Outgoing BBC director-general Tim Davie will not receive an honour accorded to many of his predecessors.
I can disclose that there will be no oil painting commissioned of him following his controversial departure.
The portrait would have been likely to have cost £15,000 and hung with the others at Broadcasting House in central London. A spokesman for the corporation confirms: ‘There are no plans.’
The paintings were a tradition for eight decades begun by the BBC’s first boss, Lord Reith, in the 1930s. Greg Dyke, who was in charge for four years until 2004, was the last director-general to have a portrait.
Unlike his predecessors, outgoing director-general Tim Davie won’t be receiving an oil painting of himself
His successor, Mark Thompson, allegedly turned down the offer in 2012. George Entwistle, who left that year after 54 days, was not considered.
Davie’s predecessor Lord (Tony) Hall did not receive one after his watch saw the smearing of Sir Cliff Richard, executive pay hikes plus rows about over-75s’ licence fees and the EastEnders set.
There was further controversy when Lord Hall was lambasted for a lacklustre probe into the 1995 Panorama interview with Princess Diana and how Martin Bashir tricked her.
Former marketing man Davie, 58, has been forced to quit his £540,000-a-year job over the outcry surrounding the editing of a Donald Trump clip for Panorama.
It was just the latest scandal during his five years at the helm which included accusations of bias and the controversies over Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance, Gary Lineker’s social media posts and the Gaza documentary scandal.
Why Buckingham Palace is going green – literally
Buckingham Palace is going green. I can disclose that the railings and other metalwork, which were black throughout Queen Elizabeth’s reign, are to be painted ‘bronze green’ to return them to their original colour scheme.
‘The existing metalwork, currently painted black, will be carefully restored and redecorated in bronze green,’ says a statement filed with Westminster City Council.
It says bronze green ‘has been confirmed as the most appropriate’ by historic paint specialist Patrick Baty, ‘following on-site trials’. The same colour will be used at Clarence House, where the King and Queen are expected to continue living after the £369 million, taxpayer-funded palace revamp is completed.
Hello you two! It’s Bono’s girls
They might have been attending the GQ Men of the Year Awards, but Bono’s daughters appeared to be competing for ‘sisters of the year’ as they stuck together all evening.
The U2 singer’s younger daughter, Eve Hewson, 34, a successful actress, wore an opulent faux-fur coat over a champagne-coloured midi dress to the prize ceremony in London. She stars in the forthcoming George Clooney film Jay Kelly. Her sister, Jordan Hewson, 36, a tech entrepreneur, put on a black corset gown with sheer panelling. The pair’s mother is Bono’s activist wife, Ali Hewson.
The festive season never ends for Caprice Bourret, the model who now makes Christmas films for a living. ‘I’m in pre-production for my next Christmas movie, which I’m shooting on January 23,’ she tells me at the premiere of A Scottish Christmas Secret at her home in west London. ‘I’m a Christmas junkie, I love it.’ California-born Caprice, 54, who used to appear in ‘reality’ television programmes such as Celebrity Big Brother and Ladies Of London, adds: ‘I have had my share of toxic TV and I am done with that. So I just want to do nice fluffy Christmas films.’
Cliff’s date with Priscilla
He began his career as Britain’s answer to his idol Elvis. Now, Sir Cliff Richard has been spending a ‘gorgeous’ intimate evening wining and dining The King’s ex-wife Priscilla Presley.
Sir Cliff, 85, is in New Zealand where he bumped into Priscilla, 80, and they decided to make a night of it. ‘What a gorgeous evening spent together,’ says the Peter Pan of pop. ‘I cherish those moments – they light up my life.’
Sir Cliff idolised Elvis, who died in 1977 aged 42, and even mimicked his trademark lip curl at the start of his career.
However, in the 1970s Sir Cliff turned down the chance to meet his hero as the American had become fat.
Princess Diana’s former private secretary believes Andy Webb’s book, Dianarama – serialised in the Daily Mail – has ‘changed the history’ of the BBC.
The book tells how Martin Bashir tricked Diana into her 1995 BBC Panorama interview. Jephson was visibly emotional as he appeared on a video link from his home in Washington DC at the launch party at BookBar in Chelsea. He was smeared by Bashir using forged bank statements. Jephson says: ‘If the BBC finally listened to me and to what’s in the book, things might improve.’
