08 NOVEMBER 2013 There’s a history of pilots and airline workers in her family – and Kate Middleton is following in the family footsteps by learning to fly a plane.
The Duchess told a told a group of RAF officers that she had been taking lessons in a fixed-wing aircraft, saying: “My grandfather [the late RAF pilot Peter Middleton] flew planes. I’ve had a few lessons on fixed wing.”
CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE
In doing so she also follows the lead of brother-in-law Prince Harry, who took lessons in flying fixed wing planes in 2008 at the Army Air Corps base in Middle Wallop, Hampshire. RAF search and rescue pilot Prince William of course also has his wings – he graduated in September 2010.
Kate’s parents Michael and Carole have a background in the aviation industry. Both worked for British Airways before starting their business Party Pieces. Carole was a cabin crew member while Michael was a dispatcher.
Kate told of her flying lessons as she joined William in helping promote the Poppy Appeal in London on Thursday.
06 NOVEMBER 2013Andy Murray has revealed that he would like to have children with his long-term girlfriend Kim Sears.
Click on photo below for gallery of Andy and Kim.
The Wimbledon champion reckons he is just past the halfway point of his playing career, and will most likely start a family after he retires.
“I can see myself having a family,” writes Andy in his new autobiography. “It is something that I’m starting to think about because Kim and I have been together for eight years.”
CLICK ON PHOTO FOR GALLERY OF ANDY AND KIM
The Scottish sports star is full of praise for his teenage sweetheart, who he says has always been “at the heart of it all”. The couple first met at the US Open in 2005, when Kim was on holiday with her tennis coach father Nigel who was training Daniela Hantuchov.
“Kim’s always been there for me,” writes Andy. “She really cares about me and helps with so many things. She also understands when I need to be by myself and when I need companionship, which might sound like it isn’t much, but it’s really fundamental.
“People often comment on the amount of people you have travelling with you, like it’s an entourage or something. That’s not how it works.
“Everyone has to justify their place, whether they’re giving me the emotional support that I need or keeping me fit. Right at the heart of it all is Kim.
“She is very savvy about people — she can see which of them are trying to leech on to me or who might want to be near me for their benefit rather than mine.”
Apart from bonding over the sport, the British number one and his girlfriend share a passion for travel and are madly in love with their two Border terriers, Maggie May and Rusty.
“We both love dogs,” writes Andy. “It’s not the same as having kids — or at least I don’t think it is — but that’s sometimes what it feels like.”
Unlike Swiss tennis pro Roger Federer, who wanted his children to see him play, Andy said that it wasn’t something he was “desperate” to start now, but would wait until he retires.
“Yes, I would like to start a family and try to be a good father,” said Andy, when the time comes. “That’s important to me.”
The much-loved athlete became the first British man to lift the Wimbledon trophy for 77 years, and in his autobiography, Andy shares his thoughts on the highlights of his career.
Andy Murray: Seventy-Seven: My Road to Wimbledon Glory, will be released on Thursday 7 November.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Russell Brand has been causing his unique variety of ripple with politicians and comedians alike over the last couple of weeks. Brand’s sitting down in a discussion with Huffington Post UK Political Director Mehdi Hasan about the big issues of the day, and you can watch the whole thing, ‘A Brand New Politics’, on the LIVE FEED, on this very page here at Huffington Post UK.
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
In Conversation with Russell Brand
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
In Conversation with Russell Brand
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
In Conversation with Russell Brand
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Preparations are underway for our ‘Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK’
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Preparations are underway for our ‘Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK’
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Preparations are underway for our ‘Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK’
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Preparations are underway for our ‘Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK’
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Preparations are underway for our ‘Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK’
Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
Preparations are underway for our ‘Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK’
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Russell Brand In Conversation With The Huffington Post UK
In more gushy Kim Kardashian and Kanye West gossip, the reality star – who didn’t take her ex hubby’s surname – has revealed she’ll take the rapper’s last name
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The newly engaged reality star revealed that she’ll be taking new finace Kanye West’s last name once they get hitched.
Talking to E! News, curvy Kim, who decided not to take her ex-husband kris Humprhies’ surname, said she’ll make Kardashian her middle name.
