ISSUE 1266 ● 7 DECEMBER 2020 ● £2.40 WEEKLY
EXCLUSIVE PICTURES AND INTERVIEW BRIAN McFADDEN & FIANCÉE DANIELLE REVEAL BABY JOY AFTER HEARTACHE
‘MIKE TINDALL HELPED t Export £2.60/€4.90 t Esp/Por €3.30 t Italy €4.80 t Auz $8.40 inc GST t CDN $7.99 t ROI €3.35 t NL €4.75 US GET PREGNANT!’ t FR €3.80 t Aus €6.10 t Malta €4.25 t Ger €5.30 ‘IT WAS THIRD TIME LUCKY WITH IVF’ ‘I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO CHANGING NAPPIES FOR THE FIRST TIME’
EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE SIR MO STRICTLY APPRENTICE STAR COME THOMAS FARAH’S DANCING WIFE TANIA STAR SKINNER ‘THE KIDS ANTON INTRODUCES HAVE SON HENRY REALLY DU BEKE ‘THE BIRTH MISSED NOT ‘I WOULD WAS SCARY HAVING LOVE TO BE BUT WE’VE THEIR DAD A JUDGE NEVER FELT AT HOME’ FULL TIME’ LOVE LIKE THIS’
ISSUE DECEMBER CONTENTS THIS WEEK’S COVER STARS NEWS AND INTERVIEWS BRIAN McFADDEN AND DANIELLE PARKINSON THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE TANIA FARAH HELEN LEDERER ON VICTORIA DERBYSHIRE JESSICA PLUMMER KYM MARSH ANTON DU BEKE EMILY ANDRE NERMINA PIETERS-MEKIC AND ERIK HOLLYWOOD CONFIDENTIAL PAUL WHARTON KATE FORD SALLY DYNEVOR THOMAS SKINNER AND SINEAD PRESS CHAMBERS
here is one good thing help so many others by speaking out about FASHIONISTA about this tier system we their experiences and we hope in time, they find ourselves in. You can too will have some happy news to share. JOIN THE buy OK! in all of them! In other news, this is sadly my last editor’s GLITTERATI TWhich means that most of the letter. I’m off to pastures new, but I have loved STYLE EDIT country can this week share my time editing this iconic magazine – the OK ! LOVES the wonderful news with us last nine months from my kitchen table! There FASHION SPY that former Westlife star have certainly been some very memorable BEAUTY EDIT Brian McFadden and his fiancé and some not-so-memorable moments – BEAUTY BUZZ Dani are expecting their first baby together upsetting Joan Collins by calling her difficult following IVF treatment (see page 4). probably being one of them! I shall miss LIFESTYLE We’ve shared their quite traumatic journey writing about my husband’s expanding AND CHAT over the last year – particularly when they belly (he won’t) and my confirmed to us they’d lost their baby children’s desperate OK ! REVIEWS early in the summer – so what better way embarrassment of me OK ! ICONS to end it than announcing this pregnancy. (they won’t), but at least OK! HEALTH We are delighted for them. the dog can’t tell me OK! RECIPES Their hearts, I’m sure, go out to the Duke what she really thinks! CHARLOTTE OK ! TRAVEL and Duchess of Sussex, who have made public I don’t like SELIGMAN OK! HOTSPOT the sad news that they suffered a miscarriage a goodbyes, so until OK! EDITOR OK ! STARS few months ago (p16). The royal couple will the next time… charlo e_seligman OK! LIFE LESSONS
VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW OK CO UK /OKMAGAZINEUK @OK_MAGAZINE @OK_MAG PHOTOS: DAVID LONGSTAFFE, GETTY, JAMES RUDLAND, LORNA ROACH, SHUTTERSTOCK, TONY WARD, WINFRIED HEINZE, NICKY JOHNSTON / CAMERA JAMES RUDLAND, LORNA ROACH, SHUTTERSTOCK, TONY WARD, GETTY, LONGSTAFFE, PHOTOS: DAVID
WWW.OK.CO.UK 3 DANI WEARS DRESS BY ISAWITFIRST.COM, SHOES BY MISSPAP.COM. BRIAN WEARS ALL ISAWITFIRST.COM SHOES BY MISSPAP.COM. DANI WEARS DRESS BY ISAWITFIRST.COM,
4 BABY JOY! ‘IVF HAS CHANGED OUR LIVES – WE FEEL SO LUCKY’ BRIAN McFADDEN AND FIANCÉE DANIELLE PARKINSON REVEAL THEIR EXCITING PREGNANCY NEWS TO OK! AFTER SUFFERING TWO DEVASTATING MISCARRIAGES
WWW.OK.CO.UK 5 rian McFadden and fiancée Danielle Parkinson haven’t had an easy ride when it comes to starting a family of their own, but the couple are over the Bmoon on the set of OK!’s exclusive shoot – as they reveal they are expecting! “Today she’s wearing these tight dresses and she actually looks pregnant,” Brian explains. “When you can see the bump, that’s when it becomes real.” The couple’s journey so far has been tough. After trying to conceive naturally for two years, Brian, 40, and Dani, 39, sought IVF treatment. Dani then fell pregnant twice, but tragically both pregnancies ended in miscarriage. In August, they told OK! they were “devastated”. Thankfully, after 17 months of IVF, the pair are happy to reveal they are now past that all-important three-month pregnancy mark. “We’re 15 weeks along now,” Brian says, while a thrilled Dani adds, “We’re due on 14 May. But they said normally with your first baby it can be early.” They also give credit to pals Mike Tindall and Zara Phillips for putting them in touch with a specialist nutrition expert who created a diet plan they believe helped them conceive. Brian already shares daughters Molly, 19, and Lilly, 17, with ex-wife Kerry Katona, while this will be former PE teacher Dani’s first. Here, the couple talk about their struggle to fall pregnant, and reveal Brian will be on tour on the baby’s due date…
Huge congratulations you two! How does it feel to know you’re expecting? Dani: So strange. I don’t think I believed it until we had the scan. You have a scan at 12 weeks and we were away, so we went to a clinic in Dubai. After that I thought, “God, this is real!” Up until that point, because we’ve had two miscarriages before, I had that negativity still in my head that something could go wrong. It feels wonderful now. Brian: I feel the same. I’ve been so positive that we’ve given ourselves the best chance of falling pregnant, by changing our diet and lifestyle. Something was just telling me it was going to happen this time and I felt really confident. But it wasn’t until we saw the 3D scan of the baby and actually saw it moving that it felt real.
You’ve been through the ringer to get here. Does it feel like a miracle? Dani: It does, but I feel awful saying that, as I’ve had so many messages on Instagram. The IVF community is so lovely and I’ve heard real traumatic stories from people who have been trying for 10 years, people who have
Molly and Lilly are thrilled for the pair
6 DANI WEARS DRESS BY ARIACOVE.COM. BRIAN ALL ISAWITFIRST.COM WWW.OK.CO.UK 7 8 had eight-plus miscarriages, so I feel we got lucky on our third attempt.
When did you both find out the good news? Brian: It’s two weeks after the implant that you can do your pregnancy test, but we did it a day early. We couldn’t wait – it was like Christmas morning! We’d gone to bed the night before really excited because we wanted to do it first thing. Dani went and did it and then came back out with it in her hand and she’d peeked before me. Dani: I couldn’t resist! I wanted to surprise him. I was so nervous. I wanted to see if the news was positive and then tell him! Brian: We haven’t told many people, only our parents.
Did you feel you’d told too many people the last time you fell pregnant? Brian: Yeah. We were trying to keep a lid on it this time and keep our expectations to a minimum. Dani: That took the pressure off me a little bit. The first time when we told everyone, people would text me asking how I was getting on. I didn’t have any of that this time and that was a bit of a relief.
It can be a stressful process… Dani: Exactly, and I don’t think you realise how stressed you are. Inside you feel like you’re OK, but deep down you do have worries in the back of your mind and that does raise your anxiety levels. So anything you can do to minimise other stresses has always got to be a helpful thing.
Will you find out the gender? Dani: We want to. I can’t wait! I have a scan at 20 weeks next and that’s when they’ll be able to say if it’s a girl or a boy.
What’s pregnancy been like so far? Dani: I’ve been quite lucky. I haven’t had any sickness, but I did have an aversion to certain things. I went off coffee completely. At dinner I’ve struggled to eat anything like chicken or fish. I’ve been attracted to very plain stuff and unfortunately that’s been stuff like crisps and chips. I was really tired the first 12 weeks. I had no motivation to do anything. Then we went DANI WEARS DRESS BY RIVER ISLAND. BRIAN ALL ISAWITFIRST.COM
WWW.OK.CO.UK 9 away in the sun and that helped my mood a lot. With lockdown as well, you start getting a bit flat and because I felt tired all the time I was feeling really low. After 12 weeks I got a burst of energy back and I feel like myself. I’ve got my mojo back.
Brian, did you take care of Dani? Brian: Of course, absolutely. I had to do a couple of midnight trips to the petrol station to get crisps and chocolate when she was getting her cravings. The worrying thing is for the last eight weeks of her pregnancy I’ll be back on tour all around the UK, so it’s going to be quite a tense time, because I could literally have to dash off stage in the middle of the show and come home. Luckily, most of the gigs are around two hours from home, so I can be home before labour kicks in properly, but there are a couple that could be a mad four-hour dash.
Does that make you feel anxious, Dani? Dani: It does a bit. I’m presuming by the time my waters have broken there’ll be enough time for Brian to get home. If not, I’ll just have to cross my legs and hold it in for another hour!
Do you have a plan for the birth? Dani: Absolutely none, but I only foresee a hospital birth. I wouldn’t like to give birth at home or in a pool or anything crazy like that. Brian: I’m not even allowed to eat my dinner in the sitting room, so there’s no chance of a home birth! ‘I’VE DONE MIDNIGHT TRIPS TO THE PETROL STATION FOR CRISPS!’
Are you ready for dirty nappies again, Brian? Brian: This is going to be the first time I’ve done it. When both of the girls were born, I was in the middle of Westlife, so I didn’t really get to do any of that. I was always on stage or working. I didn’t get to see that day to day. I’m really looking forward to experiencing all of that.
You’re really close to Lilly and Molly, Dani. Will your bond change once the baby’s here? Dani: I think it will get stronger. Obviously Molly lives in Dublin now, so we don’t see her as much as we’d like to, but we’re happy now that Lilly’s with us as we get to see her a lot more. They’re very maternal and I can’t wait for them to be part of our family life as well. It’s going to be good.
