Game Of Thrones star Natalie Dormer announced last September that she would not carry out any promotional work for forthcoming ITV drama The Lady, in which she plays Sarah Ferguson.
And the actress, 43, declared that she was handing her fee to charity because she was so appalled by Fergie’s links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Now, Mia McKenna-Bruce, who plays Sarah’s former aide, the murderer Jane Andrews, has voiced her fears that the latest revelations about Fergie’s friendship with Epstein could overshadow the series ahead of its imminent release.
‘We’re not telling Sarah’s story,’ Mia insists. ‘It’s not about Sarah, it’s about Jane. And the bits we do see of Sarah, that’s Sarah through Jane’s eyes, and Sarah in that snippet of time where she was part of Jane’s story.’
Andrews beat her boyfriend, Thomas Cressman, with a cricket bat as he slept at their Fulham home before stabbing him in the chest in 2000 after he refused to marry her.
Natalie Dormer as Sarah Ferguson in ITV drama The Lady with Mia McKenna-Bruce, who plays former aide Jane Andrews
She worked for Fergie when the latter was the Duchess of York after answering an advert in The Lady magazine, hence the drama’s title.
Mia, 28, who starred in the Netflix Agatha Christie drama Seven Dials, adds: ‘A lot of people have asked me: “What about the way Jane saw Sarah? That was a toxic relationship”.
‘What we see of Jane is she latches onto people on what they can bring into her life. [The series is] no comment on anything today or anything about the Duchess of York.’
She adds of the drama: ‘We didn’t want to be judgmental. We’re trying to put forward answers; we’re just trying to start those conversations and ask more questions. It’s a comment on the human condition and human behaviour.’
Matthews ditches wild dream
The Princess of Wales’ brother-in-law, James Matthews, seems to have ditched his dream of running a wildlife park.
I can reveal that Pippa Middleton’s husband has cut ties with Bucklebury Farm Ltd, the business behind their farm park in Berkshire, close to the Middleton family home. Documents published yesterday report the ending of his role as a director and also the cessation of his role as a ‘person of significant control’.
Matthews and business partner James Murray forked out £1.35million for the park. Murray now assumes full control of the business, which had run up almost £1 million worth of losses according to the latest accounts.
Lady Amelia says, hands up who loves yoga?
The Duke of Kent’s granddaughter Lady Amelia Windsor was once named the ‘most beautiful royal’ by Tatler magazine, and she’s keen to prove that she’s also the most flexible.
The model, 30, has posted a photo online of her performing a series of yoga positions, including this overhead side stretch.
Lady Amelia, 30, posted a photo online of her performing a series of yoga positions, including this overhead side stretch
Lady Amelia is wearing a crop top and leggings by Wellicious, a ‘sustainable’ clothing firm which sells biodegradable activewear.
She is a keen environmentalist who was seen picking up litter in a River Thames clean-up in 2023, which raised awareness about the dangers of wet wipes clogging up London’s pipes.
Graham’s raunchy days are over
BBC chat show host Graham Norton has admitted that he’s toned down his racy personality on screen because he doesn’t want to look ‘creepy’.
The Irishman, 62, says: ‘When we started doing talk shows, I was in my 30s and it was quite raunchy. I would be in the audience, talking to them about their sex lives and stuff.
That is fine when you’re in your 30s, but when you’re in your 60s, that’s kind of creepy.
‘So I felt I had to stop. And so, as I have changed, the show has changed.’
It was her most prized possession, but Kelly Brook’s Hermes Birkin handbag has now been sold because the model and presenter feared she could be targeted by criminals in Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan’s increasingly lawless London.
She made a staggering five-fold profit on the item, which now retails between £10,000 and more than £100,000.
‘I just sold my Birkin not that long ago for about five times what I bought it for,’ says Kelly, 46.
Kelly Brook made an incredible five-fold profit on the bag, pictured, that now retails between £10,000 and more than £100,000
‘It was a beautiful bag. But I’ve had it and I used it and I enjoyed it.’
The ex-fiancee of Hollywood hardman Jason Statham explains: ‘I’m very mindful that I live in London and I don’t want to be targeted for my bags – because people are.
‘So I’m very careful about very expensive designer things and jewellery. I don’t really purchase things like that any more, or even have things like that.’
Not his finest hour…
Long hailed one of Britain’s greatest film-makers, Sir Stephen Frears now admits he regrets directing the Kate Winslet television series The Regime.
Looking back on the 2024 political satire, Bafta-winner Frears, whose CV includes directing The Queen, Philomena and My Beautiful Laundrette, awkwardly remarks: ‘I did a series with Kate Winslet…a thing called The Regime. Not my finest hour.’
Asked who created said series, Frears frostily adds of writer Will Tracy: ‘An American.’