up to the pharmacy the other day and realised that, having spent so much time cocooned indoors under lockdown, I am woefully inept at negotiating busy streets with traffic. Anyone know where I can do a quick refresher course on the Green Cross Code?

TONY Blair has admitted that he didn’t enjoy being British prime minister. I’m not sure many other people much enjoyed it either, to be honest.