Brian, how do they feel about having a new little brother or sister? Brian: They’re excited. They’ve been with us since the beginning of the IVF, so they’ve gone through all the highs and lows. They’ve been very supportive. And they’re not kids any more. Molly’s 19 and Lilly’s turning 18 in February. They’ve been through this before – they’ve pretty much helped to raise their brother and sisters at home. Both of them were pretty much in tears when they saw the scan, because they’ve been on the roller coaster with us.
Has your ex Kerry Katona offered her congrats, Brian? Brian: We haven’t told Kerry. We’ve only told really, really close family and friends. DANI WEARS TWO-PIECE BY KIRSTY-DOYLE.COM. BRIAN WEARS ALL ISAWITFIRST.COM DANI WEARS TWO-PIECE BY KIRSTY-DOYLE.COM.
10 WWW.OK.CO.UK 11 12 DANI WEARS DRESS BY ASOS. BRIAN ALL ISAWITFIRST.COM
WWW.OK.CO.UK 13 Your best friend hates you this moment
Enjoy every Christmas moment, with our choice of ways to pay.
Banger (the Dachshund) brought his own costume Credit provided, subject to status, by Shop Direct Finance Company Limited. 18+. Brian, you’re friends with Mike Tindall. metal is heated, so cooking in foil is not you can do. You’re literally going out of Has he been in touch? great and things that have been in tins your way to start a family together. Absolutely. He and Zara put us in touch contain a certain amount of metals. Dani: We have had that pressure and the with Simone the nutritionist who got us odd cross word, but on the whole, Brian’s prepared for this time. After we had the How do you feel about becoming a right. During IVF, you’re working on getting miscarriage, we sat with them and talked. mum, Dani? pregnant for a very long time and you This woman would put us on a certain Dani: I’m a bit nervous, but super excited. spend that time supporting each other. diet, and Mike guaranteed it would work. Brian: Don’t forget Dani’s a teacher, so He was completely right. she’s got experience. But then it’s probably What advice would you give other different when you love the child – you couples considering IVF? Have you told them you are expecting? might not be as disciplined. Brian: Just do it – because for us it’s Brian: Yeah, of course. He was over the changed our life. OK! moon. He said, “I told you!” IVF can feel a bit clinical for some couples. How have you kept the WORDS: CHLOE ALEXANDROU PHOTOS: DAVID LONGSTAFFE And the diet is partly about avoiding spark alive? MAKE-UP: SARRA SLIMANE HAIR: JADE LEVERTON AT CREATIVES AGENCY USING L’ORÉAL TECNI ART things packaged in metal? Brian: It may sound clinical, but it’s not STYLING: LORRAINE MCCULLOCH
Dani: Yeah. The problem occurs once the really. It’s one of the most romantic things DANI WEARS KNIT BY GLAMIFYFASHION.COM. BRIAN WEARS ALL ISAWITFIRST.COM WWW.OK.CO.UK 15 16 HEALING THE RIFT ‘ROYALS HAVE REACHED OUT TO MEGHAN’ AS MEGHAN BRAVELY REVEALS THE DEVASTATING NEWS OF HER SUMMER MISCARRIAGE The Duke and WILLIAM AND KATE EXTEND AN Duchess of Cambridge have OLIVE BRANCH TO THE SUSSEXES been in touch
t was no secret that relations between the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried Mike Tindall in 2018. And Prince Edward’s Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke to imagine how we’d heal. Losing a child wife Sophie Wessex endured a life- and Duchess of Cambridge had become means carrying an almost unbearable grief, threatening ectopic pregnancy in 2001. increasingly strained in 2020. Following experienced by many but talked about by Katie Nicholl tells OK! that while the royal Irevelations that Prince Harry and his wife few,” she added. family’s traditional mantra has long been Meghan were taking a step back from the This year has proved to be a sobering one “never complain, never explain”, Meghan is a royal family earlier this year, insiders said for the royals, after Prince Charles, 71, fell ill shining example of the younger generation’s the brothers stopped speaking for months. with Covid-19 in March and was forced to comfort in expressing vulnerability. But after the Duchess of Sussex, 39, bravely self-isolate for seven days. “The younger royals have really changed opened up in a letter in The New York Times Omid Scobie, co-author of Harry and public perception. We’ve seen William and about suffering a devastating miscarriage in Meghan’s recent biography Finding Freedom Harry discuss mental health and Kate open up July – detailing her and Harry’s grief – insiders – which detailed the tensions between the about the challenges of motherhood. The say Kate and William reached out and add that brothers – tells OK! “I know that Harry and younger royals realise the importance of raising it could help to bring the four closer again. William had many private conversations when awareness for issues that can impact anyone. Royal expert and author of Kate: The their father was ill with Covid. Similarly with Meghan has always been an advocate for Future Queen, Katie Nicholl, tells OK!, “I’m Meghan’s miscarriage, it’s understandable issues close to her heart. She will have been told that William and Kate were in touch with that this tragedy would cause the foursome to aware of the impact her letter will have and will Harry and Meghan when this happened in stay in touch and check in on one another.” have hoped it can help others struggling.” July. The whole family has reached out to The Duchess is not the first royal to speak Royal expert Duncan Larcombe adds, offer support. I don’t know if the royal family out about miscarriage. Harry’s cousin Zara “Royal tradition has been changed by William were aware she was set to go public with this Tindall suffered two baby losses before and Harry. They speak openly and Meghan but they would think it was a hugely brave welcoming her second child with husband should be applauded for speaking out, too. thing to do. I do Using her platform think a situation like to discuss things like this is what will help ‘YOU ARE baby loss, which are heal rifts and bring NOT ALONE’ so often surrounded the family back by a stigma of together. Midwife Sophie silence, is brave.” Hard times like King of baby loss And Katie adds this encourage charity Tommy’s, that the Duchess’s communication.” says, “Baby loss at determination In her letter, the any stage in pregnancy to help others Duchess described is one of the most is reminiscent how she felt a cramp heartbreaking things. of Harry’s late in her stomach. “I Mothers like Meghan mother Diana. knew, as I clutched sharing their stories is “Meghan is my firstborn child, a vital step in breaking very much like that I was losing down stigma and Diana in the my second. shame. Her openness way she isn’t “Hours later, sends a powerful afraid to show I lay in a hospital message to anyone her human side bed, holding my The Duke and who loses a baby: and to speak husband’s hand. I Duchess of this may feel incredibly out about issues felt the clamminess Sussex have lonely, but you are that are important of his palm and suffered the not alone.” to her.” OK! kissed his knuckles, grief of Visit tommys.org. wet from both our baby loss WORDS: KAT ROMERO PHOTOS: PA, GETTY tears. Staring at the WWW.OK.CO.UK 17
EARLY YEARS SUCCESS KATE’S MILESTONE MOMENT
THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE LOOKED IN HER ELEMENT AS SHE ANNOUNCED THE FINDINGS OF HER PASSION PROJECT
he Duchess of She continued, “But I Cambridge said care have also seen how positive for the under-fives is protective factors in the early key to the “society years can play a crucial role in Twe will become”, as she shaping our futures. The early unveiled the findings of years are not simply about the biggest ever early-years how we raise our children. study last week. They are in fact about how The landmark survey – we raise the next generation 5 Big Questions On The of adults. They are about the Under Fives – was launched society we will become.” in January by Kate and was The survey was launched completed by more than in conjunction with Ipsos 500,000 people. It found that MORI, and Kelly Beaver, 70% of parents feel judged managing director of public by others and, among these affairs at the market research parents, nearly half feel this company, said, “We have negatively impacts their never seen a response like mental health. we did when the 5 Big Kate has spent the last Questions was launched.” nine years working tirelessly The survey also found on the passion project. And that parents are reporting as she unveiled the results a dramatic increase in of the survey, Kate insisted loneliness as a result of her vested interest wasn’t the coronavirus pandemic.emic. just due to her being a Earlier in the week, Kateate mum-of-three. also highlighted how “Many mistakenly believe this year has been a Left: Wiliam and that my interest stems from “hugely challenging” Kate with George, having children of my own. time for us all. Charlotte and Louis While of course I care hugely Kate herself has about their start in life, previously recalled this ultimately sells the feeling “isolated” as issue short. Parenthood a mother. “It is lonely isn’t a prerequisite for at times and you do understanding the feel quite isolated, butt importance of the early actually so many otherr years,” Kate explained. mothers are going throughrough In a keynote speech at exactly what you are going an online forum, hosted by through,” she said. The Royal Foundation and She and William, 38, are Ipsos MORI, to discuss the parents to Prince George, research, the 38-year-old seven, Princess Charlotte, said, “Over the last decade five, and Prince Louis, two. I, like many of you, have met Next year the Duchess people from all walks of life. will announce plans to help I have seen that experiences elevate the importance of such as homelessness, early childhood. OK! Kate has worked addiction, and poor mental tirelessly with health are often grounded in WORDS: KIRSTY HATCHER the project PHOTOS: GETTY, PA IMAGES a difficult childhood.” WWW.OK.CO.UK 19 KING OF HIS CASTLE ‘IT’S TOUGH WITHOUT MO – WE CAN’T WAIT TO HAVE HIM BACK’ WHILE HE’S HOLED UP IN THE I’M A CELEBRITY CASTLE MO FARAH’S WIFE TANIA INVITES OK! INTO THE FAMILY HOME REVEALING SHE’S STRUGGLING WITHOUT THE OLYMPIAN BY HER SIDE
Mo is a popular member of the camp
our-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Mo Farah, has won over a whole new legion of fans on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! with his chilled manner, fear of snakes and love Fof the floss dance. And when we chat to Tania, 34, the long-distance runner’s wife, she admits she’s relishing watching her hubby squirm in the castle just as much as we are. “It’s been enjoyable because it’s something different,” she laughs.“I was nervous for him initially because he’s never done anything like this. Sugar is a big thing for him and he’s got a massive sweet tooth and loves his coffee as well, so I didn’t know how he was going to cope. But he’s done so well.” Tania and the children are cheering on Mo, 37, from their sofa at home in Surrey. But she admits it’s tough running the household and looking after Rhianna, 15, eight-year-old twins Aisha and Amani, and five-year- old Hussein without their dad. And Hussein, in particular, is struggling without his daddy. “We always miss him when he goes away. He’s been going away since we’ve been married [in 2010],” she tells us. Here, Tania reveals Mo’s pre-show worries, which of his fellow campmates she’d love to invite round for dinner and gives us an insight into the couple’s unique love story...
