EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Ricky Gervais accused of bullying by Robin Ince

From savaging ­Hollywood stars at the Golden Globe awards ceremony to mocking eco-activist Greta Thunberg in his stand-up act, Ricky ­Gervais has never shied away from provoking the rich and famous.

But a fellow comedian, Robin Ince, claims Gervais’s backstage jeers at him took a physical toll on his health when they toured together.

‘I look back now, and I think it is bullying, really it is,’ Ince claims. ‘I’m very good at sometimes just acclimatising to things, in which you go, ­’actually, this is really weird’.

‘But people who knew me did not like the way that relationship worked. I am not saying it is a traumatic experience, but after two weeks I came out in red lumps that my doctor said were a stress rash. I think my hair is coming out in clumps.’ 

Speaking on The Starting Line podcast, Ince, 55, claims that Gervais’s ‘bullying’ became so bad his co-star in The Office Mackenzie Crook stepped in and confronted him about it.

Ince announced his retirement in 2015, saying he was ‘starting to go mad’ with self-doubt, insomnia and regret over not spending enough time with his family. 

He remained friends with Gervais, 63, until 2022 when he wrote a blog post criticising him for making jokes about transgender people in his ­Netflix ­comedy special SuperNature.

‘It is easy to forget the collateral damage of jokes,’ Ince said.

‘Anti-trans punchlines seem to have become highly ­profitable and it ignores the dehumanising effect on a swathe of already marginalised people,’ he wrote, adding: ‘I think Ricky believes it is just him being a ‘naughty boy’. 

I believe it makes him a pin-up and role model for the alt-Right.’

Gervais declines to comment.

End of an era for Twiggy’s pins!

She was the poster-girl of the miniskirt in Swinging London in the 1960s, but Twiggy has signalled the end of an era by declaring that she’s too old to show off her pins.

Dame Lesley Lawson, as she’s ­properly known, turns 75 tomorrow. 

She says: ‘When it comes to fashion, I don’t like all these age labels.

‘But I do make an exception when it comes to miniskirts and hotpants. The only time I wear shorts is when I’m on holiday and they’re proper shorts.

‘You’ve got to think about what suits you and what you look – or feel – good in. The comfort factor’s important, too.’

Ginger Spice makes a winning bet on the horses

Ginger Spice appears to have made a winning bet on the horses. Geri and Christian Horner have enjoyed a bumper year at their racehorse owning company, OMBI. 

Newly published accounts reveal they undertook a £600,000 spending spree last year, forking out £137,000 on biological assets, £280,000 on buildings and £187,000 on motor vehicles to take assets held to just under £1million. 

They made a profit, with retained earnings after bills climbing to £220,000 from £69,000.

Sir Menzies Campbell recalls fond memories of his late father-in-law

Sir Menzies Campbell has fond memories of his late father-in-law, Major-General Roy Urquhart – who led the Paras into action at the Battle of Arnhem – despite his being a stickler for tradition. ‘I once heard him tell someone, ‘You don’t need to address me formally – just call me General’,’ wryly recalls the former Lib Dem leader, 83, speaking at the party’s conference in Brighton. 

Pick of the Parties:

Olympic girly Keely opts for glittering party gold

Venue: Burberry LFW40, Icons Party at The Roof ­Gardens, Kensington.

Keeping it golden: Olympic athlete Keely ­Hodgkinson, 22, is determined to stay golden. 

Having won a gold medal at the Paris ­Olympics, she wore a ­glittering dress, with a ­Burberry bag worth £2,090 to match.

On brand: ­Burberry’s shares have tumbled to a 15-year low, but Dame ­Vivienne ­Westwood’s granddaughter Cora Corre has no doubts over its luxury brand ­status.

The model, 27, was proud to wear the British label’s classic Nova Check pattern.

Ellie’s all frills: Pop singer Ellie Goulding, 37, made a show-stopping entry in silk trousers and a chiffon top with long sleeves and frills on the shoulders.

Not so in vogue: British Vogue’s former ­editor-in-chief Edward Enninful nearly didn’t get into the heaving after-party, one staffer tells me, because the venue was ‘at capacity within the first hour’. They made up for the confusion by placing him on the top table with other VIPs.

Charles honours Camilla’s doctor

King Charles has handed Queen Camilla’s doctor a prestigious new role.

He has appointed Michael Dooley as Lord-Lieutenant of Dorset, the county which is home to the monarch’s beloved Poundbury ­housing development.

‘It is a great honour to serve as the King’s ­representative in Dorset,’ says Dooley, 67, who will ‘promote civic, cultural and social initiatives across the county’.

Dooley is consultant gynaecologist to the Royal Household and carried out a hysterectomy on Camilla in 2007 when she was still the Duchess of Cornwall. Like the King and Queen, he’s an advocate of alternative health treatments.

It’s the second recent honour for the physician after he was made a ­Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) by the King in June.

Awards of the Royal Victorian Order are in the King’s gift and are bestowed independently of Downing Street to those who have served the monarch or the Royal Family in a personal way.