Londoner's Diary: Joan Collins' backing Donald Trump’s ‘brave’ festive message

Christmas cheer: Joan Collins
John Phillips / Getty
8 December 2015

Donald Trump’s outrageous call for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” could never have come at a right time. But it probably couldn’t have come at a worse one for Joan Collins, who had just penned a piece for the Spectator, to be published this week, supporting some of the Republican candidate wannabee’s views on religion.

Writing in the Diary column, Collins, who is an admirer of Margaret Thatcher and had a flirtation with Ukip in 2004, bemoans the loss of religion from Christmas celebrations since her childhood. She explains: “I’m not a religious person, nor am I an atheist. I’m more of an agnostic, really. But I was raised with Christian values by a Church of England mother.” She regrets that “there was a magical aura we seem to have lost”.

She then lists evidence of the way “the religious significance of Christmas is downplayed and the consumer side is emphasised”.

What is all this leading up to? It becomes clear in the final paragraph: a ringing endorsement of the man American TV host Jon Stewart calls F***face von Clownstick.

“Donald Trump, the Republican presidential aspirant and front-runner (yes, he is!) has been vociferous in his disdain for the new secular joylessness of Christmas,” writes Collins, referring to Trump’s scorn for Starbucks’s non-festive red cups. She concludes that he is “vocalising what millions of people want and believe” after he “announced bravely that once he becomes President ‘We’re all going to be saying Merry Christmas again’.”

Brave? Not the first B-word that springs to our mind when we hear the name Trump.

***

Alan Yentob may have resigned from his post as creative director at the BBC but the spectre of the position still lingers. Despite his departure last week, and a large online team at the corporation, Yentob is still listed as creative director on the Inside the BBC section of the website.

The profile was updated at the end of October, when he was under pressure for his involvement with Kids Company. He must have seen the writing on the wall.

Cameron is still haunted by car trouble

According to this month’s GQ magazine, Tory MP Jake Berry was almost hit by an oncoming car recently. Later that afternoon, he received a sincere apology from the passenger, David Cameron himself.

The story gave The Londoner a severe sense of déjà vu. It was only a few weeks ago that the Prime Minister’s driver had a small fender bender on Downing Street while behind the wheel of the state-funded £200,000 Jaguar — Cameron wasn’t in the car at the time. And back in 2011, his then-driver scratched the bumper of his car while visiting a Lidl in Salford that had been looted by rioters.

Earlier this year Cameron said he missed driving his own Honda CRV as being PM made getting behind the wheel a security risk.

Firths hooked on those red-carpet nights

To Paris last night, where Livia Firth’s sustainable fashion company Eco-Age launched the first Global Leaders of Change Award with the help of her actor husband Colin and Ana Girardot, star of The Returned.

Held at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, the launch gave Colin a chance to play the supportive husband after Livia spent years as the doting wife at Hollywood parties. “When Colin received a Golden Globes nomination for Tom Ford’s movie, A Single Man,” she said earlier this year, “writer Lucy Siegle challenged me to walk the carpets of awards season wearing only sustainable/ethical fashion. It was so successful and we had so much fun. “It also gave me a great purpose to be on the carpets next to Colin, and I still get a kick every time I am on a red carpet wearing a powerful story.”

Who knew a dress could tell a thousand words?

***

This morning, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith was more than 15 minutes late to a press briefing on the rollout of the Universal Credit scheme in Whitehall. Does this mean he may have to temporarily leave the Cabinet without pay? After all, DWP guidelines established under his rule mean that benefits claimants arriving as late as that to appointments may not be seen, thus getting their benefits cut.

The stage won't see Marion in Macbeth

After Nicole Kidman returned to the West End stage in Photograph 51, another Oscar-winner is considering taking the challenge. Marion Cotillard, right, tipped for awards for her performance as Lady Macbeth on screen, is keen to tread the boards here — but won’t be returning to the tragedy.

Marion Cotillard
Tristan Fewings / Getty

“I would love to perform in London,” she told The Londoner at the Moët British Independent Film Awards. “But I would never go back to Lady Macbeth. When I was filming I thought, ‘maybe I should do this onstage’ and then I thought, ‘no, it’s too painful’.”

That said, she doesn’t mind a more fun villain. “I would love to be the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz,” she smiled. Has no one told her it’s not that easy being green?

Dimblebys digging deep

Christmas beckons, so it’s over to St Mary Magdalen Church in Bermondsey for a carol concert in aid of Dimbleby Cancer Care. The trio of Dimbleby brothers were present, as well as Vanessa Feltz. “Everyone always asked who is the older one, which is extremely frustrating if you’re the younger one!” said Jonathan, right, the middle brother. Meanwhile, younger sibling Nicholas, “an impoverished sculptor” (David’s words, not ours), picked up the raffle prize of a hamper from nearby Borough Market.

Jonathan started his career on this very section of this very newspaper. “I remember interviewing a famous poet and being so tongue-tied with awe that I couldn’t ask any serious questions. When I came back with my story the diary editor said, ‘Hmmm. Perhaps in tomorrow’s edition.’ Which was one way of saying not at all.”

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