20 ‘HE’S A VERY HANDS-ON DAD AND THE KIDS MISS HIM IT’S A VOID’ AMANI WEARS DRESS BY JOHN LEWIS. RHIANNA TOP JOULES, TROUSERS WEARS DRESS BY AISHA WEARS DRESS BY MARKS & SPENCER. TANIA BY TOPSHOP. AND JEANS BY TED BAKER TED BAKER. HUSSEIN WEARS SHIRT WWW.OK.CO.UKUK 21 22 You must be finding things full-on. Is it quite tough without Mo at home? Without a doubt. My son is struggling the most. Normally, when Mo’s in training, we can speak to him or FaceTime him. Not being able to speak to his dad has been really hard on him. The girls are a bit older, so they understand, but my son’s been a real handful lately.
How are you coping with it? I’ve got some help, but with four kids it’s never enough. I’m used to Mo being away and handling everything on my own, but it can get stressful. No matter how much I do for them they want dad to give them a hug sometimes and they want dad to play football with them in the garden, and there’s only so much of that I can do.
How are you staying so strong? I run a lot and I’m studying for a psychology degree. My way of getting through it is to keep as busy as possible. But when the lights are out and the kids are in bed, that’s when I miss him the most. There’s no Mo here and that’s when it gets a bit lonely.
We bet you can’t wait to have him back with you… Definitely. We’re counting down the days. He’s going away in January for training, so there’s also that to prepare for. It’s a difficult time.
Are the kids watching him on TV? Yeah. It’s been different for them seeing him in this kind of environment. They find it funny. Like his little floss dance. He does that at home – he and our son do it together.
Can you tell he’s missing you? Yeah, and you can tell he’s missing the kids, because sometimes he’s been a bit quiet.
Is he a hands-on dad? Big time! He does a lot of the school runs. When he comes home [from training] he dives into all that stuff. He’ll take the kids to school, make the breakfast and take the kids to the park. He’s very hands-on and that’s why they miss him a lot. It’s a big void.
Has he wanted to do the show for a long time? He hasn’t had the chance to think about stuff like this because he’s always been focused on the next championships or Olympics. This hasn’t come on his radar until this year, when all the races were cancelled.
How did his nerves going into the castle compare with pre-race jitters? This was a different type of nervous. He was really laid-back about it until two days beforehand when it dawned on him he was going in. That’s when he realised, “I’m probably going to have to face a snake.” Snakes scare the life out of him. The funniest part was when he had the snake around his neck [in the trial] and just froze. He was ALL WEAR PJS BY CYBERJAMMIES the most serious I’ve ever seen him! WWW.OK.CO.UK 23 Mo’s trainers Did he consider pulling OfO his fellow celebs, that was the first time I felt something. Then out because of his fear? wwho would you love to we started to see more of each other and it No. When Mo commits hhave round for dinner? materialised – and without even talking about himself to something I think Beverley would be it, it just became a relationship. that’s it. Something has a good laugh and she has to go really wrong for ssome good stories. She How lovely. How would you describe him to pull out. hhas a lovely way about your marriage? hher and I love her honesty. You have to have an equal understanding We’re seeing a more of your roles and we bounce well off each vulnerable side to him. IIss tthere anyone he doesn’t other. We’re different personalities but we Is it the Mo you know? sseemeem to be getting on with? have a solid understanding of our relationship. Yeah, definitely. What we’rere Not tthath I’ve noticed. It takes I understand he has to go off and do what he seeing of Mo in the castlee is ththee a llotot to ppush his buttons or get does and keep things together while he’s Mo at home. The vulnerableble sisidede is anytanythinghing ototherh than his placidness. away, but when he comes back he makes up something we’re used to seeing a lot. It for it with time spent with us. He attributes takes an awful lot to rub him up the wrong way You and Mo have quite the love story and a lot of his success to the support he has at or annoy him. The vulnerability is a part of him have known each other since school… home, which I know has been a big part of his that’s always apparent. He’s still a big softie. I wouldn’t say we were together from a young career. We share the same values and religion, age – we were more like brother and sister. He which helps. Can you imagine him crying? was a few years older than me and we would I really can’t! I’ve only ever seen him well see each other at breaktimes. We became What would it mean to him to win? up once in the 23 years I’ve known him. It good friends, because I went to the same He would be chuffed to bits if he won, but was barely even a cry, it was a tiny tear rolling running club as him and he lived around the that being said he doesn’t look at it as a down his cheek. It was when we were coming corner. We kept that friendship going for over competition, because it’s something out of his back from Somalia, when we went to visit his 13 years until we eventually got together. control. He didn’t go into the castle with any twin brother in 2011. I remember it vividly I didn’t see him as anything other than a expectations or wanting to win, but he wanted because he hasn’t cried since. brother for so long, but he was always there to give it his best in the challenges and for me. We go way back. overcome some of his fears and be a good Who do you think he’s bonding with most contribution to the camp. He’ll be happy as in the show? When did you become more than friends? long as he’s done that. The thought of winning He seems to be getting on with everyone, but It was weird. I hadn’t seen him for a little while, hasn’t even crossed his mind. OK! I’d say Shane Richie, because he’s very outgoing, about six months or so, and he messaged me and Beverley Callard and Jordan North. Mo’s on Facebook and said, “Come and see me WORDS: GEMMA MCCARTNEY PHOTOS: LORNA ROACH STYLIST: HOLLIE LACAYO AT LHA REPRESENTS RHIANNA WEARS TRACKSUIT BOTTOMS BY NIKE, T-SHIRT BY JOHN LEWIS. AMANI WEARS DRESSING GOWN MARKS & SPENCER. RHIANNA WEARS TRACKSUIT BOTTOMS BY NIKE, T-SHIRT AISHA WEARS ONESIE BY MARKS & SPENCER. TANIA WEARS PJS BY BOUX AVENUE. HUSSEIN WEARS PJS BY CYBERJAMMIES. WEARS PJS BY BOUX AVENUE. AISHA WEARS ONESIE BY MARKS & SPENCER. TANIA the type of guy that gets on with everyone. at my student digs.” We watched a DVD and HAIR AND MAKE-UP: AMY DAVIES 24 AISHA WEARS JUMPER BY MARKS & SPENCER, TROUSERS BY BODEN. RHIANNA WEARS PJS BY BOUX AVENUE. AMANI WEARS JUMPER BY BODEN, AMANI WEARS JUMPER BY BODEN, AISHA WEARS JUMPER BY MARKS & SPENCER, TROUSERS BODEN. RHIANNA PJS BOUX AVENUE. WEARS DRESS BY NEIMAN MARCUS. HUSSEIN JUMPER JOHN LEWIS, TROUSERS JOULES GREEN TROUSERS BY JOHN LEWIS. TANIA
WWW.OK.CO.UK 25 OVERCOMING OBSTACLES ‘CANCER HAS MADE VICTORIA FEARLESS’
HELEN LEDERER IS FLYING THE FLAG FOR BROADCASTER PAL VICTORIA DERBYSHIRE IN THE I’M A CELEBRITY CASTLE AS SHE TELLS OK! WHY A WARRIOR SPIRIT IS ALREADY HER CROWNING GLORY
elen Lederer has done her Victoria Full Monty. I was the fat one cowering fair share of reality TV – from braves in the back, thinking, “I know I will appearing on Splash! in 2013 the bugs never learn these steps,” whereas and entering the Celebrity Big Victoria was one of the leaders. I’ve HBrother house in 2017, to stripping off always seen her as a leader and she’s for charity in The Real Full Monty in very determined. 2018. It was in the latter that the actress met Victoria Derbyshire, but Helen says Do you think what she’s been she won’t be following in the footsteps through has made her fearless? of her friend as a contestant on I’m A Yes, cancer has made her fearless, Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!. because you go, “Well what’s the “‘Bring it on’ has been Victoria’s worst that can happen?” In life, that’s mission statement,” says Helen, 66, quite a useful motivator when you of the broadcaster. “She asks a lot of find yourself doing something out herself, which we saw on the show. of your comfort zone. I think she’s She expects to do well and doesn’t saying, “Bring it on.” “Bring it on” like to fail.” has been Victoria’s mission statement The writer and comedian, who is and good on her! best known for playing Catriona in Absolutely Fabulous, thinks it was How do you think Victoria has done this determined nature coupled with on I’m A Celebrity? Victoria, 52, overcoming breast cancer Do you think Victoria has had fun being Very well, especially in the trials. She goes in 2016 that pushed her to take part in able to show a different side of herself for it and there is a lack of fear – Victoria is a the ITV show. on I’m A Celebrity? fearless woman. She seems to be getting on “Victoria is a fearless woman,” says Helen, I think that’s what she’s enjoyed about it. The with Beverley [Callard] and Ruthie [Henshall] who launched the Comedy Women In Print show gave her permission to be childish as on – they’re a group of strong women. Prize in 2018 to celebrate comedic female TV she’s always had to be serious. As she has writers. “I think cancer has made Victoria a serious job she was attracted to doing What’s next for Victoria? fearless, because you think, ‘Well what’s the something completely different. She presents the news but I think doing her worst that can happen?’” own show would be her ideal – that’s what Here, Helen tells us about Victoria’s Have we seen the real Victoria? she’s good at. I can’t see her being in a courageous personality, and what she thinks She was hard on herself when the women lost musical or anything like that! They’re all there she’ll do next… the Bushtucker Trial against the men, and she to get platforms, and that isn’t a criticism. It’s does ask a lot of herself, an opportunity for people to reflect and think, which we saw on the show. “What do I want to do next? How do I want to She expects to do well come across?” When I did Splash! I was asked and, I mean, who likes on the radio why I did it and I said, “For the failing? But Victoria money”. In those days people didn’t say that doesn’t like to fail. She’s so everyone was shocked. a very focused person. Would you ever do I’m A Celebrity? Was overcoming breast I think I’ve had my reality-show fix. On Splash! cancer one of her I was a middle-aged person in a swimming motivations for doing costume, which was very depressing, then on the show? Celebrity Big Brother it was volatile and I was I’m sure having had that surrounded by people arguing, and then I did illness and going public The Real Full Monty. On I’m A Celebrity I would on the process of her not be competent at the tasks and I’m vain recovery was part of it. enough to not want to be sent to Coventry Her character is a netball by a group of people I wasn’t getting stars for! captain at school or the I would not contribute usefully to the group. OK! head girl, the person Helen met who goes, “Sod it, I’m FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT PRIZE, Victoria on The VISIT COMEDYWOMENINPRINT.CO.UK Real Full Mont doing it!” That’s very y much how she was when we were doing The Real WORDS BY: KIRSTY HATCHER PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK 26 WWW.OK.CO.UK 27 BIG AMBITIONS ‘JESS HEADING FOR HOLLYWOOD? NEVER SAY NEVER’ JESSICA PLUMMER’S PAL JADE CASTELL REVEALS WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE ACTRESS FOLLOWING HER I’M A CELEBRITY ADVENTURE
