Ephraim Hardcastle
WHEN Harry returns to the UK, could the Queen use her constitutional powers to orchestrate a reconciliatory meeting between him and William? She is scheduled to be back in london to appoint a new PM but the other associated tasks – audiences with sacked and newly appointed ministers and a Privy Council meeting – can be delegated to two Counsellors of State. Both warring brothers are counsellors. As Harry will be in the country she could command him to do his duty alongside William. Could he refuse?
LINE of Duty star Adrian Dunbar admits he and cast members agreed to film the anti-Boris satirical meme. ‘[Political campaign group] Led by Donkeys contacted [series writer] Jed Mercurio,’ he tells Radio Times. ‘And he told us, “These guys are really good. Would you record this and that?” It was very good. It didn’t quite get rid of Johnson then, but it got rid of Cressida Dick.’
MUCH comparison with Boris and Carrie possibly following Margaret Thatcher’s example and moving post-Downing Street to Dulwich. in 1990 she and Denis were photographed after buying a £2million (in today’s currency) detached house in a gated community there. A developer, recognising the publicity value, had given them a huge discount, subsequently selling the remaining homes quickly. The Thatchers never lived in their new abode.
CRANFORD star Lisa Dillon, pictured, throws her powder puff out of the pram at ex-Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director Adrian Noble’s empathy with thespians who endure a ‘litany of misery’ when auditioning for roles. ‘This is hilarious’, rages Lisa. ‘From one of the rudest directors in an audition I’ve ever met. He had his back turned smoking out of the window when I walked in to the room, having travelled four hours to meet him. Wouldn’t look round.’ He will now Lisa!
DAVID Dimbleby, for his forthcoming controversial documentary series Days That Shook the BBC, was refused cooperation from former newsnight editor Peter Rippon who was accused of attempting to stifle an expose of Jimmy Savile. Former director-general John Birt also declined to be interviewed. ‘John Birt was against the whole idea of the series,’ says Dimbleby. ‘He feels the BBC should be celebrating, not navel-gazing.’
GYLES Brandreth alerts readers of The Oldie to US cartoonist Al Capp (creator of Li’l Abner) who was the ultimate lover of Robin Dalton, the Australian literary agent who’s recently died at 101. ‘What was special about Al Capp?’ asks Gyles. He had only one leg. According to Robin, ‘A monoped always makes the best lover. It’s well-known.’ She called her last volume of memoirs, published when she was 95, One Leg Over. Of course she did.
RUMBUSTIOUS fund manager John Carrington, who has died aged 80, will be mourned at london’s Savile Club despite his expulsion for hurtling a large ashtray in the all-male Mayfair watering hole. Fellow member Bruce Anderson, despite his jumbo frame, had a miraculous escape from injury.