When asked if she was planning to take the rapper’s last name, Kim replied: “Yeah, I will. It’ll be Kim Kardashian West.”
A beaming Kim also explained that their adorable daughter North West has made their “amazing” relationship even better.
“You really have a sense of family,” she explained, “especially with us having our daughter and our relationship has been best friends and we’ve known each other for so long that our relationship has always been amazing. But I think it’s gotten so much better after we had our daughter and just since we’ve been together for almost two years now.”
Kanye’s girl also recently told People Magazine that she’s decided she’s leaving the wedding planning for her third marriage down to her hubby-to-be.
“We honestly haven’t had a moment to talk about it or even breathe, so we haven’t really talked about it, but whatever he wants.”
We don’t blame her for leaving it down to Kanye – the selfie queen has been through the whole wedding planning thing twice before. It must get pretty dull.
Kim wed her first husband, r&b singer Damon Thomas in 2000. They split in 2004.
Then she met basketballer Kris Humphries.
Kris and Kim got engaged in May 2011 and married three months later in a lavish ceremony in which Kim wore not one, not two, but THREE couture Vera Wang gowns. Even we think that’s excessive.
Kim revealed the news in Vegas
Splash
But even though Kris fitted perfectly into the Kardashian Klan – you know, his name beginning with a K and all – Kim filed for divorce just 72 days later. Their marriage, which turned out to have a shorter shelf life than a loaf of bread, ended up making them a cool $ 250,000 (£155,000) a day.
Kim then moved on to her next big K – Kanye – and she gave birth to their daughter, North West, on June 15 this year.
Kanye popped the question to Kim last week, presenting his missus with a 15-carat sparkler at a basketball stadium.
Admittedly we find it slightly strange that the proposal was held in a building used by basketball players considering the Kardashian sisters don’t have amazing track records with such athletes (Kim and Khloe were both married to one!).
Kim told the People the proposal was a complete surprise.
“I was shaking so much, shaking the entire time,” she said. “Like, ‘Is this really happening?’ It was like an out-of-body experience.”
Sounds freaky.
All that said we’re sure that the parents of little North West will have a long and happy marriage.
TV presenter Melanie Sykes married 27-year-old roofer Jack Cockings this summer and at 43 is looking hotter than ever.
Here she reveals the secret to looking sexy in your forties… and her weakness for pork scratchings.
How important is it for you to stay fit?
Exercise is a massive part of my life.
I have made a commitment to my fitness and it makes me feel good. As a young mum, I want to be fit for my sons, Roman and Valentino, who are 11 and nine, to always be around for them.
I feel as good now as I did in my 20s but that comes with confidence.
Did you stick to a special exercise regime to be a bride?
When I went on my hen weekend, I was boozing my little a*** off and I wasn’t even thinking about the big day.
But my personal trainer Jermaine McCubbine, who has trained me for about three years, put me through my paces beforehand.
He is a brilliant trainer and a great mate.
Describe your workout
I train for about three hours a week doing weights, boxing and core stability exercises and I swim about 30 lengths once or twice a week.
I do the school run every day and I walk everywhere. I am on my feet most of the day– that’s why I’ve signed up to Bupa’s Ground Miles campaign.
Everyone should walk as much as they can and get out for some exercise. It’s good for clearing your head.
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Dan Kennedy/Debenhams
Melanie Sykes Ultimo lingerie
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Any food vices?
I love pork scratchings and I love white wine. But they are a nightmare for putting weight on. I like Lucozade but it’s very sugary and I try to avoid drinking too much.
I don’t eat what I want as I have a big appetite. I try to avoid overeating and I cut down on things like pasta.
How much do you weigh and have you ever dieted?
I don’t know what I weigh because I never get on the scales. But I am a size 10 all over and I go by what fits me rather than what I weigh.
When I was a model years ago, there was a diet called Fit For Life, which involved eating fruit until lunch and not mixing proteins and carbs.
I was very slim then and there was a pressure to look a certain way. But that is the point of modelling.