f anyone knows I’m A Celeb contestant You must be so proud of what Jessica Plummer, it’s her childhood bestie Jess has achieved in her career, Jade Castell. With a friendship that dates from singing to EastEnders… back 16 years, the pair now consider Jess is just one of those people Ithemselves family, with Jade calling 28-year- who, no matter what, if she puts old Jessica her “baby cousin”. her mind to it, she can do it. You Before heading to the Welsh castle, never need to worry about her Jade tells us Jessica was determined to because she’s always got something make her four-year-old daughter, Noa in the pipeline. Lily, proud. And she’s certainly done that, smashing her way through more Was it strange seeing your best than her fair share of Bushtucker Trials friend in Albert Square? and charming the nation with her At first I was like, “Oh my God, With AJ on sweet personality. “The fact she put that’s Jess.” But then, as the storyline I’m A Celeb her head in with the developed, rat, I just thought, I just saw ‘You go girl!’ Chantelle, her I wouldn’t be doing character. She did the Would she return to music? it, put it that way,” role amazing justice. She I think she’s left that in her younger days, says Jade, laughing. took the part incredibly but you never know. She could turn around Jessica’s first taste of seriously and wanted tomorrow and tell me, “I’m in a new band,” fame was with the pop to get it just right. and I wouldn’t be shocked. group Neon Jungle, EastEnders was more who were together from than just a job to Jess. Some viewers accused her of faking her 2013 to 2015, but it was Jade and Jess scared reaction in one of the trials… her role as domestic have been friends What’s next for Jess’s Some people are just more scared than abuse victim Chantelle for 16 years career after others – you can’t fake screams like that! Atkins in EastEnders I’m A Celeb? that really made her She won the soap award Who do you envisage her keeping in name. Jade tells us Jess was determined so she’ll be really proud of that [Jessica was touch with? to get the harrowing scenes, which ultimately named Best Actress at The Inside Soap AJ [Pritchard] – they enjoyed being silly ended in tragedy, “just right” and gave the Awards], but she’ll just enjoy taking each day together and their friendship is really role her all. as it comes and spending time with Noa. sweet. And she’ll definitely keep in touch Here, Jade opens up about her She hasn’t set her sights on Hollywood, but with Giovanna [Fletcher]. And Bev [Callard]. squeamish friend’s phobias and tells never say never with Jess. I also think she I loved it when Bev said, “Does my hair look us why she won’t be returning to her would be really good at presenting. OK?” and Jess said, “Oh, I’ll plait it for you pop-star roots… if you want.” That is so Jessica. She loves to do things for other people. What kind of friend is Jessica? Jess was 12 when we first met so she’s What’s been your favourite moment? basically like my baby cousin. She’s one of The trial where she was showered in fish those people who will fit in whatever and guts, I was in stitches. The way she was become part of the furniture within a day. standing there like a statue afterwards, She’s always so inquisitive and positive and because she thought if she moved more always has so much enthusiasm. You know would drop on her, was hysterical. some people bring situations down with their negative energy? Jess always brings What do you think viewers’ lasting them up. She’s a great little mate to have. impression of her will be? As someone who was prepared to muck Why did she want to do I’m A Celeb? in and help out. I’m shocked at how many To test herself and prove to herself she can trials she’s done as normally she’s quite do it. It’s scary and Jess is squeamish. The squeamish and can be a clean freak. I’m fact she put her head in with the rat, I just Jessica and really quite proud of her. OK! thought, “You go girl!” I wouldn’t be doing her daughter it, put it that way. She’s also doing it for Noa, Noa Lily WORDS: ELLIE KIRWIN-JONES PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK to make Noa proud.
28 ‘JESS AND AJ ENJOY BEING SILLY TOGETHER AND THEIR FRIENDSHIP IS REALLY SWEET’
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think it’s wonderful that the gone through, and for me it is a Duchess of Sussex chose to big deal that people feel they can be open about experiencing a do that. When you lose a child miscarriage earlier this year. you feel so lonely and empty and IWhen it comes to baby loss, like the only person who is going miscarriage and still birth, I carry through it. So when you finally the belief that we need to lift the have the chance to connect with stigma and break the silence. And people who have been through when someone like Meghan does the same thing and are able to that, it’s only going to encourage identify with you, that really helps. others to do the same. It’s not easy when you’re talking Since losing my son Archie, I’ve about the loss of your own child, had a lot of people reaching out but opening up has certainly to talk to me about what they’ve helped me, and I think talking is a really important part of the grieving process. For anyone who is feeling the pain of loss, being able to talk will always help. In other news, I’m so glad my daughter Emilie is finally able to open her beauty salon this week. It’s called the Beauty Box in Ashton-in-Makerfield – I can’t wait to go and have some treatments myself! It’s great, because we had a scary time where we thought salons and hairdressers may not be THE TRUTH ABOUT THE able to open after lockdown. HEAR’SAY REUNION RUMOURS I don’t think Emilie would have been able to get her t was reported that Hear’Say but I haven’t seen Noel business off the ground if Iare in talks to reunite next [Sullivan] for 18 years! It will that had happened. year to mark our 20th be lovely to meet up when anniversary. The truth is that, we can. There was a story while we have been talking that Myleene has said the IS CHRISTMAS and it would nice to do time isn’t right for her to be something to mark 20 years, involved with the reunion, WORTH THE right now we don’t have any but there are no firm plans SACRIFICE? plans to make a comeback. for one, so we’re not sure We’ve basically all where that came from. OK! ’m glad we are being reconnected during Igiven a window of five lockdown and have days over Christmas to see been chatting on Zoom our loved ones and meet and doing a bit of up with a few households. reminiscing, talking However, I know some about the fact it will be people have questioned 20 years soon. We’ve whether or not it’s worth it obviously all had much for the stricter restrictions more time on our that will likely come after I am happy to make some hands, so it’s been because of it. In my opinion sacrifices if it means getting to lovely to catch up. we’ve all gone through the spend some time with my Over the years I’ve tougher restrictions anyway and family. In terms of my parents, I seen Myleene [Klass] I don’t think it’s going to ease would love to see them, but as and Suzanne [Shaw] off regardless, so we may as they are older it will be up to at various events, and well enjoy a little bit of time them. I think I would want to Danny [Foster] has together – while being safe have a test before seeing them done gigs for me when – when we can. For me just to be safe, but I know not I’ve done charity balls personally, it will be worth it. everyone can afford to do that. for my late son Archie, PHOTOS: PA, GETTY PHOTOS: PA, WWW.OK.CO.UK 31 FROM FREE P&P PRODUCTS ALWAYS SAVING YOU OVER LOOK AND FEEL YOUR BEST WITH A LUXURY BEAUTY BOX DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR EVERY MONTH!
Visit ok.co.uk/beauty-edit to buy the OK! beauty box today KING OF THE BALLROOM ‘I’D LOVE TO BE A FULL-TIME JUDGE IF A CHAIR WAS AVAILABLE!’ STRICTLY LEGEND ANTON DU BEKE ON WHY HE WAS THRILLED TO TAKE A SEAT ON THE PANEL
nton Du Beke truly is part of the How did the nerves compare to Strictly Come Dancing furniture. Not being on the dance floor? only has the charismatic 54-year-old It’s different nerves. My biggest concern professional dancer been on the was making sure I got the point I Ateam every series since the BBC juggernaut wanted to get across in an interesting, took off 16 years ago, but he’s provided coherent way in the time I had available viewers with countless comedy gold moments to me. Anyone who knows me knows I ever since. (Who can forget his performances find it very difficult to keep things short! with former MP Ann Widdecombe?!) However, this year Anton went one Do you think it helped that you know better and, a few weeks after leaving the how the dancers are feeling? competition with Jacqui Smith, took his seat Well, I know what it’s taken to achieve on the judging panel. Anton stepped in for what they’ve done, whether it’s good, Motsi Mabuse for two weeks when she had bad or indifferent. For instance, the to isolate due to government guidelines. first week Clara Amfo’s Charleston was And when OK! catches up with the unbelievable. The second week her Family man Anton ballroom king, who is dad to three-year-old samba was not her best and she went with Hannah and twins George and Henrietta with his wife wrong a little bit. I have to reflect that in the twins Hannah Summers, he’s still riding high from my comments, but I know what it’s taken the outpouring of public support he received to get to that point on those dances. – with many viewers calling for him to be Which famous faces would you like to be made a permanent judge. There were even calls for you to be made partnered with in the future? “I was so proud of myself and so grateful a full-time judge. How did that feel? I think I need someone who can dance a bit! to everybody for being so positive about It was really lovely and I was absolutely I was on Loose Women recently and Kéllé enjoying me being on the panel,” he tells us. thrilled. I was so proud of myself and so Bryan was on it and I thought, “Ooh, she’d Here, Anton, who recently released his grateful to everybody for being so positive be delightful!” third historical romance novel, A Christmas about enjoying me being on the panel. To Remember, reveals more about this I was overwhelmed by it all really. You’ve also been busy writing your year’s magical Strictly and his big dreams third novel, A Christmas To Remember. for the future. Would you be up for it? What’s it about? We’ll have to wait and see. It’s difficult to say It’s set in 1938, before the Second World Hi Anton. How was it for you sitting in really as there aren’t any chairs available. But War. The Buckingham Hotel is a hive of that judge’s chair? I would love to do it. intrigue, glamour and romance. Raymond It was a lot of fun. Maybe becausecause and Nancy are engaged at the beginning I knew I was only going to bee WhWhat’sat’s it been like making of the novel and their wedding is at the end. there for two weeks, I felt likee tthehe sshow during lockdown? I had a bit more licence – It’s still got that same Would you be interested in adapting the I just enjoyed myself. mmagic. The only thing book into a TV show or movie? tthat’s really different is I’d love that, actually. It’s set in a great time tthat we’re doing the with wonderful locations so I think it would sshow without a studio look fantastic on television. It has been aaudience. And you spoken about by a few people so hopefully ccan’t go near anyone, it will get picked up. wwhich is a strange thing fofor us in this business How will you be celebrating Christmas Anton on we call show. this year? the panel I love Christmas! I’ve got two Who ddo you think is in with a small children and we’re all really, sshothot of liliftingf the glitterball? really excited for it. We’re going I really don’t know! It’s so difficult to go Christmas tree shopping because being good doesn’t this weekend and then we’ll write guarantee you success. Look at our letters to Father Christmas. It Maisie Smith – she’s been in the will be brilliant. OK! dance off and she does well on ANTON’S BOOK, A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER, the leaderboard. I’m thrilled that IS AVAILABLE NOW With Ann the audience chooses the winner Widdecombe and not the judges, so there can’t WORDS: RIANNE ISON PHOTOS: GETTY be any controversy. 34 WWW.OK.CO.UK 35 At dottie's, we source speciality coffee, roasted in East London by Union Hand-Roasted. We marry this with only the finest ingredients to ensure you can enjoy a bar quality drink, from the comfort of your own home. Give the gift of Espresso Martini this Christmas. Gift boxes available now. 7% ABV. SIP RESPONSIBLY. EMILY’SCOLUMN ‘IT’S SO LOVELY TO SEE MEN SHOW THEIR EMOTIONS’ AS THEO TURNS FOUR OUR COLUMNIST RECALLS A TENDER MOMENT WITH PETE WHEN THEIR SON WAS BORN
