The bombshell biography Love, Freddie – which revealed that the Queen superstar had a secret love child – shocked fans last year.
Freddie Mercurys Love Child Photos Solve Mystery
The bombshell Freddie Mercury biography Love, Freddie – which revealed that the Queen superstar had a secret love child – shocked fans last year.Freddie's daugh...
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Freddie's daughter, known only as 'B', died in January after a battle against chordoma, a rare spinal .
Her widower Thomas, who lives in Switzerland, now plans to publish a trove of pictures of B with Mercury; plus documentation and pages from the star's diaries. 'Paternity will be clearly established,' he told me.
The book, which Thomas has been working on since January, will – he says – remove all possible doubt over the truth of the story. He told me: 'The photo album will be published in the fall of 2027. Each photo chosen for inclusion has been analysed, authenticated and certified by three court–appointed experts.
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The same goes for 'documents written by her father, his cards and notes to his daughter, bank statements, and, of course, the notebooks'.
'Everything has been done to ensure that there can be no dispute regarding the authenticity,' he said, adding that he'd 'begun the long and moving task of adding captions to each photo'. He says it 'will be a testament to the relationship between a father and his daughter'.
Love, Freddie, by renowned rock author Lesley–Ann Jones, was based on B's recollections, but also on 17 handwritten diaries kept by Mercury. Jones did not directly quote or reproduce the diaries, which might have led to legal action from the Mercury estate (or from the so–called 'Queen machine').
But B's widower told me: 'Some facsimiles of the notebooks will indeed be published [in the album]. To avoid any attempt at intimidation, the publisher's choice will only be revealed at the last moment.'
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Freddie Mercury at Live Aid in 1985. The Queen frontman's biography shocked fans when it revealed that he had a secret love child
People close to Mercury have dismissed the story – including his one–time fiancee Mary Austin (pictured with Mercury in 1977), who was bequeathed much of his estate
All proceeds will go to paediatric oncology units, as was his wife's wish.
Thomas confirmed B's death to the Mail in January. Known privately as Bibi, she was referred to by the Queen star as his 'trésor' (French for treasure) and also his 'little froggie'.
Jones's book tells the story that Mercury fathered her in a liaison with a married friend in 1976. Bibi grew up aware Mercury was her biological father and they maintained a close relationship until his death in 1991.
Yet people close to Mercury have dismissed the story – including his one–time fiancee Mary Austin, who was bequeathed much of his estate, and actress Anita Dobson, who is married to Queen guitarist Brian May. Both said they were unaware of such a child's existence.
Jones countered that many in Mercury's circle, including his family, knew about B. She added: 'To those insisting Freddie Mercury's diaries were faked with AI, that his daughter 'doesn't exist' and that I've made the whole thing up: wait and see.'
She's my wife and I hate her
Actor Alfred Molina (pictured) is currently starring in the fun Netflix drama series The Boroughs, which is a sort of Stranger Things, set in a retirement community
Molina and American actress Jane Kaczmarek have played husband and wife six times – most recently in The Boroughs
Alfred Molina has a reputation for not saying much in interviews, and it turns out that might be a good thing.
The British actor, who rose to fame in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears with Gary Oldman, is currently starring in the fun Netflix drama series The Boroughs, which is a sort of Stranger Things, set in a retirement community.
In the show, Molina plays engineer Sam Cooper, who was married to Lilly, played by Jane Kaczmarek.
Lilly dies in the show's opening scenes leaving Sam on his lonesome in the picture–perfect – too perfect – town for oldsters.
It turns out that the pair have played husband and wife five times previously.
Remarking on the coincidence, Molina said: 'Twice on stage, twice for the radio and now on The Boroughs. And I still can't stand her.'
Will Glenn Close follow in Dame Judi Dench's footsteps? Her long cameo in La Bola Negra, which stars Penelope Cruz, was one of the talking points in Cannes... and with the film now picked up by Netflix, an Oscars campaign cannot be far away.
Dame Judi famously won best supporting actress for Shakespeare In Love, even though she was only on screen for eight minutes.
From psycho nanny to killer governess for Maika
Maika Monroe is no stranger to horror films, after starring as a psycho nanny in The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, as well as appearing in It Follows and Longlegs.
But her role in Victorian Psycho was something else.
Monroe who was at the Cannes Film Festival for the whole two weeks with boyfriend Dalton Gomez (Ariana Grande's handsome ex), described the film as 'demented'. Presumably in a good way.
Maika Monroe at the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival
It's not travelled far from its source material: a gonzo novella which I read on the short plane journey to France. Not all the critics loved the movie, but Monroe, who plays a serial killer governess who loses her mind (and that isn't a spoiler), said: 'I knew that it would be the hardest role – and so incredibly different from anything I've ever done.'
