Phil Tufnell, the enfant terrible of English cricket, has been left stumped by planners after they ruled a third extension to his Surrey home was too close to the boundary with his neighbours.
The former spin king, 57, who has already been given permission for a first-floor extension to the four-bedroom home he shares with his wife Dawn, 55, in leafy Tadworth, Surrey, pitched proposals for a bigger kitchen plus en-suite bedroom and dressing room.
But local council officials declared the rear extension failed their test – despite no objections from neighbours. They said his plans exceeded the 6ft limit between the boundary and the 9ft maximum height. The former I’m A Celebrity winner paid £620,000 for the house in 2004, and it is now estimated to be worth some £1.2 million.
However, the setback is unlikely to deter Tuffers from going into bat again. He plans a long innings at Tadworth. ‘My wife is from the area and I just followed her,’ he explained some years after his move. ‘It’s rural without being too remote and I love it here. We’re close to major places such as Sutton and Kingston and it is good for Heathrow and Gatwick.
Phil Tufnell, the enfant terrible of English cricket, has been left stumped by planners after they ruled a third extension to his Surrey home was too close to the boundary with his neighbours
Phil Tufnell and wife Dawn have lived in their home in Tadworth, Surrey, since 2004. They paid £620,000 for the house and it is now estimated to be worth some £1.2 million
‘Our house needed renovating and slowly, through the years, we’ve done it up.
‘I love a comfortable, airy place and we have big rooms that merge into one another. If you are sitting in one, you don’t feel isolated from all the others, so it is easy to mingle.
‘We’re always entertaining friends. The garden is about 150ft long and backs on to farmland. It’s ideal to eat out in when the weather is good.’
Tuffers retired from professional cricket in 2003 and became a popular personality on the TV quiz show A Question Of Sport, until he was axed in 2020. He’s a much-loved member of his local community, being a regular at Tadworth Cricket Club, and is also an ambassador for the Children’s Trust which supports youngsters with brain injuries.
One of his favourite Tadworth watering holes is The Grumpy Mole, an appropriate spot to plot his return match against his council. A representative for Phil Tufnell was unavailable for comment.
Lady Victoria Hervey fled California for Blighty last year, after her support for Prince Andrew and her campaign to prove the innocence of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell left her fearing for her safety.
Yet, the Marquess of Bristol’s sister, 47, has taken up another cause that may prove unpopular – as she says there is a ‘witch hunt’ against U.S. rapper Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs amid his sex trafficking allegations.
Lady Victoria Hervey. She says there is a ‘witch hunt’ against U.S. rapper Sean ‘P Diddy ‘ Combs amid his sex trafficking allegations
She tells me: ‘He has many enemies because he’s been so successful.’ The socialite, pictured with Combs, 54, adds: ‘I can’t stand how Sean Combs is the new fall guy. Where are all his friends defending him? Just like with Ghislaine, they are silent.’
Rachel: Strictly gave me PTSD!
Countdown presenter Rachel Riley is calling for all Strictly Come Dancing contestants to receive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) after she was left with ‘mild PTSD’ following her stint on the show in 2013.
‘I know from my time on it, 11 years ago, even the most sane, solid, grounded people, it can do something to you,’ she tells me at the Inspiration Awards For Women at The Landmark Hotel in London.
Rachel Riley attends the Inspiration Awards For Women 2024. Ms Riley is calling for all Strictly Come Dancing contestants to receive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) after she was left with ‘mild PTSD’ following her stint on the show in 2013
‘And there’s so many people that I’ve seen in subsequent years that have that shared experience. I don’t think even production are aware of quite what it does to people.’
Riley, 38, who is married to ex-Strictly dancer Pasha Kovalev, adds: ‘When I was doing it, I was recommended CBT, and I think that’s actually been really great.’ A BBC spokesman says: ‘Planning around care for those taking part in and competing in our programmes is always a core part of our production process.’
Fashion designer Sir Paul Smith isn’t looking for off-the-peg candidates when hunting out staff — but good old-fashioned manners.
Smith, 77, who has clad the likes of David Bowie and Daniel Day-Lewis, tells the High Performance podcast that he expects: ‘Please and thank you, opening doors. If there’s rubbish on the floor you pick it up. You learn to listen, you remember birthdays if you can.’
Time is on Jagger lad’s side
Surely, Sir Mick Jagger will be getting satisfaction from the fact that his seven-year-old son, Deveraux, is shaping up to follow in his musical footsteps.
In a picture shared online, by Deveraux’s mother, the American former ballerina, Melanie Hamrick, he can be seen practising strumming on an instrument in what she confirms was his ‘first guitar lesson’. With his big grin, tousled hair and trademark lips, Deveraux is already the spitting image of the Rolling Stones frontman, who will be turning 81 in July. Deveraux is one of Jagger’s eight children by five different women.
Sir Mick Jagger with his is seven-year-old son Deveraux. In a picture shared online, by Deveraux’s mother, the American former ballerina, Melanie Hamrick, he can be seen practising strumming on an instrument in what she confirms was his ‘first guitar lesson’
The eldest, Jade, is 45 years older than Deveraux and already a grandmother, which makes him a great-uncle.
Doggy Easter eggs? Barking, growls Middleton
The Princess of Wales’s entrepreneurial brother James Middleton has voiced his concerns over edible Easter eggs for man’s best friend.
Middleton, 36, who has a new dog food company, James & Ella, reveals on a recent visit to a pet shop he encountered an Easter egg labelled ‘dog-safe chocolate’.
He elaborates: ‘I asked the person, ‘I thought chocolate was poisonous for dogs’ – they said: ‘This is a chocolate that’s safe for the dog.’ Out of curiosity, I bought it for £6.’
The Princess of Wales’s entrepreneurial brother James Middleton (pictured) has voiced his concerns over edible Easter eggs. He reveals on a recent visit to a pet shop he encountered an Easter egg labelled ‘dog-safe chocolate’
The treat, which is not technically a chocolate product, contained ‘oils and fats, milk and milk derivatives, and 27 per cent sugar’, says James. He growls: ‘Where is the line with the humanisation of dogs?
‘Fats and oils are not going to make them happy… A real raw egg will make them happy.’
Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes has shrugged off the furore over Nike’s controversial new England football kit design – which has seen the traditional red and white St George’s Cross replaced by a multicoloured logo.
Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes has shrugged off the furore over Nike’s controversial new England football kit design
‘Everyone does it differently,’ she tells me at a London party. ‘For some sports, it is Three Lions, and it’s one red lion in the Commonwealth Games. So it’s a mix and match.’
