HAPPY BIRTHDAY

NIgEL SLATER, 61. As a child, the food writer from Wolverhampton subscribed to Cordon Bleu magazine while all his friends were reading Shoot! He cooks every dish that features in his columns and recipe books himself — and even does the washing up. His pronouncements on food include: ‘There is no light so perfect as that which shines from an open fridge door at 2am.’ DENNIS QuAID, 65. The American actor, star of Far From Heaven and the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, was married to actress Meg Ryan for almost a decade. He once compared fame to ‘like being a pretty girl sitting alone at a bar. People are going to come up and hit on you and you learn to deal with it’. Before finding fame, Quaid worked as a clown and is also a qualified pilot.