Robinson snaps back at Balding
ANNE ROBINSON is not impressed by Clare Balding’s claim that she was only well paid because BBC executives “were terrified of her”. During her heyday at the BBC presenting The Weakest Link, Robinson was on an annual salary of £4million.
Balding has blamed the BBC’s gender pay gap on a culture of rewarding the people who shout the loudest, saying: “Anne is scary as hell. I don’t want to have to behave like that to get equal treatment. It upsets me when people get rewarded for that sort of behaviour.”
This rather disdainful assessment of her tactics has miffed Robinson, who says: “Yes, I’m a tough negotiator, but I despair that many women are poor at expecting and asking for what they deserve. And there’s no need for bad behaviour, simply firmness.
“It also depends if you have the skill to know how much they want you. The less you care if you lose out, the firmer you can afford to be.”
The rules of engagement, says Anne, whose personal fortune is estimated at £50million, are simple: “Never be embarrassed about money. And when they say no, that’s just the start of negotiations.” Ms Balding has said discovering she was paid less than fellow hosts Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker was “soul destroying”. Last year the BBC paid her £180,000, but she earns much more from corporate work and books. Her company accounts show she has taken dividends of £2million over the past two years.
Stephen Fry
That peripatetic polymath admits that one thing he can’t do is sing. He says: “At weddings and funerals I still prefer to mime. At one memorial in St John’s Wood, the person I stood next to said to me encouragingly, ‘Come on, Stephen – you’re not singing. Have a go!’
“‘Believe me, you don’t want me to’,” I said. Besides, I was having a much better time listening to him. ‘No. Go on’. So I joined in the chorus.
“‘You’re right’, Sir Paul McCartney conceded. ‘You can’t sing’.” According to surveys on romance, men are twice as likely to have chosen Valentine’s Day to propose to their partners. But last Thursday did not feel the urge to pop the question to his Russian companion Natalia Traxel.
The willowy Natalia, 47, is sharing a house with the twinkly-eyed chef near his Oxfordshire hotel, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, and was once very keen to become Mrs Blanc, but a wedding is no longer on the menu.
The Michelin-starred monsieur feels that, at 69, he has “done” marriage, having tried it twice before.
Although Raymond may no longer be keen on matrimony, romance is in his genes. He wooed Natalia, a dermatologist, by calling her and saying things like: “I have to see you now; I found a beautiful leaf on the Champs-Elysées and I want to give it to you.”
The Gallic gourmand confirms that a wedding is not a matter that preoccupies him as he rummages in his spice cupboard each day. “I’m very busy, I’m opening a lot of new places. Natalia and I live together, we are very happy. Pourquoi tanguer le bateau? [Why rock the boat?]”
long union to Philip has been sustained by humour, with both liking to share the more amusing sides of their duties (especially Elizabeth, who is a skilled mimic – her impersonation of William Hague is said to be hilarious).
One of Philip’s favourite anecdotes is of the French State Visit of General de Gaulle and his wife. During an awkward spot of conversation at Buckingham Palace, a guest asked Madame de Gaulle what she was most looking forward to in her retirement, which was imminent.
With great elaboration (as she didn’t speak much English) she replied: “A penis.”
Consternation ensued for some time, until the Queen herself came to the rescue. “Ah, happiness,” she said with a broad grin.
Step aside, Theresa May; actress
has her own manifesto to be PM. Her vision for the nation includes the return of free school milk, a traffic-free “day of peace and quiet”, and a free Friday foot rub for workers who stand all day.
Plus a tax on over-50s who don’t have an afternoon nap – all proceeds going “towards the national chocolate muffin budget”.
Caroline Quentin
What would we do without to guide us through life? “I try to make sense of it all; what I should be doing with the power that’s been given to me...” muses the bouffanthaired, badger-defending plectrum-plucker.
“I think the answer is: to use whatever I have to try to change the world for the better. I feel strongly that we’ve veered so far off the path of decency. We need a radical shake-up.” And maybe a haircut. ‘Hey, are you Joey’s dad?’” One teenager who is more aware than most of Matt’s role as Joey Tribbiani is his daughter Marina, 13, who likes to watch repeats of the show with him.
He says: “She loves to ask me questions about it, like: ‘Was that real? Did you really eat that? Ooh, you ate that off the floor?
That’s gross’.”
Brian May