You have to look a certain shape because if you look fat, you don’t look good and you don’t get work. I don’t diet now though.
Style: Melanie attending the TRIC Awards last year
Mirrorpix
What’s your last-minute red carpet fix?
If I am walking down the red carpet I don’t eat a big meal as it’s not nice to feel bloated in a tight dress.
Would you have any cosmetic surgery?
I had my boobs enlarged about three years ago. I went up a cup size. I was comfortable with that and they looked in proportion with my body.
I am not going to say what size they are. I never told anyone about my bra size before I had them done.
I had lost lots of weight and they had shrunk. They also didn’t look great after having my sons as I breast-fed them and they weren’t so pert.
I had been planning on having them done after Valentino was born but I never got around to it.
I am pleased with their shape. But I have no plans to have more surgery – where do you go after your boobs?
In love: Melanie and Jack
Alan Davidson
Have you noticed any other signs of ageing?
I notice more wrinkles and fine lines as I get into my 40s. I have had grey hairs since I was 24 or 25 but I colour my hair as it makes me feel better about myself.
Do you have any phobias?
I get claustrophobic and I am afraid of heights. When I climbed Ben Nevis this summer, I had a bit of a wobble.
Years ago, I did a photo shoot on the top of a building in Canary Wharf and it was still being built. Everyone had hard hats on and they had me posing on the edge.
I was terrified.
We hear you’re training to be a professional clay-pigeon shooter
I am! Ever since I tried it, I have been hooked.
At the moment, I am mastering the Olympic Trap, a discipline that forms part of the programme at the Olympic Games.
I have a trainer but I am naturally good with a gun. I have always liked aiming games and I’m good at darts. I love the sound that firing the gun makes, the smell and hitting the target.
I’m very competitive with myself. It would be great to compete at Rio in 2016 but we’ll see…
Pull!: Melanie ready to go shooting
IAN VOGLER
You’re working with Gino D’Acampo on a Christmas ITV special. Is that fun?
It is! It’s on in December for two weeks and it’s all about the preparation for Christmas Day. I have such a giggle with Gino.
Everything is off the cuff and there are lots of double entendres flying about.
He hasn’t cooked with just an apron on yet like he did on This Morning but I’m not prudish. It would be hilarious if he did it on Gino and Mel – I would be trying to untie it all the time!
When was the last time you were star struck?
When I saw Liam Gallagher, who lives near me in North London, at my local chemist. Musicians always seem to have that effect.
I have never met Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys but it would be the same!
Would you ever do a reality show like Strictly Come Dancing or I’m A Celebrity?
I pick TV projects where I can be at home. It is tough to leave my children for any length of time. Valentino has autism and needs me.
I couldn’t disappear out of his life for too long. I am always a mum no matter what I am doing.
If I’m working, then Jack helps with the kids and my sons have their dad, my ex-husband Daniel Caltagirone, who is around a lot.
Melanie is the ambassador for Bupa’s Ground Miles campaign, groundmiles.bupa.com.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell has revealed that she phoned Victoria Beckham at the height of the controversy over racism on the catwalk.
The 43-year-old launched a campaign to expose discrimination in the fashion industry just a month ago and put Posh’s design house on the “accused of being guilty” list.
The former Spice Girl, 39, was reportedly furious at being attacked for using only one non-white model in her 30-strong London Fashion Week Show.
The battle between the celebrity fashionistas made headlines around the globe – “Naomi Cambell accuses Posh Spice of ignoring black models”… “Defiant Victoria Beckham: I am not a racist”.
But in an exclusive interview Naomi reveals she spoke to Victoria in person.
Londoner Naomi , who is spearheading the anti-racism Diversity Coalition with David Bowie’s model wife Iman and agent Bethann Hardison, explains: “I called Victoria and I spoke to her.
“I don’t want to pin-point anyone. It isn’t a blame game. Everyone’s name was on that letter because they’d done it. It could have been completely unintentional. She is one of the designers on there like anyone else.”
The controversy erupted when Naomi and her Coalition colleagues put their names to an open letter addressed to the governing bodies of the fashion industries in New York, London, Paris and Milan.