’m so excited that lockdown is ending this It was really nice to get dressed up for the week and restaurants and shops will be day and put some make-up on and wear open. Pete and I are going to go for a something other than a hoodie and long-overdue date night to our favourite leggings. We were supposed to go to a farm Irestaurant. One of the kids asked me what for the day with his friend from nursery, but a “date night” meant and they didn’t look luckily he had a great time so I feel we made too thrilled when I explained it is when just the best of a bad situation. Hopefully we Mummy and Daddy go out together! won’t be in lockdown for Millie’s birthday in We recently celebrated Theo’s fourth January as she will definitely notice. This birthday during lockdown at home. We had year she had a party with everyone from her a party with just the family and had to blow class, so she’ll be expecting the same again! up 92 balloons for the balloon arch! Millie I love this picture (below) that was taken was so good and stayed up late the night on the day Theo was born. I can’t believe before helping us. how quickly the time I also made Theo has gone. Pete got a windmill-themed really emotional at birthday cake. He’s the birth. I’ve seen been obsessed with a few babies be them ever since we delivered at work went to Cyprus in and lots of dads cry. summer. There is a Often it’s the ones wind farm near our you don’t think will. home there and he’s It’s so lovely to see fascinated by them. men show their He’s been watching emotions. Pete windmill videos always does and on YouTube, too I love that! – maybe he’ll be a wind farm engineer when he’s older! I HOPE DR ALEX ENJOYS BEING A GP r Alex George has examine a patient, diagnose Drevealed he is leaving them, prescribe what they A&E to train to become a need and get them out the GP. We need more GPs so door ready for the next it’s great news. Of course, patient, so I’ve always had a we also need lot of respect A&E doctors, for GPs. They too, but Alex are doing has said he will more out-of- be doing one hours work day a week in these days, A&E once his too. I really training is hope he OXFORD VACCINE BREAKTHROUGH complete. enjoys it as There’s lots he’s had a t’s amazing news that the have a short shelf life of reasons why hard year. I Icoronavirus vaccine developed once removed from that doctors choose did consider by Oxford University is effective. temperature, so planning and to become a being a GP for It could offer up to 90 per cent distributing the vaccinations is GP, but it’s a while but protection from two doses, but more complicated. certainly a I’m really it is much cheaper than some I’m waiting to see what the challenging interested in of the other vaccines and it can official advice will be if you’ve and interesting mental health be stored in a normal fridge. already had coronavirus, as much career. You so I’m hoping Some of the other vaccines of the research has been only have 10 to specialise need to be stored at extremely conducted on people who minutes to in that. low temperatures and only haven’t been exposed to it. OK!
EMAIL ME AT EMILY ANDREA@REACHPLC COM WWW.OK.CO.UK 37 HAPPY NEWS! ‘WE’RE HAVING THE BABY WE ALWAYS WANTED’
FORMER REAL HOUSEWIVES STAR NERMINA PIETERS-MEKIC AND HER FOOTBALLER HUSBAND ERIK INVITE OK! INTO THEIR GORGEOUS HOME AS THEY EXCLUSIVELY REVEAL THEY’RE EXPECTING THEIR FIRST CHILD
ny couple expecting no surprise their smiles never their first baby will leave their faces. tell you it’s next to Finishing each other’s impossible to descend sentences and gently teasing Afrom cloud nine. one another throughout our So when we catch up with chat, Nermina, 30, and Erik, 32, former Real Housewives Of tell us they’re “super happy Cheshire star Nermina Pieters- and excited” about becoming Mekic and her Dutch husband first-time parents in April. Erik at their Cheshire home Their news is all the sweeter, for our exclusive shoot, it’s considering their journey
38 WWW.OK.CO.UK 39
NERMINA WEARS DRESS BY TALLER MARMO, SHOES BY EGO. ERIK WEARS CUSTOM-MADE SUIT BY RIETERGH, SHIRT BY DSQUARED2, SHOES BY HUGO BOSS 40 RS SKIRT -WHITE
towards starting a family hasn’t been easy. a young age. Lots of my friends have kids After coming off birth control late last year, and I love to babysit. Bosnian-Dutch singer Nermina discovered she’d sadly miscarried during the early Take us back to the moment you found stages of pregnancy last November. out about the pregnancy... Doctors sent her for tests and Nermina Nermina: I was trying on some new bikinis underwent a colposcopy procedure to for our holiday while Erik was packing. remove a growth on her uterus. I said to him, “Did my bikini shrink?” He Once she and Burnley FC footballer Erik looked at me and replied, “Your boobs do were given the green light to start trying look quite big.” Then I realised my period again, they planned a romantic August trip was overdue. I was so convinced I wasn’t to Crete. But, just one day before they pregnant because I’d done a test a few were jetting off, Nermina noticed some weeks before at a hospital check-up, which changes in her body and took a pregnancy came back negative. But I did it and then test – it was positive. forgot about it. When I remembered, I “It was such a surprise and we were checked and it said “3+” [which means so happy!” says Nermina, who is now she was over three weeks pregnant at the 22-weeks pregnant. time of the test]. I thought, “That can’t be Here, the happy couple, who have been right!” Then I checked my dates again married for four years and share four dogs, and realised I was pregnant. It was such open up to OK! about their happy ending... a surprise and we were so happy! Erik: We were really happy, but also Congratulations. How are you feeling? concerned because of our history. We Nermina: We’re super happy and excited. assessed the risk, decided to go on holiday My body’s changing and it’s getting more and see how it went, but hoped that real. It was my 30th birthday in June and everything would be OK. I said, “I always thought when I’m 30, I’d Nermina: I said the first thing I’d do when want to have a baby,” and a few weeks we got back was to see my GP to double later we found out. check. But on holiday the sickness started Erik: I’ve always wanted to be a dad from and I thought, “I’m definitely pregnant!” BY GALVAN LONDON, JUMPER BY TOPSHOP, BOOTS BY PARIS TEXAS. ERIK WEARS TOP BY ZARA, JEANS OFF-WHITE, TRAINERS JORDAN 4 OFF BOOTS BY PARIS LONDON, JUMPER BY TOPSHOP, BY GALVAN THIS PAGE: NERMINA WEARS DRESS BY CLUB L LONDON. ERIK WEARS SHIRT BY GIVENCHY, TROUSERS BY HUGO BOSS. FACING PAGE: NERMINA WEA PAGE: TROUSERS BY HUGO BOSS. FACING NERMINA WEARS DRESS BY CLUB L LONDON. ERIK SHIRT BY GIVENCHY, THIS PAGE: WWW.OK.CO.UK 41 How bad was it? Nermina: We were in an amazing hotel and every night I had dry pasta with a tiny bit of Parmesan cheese. I’d leave the table as the smell of the food would make me sick. Erik: We’d go back to the hotel room, she’d fall asleep and I got to watch the Champions League. Nermina: He quite enjoyed watching it on holiday – I don’t usually allow him to!
Then you arrived home and went for an early scan to confirm the news… Nermina: Yes, I was really worried. I needed that reassurance. Erik couldn’t come in, but he was waiting outside in the car so the moment I got good news, I texted him. Erik: It felt like she’d been in there for hours, so when I found out it was special. Nermina: When I got into the car we gave each other a big kiss and a hug. We couldn’t believe it was finally happening.
What was it like hearing the heartbeat? Erik: The first time Nermina heard the heartbeat, I couldn’t be there. I was gutted. But at the 12-week scan the lady let us hear it again. It’s been such a roller coaster for us, so hearing the heartbeat for the first time together brought us even closer. After all that we’ve been through, we felt blessed. Nermina: It was a magical moment. ‘AFTER ALL THAT WE’VE BEEN THROUGH WE FELT BLESSED’
How were your first weeks of pregnancy, Nermina? Nermina: It wasn’t just morning sickness – it was also the afternoon and evening. I also got dehydrated and had bad headaches. That lasted for five weeks. It was tough as I’m usually active and like to go out with my dogs and ride my horses. Instead, Erik would go to the club in the morning and I’d be in bed miserable and crying. Erik: It was pre-season, so I was busy with double sessions and longer days than normal, so I planned a little surprise for Nermina’s mum to come over [before lockdown]. Knowing that she was being taken care of was the main thing.
Have you found out the gender? Nermina: We know. We were too curious not to find out. Erik: When they first asked, we said we’d keep it a surprise. Then we received a letter with scan results and the gender attached. We debated it for about 15 minutes and thought, “We want to know now!”
Have you told anyone else? Nermina: It’s just the two of us that know. We wanted to have a gender reveal party, but it’s not possible now [because of the pandemic]. Not a lot of people even know that we’re pregnant as we want to tell them in person. But we told our parents and family because they live in the Netherlands and Bosnia. It’s mine and Erik’s parents’ first grandchild so everyone’s so excited.
Erik: We get a text every single week SHOES BY GIANVITO ROSSI. ERIK WEARS NERMINA WEARS DRESS BY DE LA VALI, KLEIN, SHOES BY LOUBOUTIN JUMPER BY ZARA, TROUSERS CALVIN 42 WWW.OK.CO.UK 43 44 saying, “Can we tell people now?” They’re Erik: It’s really important our child is brought so happy, especially as they know our history. up to know where we come from.
Before your happy news you had a tough Your home is amazing! What’s your journey. What happened? favourite room? Nermina: I didn’t know I was pregnant. I had Erik: I love the cinema room with the fish my period and the bleeding continued for tank behind us to watch Netflix. But the living a third, fourth, fifth week. I knew something room also looks lovely with lots of crystals. wasn’t right and went to the doctors. They Nermina: We bought the house last year said I’d had an early miscarriage. Erik’s a and the renovations are never-ending. We footballer and I’m really active, so you think changed the whole house. It feels like a you’re two healthy people and it would home now. The last part is the garden, which happen quite easily, but you just never know. is getting finished now, and then the nursery.
