EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Kevin Spacey could make a dramatic return to the UK, says Old Vic impresario
Kevin Spacey was cleared of criminal charges this summer — but he remains ‘cancelled’ in his native America, according to one prominent U.S. columnist.
So could the double Oscar-winner choose London to stage a dramatic return rather than his homeland?
That’s certainly what his friend, Sally Greene, thinks. She’s the impresario who appointed him as artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in the capital in 2004.
‘He’s all right,’ says Greene, who has spoken to Spacey since his case at Southwark Crown Court, which ended in July. ‘He’s got over it.’
Asked if he is going to return to this country, she tells me: ‘Yes, I think he should in a way. He loves it here.’
Speaking at the launch party for Dame Joan Collins’s memoir, Behind The Shoulder Pads, at Apollo’s Muse private members’ club in Mayfair, Greene adds: ‘I’m glad he got off. That’s all I can say.’
Kevin Spacey was cleared of criminal charges this summer and could make a dramatic return to the UK
The Usual Suspects and House Of Cards star, 64, explained away the sexual assault allegations by saying that he was just a ‘big flirt’ (an explanation accepted by the jury). He retains a flat in London.
The Old Vic investigated Spacey’s 11-year tenure after 20 unnamed people accused him of inappropriate behaviour. The theatre said it could not verify the allegations, but admitted that Spacey’s status could have prevented junior staff or young actors from speaking up.
It said it was ‘deeply dismayed’ by the allegations of a ‘range’ of inappropriate behaviour and was committed to creating a safe working environment.
Los Angeles Times columnist Mary McNamara suggested, shortly after the court case, that while Spacey has been cleared of criminal charges, he remains ‘cancelled’. She wrote: ‘It’s difficult to imagine him reviving his career, at least in the U.S., any time soon.’
Having been spotted canoodling with Lily James, The Affair star Dominic West is casting his flies in a different direction.
I hear the Eton-educated actor, 53, will appear in a film for the Atlantic Salmon Trust, whose patron is King Charles.
‘We were thrilled to be joined by actors Jim Murray [Prince Andrew in the last two series of The Crown] and Dominic West, who generously gave up their time and energy to help raise awareness of the salmon crisis and the work being undertaken by teams on the ground to halt and reverse it,’ a spokesman says.
Frankie Herbert — whose stepfather, the Duke of Norfolk, organised King Charles’s Coronation — really is a cut above.
The society model, 27, who strutted down the catwalk in the only fashion show ever attended by Queen Elizabeth II, has had her luscious locks shaved off for a good cause.
They will go to the Little Princess Trust, which makes wigs for young people facing hair loss after cancer.
The Earl of Carnarvon’s niece says: ‘I love that my hair will contribute to young people feeling amazing.
‘Everyone should do it.’
Frankie Herbert has had her luscious locks shaved off for the Little Princess Trust
Pop star Emeli Sande dropped an old stage name because it sounded too much like a river. Her real name is Adele, but the singer, 36, switched to Rio Sande before settling on her middle name, Emeli.
‘I was at Glasgow University doing live shows and Adele had won a Brit award,’ Sande says. ‘I went with Rio Sande for a week or two until my mum said it was too much like Rio Grande.’
Sharma’s still a real high-flyer
Sir Alok Sharma, who challenged Rishi Sunak over his scaling down of the green agenda, is more than happy to keep flying round the world.
I can disclose that the former Cabinet minister, who chaired the COP26 UN summit in Glasgow, has jetted off to the U.S., Africa and Australia in the past month alone.
‘Virtual work meetings are no substitute for face-to-face interaction,’ he tells me.
‘Many of my international meetings are conducted virtually but this is not always possible when participating in international conferences.’
Sir Alok Sharma has jetted off to the U.S., Africa and Australia in the past month alone
Comic Peter Kay was obsessed as a child with how ITV regions differed from Granada.
‘I’d spend ages comparing TV guides’ schedules, grumbling, ‘Why is Anglia showing Grizzly Adams on Saturday when we’ve got to make do with Gambit with Fred Dinenage?’ ‘
Let’s hope he never has to face the Culture Select Committee — its chair, Caroline Dinenage, is Fred’s daughter.
Strictly Layton’s side hustle: teaching children to dance
Strictly Come Dancing star Layton Williams impressed on Saturday with his slick moves with his professional partner, Nikita Kuzmin, 25, but who’s teaching whom?
I ask because not only was actor Williams, 29, a professional dancer, playing Billy Elliot in the West End aged 12, but he’s also a professional dance teacher.
The Bad Education star runs a performing arts business alongside his regular acting work. Pros From The Shows is an organisation that sees Williams and other professionals tour schools and colleges to pass on their dancing, singing and acting expertise.
No doubt Strictly pro Kuzmin will be hoping Williams doesn’t get too big for his sparkly boots.
Strictly Come Dancing star Layton Williams (right), 29, impressed on Saturday with his slick moves with his professional partner, Nikita Kuzmin (left), 25
He is heir to the most fabled rock ‘n’ roll estate in aristocratic history — where the Rolling Stones and Oasis have performed.
So, when Edward Lytton Cobbold wed German doctor Helena Meyer-Johann at Knebworth in Hertfordshire at the weekend, there was a musical theme.
Lord Cobbold’s son, 31, named tables at the reception after stars who have played there — including Sir Paul McCartney — and even sang Can’t Take My Eyes Off You to guests.
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