It pointed out that at New York Fashion Week just 6% of models were black and 9% were Asian and that fewer black models are used now than in the 1970s.
It went on to list “fashion houses guilty of this racist act” including Victoria Beckham, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Chanel, Armani, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Roberto Cavalli and Marc by Marc Jacobs.
So was Naomi the slightest bit worried about upsetting so many acquaintances?
With a defiant look in her eyes she says: “Absolutely not! There is no way to candycoat this sort of thing. You have to be straight.
“We had the percentages and we were armed with the facts and you can’t be nervous about upsetting people.
“I speak the truth. People might not like it but I am doing it.”
Naomi, the world’s best-paid model who reportedly earned £25million last year is, of course, no stranger to controversy.
Of Jamaican-Chinese extraction, she grew up in working-class Streatham, south London, and was discovered by a fashion boss at 15 while window shopping.
Her breakthrough came when she made the cover of Elle in April 1986 and she later became the first black model to grace the front of the French edition of Vogue.
Naomi’s early career was guided by Elite Model Management which also created fellow supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford.
But in 1995 she was sacked from Elite and agency boss John Casablancas – who died earlier this year at 70 – launched a withering tirade against “odious” Naomi.
He called her “a manipulative, scheming, rude and impossible little madam who has treated us and her clients like dirt”.
Despite the attack Naomi kept silent. But now she has exclusively revealed a racist incident sparked her decision to leave.
She says: “I have never spoken about this. But one of the reasons why I left… it wasn’t because I was difficult, it was because I refused to take a job.
“Why was John mad at me? He was mad because I refused to take a job at a very high- level cosmetics company when my white counterpart was getting millions.
“I can’t even tell you the percentage, it was so ridiculous. I spoke with a girlfriend under contract to the same brand and she said to me ‘This is what I get – you can’t get this’.
“So I told them No. I was with Elite and I thought he was going to kill me. He was so happy thinking I was going to get this deal but I really felt insulted as a black woman.
“And as much as I wanted to be one of these girls with this brand, I couldn’t sell out like that. It doesn’t matter if you’re the first black woman on the cover of French Vogue, I was still getting less.”
Naomi is talking to me in her TV dressing room ahead of a chat show interview. As an array of assistants flutter around, she sits on a high stool having her make-up done while I have been designated a low chair in line with her kneecaps.
I feel like a commoner bowing down to a Queen. But then, of course, Naomi is very much fashion royalty. Explaining more about her drive to expose racism she says: “You will be surprised at some of the models who confide in me.
“A lot of them are very big. They are told ‘We don’t want you in our show, this isn’t the united colours of Benetton’.
One model who said this to me is on about three covers right now. She is one of the lucky few and she’s still experiencing it.”
Naomi says she has also encountered racism recently but refuses to go into details. “It happened not so long ago but I am not going to talk about me because, as a whole, my career has been blessed. But these young girls don’t know how to speak up and if they do, they will never be booked again.”
She tells me her close friendship with Nelson Mandela – who she calls her “honorary grandfather” – inspired her to try and make a change. “To be able to speak out and help others is something Mr Mandela has always said to me to do,” she explains.
Hearing Naomi talking with such passion, it’s easy to forget her somewhat chequered history. In 2007, she pleaded guilty to assaulting an assistant with a mobile phone and was sentenced to anger management.
A year later came the scuffle with British Airways over lost baggage which saw her banned from the airline.
I ask if she’s worried her legacy may have been tainted by these episodes. “I am human,” she sighs. “I have always said I’m not perfect.
“But the one thing you can’t take away from me is my job and my career. You can’t do that. I have been doing this for 27 and a half years and no-one can fault me for that.”
“As for retiring? Forget it. I don’t believe in that word,” she says. “And in any case why would you announce it… especially if another great job comes up.”
X Factor’s most successful daughter is releasing her first Christmas album and it’s Motown inspired with a festive theme
O’ Holy Night: Leona must be hoping her Christmas album will give her a much needed hit
Getty
Leona Lewis has revealed details of her forthcoming Christmas album and new single.