Were you each other’s rock? Have you had any thoughts on a theme? Erik: Definitely. I’m the only one my age in Nermina: I want to keep it neutral. No my team that doesn’t have kids, so when blue or pink, but with some nice details. I heard everyone talking about their babies, Erik: That could change though, so I’ll wait it was strange. But we knew we had to talk until the last minute and then paint it! about how we were feeling. Nermina: It brought us closer. We didn’t You’ve also built a bar. Are you going to share the news with anyone else. We shared throw a party when the baby arrives? the same loss. Nermina: Yes! Hopefully the rules will change and we can have a party. I’m looking forward Does the pregnancy mean all the more to having champagne – I miss drink now. considering what you’ve been through? Nermina: We’re more excited as we’re finally Would you film an at-home reality show? having the baby we always wanted. It’s made Erik: I prefer to have the cameras on the us realise how lucky we are because we’ve football pitch, but if Nermina wanted to, been on the other side. I’d support her 100%. Nermina: We’re quite private, but we don’t Nermina, you’ve opened up about your mind cameras coming into our lives now and upbringing in war-torn Bosnia. Will that again. We don’t have anything to hide. experience affect the way you parent? Nermina: Definitely. I’m happy to give my Is a return to The Real Housewives Of child luxury and all the things I didn’t have Cheshire on the cards? in my early life, but I also want to keep them Nermina: I’m still in touch with the girls. I left grounded and down-to-earth. on a really good note, so I know the door’s open. Right now though, I’m busy with the Will you raise your child to be bilingual? house and the baby. OK! Nermina: That’s the goal. English will be their main language, but we always speak WORDS: RIANNE ISON PHOTOS: DAVID LONGSTAFFE STYLIST: Dutch at home and I speak Bosnian with GEMMA HARRISON AT ME HAIR: KIERON FOWLES CREATIVE my parents. DIRECTOR REGISUK MAKE-UP: ALEXANDRA CLARE MAKE-UP NERMINA WEARS DRESS BY MARIA LUCIA HOHAN. ERIK WEARS JUMPER BY ELEVENTY, TROUSERS BY HUGO BOSS, SHOES LOUBOUTIN NERMINA WEARS DRESS BY MARIA LUCIA HOHAN. ERIK JUMPER ELEVENTY, WWW.OK.CO.UK 45 RIP MARADONNA he world is in mourning Argentina, where he is after the passing of considered a national hero, TArgentine football embarked on three days of legend MARADONNA. He mourning with fans unable died of a heart attack aged to believe the news of his 60, prompting scenes of untimely death. Fans collective grief across the gathered at the Obelisco globe as fans paid tribute de Buenos Aires landmark to one of the greatest dressed in the Argentine footballers of all time. colours of blue and white Upon news of his death, to express their sadness.
SOFIA VERGARA FEARS FOR HER LIFE
hey celebrated their fifth In documents filed by their Twedding anniversary producing partner Luis Balaguer, recently, but it’s doubtful it was claimed that Rengifo SOFIA VERGARA or her husband Randazzo was mentally unstable JOE MANGANIELLO were in and had admitted to stalking the mood to party. The couple the family when he was arrested filed a request for a restraining for trespassing. The document order for them and her adult son also states that Sofia and Joe Manolo from a man who was are “afraid for their lives” having recently arrested for trespassing been “repeatedly harassed” at their home. by Randazzo.
46 HOLLYWOOD
J LO IN THE BUFF pparently determined to Abreak the internet, JENNIFER LOPEZ has teased fans about the release of her upcoming album In The Morning with an incredible, nearly naked pose on the cover. It is almost impossible to believe that J.Lo is 51 years old, as she shows off her six-pack, toned arms and eye-popping engagement ring in the image. “Surprise” the mum-of-two said, as she shared the picture with her 133 million Instagram followers. Known to follow a strict diet and exercise regime, Jennifer was no doubt keen to show off the incredible shape she’s in. Singer RITA ORA was one of those who commented on the shot, simply writing, “Legend.”
CHRISTINA PERRI REVEALS TRAGIC LOSS
inger CHRISTINA The brave 34-year-old PERRI has broken the shared the news alongside a Sdevastating news that, picture of herself and husband after suffering pregnancy Paul Costabile holding the complications, her baby tot’s hand. “Last night we lost girl was “born silent”. our baby girl. She was born silent after fighting so hard to make it into our world,” she captioned the image. Christina, who was understood to be about 32 weeks pregnant, added, “She is at peace now and will live forever in our hearts.” The baby girl had intestinal complications and would have required immediate surgery had she survived delivery. The star suffered a devastating miscarriage back in January when she was around 11-weeks pregnant. PHOTOS: GETTY WWW.OK.CO.UK 47 FRIEND TO THE STARS ‘KIM STUCK TO ME LIKE GLUE THE WHOLE NIGHT’ AMERICAN TV PRESENTER PAUL WHARTON OPENS UP TO OK! ABOUT MOVING TO THE UK TO FIND LOVE AND LIVING THE DREAM WITH HIS CELEBRITY PALS
ith a lifestyle that includes Home For The Holidays, Paul has flown dates with Kim Kardashian and across the pond in search of a new life in sleepovers with bestie Whoopi London, where he hopes to become the Goldberg, American-born new Graham Norton. TVW personality and author Paul Wharton When we speak to the 43-year-old, shouldn’t have any trouble settling into our he’s Zooming us from his stunning Chelsea British celebrity circle, as he prepares for triplex home, surrounded by beautiful his UK debut on ITVBe’s celebrity show, bouquets of flowers. He tells us his local Totally Unbelievable. florist is his “new best friend”. Famed for presenting and starring in A joyous Paul fills us in on his colourful MTV and Bravo shows in the States, and life hanging out with some of Hollywood’s hosting Fox TV’s Emmy-nominated series top A-listers and talks us through his
48 PAUL WEARS SUIT BY TWISTED TAILOR, SHIRT BY RIVER ISLAND, BOOTS BY JEFFERY WEST SHIRT BY RIVER ISLAND, BOOTS JEFFERY WEARS SUIT BY TWISTED TAILOR, PAUL WWW.OK.CO.UK 49 ‘I WANT A CAMEO ON MY FAVOURITE REALITY SHOW MADE IN CHELSEA’
50 incredible showbiz anecdotes. people were worrying that When asked about his most I didn’t have a way of getting interesting celeb encounter, he home. I was loving the attention excitedly says, “I went on a date [laughs]. A couple of minutes later with Kim Kardashian. And I know Patti comes out of the doors with what you’re thinking, but a her flowing hair and covered in gentleman never tells!” jewellery. She points at me and Here, the glowing TV presenter says, “You come here! Did your talks downing tequila shots with ride leave you?” So when I said Oprah, his emotional reunion yes, she said, “What am I meant with idol Patti LaBelle, and how to do? I can’t just leave you out befriending Stevie Wonder here – you’re going to have to changed his outlook on life… jump in the limo with me!” Sadly her security wouldn’t allow it and Paul, tell us about your they took me home. new home… Well, I picked this spot in Chelsea Wow! Was that a special because I wanted to become moment for you? part of a community and get to Of course! I believed the know my neighbours and local exchange was only special to shopkeepers. I like to support my me, but my mother believed neighbourhood butcher, choose it was also special to Patti. flowers from my florist and pop Twenty seven years later, I asked into my local wine shop to grab her to do my holiday special and the perfect bottle to pair with that became the year I got my my dinner. I want the complete Emmy nomination. I believe I got London experience and to make that because when I went to a cameo on my favourite reality Patti’s, our reunion was so show, Made In Chelsea, so here heartfelt. When we were in her I am. I’ve always wanted to move house my mum told her niece to England, but after having a about Patti offering me a ride good life and career in the States, home back when I was a teen, it took a lot of courage to pack up and Patti said, “You’re that boy?” and move to a new country. I love She remembered the whole extraordinary adventures and to story. I was so happy to have challenge myself, and with my my mother there to share that family’s support, I knew this was experience with her. my time to strike out. Have you had any other Who made you such a memorable celebrity courageous person? encounters? My mother. She’s always believed I interviewed Stevie Wonder in me. She knew I loved Patti and we became friends. He LaBelle and encouraged me to is wonderful. As a person sing like her. who is driven by beautiful and aesthetically pleasing Patti was on your show Home surroundings, to spend time with For The Holidays. Was that the him and get to see his vibrant first time you met? imagination was incredible. That No. When I was a child, Patti was a moment that reminded me would perform near my home. to see people for more than their One night I snuck out to her stage exterior. The lesson from Stevie door where she was meeting was you can live an extraordinarily fans. I had a lift home waiting for colourful life without being me, but I was adamant on seeingg sighted.gg He wasn’t missing out her, so my lift went.. I was only 13 and
Paul’s Chelsea triplex is stunning PAUL WEARS SUIT BY TOPMAN, JUMPER BY ASOS, BOOTS BY JEFFERY WEST WEARS SUIT BY TOPMAN, JUMPER ASOS, BOOTS JEFFERY PAUL
WWW.OK.CO.UKWWW OK CO UK 51 on anything and I’ll always be time. She said she couldn’t handle grateful to him for the lesson. it and didn’t like the way it made her feel. I saw her drinking at her Tell us more about your date 40th birthday party. Can I tell you with Kim Kardashian... who got me into tequila? Well, it’s true I once went on a date with Kim. It was when Of course… Keeping Up With The Kardashians Oprah! [Grabs a framed picture of had just started. A friend who owns them together.] My love of fabulous a popular club in Washington DC cocktails comes from her. I wasn’t a said to me, “I need you to be the huge fan of tequila, but when I met date of Kim Kardashian.” I was Oprah, she loved it, so we started surprised, because although she drinking it together and I haven’t wasn’t huge, she was the hot new Kim and Paul go stopped yet! thing in town. My friend told me back a long way Kim was hosting a big night and You’re very well connected. had asked him to sort her out with How did you meet Oprah? a date. She wanted to know who KUWTK she’s testing out a few We met during the inaugural ball the most interesting guy in DC was cocktails. I kept saying, “Come of Barack Obama. Everyone was and, to my surprise, he mentioned on, Kim, I can fix you up with freaking out around her, but I was me. Kim and I had so much fun that whatever drink you want,” and as cool as a cucumber. One way night we went out again the next she’d say, “No, no, I don’t want a to really scare off the biggest night – we hung out together a lot. drink.” She’s very quiet and she celebs is to make a big fuss. I was needs to feel secure. She stuck looking pretty good that night. What was it like spending time to me like glue the whole night. I have a very distinctive look and with Kim? apparently I caught her eye. She She’s fantastic. She didn’t drink Why didn’t she drink? was giving me a look like she in those days, but I see now on She’s not been a drinker for a long thought she should know who
