Earl turns his citadel into protected haven for pupils hit by floods

Pupils at a flood-ravaged primary school have moved from makeshift classrooms into a Hogwarts-style castle, thanks to the generosity of a local aristocrat.

The 19th Earl of Devon has welcomed around 60 pupils to start the new term at his family seat of Powderham Castle, near Exeter.

However, there have been some caveats. The children from Kenton primary school have been banned from rolling down the hill – and told not to chase his animals.

‘They’re not allowed to chase the deer,’ he tells me. ‘We’ve got to set certain limits on what they can do.

‘What’s rather exciting is that the rooms they’re occupying were the tearooms of the castle in the 1950s and 1960s, and the toilets they’re using are the original public toilets. So there’s a slot where you have to put in a penny to spend a penny.’

The Earl, Charles Courtenay, offered up the space in the castle, which dates from the 14th Century, after being approached by Lorraine Curry, the school’s head. 

The pupils have been taught in makeshift classrooms in a nearby church since devastating floods last October, but will now be at Powderham until November while work building a new school is finished.

‘The children love it,’ Ms Curry says. ‘It feels quite surreal coming to school down the drive, past the deer park and into the castle. It’s been an amazing experience.’

The peer – whose two children with his ex-wife, former Baywatch actress AJ Langer, were educated at Kenton – says it’s ‘lovely’ to have the children ‘bringing lots of young energy’ to the castle. ‘It’s a nice chance for the next generation of kids to get familiar with Powderham,’ he added. ‘It’ll be part of their childhood experience which is great.’

The castle has previously featured in the films The Remains Of The Day and Churchill: The Hollywood Years, as well as Mary Berry’s Country House Secrets.

Is Ramsay handing over his empire to daughter Tilly?

She may be 22 years old but Tilly Ramsay made sure to hold on to dad Gordon’s hand as they embarked on a significant shopping expedition last week.

Gordon, 57, took her to London’s Soho district to buy her first chef’s whites as she prepares to follow in his footsteps by starting at a culinary school this month.

The pair were followed by a film crew and Gordon was stopped by fans to pose for selfies as they went about their day.

Former Strictly contestant Tilly later posted a picture, on social media of herself in her new outfit and wrote: ‘I am so excited for this next chapter and dad and I had had the most exciting day getting all my uniform and equipment.’

She has already hosted a BBC cooking show called Matilda And The Ramsay Bunch – so will she soon be joining Gordon at the helm of his global restaurant empire?

The superstar chef trained under Marco Pierre White before going on to establish his own Michelin-starred restaurants. 

He has also previously mentored some of the biggest names in British cooking, including Marcus Wareing and Angela Hartnett.

Be Lulu? Saoirse’s in with a Shout

I’m not sure Saoirse Ronan has Lulu’s ‘little fat face’ (Lulu’s words, not mine) but the Shout singer reckons she’s perfect to play her in a biopic. 

Asked who should portray her if ever a film were made about her fantastic six-decade career, Lulu, when she was around the same age as the Little Women star, says: ‘What’s the little Irish girl’s name? Saoirse Ronan?

‘Saoirse could play it with my little fat face. She would kill it.’

Here’s one Dame Mary made earlier…

Dame Mary Berry is set to walk the red carpet at Wednesday night’s National Television Awards wearing the same dress she wore to her very first awards bash in 2013. 

The TV chef, 89, plans to recycle the blue silk gown she sported when her old show, the Great British Bake Off, was nominated for a gong 11 years ago.

Dame Mary, who won the title of Best TV Judge at the NTAs in 2017, quit her Bake Off role when the show moved from the BBC to Channel 4.

Florence goes from gritty to glamour

Florence Pugh stunned on the red carpet just as she did on the screen at the Toronto premiere of her emotional new film, We Live In Time.

The Oxford-born actress shaved her head to play a woman battling ovarian cancer in the poignant, decades-spanning tearjerker, which includes steamy sex scenes with co-star Andrew Garfield and a grim moment when her character gives birth in a public toilet.

But in contrast to those gritty scenes, the 28-year-old star exuded vintage Hollywood glamour when she appeared for the cameras in a strapless ruffled pink Tamara Ralph gown and soft tousled hairstyle.

Talk about a scene stealer!

Don’t go breaking my cart

I guess that’s why they call it the shoes! 

I was delighted to see Sir Elton John make a grand entrance at the festival in custom-made Gucci loafers. 

The Rocket Man singer also arrived in a golf cart adorned with his trademark starry specs. 

The 77-year-old and his husband David Furnish were in town on Friday for the world premiere of his documentary Elton John: Never Too Late, about his 2022 farewell show in Los Angeles. 

It was his first public appearance since revealing he had been left with limited vision after contracting a severe eye infection. 

He said last week: ‘I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process.’

James Corden’s dad dancing leaves his children cringing – as he found out at son Max’s 12th birthday party. 

The Gavin & Stacey star, 46, recalls: ‘These kids, they’re all dancing. Usher’s Yeah! came on and I’m straight in. 

‘Then Max goes, ‘Dad, can you go inside?’ 

‘I looked around and realised I was the only adult.’

New Netflix series The Perfect Couple flaunts glitz and glamour – but none of that rubbed off on its cast during their filming in Cape Cod.

Eve Hewson – daughter of U2’s Bono – admitted they got rowdy in Massachusetts.

‘Everybody hates us. Every restaurant we go into we are a disaster,’ she said. 

Once on set, co-star Jack Reynor pulled down his trousers and was showing everyone his boxers just as Nicole Kidman walked in for the first time. 

She says that first encounter was ‘hot!’