The Bleeding Love singer will release her Christmas album on December 2, just in time to fill your houses with the festive spirit, not to mention the sound of Leona warbling about mistletoe and wine. Hopefully mostly wine.
Leona’s new single, One More Sleep will follow on December 3.
Let’s hope it does a bit better than her last single – the one that failed to make even the top 200 after selling just 600 copies!
“This has been such a busy year for me having been on tour, shooting my first movie and being in the studio,” Leona said in a statement.
“I cannot wait to get out there this Christmas and perform these songs.
“I had such fun recording this record and that really comes through in the songs.
“I am looking forward to spreading a little Christmas cheer!”
Our Lady of the X Factor also confirmed that the LP, which has been produced by Biff Stannard and Ash Howes, will contain two original songs, co-written by Leona.
Your Hallelujah sounds a tad more Christmassy than Mr Right, if we’re being honest. Unless she’s singing about Father Christmas, and who doesn’t consider a fat man in a red suit who breaks into your house to eat your mince pies and leave gifts to be their Mr Right?
The album is described as having “quite a Motown” feel and will also feature Leona’s versions of Christmas classics.
All the nights are there with O’ Holy Night and Silent Night taking pride of place alongside Ave Maria, and I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday.
A Motown version of O’ Holy Night should be interesting. But mostly we’re wondering that come Christmas morning, whether Leona will be wearing her fetching pink latex outfit while stuffing her turkey?
Every year thousands of hopefuls dream of winning the X Factor, being a superstar and earning untold riches. But would they be so keen to queue in all weathers and put themselves through the tough auditions if they knew that what awaited them was a life of terrifying panic attacks, thoughts of suicide, desperate drug-taking and therapy?
That’s what James Arthur has experienced in the 12 months since he won the show. He’s even turned to God as he battles depression and crippling anxiety brought on by his amazing success.
Before show judge Nicole Scherzinger picked him for her boys’ team last year, James was a homeless lad from Teesside with a guitar and a turbulent history. At 16 his mum Shirley Ashworth had thrown him out and he slept on park benches and friends’ sofas, barely able to feed himself.
Now singer James, 25, is a household name with more than a million records sold. He’s hoping for his second No 1 tomorrow with his new single You’re Nobody ’Til Somebody Loves You.
He says: “I wasn’t sure how to cope with the transition from being nobody, a person that didn’t contribute to society, to someone who had a purpose.
“I had come from nothing, living rough or staying in awful bedsits. Then suddenly everyone had an opinion about me and I was staying in nice hotels.
“I would read everything that was said about me, all the criticism about the way I looked. I had been meeting a lot of influential people in music and it was freaking me out a bit.
“I was so tired and I was trying to get to grips with my reality, which was a world away from Middlesbrough.”
James Arthur being interviewed by Mirror girl Halina Watts
Roy Fisher/Daily Mirror
On a plane to New York in July it all became too much and James started to panic.
“When I got off the plane I thought I was having a heart attack,” he says. “I couldn’t breathe and my left arm went numb. I couldn’t think straight. So I went to A&E in the Bronx. It was so scary. I was with this little skinny guy from the record company and I couldn’t string a sentence together.
“There were homeless guys next to me looking like they had just shot up. ?
“You hear things about the Bronx and guns. There were some pretty dodgy characters. I was freaking out and no one cared. I was there till four in the morning and thought I was going to die. In the end no one saw me. They realised it was just a panic attack and I went back to the hotel.
“I started to calm down and went into the bathroom, knelt down and prayed. It’s quite clear that money doesn’t do anything for me, it’s quite clear that fame doesn’t do anything for me… I just didn’t know why I was feeling so unhappy.”
Moments like these are documented on James’s brilliant self-titled debut album. In Emergency he sings about the visit to that New York hospital. And Suicide tells the story of a young man left broken-hearted.
James won’t reveal which girl broke his heart, but will say that there was a point earlier this year when he thought about ending his life.
James with Nicole Scherzinger on the X Factor
Ken McKay/Thames/REX
“One morning after I got back from New York I wanted to fall flat on my face and never wake up,” he admits.
