We constantly read about celebrities behaving badly, issuing diva-like demands and having mega strops when things don’t suit them. So it was refreshing to read a piece by Jeremy Vine (currently strutting his stuff on Strictly) that revealed the sweet nature of his fellow contestant Peter Andre. I’m probably the only person in the land who has never watched Strictly (I’m an X Factor girl myself) and I have to ...keep reading
A few years back it would have been impossible to believe that The X Factor might one day lose its shine. I was completely hooked on the show and spent every Saturday night gripped by Simon Cowell’s acid comments to the wannabe stars. By the rival judges at each other’s throats, the contestants’ dazzling white teeth (apparently Cowell’s team always insists the young hopefuls get their gnashers whitened) and the ...keep reading
“All I want for Christmas is a No 1. I like the idea that a group of women singing in a church with a speccy choirmaster is Simon Cowell’s greatest threat. I’m sure he’s quaking in his boots.” Those are the words of Gareth Malone, the nation’s favourite choirmaster, in an interview to be published in ES magazine tomorrow. And I reckon he’s right. As Simon Cowell sits in the ...keep reading
It seems another world now but my first job in journalism was as a reporter for a small weekly newspaper in the West Country. Golden weddings, flower shows, parish councils, you name it, the news team had to turn the comings and goings of country life into scintillating copy. Well, do our best, anyway. After two years I escaped to London and became a feature writer on a women’s magazine. ...keep reading