When Mel Coleman – a vigorous 60-year-old, seemingly in impeccable health – died last year only weeks after being diagnosed with colon cancer, his wife, the tennis star-turned-television presenter Annabel Croft, was comforted by their only son, Charlie, 27.
‘Charlie said it was as if a hand had come down from the sky and plucked Mel out, leaving our family with a gaping hole that will never be filled,’ Annabel later recalled.
Now, Charlie has cheered his mother and two sisters by delivering some joyful news.
‘He’s got engaged,’ a friend tells me. ‘The family are delighted and really looking forward to the wedding. It’s given everyone a boost.’
Charlie, who works in finance, has clearly found a gem: he’s to marry a scion of a family of jewellers. ‘He won’t be short of options for sparklers,’ jokes the pal.
Delighted: Annabel Croft with her newly engaged son Charlie Coleman
His bride-to-be is Honour Wainwright, 28, whose father, Michael, is managing director of Boodles, the jewellers founded in Liverpool in the 19th century. Pictured: Honour Wainwright (left), Annie Wainwright (centre) and Michael Wainwright (right) in May
Mel Coleman and Annabel Croft attend the inaugural British Ballet Charity Gala in 2021
His bride-to-be is Honour Wainwright, 28, whose father, Michael, is managing director of Boodles, the jewellers founded in Liverpool in the 19th century.
He is the sixth generation of his family to run the company for which Earl Spencer’s twin daughters, Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia, work as models.
The Princess of Wales and her sister, Pippa Matthews, have attended the Boodles Boxing Ball where friends including Hugh van Cutsem have fought in charity fundraising bouts.
Exeter University graduate Honour works for Boodles as marketing manager, having previously been at magazine giant Conde Nast.
‘I’ve grown up in Boodles,’ she said in 2022. ‘It’s always been a part of my life and I’ve always known I want to work here ultimately.’
After the death of Mel, an America’s Cup and Admiral’s Cup yachtsman, Annabel, 58, signed up for Strictly, partnering Johannes Radebe, and left the show’s judges in tears as, after one dance, she blew a kiss heavenward to her late husband. She was denied a place in the final, to viewers’ fury.
Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe during an appearance on Strictly Come Dancing in November 2023
In June, I disclosed that Annabel had decided to part with the house that she and Mel, ‘a DIY fanatic’, built nearly 20 years ago.
‘I’m no longer crying every day,’ she said. ‘I’m now ready to sell.’
It was with their three young children in mind that the couple bought a dilapidated house in Surrey in 2001, intending to pull it down and build their own dream home.
The house had been let to students who’d left a tap on and flooded it. In the end, she and Mel built a beautifully proportioned neo-classical house. With six bedrooms, five bathrooms, conservatory and, of course, an all-weather tennis court, it’s likely to sell for more than £6million.
Annabel hopes to find somewhere smaller, close to what she calls her ‘tennis family’ at Wimbledon, where she commentated on this year’s championship.
She said of her beloved Mel: ‘[He’s] the last person I think of when I go to sleep and the first when I wake up.’
Who knew Stephen Fry’s underwear had so many fans?
He’s hardly pop star Harry Styles, but Stephen Fry claims fans demand his undies all the same.
‘I occasionally get asked some quite personal questions such as, ‘Would you send me your underwear?’,’ the 66-year-old declares.
‘I used to watch people on talk shows such as Parkinson and they used to talk about viewers asking their guests for their underwear.
‘I thought that was because they were a pop singer or actor, but now it seems even if you look like me there is someone in the world who wants my underwear.’
If you say so, Stephen…
Stephen Fry attends day nine of Wimbledon in July
King’s holiday tags hold-up
Forget removing Prince Andrew from Royal Lodge at Windsor, King Charles had enough problems getting his belongings into Balmoral at the weekend.
‘The Firm’ needs at least two lorries to transport their luggage for their two-month-long annual break on Deeside. But somebody forgot to tell staff that they were arriving on Saturday.
‘The driver tried the intercom and got no reply,’ a surprised onlooker tells me.
‘He made a phone call from his cab, went back to the intercom, still got no reply. As he walked away, a voice came over the intercom and he finally got let in.’
King Charles III inspects the Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, at the gates of Balmoral on Monday
The Kings furniture van arrives at Balmoral Castle on Saturday
There was no one at the gates to greet the driver and he had to use the intercom a couple of times before the gates were opened for him
Balmoral Castle is a Victorian Royal Scottish baronial mansion and estate house
Suchet swaps London Docklands for Dartmouth
ITN’s former newsreader John Suchet has a bulletin about his own life.
He has moved to Dartmouth in South Devon, where David Dimbleby also has a home.
‘Life is much more sociable there,’ says Suchet, 80, who previously lived in the Docklands area of east London.
‘There is always something going on, and it’s impossible to walk into the town without bumping into someone you know.’
ITN’s former newsreader John Suchet on Good Morning Britain on August 5
Grimmy grins and bears it as fiery Grace’s waiter’
The X Factor’s former judge Nick Grimshaw was mistaken for a waiter when he and Grace Jones were guests in a hospitality suite at Wimbledon.
‘Every time she wanted a drink she’d tap me and go, “Oh, could I get another Pimm’s?” and I’d be, like, “Well, I’ll get her one because she’s Grace Jones and she’s fab”,’ says the broadcaster, 40.
‘At one point she said, “Why don’t you get a few in a bag?” and I got pints of Pimm’s in a paper bag and brought it out.’
Sir Roger Moore was not a fan when the famously fiery singer appeared in the 1985 Bond film A View To A Kill.
‘I did all my own stunts,’ he recalled, ‘apart from the one of getting into bed with Grace Jones.’
Nick Grimshaw attends The BRIT Awards 2024 at The O2 Arena on March 2 in London
Grace Jones enjoys a strawberry during day two of the Wimbledon Championships on July 02
Team Suki turn out for her Swift gig
Suki Waterhouse was overcome with emotion after performing as a support act for Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium at the weekend.
‘My nervous system will never be the same,’ declares the singer and actress, who has a five-month-old daughter with The Batman star Robert Pattinson.
Londoner Suki, 32, wore a peach-coloured ruffled gown by Chloe for the show, which was watched by pals including fellow model Georgia May Jagger, actress Eiza Gonzalez, TV presenter Poppy Jamie, socialite Jack Guinness and singer Lilith Ai.
They wore white T-shirts emblazoned with the face of Suki, who stars in hit TV drama Daisy Jones & the Six.
Suki Waterhouse performs as the opening act for Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium on August 17
Celebrity fans: Eiza Gonzalez, Poppy Jamie, Jack Guinness, Georgia May and Lilith Ai
Suki Waterhouse and Taylor Swift pose for a photo