Victorian Psycho's top cast also includes Jason Isaacs, Ruth Wilson, Thomasin McKenzie and Wednesday's Evie Templeton.
After Wireless fiasco, Kanye plans Apology Tour to Israel
Kanye West's hopes of playing in London this summer were nixed by visa issues due to his history of anti–Semitism.
But I can reveal that the American rapper has an audacious plan to put things right. One that involves a visit to... Israel.
Those close to the volatile star say that he's asking aides to set up a high–profile, week–long tour of the country, including meetings with political and religious leaders.
If they are able to pull it off, that will give Ye, as he now likes to be called, a chance to apologise for his many outrage–causing stunts. Those include releasing a song called Heil Hitler, and selling T–shirts featuring a swastika.
Kanye West after his attempt to headline Wireless were scuppered is now hoping to perform in Israel
He would then aim to rebook a tour of Europe for the summer of 2027.
West's bid to headline the Wireless Festival in London ran into trouble almost as soon as the news broke. Amid protests, the Government cancelled his ETA travel permit – and the whole festival was cancelled, too; leading to a loss of around $30million, according to sources.
West would have been paid $15million to top the bill on all three nights.
As the storm over Wireless raged, Ye said in a statement that he would be 'grateful' to have a chance to meet members of the Jewish community in the UK.
In a statement, the artist – who has won 24 Grammy Awards in his career – said he had been 'following the conversation around Wireless', and offered to meet local Jewish leaders in person 'to listen'.
'I know words aren't enough,' added the controversial star. 'I'll have to show change through my actions. If you're open, I'm here.'
To that end, he had been considering a European 'apology tour': meeting with Jewish groups on the continent.
But then came the idea that he should go to Israel instead.
While we wait to see if that happens, I understand that Ye is continuing efforts to book two dates in Moscow, despite Russia being sanctioned.
The 1970s saw auteurs Coppola, Lucas and Spielberg rewrite Hollywood history. Now a new crop of directors hope to do the same thing – and they all have a background on YouTube or social media.
Curry Barker, 26, shot to fame with comedy duo That's A Bad Idea, and just wrote and directed a horror film, Obsession, which performed the unheard feat of increasing its box office takings on its second weekend (Gen Z love it).
Meanwhile, Kane Parsons, 20 – known on YouTube as Kane Pixels – has directed Backrooms, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, which is out this weekend and attracting rave reviews.
Jordan Firstman, the toast of Cannes who sold his movie Club Kid for $17million to Neon, started out posting comedy videos to Instagram during the pandemic.
Another YouTuber, Markiplier (Mark Edward Fischbach), had a hit with horror movie Iron Lung earlier this year. He said: 'Once it becomes normalised, then it can become boring, and it's like: 'Of course a YouTuber can do this.' '
The Thick Of It legend Armando Iannucci is writing the next Paddington film.
Wouldn't you just kill for the marmalade–loving bear to go full Malcolm Tucker and say: 'I've got a to–do list here that's longer than a f***ing Leonard Cohen song!'
Pictured: Paddington Bear (left) and Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker in Armando Iannucci's The Thick Of It (right). Iannucci is writing the next Paddington film
Cosy crime thriller Murder Most Puzzling, in which Downton Abbey's Phyllis Logan played puzzle setter turned sleuth Cora Felton, has breathed its last.
Says Phyllis: 'I would love it to come back, but I've heard nothing about a recommission almost a year on from when the first series was shown, so I suspect it won't be returning.
'If it has gone then maybe it's because there are so many of these types of cosy crime dramas on television and people have had enough of them?'
Current 'cosy crime' on TV includes Death Valley, Ludwig, Grantchester and Midsomer Murders – plus the film version of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club on Netflix.
A spokesperson for Channel 5 confirms: 'We have no imminent plans for any more.'
He ain't heavy – he's my buddy
Martin Clunes says that one of his favourite co–stars was... his dog on Doc Martin.
Buddy, real name Dodger, gave him 'honestly, one of the happiest working relationships I've had with anyone', Clunes said.
The rough–coated Jack Russell terrier was taught his moves by professional dog trainer Sonia Turner.
Martin Clunes says that one of his favourite co–stars was... his dog on Doc Martin (both pictured)
'He was just brilliant,' Clunes said. 'We just wanted him to be a dog, not do tricks. But he could do so much more.
'The best trick, which we did use a few times, is she [Turner] would say: 'Take a hike!' and he'd cock his leg.
'He wouldn't wee, but we'd add the sound later.' The series, about a grumpy GP in Cornwall, delighted audiences until 2022.
Dodger was replaced in the final series, as he was too old to perform, and died the following year.
Incidentally, Turner also trains Paddy, the dog who appears as Sykes in Midsomer Murders.
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