Hardcastle
RED faces in the Downing Street press office after Rishi Sunak’s most recent audience with King Charles. On his return from Buckingham Palace he issued a press release headed ‘Prime Minister and Red Arrows to lead D-Day 80 Commemorations’ detailing his busy schedule of glad-handing and photo ops and mentioning just one other bigwig attending, Grant Shapps. Clearly no one had read the Palace briefing advising of the imminent announcement of the King’s attendance at the event. Alas for Sunak’s eager staffers the King’s presence will overshadow everyone else.
JIMMY Anderson, 41, England’s greatest ever bowler, has announced he will pull up stumps in July in time to receive his anticipated knighthood. It’s been a long time coming. He became an unwitting victim of cricket-nut PM Theresa May’s generosity with the gongs. In 2019 she knighted three cricketers – Sir Andrew Strauss, Sir Alastair Cook and Sir Geoffrey Boycott. A fourth, Sir Clive Lloyd, received his K not long after she was ousted. Apparently, the honours unit decided that a K for Anderson would be one cricketing gong too many. That’s about to change.
SAUCY socialite Kathy Lette, pictured, whose actor son Jules has autism, recalls the pair’s tricky encounter with then PM Tony Blair. Describing Jules as her ‘truth bomb’,
Labour luvvie Kathy remembers on pal Rachel Johnson’s podcast: ‘I took Jules to Downing Street for a charity event, he was about 14. I said, “Jules, this is the Prime Minister, Tony Blair”. And Jules just looked at him and said, “Oh yes, you’re the one my mother calls “Tony Blah, Blah, Blah!”’
ROYAL portrait painter June Mendoza who has died aged 99 once repainted the late Queen’s dress after HM complained that it looked like she was wearing a bathrobe. Poignantly invitations for June’s 100th birthday next month had already gone out when she suffered a fatal stroke. The celebration will now be her memorial.
WHERE did Dan Walker get his talent for sports commentary? ‘My mum used to take me to the supermarket after school,’ he recalls. ‘I would crouch down in the frozen food section and see some old lady walking down there, and I’d commentate on her. I was like, “And there she is, there’s Deirdre, reaching out for the broccoli, and at the last minute she’s gone for the cauliflower – can you believe it, what a move from Deirdre”.’ Was Deirdre sidelined when the VAR results came in?
SIPPING tea from Rishi Sunak mugs, artists Gilbert & George tell Radio Times they have a collection of mugs from every Conservative prime minister except Liz Truss. Why the omission? ‘There wasn’t time,’ wails George.