“Everybody wanted something from me, and with my family I’ve never been the person they look up to. Then I felt like I had to sort everything out for everyone. I thought about killing myself but I would never do it because my little sister looks up to me as an example.
“I know I have responsibilities now and I don’t want to let anyone down.”
James is beginning to turn to God to get him through the tough times.
He says: “I’ve started praying and believing in spirituality. I haven’t gone to church yet but I want to look into it in the future. In my darkest moment I prayed for God to help me and liberate me from stress. I remember being in that hotel bathroom and praying this feeling would go away.”
He’s talked about smoking cannabis in the past and in his darkest hours this summer he turned to it again.
“I’m not proud but it’s been a tough few months,” he says. “If I had any vice it would be smoking weed. If I’m stressed out and I want to switch off than that’s what I do. I hate cocaine, MDMA, all that stuff. I’ve seen it bring demons out in people I love. It’s not for me, especially with my heart palpitations. If I did a line of coke I’d have a seizure.”
James won the X Factor in 2012
Ken McKay/ITV
In the end James had therapy: “I saw a cognitive therapist and a media trainer. They helped me work through the really tough times.”
His life has been tough since the age of 14 when he moved from Bahrain to Britain with mum Shirley after she split with his stepfather. Falling out with his mother, he slept rough, stole food to eat, and eventually put himself into foster care.
When he joined the X Factor the feud with his mum, 46, was still raging. It was his nan Isobelle who helped rebuild things. James’s parents – Shirley and delivery driver Neil – had split when he was two but got together for the first time in 22 years for his X Factor audition.
Isobelle died last week, leaving James devastated. “She was head of the family,” he says. “My mum went off the rails when we were younger and Nana was the rock.
“The last conversation I had with her I told her Cilla Black sent her love. Cilla is my nan’s idol, and I was on Jonathan Ross with her. So I told her that Cilla Black said ‘hello’ and I think it made her year. That was our last conversation. I think she was proud of me.”
James is now seeking help for his demons
Redferns
Now James says his cash is helping to heal family rifts. He says: “I have a habit of throwing money at things now. People say money can’t solve things – but it can solve everything.”
Earlier this year he was linked to a string of beautiful women, including pop star Rita Ora, 22, and TV host Caroline Flack, 33. There were also reports that he had sessions with a couple of hookers. Now he wants to kill the rumours.
“People think I’m above my station,” he says. “They think I’m a chav out sh*gging prostitutes and drinking all the time and that is just not the case. With this album people will see the real me. I haven’t been asked to compromise and they didn’t try and manufacture me in any way. I hope people will see that.”
Now he’s looking for a girlfriend and hopes to settle down. He says: “I guess it’s cool to have something consistent when your life is so dysfunctional. I’m on the lookout now that I’ve finished my album. I would like someone who understands the industry – and someone who doesn’t necessarily need me.”
• You’re Nobody ’Til Somebody Loves You is out on download now. His album, James Arthur, is out on November 4.
Katy Perry has never been thought of as rock and roll and her latest confession to popping 26 pills a day is not about to change that.
The ‘Fireworks’ singer may dose up, but the clean living Californian Girl is actually just seriously into her vitamins.
Katy told US Weekly: “I’m all about vitamins and supplements.”
Katy Perry
And that’s not the only quirky trait Russell Brand’s ex wife revealed in an interview with the mag… Katy confessed she believes in aliens, always takes a teddy bear when travelling and that her friends think she’s a hoarder.
The 28-year-old also spoke out about suffering from OCD, claiming: “I’m so OCD that I wish the letters OCD were in alphabetical order: CDO.”
Katy is currently promoting her new album ‘Prism’, which led to her appearing on the ‘X Factor’ last weekend dressed as a tiger.
In a recent chat with Entertainment Weekly, Katy confirmed that some of her new songs featured on the record are about her break up from comedian Russell.
“Imagine what happens when you go through a break up. We all go through break ups and we all get very depressed and desperate,” she said.
“The lyrics are very exact and autobiographical. That’s how I write. But the one thing about those lyrics is you can hear me finding my strength throughout the song. It starts off really low and then I kind of stand up for myself and say, ‘No!’”
