Howard Spooner's run of bad luck included receiving a lawyer's letter telling him that his second wife, Lucy Gilman, wanted a divorce just after he returned from his father's funeral. Now, however, Prince Harry's old friend has something to celebrate. I can disclose that Spooner, 56, has secured the right to use the word 'sexy'.
He opened a seafront restaurant called Sexy Lobster in Bournemouth last month with his new girlfriend, Olivia Brinkley, daughter of John and Jenny, who own a brace of eponymous London restaurants. However, he promptly got a letter with an objection from the company owned by Richard Caring, the so-called king of clubs, whose empire includes Sexy Fish in Mayfair.
The letter suggested that Caring alone could lay claim to the 'sexy' title. 'I've had a letter from the Trademark Office,' Spooner told me. 'Richard Caring's Group, Caprice Holdings, has filed an objection to me using the word 'sexy'.' I don't know how Mr Caring thinks he owns the word 'sexy' but I'm not going to back down. So there's going to be a bit of a fight. David v Goliath.'
When I contact Caring, he tells me that there has, however, been a misunderstanding. 'The objection should never have been made and has now been withdrawn,' he says. 'It was made without my knowledge. I am happy for Mr Spooner to call his Bournemouth restaurant Sexy Lobster and wish him well with the new venture.'
Spooner was once co-owner, with Guy Pelly, of Prince Harry's favourite Chelsea nightclub, Public. Howard Spooner, an old friend of Prince Harry, who last month opened a restaurant in Bournemouth called the Sexy Lobster. It's a magnanimous gesture by Caring, who paid the late Mark Birley £102million for Annabel's and the rest of Birley's clubs in 2007. He refused to allow Mark's son Robin to use the Birley name when Robin created a rival Mayfair private members' club, 5, Hertford Street, in 2012. Caring proved similarly unyielding when Jeremy King sought to use the name 'Le Caprice' when reviving a restaurant on the site of what had been Princess Diana's favourite – which Caring had also acquired but then closed.
Call The Midwife meets The Good Life
She waltzed on Strictly Come Dancing more than a decade ago, and Call The Midwife star Helen George had to rely on 'muscle memory' as she prepared to dance again in her forthcoming role as Tracy Lord in a production of Cole Porter's High Society at London's Barbican Theatre. The Good Life actress Felicity Kendal and Call The Midwife star Helen George at Jerwood Space rehearsal studios for a photocall for the musical. 'I haven't really done much [dancing] since Strictly,' says Helen, 41, at Jerwood Space rehearsal studios, 'so it's a shock to the system.' She was joined by The Good Life's Felicity Kendal, 79, who plays Tracy's mother.
Shrinking attention spans
Shrinking attention spans of tech-obsessed youngsters are a growing concern for many, but celebrated children's author Michael Rosen, who has toured schools for decades, is more optimistic. 'I hear teachers saying children have changed,' says the former Children's Laureate. 'They say they've been affected by digital media, phones, Covid-19, the lockdowns, but when I get them to join in or teach them a poem, it feels like they are the same children.' Rosen, who turns 80 today, adds: 'They don't seem to be slower or less able to get the gag.'
Eiza's pumped with bodybuilder role
Eiza Gonzalez is clearly taking her role as a bodybuilder extremely seriously. The Mexican actress, 36, showed off her muscular physique in a selfie taken at the gym. Her forthcoming film, set in the world of competitive bodybuilding, is called Iron Jane. 'Welcome to the world of body building,' wrote Eiza, a close friend of London-born stars Cara Delevingne and Suki Waterhouse. 'I'm so proud to tell Jane's story and this journey is one very special to me.'
Dawn's jab at fat jabs
Author Dawn O'Porter, who is married to Bridesmaids star Chris O'Dowd, admits Hollywood's obsession with weight-loss jabs has had an unexpected effect on her. 'There is something about the Ozempic craze that is making me feel a bit more comfortable in my skin,' admits Dawn, 47. 'I would genuinely rather have my tummy than lose the thrill of food.'
Sir David Jason insists
Sir David Jason insists he gained 'no pleasure' from being clutched to the ample bosom of Nurse Gladys Emmanuel as Granville in classic sitcom Open All Hours. 'Lynda [Baron] was so padded everywhere that you couldn't get any pleasure,' he says in the documentary Open All Hours: Inside Out, to be aired on U&Gold this evening. Doth he protest too much?