52 PAUL WEARS SHIRT AND BLAZER BY ASOS DESIGN, JEANS RIVER ISLAND WEARS SHIRT PAUL WWW.OK.CO.UK 53 STYLING: RAY WOOLDRIDGE ASSISTED BY HEATHER PATCHING HAIR: HELEN GEBRENESKEL PATCHING WOOLDRIDGE ASSISTED BY HEATHER STYLING: RAY CHELSEA, MAKE-UP: LOLA ALEXANDRA PR MANAGER: JAINE BRENT THANKS TO FLOWER STAND WEST BY RIVER ISLAND, BOOTS JEFFERY SHIRT WEARS SUIT BY TWISTED TAILOR, GETJUJED.COM PAUL 54 I was, and said, “Would you like to have shot back. Every now and again, a little someone out in a beautiful bar, but now a drink?” Out of everyone in the room spicy word will slip out that you wouldn’t everyone meets online. trying to talk to her, I ended up being imagine her saying! there with her all night long. She was Tell us about your advising me about using the best You were on The Real new show Totally ingredients for cocktails and said, “Don’t Housewives Of DC… He’s pals Unbelievable... skimp, buy the best ingredients you can Yes! I was on it with Oprah We take a look at afford.” So happy hour time is really when the White different celebrity important to me – I have all my own fresh House party crasher topics, like totally ingredients and a little herb garden just scandal happened. unbelievable celebrity outside my kitchen window. homes, where we talk Did you have any part about Kim and Kanye’s Did you and Oprah hit it off that night? in the scandal? house, Beyoncé and I felt like I was hogging her, so I said, “All No, of course not! Jay Z’s home, and Taylor these people want your time – I’m going Here’s what happened… Swift’s beach place in to leave you to it.” And she said, “Well, There was a husband Rhode Island. What where are you going?” I was like, “I’m and wife on the show I bring to the show is just going to give you some space.” She who thought, as a big so many personal said, “Why?” So I said, “Oh, am I not finale to the season, they’d fake an invite experiences related to the topics. In hogging your space?” And she said, “No to Obama’s first state dinner. She got another episode we talk about totally – do you want another drink?” [Laughs] dressed up in a sari, he wore a tuxedo unbelievable celebrity vacation spots and We had such a wonderful time. I ended – the only thing they didn’t have was an I share a very interesting personal story up sticking with her that night, and I’m invite. But they got in and a journalist about the fabulous Sir Elton John. looking forward to reconnecting with her broke the story, saying they shouldn’t after the pandemic, because I have a new have been there. The next day an Who would you like to be as big as? show her network is interested in. investigation started and a picture of the I don’t want to be anyone but myself, but wife and Joe Biden was all over the news. I love Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen because Is she different in person from how she So that was the end of our show! of Changing Rooms, and there’s a bit of comes across on TV? me that’s very Graham Norton. I just so She’s just as full of compassion and she’s Did that upset you? enjoy his flow and the way he talks to very funny. But she’s actually a lot more Absolutely. I loved that show and I love people. Also, how much is Alison relatable than you imagine her being. the Obamas. Hammond working it? She’s my best She’s done the therapy and worked on friend – in my head. Alison, call me! OK! herself. She’s a teacher, but she’s also a Are you in a relationship? TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE IS ON TUESDAY, 9PM, ITVBE fun girl. People may not know that Oprah I’ve come to the UK for love, with an can let her hair down and throw a tequila open heart. You used to be able to meet WORDS: EMILY WHITWAM PHOTOS: LORNA ROACH
WWW.OK.CO.UK 55 CORRIE AT ‘I LIKE IT WHEN STEVE AND TRACY ARGUE!’ KATE FORD LOOKS BACK ON NEARLY YEARS OF PLAYING FEISTY TRACY BARLOW INCLUDING HER FOND MEMORIES OF STARRING ALONGSIDE THE LATE CORRIE LEGEND ANNE KIRKBRIDE
ny long-standing Corrie fan will but she’d get me a bottle of red and smile at references to the young we’d sit in her kitchen – she’d be Tracy Barlow, stomping upstairs smoking and I’d be drinking wine. in a strop at No1 to play tapes Ain her bedroom. But then, given her But the Barlows are still a clan, even mum Deirdre’s chaotic love life, perhaps without matriarch Deirdre there… it’s no surprise she was a troubled teen. Yes, there is a real bond between Kate Ford, 43, became the fourth the Barlows. When we have Barlow actress to play Tracy when she joined scenes together I always feel safe. in 2002, and she’s had a ball as the You’re with your family. Weatherfield bad girl you just know is going to grow old disgracefully... Of course Tracy’s adoptive dad – Ken Barlow – has been on the show since Kate, it’s quite the milestone as Corrie the start. Has Bill Roache been a big turns 60. How did you feel when you influence in your career? joined the show in 2002? In my life, not just career. If I have a Actually, when I was at school I had been a Tracy’s “mundane” problem and I can’t work it out, he will Corrie extra. It wasn’t because I wanted to scenes with Steve always come up with an angle that helps be an actress, it was because you got £50 are Kate’s favourite me. It was the same with Annie. Both of a day! At the time I was mad about horse them have been big, positive influences riding, and this was just a way of making in my life. As for working, you can’t be pocket money. I was in a couple of scenes. Were you nervous when you started nervous with Bill because he’s so chilled. In one, Steve McDonald was going to a pop working on the show as Tracy? concert and I handed him a flyer outside. Yes. When I joined the show there were, like, Have you made good pals from the show? Later, I joined a youth theatre in Lancaster 18 million people watching. I’m not saying I’ve got lots of friends among the cast, but and got more interested in taking it further. it’s not still very popular, but people didn’t we all live in different places. So we’ll go for have all the other channels to watch. You a drink occasionally, but it’s not like it would So it was a few years before you came were in everybody’s living room. be if you were on tour with a play. The back as Tracy… closest friend I’ve made is Shobna Gulati Yes, I hadn’t auditioned for other Corrie What was your first day on set like? [who played Sunita]. We talk every week. roles, then this role came up after I’d been My dad had to pull the car over and I was to drama school. People said, “Oh you sick on the way to the studios, due to nerves. Does your son, Otis, take much notice don’t want to do a soap, you’ll be in it for I’d never been sick with nerves like that of Tracy and her dramas? ages.” And I said, “I’m going to do six before. I was most excited to meet Annie No, he’s not interested at all! Years ago, months, max.” And here I am, nearly 20 and Bill [Anne Kirkbride and Bill Roache], I would have found it hard to pick him up years later! because I was playing from school because all the children would Deirdre and Ken’s be over-excited that someone from Corrie But you already had daughter. They came had turned up. But it’s all different now he’s a family link to the into the make-up room at secondary school. Street, didn’t you? and gave me a hug. My dad’s first cousin They are such warm What would you like to see happen with [Tricia Ford] was in people and I was Tracy in the future? Coronation Street for obviously nervous. They I don’t know about Tracy’s future. To be about two years, I hugged me really tight. honest, I actually like it when I’m doing more think. She played a mundane stories, like Steve and Tracy just woman called Pauline, Tragically the Street being normal. I like it when they argue. I who was one of the lost Anne Kirkbride in don’t want big dramas – I love everyday life. factory girls, and she 2015. You were very had an affair with Mike close, weren’t you? So you’re not hoping for another shocking Baldwin. I remember I used to go and stay plot like when Tracy killed her boyfriend, her coming round with Annie and she Charlie Stubbs? to my house when Anne, who played would run me a nice hot If I see a fight in a script, I dread it. I’m too old I was a kid with one her on-screen mum bath and put candles to be throwing myself around the place! OK! of those cast photo Deirdre, was “motherly, round it. She was so cards and I thought lovely and caring” motherly, lovely and WORDS: TRICIA MARTIN PHOTOS: CAMERA PRESS it was so glamorous! caring. She didn’t drink,
56 WWW.OK.CO.UK 57 CORRIE AT ‘CORRIE’S ALMOST PART OF MY DNA NOW’ AFTER MORE THAN THREE DECADES ACTRESS Hilda didn’t SALLY DYNEVOR STILL COUNTS HER BLESSINGS think Sally was FOR LANDING THE ROLE THAT CHANGED HER LIFE good enough for Kev
t’s 34 years since Sally Dynevor (then Sally In the early days you had a lot of scenes Whittaker) made her Corrie debut. Now, with Jean Alexander, who played Hilda. as the world’s longest-running soap opera What was that like? celebrates 60 years on-screen, she’s one of She was so professional and dedicated. She Iits longest-serving cast members. And a lot has taught me a lot about things like discipline, happened to her Street namesake in that time. which is really important. And, of course, Cobbles legend Hilda Ogden thought Sally there was Bill Roache as Ken. When I see him was too downmarket to be her lodger Kevin in the corridor I still get excited, thinking, “Oh Webster’s girlfriend. But they married and had my God, I can’t believe he’s been in it since a roller-coaster relationship for decades. These the very first episode!” Back then the cast was days Sally’s got a new soulmate in Tim, an older – character actors who were incredible inspired pairing with actor Joe Duttine. and had done rep theatre, variety, light The years have been action-packed and entertainment… With the older cast today And that led you to become involved with even incorrigible Corrie gossip Hilda would there are so many memories – we’ve all grown the charity Prevent Breast Cancer… have been lost for words if she’d heard that, up, grown old, had our families and gone Finding it early is so important and that is exactly one day, Sally “from the wrong side of town” through marriages, births and deaths together. what they are doing – trying to predict breast would be Mayor of Weatherfield! cancer in women, prevent it and protect them. You never know what’s around the corner You arrived as part of a kind of northern for the Street’s greatest social climber. And brat pack… Viewers have seen Sally and Kevin marry that’s just one of the reasons Sally Dynevor, 57, There was myself and Michael Le Vell [Kevin], and have their girls, Rosie and Sophie. And still gets a thrill when she picks up a script… Nigel Pivaro [Terry], Kevin Kennedy [Curly], now Helen Flanagan and Brooke Vincent Sally Ann Matthews [Jenny] and Sean who play them are mums… Sally, as Corrie turns 60, can you believe Wilson [Martin]. It was quite We are all very close. When we you’ve been in it for so long? an exciting time because it were able to meet up we got No! I still feel like a newcomer, it’s unbelievable. was kind of like the next together with the babies. I’m generation, not that we so proud of them, they are But it took you a few attempts to get your knew it. There I was on great mums. I miss them foot on the cobbles, didn’t it? my first day, meeting – I wish they were back I’d just come out of drama school. I auditioned people I’d watched in the show. to be a posh girlfriend of Kevin’s but that would since I was a little girl. never have worked! And also a milkman’s You’re a mum-of-three daughter, but I didn’t get that either. Then I And now here we are, and Helen’s pregnant got a call about this character called Sally and celebrating 60 years with her third child. thought, “That’s a good omen, she’s got the of Corrie… Did you both give same name.” I got a few episodes and then it Yes, we’ve got this Brooke baby advice? … With Helen, was a year. And the years have just rolled by wonderful 60th Brooke, their Brooke is incredible. She anniversary storyline, children and Sally’s has always been brilliant with the fight for the Street. daughter, Hattie children, so there was never It’s lovely because it involves any of that – she probably knew the whole community – we’re all more than me and Helen! in it together. There’s something really poignant about that. You must feel like a surrogate grandma, on a practice run before doing it for real! One of your most famous storylines was Yes, I hope I don’t have to do that for a while! when Sally found out she had breast cancer, Phoebe’s 25, Sam’s 23 and Hattie’s 17, so I’m only for you to find out you had it too… hoping I’ve got a few years yet. You joke that life imitates art, but when that happened it was just the biggest shock. I was And Corrie’s to thank for you meeting their very confused for a while thinking that my dad, Tim, as well… Joe plays her surgeon had mixed me up with my character. Tim’s mum, Shirley, worked on the show. He was partner, Tim, But if it hadn’t been for that storyline I probably at university and one holiday he came home and on Corrie would never have checked myself. I was 46 was an extra in the Rovers and we got chatting. and I thought it wouldn’t happen to me. Later, I invited his mum to a party. She brought 58 Tim. His dad was a director on Coronation Street in the very early days so he’d grown up with it. And Tim’s brother, Josh, was our floor manager for years. So there are a lot of connections between the Dynevors and Coronation Street.