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Style Evolution: Katy Perry
February 4, 2008. Attending the Betsey Johnson 2008 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2008 at The Tent at Bryant Park.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
February 10, 2008. Musician Katy Perry attends the EMI party at Dominick’s.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
May 17, 2008. Katy posing in the press room during Z100′s Zootopia at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
June 9, 2008. MTV’s “TRL” at MTV Studios in New York.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
June 14, 2008. Recording artist/actress Katy Perry attends designer Kira Plastinina’s United States Launch Party in Los Angeles, California.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
June 18, 2008. Katy Perry during the taping of MTV’s ‘FNMTV’ in Hollywood, CA. The show airs Fridays at 8pm on MTV.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
July 10, 2008. Katy Perry backstage during the taping of MTV’s ‘FNMTV’ in Hollywood, CA. The show airs Fridays at 8pm on MTV.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
June 17, 2008. Katy Perry attends the record release party for “One of the Boys” at Capitol Records on in Los Angeles, California.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
July 26, 2008. Singer Katy Perry hosts Travis McCoy’s birthday celebration at Country Club in New York City.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
29 October 2003. Katy seen at the Mercedes-Benz Shows LA Fashion Week Spring 2004 -Miller Girl by Nicole Miller Backstage and Front Row.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
07 June 2006. NYLON Celebrates Its Annual Music Issue With MySpace.com
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
September 7, 2008. Katy Perry arrives at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards at Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, California.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
September 17, 2008. Attending the Katy Perry Concert at Fritzclub at the Postbahnhof.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
September 29, 2008. Katy Perry arrives at the Patrick Demarchelier’s exhibition Party in Paris.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
14 November 2004. Katy Perry wearing Andrew Gn Spring 2005 Collection.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
11 February 2007. Inside the EMI Post GRAMMY Party.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
05 May 2005. At the H.D. Buttercup Inaugural Celebrity Treasure Hunt for Charity and Cinco de Mayo after Party.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
20 April 2006. Vanity Fair Presents the 2006 Svedka Erotica Reading Series.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
13th January 2006. Korn “See You on the Other Side” Tour Launch Party at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
Nintendo DS Pre – Launch Party at The Day After – Arrivals.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
15 September 2004. Enchanted Garden Party’ for Sass & Bide’s Spring/Summer 2005 Collection.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
January 8, 2009. Katy arrives at VH1′s 14th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
23 February 2004. Katy Perry at Jimmy Choo Oscar Suite.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
January 17, 2009. Singer Katy Perry attends the NRJ Music Awards 2009 held at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
May 4, 2009. Katy attends “The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion” Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
November 5, 2009. Katy Perry poses for a picture backstage during the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards held at the O2 Arena in Berlin.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
June 6th, 2010. In Universal City, California.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
March 27th, 2010. Katy Perry attends Perez Hilton’s ‘Carn-Evil’ Theatrical Freak and Funk 32nd birthday party at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
June 7, 2009. in London, England.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
1st December 2004. Katy Perry during Chandon at Hollywould Dress Launch Party at Sax Fifth Avenue Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
22nd May 2005. Katy Perry during Lush SWAG-Fest 2: Denim, Diamonds and a Do at Lush Beauty Boutique in Beverly Hills.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
August 28, 2011. Katy Perry arrives at the 4th Annual House of Hype Music Awards at SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills.
Style Evolution: Katy Perry
16th November 2006. Nintendo Launches Wii, The Revolutionary Home Video Game Console.
Russell Brand is no stranger to a bit of controversy (and then some) but his latest revelation could be his most eyebrow-raising confession yet after he revealed he once had a sexual encounter with a male stranger in a pub toilet.
And if that wasn’t surprising enough, the comedian and actor also revealed the whole thing was caught on camera for a TV show exploring social taboos.
Russell Brand
Recounting the tryst in 2002 for a podcast interview with fellow comedian Richard Herring, Russ admitted: “I w***ed off a man in a toilet.”
“I thought, ‘I think of myself as heterosexual but perhaps that’s ’cause of the environment that I grew up in where homosexuality may have been difficult for me to express,” he explained.
