WAY TO TAKE THE BINS OUT...

WHEN Melvyn Bragg finally married his younger lover, he hoped to live out his days in domestic bliss in Hampstead, North London. However the distinguished broadcaster, 83, has discovered that his wife, Gabriel, 67, is not afraid of making a scene.

‘Gabriel is the activist,’ Lord Bragg reflects. ‘She decided to lie in the middle of the street one morning to protest at how the dustmen were treating our bins.’ Clearly her radical approach had the desired outcome. ‘ It was very effective,’ says the host of Radio 4’s In Our Time. ‘They now show respect.’