The King, having offered Donald Trump a private visit to Dumfries House in addition to a state visit, is suddenly unavailable when Trump arrives next month to open his new golf course near Aberdeen. Mr Trump plans a visit to his other course Turnberry as part of his campaign to win back The Open Championship. Why has the King gone into hiding? A source whispers the President was keen to rope in the King – especially to go to Turnberry. A royal visit from the King, also patron of the Open’s organisers the R&A, to watch Donald play a few exhibition holes may have put everyone in an awkward position. Much better to fill the diary with other commitments.
Davina McCall, 57, pictured, explains her estrangement from her French mother Florence – revealed on Who Do You Think You Are – saying: ‘She was an exotic, mad risk-taker, exciting to be around, chaotic, but I just wanted Angela Lansbury. This woman was a flasher. She used to wear coats and flash people in the street. She used to do citizens arrests. It was madness. I was in the back of a car once while she drove it across a cricket pitch while the match was on.’ Florence died in 2008.
Trump’s insistence on remaining on stage to celebrate with Chelsea’s footballers after the Fifa Club World Cup triumph in New Jersey is likely to have met with disapproval from beanpole youngest son Barron. While Donald insisted on still hogging the spotlight after presenting the trophy, Trump junior is known to be a ‘huge fan’ of Chelsea’s London neighbour, Arsenal.
Donald Trump’s second state visit will take place when Parliament is in recess, as I exclusively revealed last month. That neatly avoids a kerfuffle about whether he should be allowed to address MPs and peers. A mole whispers a private tour of the Palace of Westminster has been proposed, as well as a carriage ride. A trot through the streets has been ruled out in favour of a canter up the Long Walk to Windsor Castle to keep crowds away. The Secret Service, wary of security from the Household Cavalry – armed with swords and a few axes – is likely to veto it.
Having finished filming Three Quick Breaths, where he plays an Irish football agent, Danny Dyer reveals his part was initially offered to Gary Oldman. ‘They told me he wanted £2million just to read it,’ Danny tells Radio Times. ‘But I was next in line, which I’m chuffed with. If you go to Gary Oldman and I’m next, it’s because I’m obviously cheaper. I’m happy to be a cheaper version of Gary.’
Father Ted’s Dougal McGuire, played by Ardal O’ Hanlon, recalls his early career as an Aer Lingus check-in clerk, where he allocated seats by ‘playing Cupid’: pretty women next to nice men. ‘Likewise, if you met an objectionable person, I would make sure they were in a middle seat beside a smelly passenger,’ admits Ardal.