“I trawled around Soho… going [to] various gay bars, gay gyms trying to pick people up with a film crew. I went in this pub and I goes: ‘Anyone want me to w*** them off?’
“And this bloke goes, ‘Yep’. Like as if I was saying: ‘Does anyone want a packet of crisps from the bar…?’
“So we goes to the lavvy – me, him, the director – and… he gets his willy out. And it was not nice. The phallus is… I like mine and you see some others in paintings that look all right but his looked like a rag.”
“I took it betwixt my fingers thusly. It were like massaging a naked mole rat and it wouldn’t go hard!”
The 38-year-old said the director insisted he also dropped his trousers, saying: “So I take down my trousers and pants… and then the bloke sort of mauled at my genitals while I w***ed him off.”
The show, ‘RE: Brand’, which aired back in 2002, also saw the comedian have a bath with a homeless person and stay with a prostitute and her family.
The boyband star has opened up about splitting from the beautiful soap star more than a year after it happened
She’s now engaged to someone else but Max George still has a lot to say about his doomed relationship with ex-fiancée Michelle Keegan.
In fact, The Wanted singer has poured his feelings about the Corrie babe, 26, who’s now set to marry Mark Wright, into a ballad called Heartbreak Story on his band’s new album.
The pair dated for a year-and-a-half, before splitting in July 2012 amid rumours that Max had cheated on her.
Now the 25-year-old has dedicated one last love song to his former beau.
Talking about The Wanted’s new album Word Of Mouth, out next month, Max tells me: “We’ve written about tough experiences we’ve had in our lives over the years – relationship breakdowns and that sort of thing.
Max and George split in July 2012
Phil Harris
“I’ve written about my break-up with Michelle. I’ve written a couple of songs about it and the experiences I went through. There’s one song called Heartbreak Story, which is definitely close to me.”
The emotional love song sounds like a massive apology to Michelle, including the lyrics: “Just say you’ll let me in your heart. I should’ve been there from the start. I promise you as long as you’re with me, there’ll never be a heartbreak story. Girl there is no need to hide away what’s done is done now. He gave you up and then he let you down and all the trust is broken now, he can’t remember how it used to be, it doesn’t have to be a heartbreak story.” Sob.
Max, seen here with his band The Wanted, is now dating underwear model Nina Agdal
Pete Mariner
But Max has also moved on and admits that Danish underwear model Nina Agdal, 21, is now ?his GIRLFRIEND.
Speaking from LA, where The Wanted are touring, Max says: “I’m in a relationship with her and it’s going great.
“She’s based in New York so we Skype a lot but she spends a lot of time with us on the tour bus, too.
“She’s awesome, a lot of fun and pretty perfect. I’ve brought her home to Manchester. I took her straight to my local pub the White Horse and she met my grandad over a few pints of bitter.”
Sounds like a keeper, Max.
We might not be able to bring you Max’s heartbreak tune just yet but why not listen to The Wanted’s song Show Me Love below…
Michael Fassbender has revealed the longest he’s ever dated a woman was for two years.
Speaking to GQ about his his dating history and being selfish, he said: “I’m kind of selfish with the hours that I put into the work.”
The 36-year-old, who is among the most in-demand actors in the industry, said this selfishness can affect his relationships: “I think the longest relationship that I’ve been in was two years. I started doing this when I was 17, so I guess in my dating, adult life, that kind of covers it.”
However, that’s not to say the ’12 Years A Slave’ star doesn’t receive a lot of attention from potential partners.
“I make a lot more friends, you know what I mean? You become a lot more successful in terms of, like, talking to a girl. She’s all of a sudden more interested in me,” he told the mag.
He added: “I know that, like, three years ago, she would’ve walked away after two sentences left my mouth. I remember I was sitting at this table at this thing, and I was talking to this girl. I was like, ‘God, I am so boring right now.’ But she was like, ‘That’s so interesting!’ I was like, ‘You know what? Five years ago, this would not have been interesting.’”
See the full interview in November’s issue of GQ on newsstands 22 October.
