Prince William famously called his wife-to-be ‘hot’ when he saw her in a daring sheer outfit at a student fashion show.
And when makers of The Crown recreated that pivotal moment for the screen, they had to take extra precautions in case they triggered a fire alarm, I can reveal.
It wasn’t the spark between William and Kate that had health and safety experts worried, but a haze machine – a device that creates a thin mist to make lighting effects look more dramatic.
Officials at the college where the scene was filmed for the Netflix drama feared the fog could trigger their smoke detectors.
When makers of The Crown recreated that pivotal moment for the screen, they had to take extra precautions in case they triggered a fire alarm
Kate Middleton pictured in 2011. When William first saw her, he said that she was ‘hot’
One even wanted the whole shoot shut down and, realising the college didn’t have the resources to do that, suggested declaring a ‘major incident’ and getting police involved.
All was resolved, however, when producers at Left Bank Pictures agreed to cover the relevant detector and instead provide extra fire marshals and extinguishers on site.
In one internal email, a member of staff at Royal Holloway in Egham, Surrey, said he was ‘no longer happy for them to continue filming and that we should inform them they should cease filming and not be permitted back on campus’.
He added: ‘I did not feel that the college has the physical capacity to stop them filming and as a result I am allowing it to continue, although they have been informed this is against the advice of H&S [health and safety].
‘I considered if this should be declared a major incident with a view to involving the police to stop them but on balance decided this would not be achievable.’
Other emails refer to the deal to stand in for St Andrews University as ‘very profitable’, but add that the crew had ‘been incredibly challenging and they have pushed very hard’.
William, played by Ed McVey in The Crown, already knew Kate (Meg Bellamy) at St Andrews but she wowed him at the 2002 catwalk show, where he told a friend: ‘Wow, Kate’s hot!’
Left Bank Pictures said it ‘carried out full risk assessments ahead of filming and our health and safety officer attended the site’.
Cillian goes nuts on a job
Cillian, 47, admits he barely spoke to fellow cast members during filming as he was trying to conserve his energy
If Cillian Murphy wins a Bafta tonight for his role as A-bomb scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, right, his co-stars might not be rushing to congratulate him.
Cillian, 47, admits he barely spoke to fellow cast members during filming as he was trying to conserve his energy.
That was crucial as Emily Blunt, who played his on-screen wife, revealed the ’emaciated’ star went to extreme lengths to lose weight for the role, surviving on just cigarettes and a handful of almonds each day.
Dua’s worked it out
Dua Lipa attends the 66th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles
It’s the high-intensity fitness brand that attracts everyone from David Beckham to Harry Styles, so it’s no surprise that commercially minded singer Dua Lipa has teamed up with Barry’s Bootcamp for a themed workout.
The sessions feature her new single, Training Season, which was played first exclusively at Barry’s London venues.
And the 28-year-old, left, has even created her own strawberry and mango-flavoured protein shake to enjoy after the workouts. Although at £8 a pop, the price is enough to make punters break out in a cold sweat…
Geri Horner has bigger things to worry about as her F1 boss husband Christian fights misconduct claims.
But the former Spice Girl also faces complaints from neighbours that a red phone box in the garden of the couple’s Northamptonshire mansion is out of place, and that a swimming pool is ruining their peace.
She promises she can detox your home, but wellness guru Marie Guerlain – a member of the French perfume dynasty – has property problems of her own.
Marie, 48, claims that she overpaid the taxman £225,000 in stamp duty after snapping up Durford Manor, near Petersfield, Hampshire, for £3.16 million in 2021.
She claims an exemption should have been made on 12 acres of woodland which were included in the price.
The two parties have reached an impasse so the case will now go to court.
All hail Jenna, the queen of style
The actress was spotted looking chic as she hailed a taxi after leaving the Nomad hotel in London’s Covent Garden last week
They say true love lasts a lifetime, and Jenna Coleman’s love of Chanel has certainly been unwavering.
The actress was spotted looking chic as she hailed a taxi after leaving the Nomad hotel in London’s Covent Garden last week, adorned in a £1,900 Giuliva mustard trench coat, with a vintage Chanel bag draped over her shoulders.
The Doctor Who star has waxed lyrical about her love of Chanel and vintage fashion, finding both in the £2,000 suede bag.
The 37-year-old has said she’s tired of keeping up with trends, describing her current style as ‘eclectic’.
She says she loves to style herself with a combination of masculine and feminine elements so ‘the two fight each other’.
Recently, the actress has been looking especially loved-up with boyfriend Jamie Childs, below with Jenna. The couple met in 2022 on the set for the Netflix series, Sandman, which Jamie was directing.
However, her current beau isn’t the first of Jenna’s work flings – she previously dated her co-star Tom Hughes after filming the period drama, Victoria.
Lottie’s fishy business…
Lottie Moss presents a creation by Irish designer Sinead O’Dwyer during a catwalk presentation
I’m all for Lottie Moss wanting to look her best at London Fashion Week – I’m just not sure about her method of achieving it.
The half-sister of supermodel Kate has had salmon facials, a treatment which involves injecting the DNA of the fish into the face to achieve a more youthful complexion.
The 26-year-old, who last week addressed the Oxford Union on the sacrifices women make for love, isn’t the only one trying avant garde efforts to look young – Friends actress Jennifer Aniston, 55, admitted last year that she too was a lover of the treatment.
Mum’s not the word!
Ben Fogle and Marina Fogle pictured at the Chelsea Flower Show
Motherhood is no picnic – just ask Marina Fogle, who has admitted that having children can put a ‘huge strain’ on a marriage.
The 45-year-old – who has children Ludo, 14, and Iona, 12, with TV adventurer husband Ben – said they ‘devour our attention’ and that a marriage desperately needs ‘a bit of alone time’.
The Parent Hood podcast host and her husband, 50, have previously kept their relationship relatively private during their 18 years of marriage.
But Marina recently shared details of a trip away from the kids – the pair, left, managed to steal a night at The Newt hotel in Somerset where they enjoyed long walks and the spa.
‘It was a bit like rediscovering why we first fell in love,’ she gushed.
Abigail Weinstock attends the press night performance of ‘Love And Other Acts Of Violence’
I love the fact that actress and comedian Abigail Weinstock has changed her Instagram bio to ‘friend and lesser-known flatmate to Ambika Mod’ with Abigail – a reference to the breakout star of Netflix’s One Day.
But far from being jealous, Abigail is using the experience to create some comedy content.
Still no end to the rift with Swift
Taylor Swift missed out on featuring on the cover of Vogue
Am I the only one wondering why the world’s biggest star, Taylor Swift, did not feature on Vogue editor Edward Enninful’s swansong cover dedicated to 40 legendary women?
But perhaps it was no bad thing as it would have brought Taylor, left, face to face with former best friend – model Karlie Kloss, 31.
The pair fell out in 2019 and Vogue has deleted a video of the pair taking a friendship test as part of their joint cover for the US edition in 2015.
