At 87, she is one of our most celebrated actresses, but Susan Hampshire has proved that no one is safe from the epidemic of violent crime afflicting London.
Hampshire, who starred in 1960s BBC classic drama The Forsyte Saga and Monarch Of The Glen, has revealed that she was robbed on the Tube.
‘I was mugged on the Underground the other day,’ she disclosed at a Talking Pictures event in the capital, before adding: ‘I wish I’d put my money in my bra because I lost my phone and my purse.’
The actress, who has won three Emmy Awards during her distinguished career, did not give any more details of the robbery, but her disclosure comes amid a spate of muggings on the London Underground.
Last month, it was reported that violent crimes on the Tube had been increasing steadily since Labour’s Sadiq Khan became London Mayor in 2016, with 2023 being the worst year ever on record.
The spiralling figures showed that the number of crimes reported on the Tube between January and December 2023 hit a record 22,562.
This was up a huge 52 per cent from the same period in 2022.
Hampshire has had a tumultuous time in the past decade, caring for her second husband, Sir Eddie Kulukundis, during his 14-year battle with Alzheimer’s until his death in 2021.
Susan Hampshire (pictured) has won three Emmys and starred in 1960s BBC classic drama The Forsyte Saga and Monarch Of The Glen
She had been married to the theatre impresario and philanthropist for 40 years.
The actress has one son, film producer Christopher Granier-Deferre, from her first marriage, to French director Pierre Granier-Deferre.
She seems to be taking widowhood in her stride: ‘My ideal day would be, probably on my own. A bit of gardening, a bit of cooking, I don’t mind painting a wall, I love doing jobs.’
Now Kate and Bobby’s children are in tune
Kate Moss has been a close friend of Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie since the 1990s, even singing on one of the band’s records. And it would appear their children are in harmony, too.
Lila Moss, 22, and Lux Gillespie, 21, who are both signed to Kate’s modelling agency, posed together at a London Fashion Week dinner at The House of KOKO in the capital.
Lux Gillespie (left) and Lila Moss (right) pictured at the Aaron Esh dinner during London Fashion Week
Bobby, 62, who is married to fashion stylist Katy England, is a godfather of Lila. He let Kate show off her singing abilities when she duetted with him on Primal Scream’s 2002 single, Some Velvet Morning.
‘She was kind of like a female Keith Richards at that point, with a reckless lifestyle,’ he has said of the collaboration. ‘But when she sang Some Velvet Morning, it was a more innocent, gentle, psychedelic personality that she had to assume. I liked the corruption of that decadence.’
A Rey of sunshine for Daisy’s bank balance
She hasn’t appeared in a Star Wars film since 2019, but The Force is clearly still with Daisy Ridley.
I can disclose that the 32-year-old actress has accumulated profits of almost £14 million at the business through which she channels her earnings.
Daisy Ridley (pictured) at the Fashion Awards in December 2024, at the Royal Albert Hall
She set up Fawks Ltd in 2015, the year she first played Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and last May reported a £730,000 profit for the year.
There is no salary disclosed for Daisy, who used to pull pints before getting her big acting break.
She grew up in London’s Maida Vale with her photographer father, Christopher Ridley, and banker mother, Louise Fawkner-Corbett.
Shame Meghan wasn’t given a chance, says Trevor
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose money-making above duty, but Sir Trevor McDonald thinks they should be encouraged to return to the royal fold.
‘It’s a great shame Prince Harry is no longer part of the working monarchy,’ the former ITV newsreader says.
‘We cannot afford to lose someone so young, so full of energy and so imbued with the charitable instincts that are at the core of our Royal Family.’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured) at a polo fundraiser event in Lagos, Nigeria
Sir Trevor, 85, tells Saga magazine: ‘Having met him three or four times over the years, I found him unfailingly friendly, honest and genuine. I was struck by the similarity to his mother, the late Princess Diana.’
He claims that Meghan ‘never stood a chance – she is a foreigner: an American, a divorcee, a former actress – and black.’
Sir Trevor claims: ‘Meghan could have brought a new dimension to the monarchy… She was never given a chance to prove herself.’
Cynthia the choir rebel
Now cast as the Son of God in a forthcoming stage production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar, Wicked actress Cynthia Erivo fell out with her Catholic church choir while growing up in south London.
Raised a Roman Catholic by her Nigerian mother, Erivo explained: ‘I remember they asked if I could join the choir, and so I did.
Cynthia Erivo (pictured) dressed in a silver number at the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
‘And then, somehow, I managed to end up being one of the conductors of the choir. And I would just sneak gospel songs in from time to time.’
The star, who will play Jesus at the Hollywood Bowl this summer, added: ‘Consequently, I got into trouble for it. And they were, like, “You can’t sing those songs in here any more.” ’
Bond girl loved getting steamy with Sir Sean
While dispirited by news that Amazon has taken creative control of the 007 franchise, two-time Bond girl Valerie Leon has particularly fond memories of her steamy scene with Sir Sean Connery.
Cast with the Scot in 1983’s Never Say Never Again, having also previously appeared with Sir Roger Moore in 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me, Valerie enthuses of Connery.
Sir Sean Connery and Valerie Leon (pictured) cozy in bed in Never Say Never Again
‘We had a wonderful time in bed and he did have a wonderfully hairy chest.’ She adds cheekily.
‘However, in the afternoon, when his wife, Micheline, came to watch the filming, he couldn’t get out of bed quick enough.’
A regal wife swap
Children’s television presenter Johnny Ball publishes the first volume of his memoirs next month, but he appears to have kept the most scandalous story for a second book.
It includes the tale of ‘the senior royal who suggested wife swapping’, he says.
Johnny Ball (pictured) has been a television presenter since the sixties, he is the father of broadcaster Zoe Ball
‘That story, you’ll have to wait for. But it’s a cracker.’
Johnny, 86, who helped popularise mathematics through programmes including Think Of A Number, is the father of broadcaster Zoe Ball.
