I have dinner tonight with Chris and his close friend, former Formula 1 racing
driver, David Coulthard.
We eat at Cipriani in London, which is heaving with famous faces. Cilla Black
is there with ex-Emmerdale actress Lorraine Chase, both looking fabulous and
quaffing bubbly like it’s going out of fashion!
I bump into Cilla every now and then, and I still can’t believe I’ve gone from
appearing on Blind Date when I was a 19-year-old drama student (and being in
complete awe of her), to knowing her well enough to pop over to her table to
say hello.
While Chris and David enjoy some boy talk, I can’t resist trying on Cilla’s
amazing Casadei shoes, with a Swarovski crystal-encrusted heel. I almost do
a runner with them!
I also bump into Jason Gardiner from Dancing On Ice and Nancy Dell’Olio, who
are having dinner together and squealing with laughter. They’re both loving
BGT this year and ask me for tickets to one of the live shows in June.
It’s great to catch up with David. He’s totally besotted with his son Dayton,
who’s nearly 18 months old. We get papped when we leave the restaurant.
Chris is so camera-shy he legs it to the car, leaving David and me to face
the cameras.
I almost do a runner in Cilla’s shoes]]>
I was surprised to receive a letter from Jonathan Ross today. Over the years,
we haven’t exactly seen eye to eye. I can take a joke and am the butt of at
least three every week on BGT! But Wossy has taken the you-know-what out of
me more than most.
He wrote that he was drawing up his wish list of who he wanted on his final
show, and I was on it.
I’m delighted to be asked, although I might wait until he leaves the BBC – I
think I might prefer to be the first on a clean, unsoiled couch for a new
show than the last person on his crusty old one!
Chris whisks me away to the Cotswolds for the bank-holiday weekend. It’s a
grown-ups-only trip, so Lexi isn’t with us. It’s lovely to have time as a
couple, but it is weird when “the bundle” isn’t around.
We’re staying at a hotel near Cirencester, and we relax to the max playing
Scrabble (with naughty words!) and having afternoon tea. I even have a
massage and facial in the hotel spa, which is heavenly.
We take a trip to the village of Burford and en route I spot a sign for a
trout farm. After all the ridiculous headlines about my lips recently, I
can’t resist posing for a cheeky pic!
I’m very excited to read that my friend Christine Bleakley is rumoured to be
taking over from Tess Daly on Strictly Come Dancing.
I’ve not spoken to her about it, but the BBC should do everything they can to
hold on to Christine – she’d be perfect for Strictly. She’s a natural host
and because she’s competed on the show herself, she knows what the
contestants are going through. Plus, maybe she’d be able to get me some
front-row seats!
PHOTOGRAPHY: XPOSURE
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