You’ve made a lot of good friends among the cast, but do you manage to keep up with people after they leave the show? It’s hit and miss. I’m really close to Connie Hyde who played Sally’s sister, Gina. It’s very difficult because people like Suranne Jones go off and are so busy, it’s hard to keep up. But whenever you do see each other there’s great love and respect. People are very warm about their time on the show, whenever it was in their career.
You’ve got so many great memories but do you have any regrets? The one person I really wish I’d got to meet at Corrie was Pat Phoenix [Street icon Elsie Tanner] because I met her when I was 13. I was walking past Oldham Town Hall, going to my drama class, and out of a huge car gets Pat Phoenix. I don’t know what came over me but I just ran over and said, “Hi Pat! I want to act.” And she said you’ve got to work so hard and be dedicated. She gave me all these tips and I really wanted to see her again so I could say, “I met you when I was 13 and you were lovely and inspired me,” but I never got the chance.
You’re 57 now. Do you think we’ll see Sally as a pensioner, still living on the Street? You do think, “I wonder if this is the year they do something terrible to my character?” You never think it’s forever, everyone gets nervous when their contract is up! But I still get excited, every time I’ve got a bunch of scripts with good things in. I can’t imagine having that anywhere else. We all enjoy it so much you don’t see the years flying by, and Corrie’s almost part of my DNA now. OK!
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WORDS: TRICIA MARTIN PHOTOS: GRANADA TV, TONY WARD
WWW.OK.CO.UK 59 BIG BAND MAN ‘KEITH LEMON HAS TOLD EVERYONE HE LOVES MY SINGING’ CHRIS ‘KAMMY’ KAMARA TELLS OK! ABOUT HIS SURPRISE SINGING CAREER THAT HAS EARNED HIM SOME DIEHARD CELEBRITY FANS
hen former footballer Chris heels in love with Has meeting any of your other “Kammy” Kamara was asked to it. He was telling heroes lived up to that? record a Christmas album last everybody, and I All my experiences of meeting year, he thought somebody was mean everybody he my heroes have been brilliant. Wtrying to wind him up. But the much-loved came into contact I worked with George Best in football pundit got the last laugh when with, “You’ve got to my early days at Sky, and I met Here’s To Christmas shot straight into the listen to Kammy’s Pelé and Eusébio. Top 10 and became a frontrunner for the Christmas song!” Christmas No1 slot. What are your other ambitions? Twelve months on, the larger-than-life Who’s your I would like to go into the I’m TV star, 62, is back with his follow-up musical hero? A Celeb jungle one day – in album ...And A Happy New Year – another Elton John. All day Australia, I might add! But it’s collection of big band Christmas songs long. When I was a With his on during the football season, accompanied by an 18-piece orchestra. young boy growing hero, Elton so I’m not able to do it. Football We caught up with Kammy, who has up, I loved the is my first love. two sons, Ben and Jack, with his wife of piano. Then Elton’s 38 years Anne, to talk about returning to music came out. Not only was he fantastic, You’re now a grandad. Do the kids like the recording studio, why he’d jump at the but he’s a fan of Watford FC. watching you on TV? chance to do I’m A Celeb, and how being I did Crackerjack! a few weeks ago and I’ve a grandad has changed his life. Have you met him? done CBeebies Bedtime Stories because Yes, people say never meet your heroes I want them to watch all that in case I’m not Hi Kammy. You’re back with a second but it’s rubbish when it comes to Elton around in a few years’ time. They love it! Christmas album... John. I met him at Watford’s Vicarage I know! Can you believe it? I thought I’d do Road. Elton and his husband David Furnish How have you found being a grandad? one album and that would be it, but the were in the directors’ box showing their They change your life completely. Just way it was received was quite amazing, so two children where Elton used to sit as before lockdown, my son Ben and his two the record company said, “We’ll go again.” a kid. I thought, “I won’t disturb them, kids moved into our house, and my younger I couldn’t be more delighted. and I’ll try and see him after the game” son Jack lives next door with his partner – but he turned around, saw me and and their daughter. We had four months Are you channelling Michael Bublé? went “Kammy!” of family time I never Michael Bublé’s so brilliant and has sold had when my boys millions and millions of records worldwide. Did you chat? were growing up, I can’t for one minute associate myself with Not only was I able to say hello to him but playing games and him! I have to be who I am. he knows who I am! I was so excited. He having fun. OK! said, “When I can’t stream the game, I CHRIS KAMARA’S ALBUM …AND What do your famous friends make of watch Soccer Saturday. I love watching you A HAPPY NEW YEAR IS RELEASED your singing career? on it.” I asked him for a selfie and he said ON 4 DECEMBER Ben Shephard played it for Leigh Francis, of course, on one condition – that he could aka Keith Lemon, and he was head over also take one of the two of us. WORDS: RIANNE ISON PHOTOS: GETTY
60 MUSIC FILM HAPPIEST SEASON COOL SAMANTHA MUMBA rammy-nominated Gpop legend Samantha Mumba is back with a new single, Cool – 20 years after her iconic song Gotta Tell You came out. Written by the Irish singer- songwriter herself, Cool is a slick slice of EDM-fused R&B, featuring powerhouse vocals. Before the track’s release, the early noughties favourite revealed she’d been working on new music with MNEK, teasing fans they could expect a “strong pop influence”. OUT NOW
BOOK LOVE IN LOCKDOWN CHLOE JAMES risten Stewart is returning to our TV screens in a Kwarm romantic comedy, just in time for Christmas. elatable and Abby, played by Kristen, is getting ready to propose. Ruplifting, Chloe But things take a turn when she discovers that her James’ new book girlfriend, played by Mackenzie Davis, has been follows the lives of two keeping their relationship a secret from her family. singletons searching Once finding out Harper hasn’t been open with her for love in lockdown, future in-laws, Abby begins to question the person as their lives are she thought she knew. OUT NOW ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO put on hold for months. After Sophia decides she has the drive and confidence to find The One, she PODCAST is unable to put herself out there. But when her mysterious neighbour, Jack, plucks up the courage to speak to her from his balcony, she KATHERINE RYAN TELLING soon realises she can’t see a future without him EVERYBODY EVERYTHING – despite being physically apart. OUT NOW
INDUSTRY TOP TELLY BBC IPLAYER
f you’re on the lookout for your next TV drama Ibinge for these dark winter nights, add this to your must-watch list. Industry explores the troubles and consequences in the world of London banking. The series looks into the lives of a group of graduate investment bankers at Pierpoint & Co, each competing for a handful of permanent positions anyone would dream of. Will Harper Stern become a success and climb her way to the top of the leading investment bank in the city? OUT NOW
he outstanding and utterly hilarious stand-up Tcomedian Katherine Ryan gives her brutally honest and witty perspective on a variety of topics in her new podcast, Telling Everybody Everything. The comedy favourite, known for her raw humour and emotional truth, doesn’t hold back when dishing out advice on relationships, everyday life and career troubles. This gem of a podcast will help get you through the uncertain times of 2020. What’s not to like about that? OUT NOW REVIEWS: KIRSTY HATCHER PHOTOS: CTMG REVIEWS: KIRSTY HATCHER WWW.OK.CO.UK 61 62 NEW ARRIVAL ‘I KEPT TELLING SINEAD THAT HENRY WAS GONNA BE FINE BUT I WAS SCARED’
APPRENTICE AND CELEBRITY MASTERCHEF STAR THOMAS SKINNER AND HIS FIANCÉE SINEAD CHAMBERS INTRODUCE BABY HENRY ALBERT WHOSE ARRIVAL WAS NOT WITHOUT ITS COMPLICATIONS
nyone who’s given birth will catchphrase “bosh!”, Sinead’s labour know it’s no walk in the park, was an emotional roller coaster. But the but for Sinead Chambers, couple, who have been together three fiancée of Celebrity MasterChef years, agree the result was well worth it. Astar Thomas Skinner, the experience Seeing the pair gently fuss over was particularly harrowing. Not only did little Henry is a delight and you can their firstborn, Henry Albert, make his tell they are relishing every moment of debut appearance almost two weeks parenthood. Even the lack of sleep isn’t late, his heart rate dropped more than worrying them! “I can get away with once during an induced labour, meaning three hours,” says Tom, 30, who makes Sinead, 30, couldn’t get the epidural his living delivering mattresses and she wanted. As Thomas stood by pillows in between his TV work. helplessly, the doctors at Basildon Here the delightful couple, who live Hospital worked hard to assure the new in Essex, invite us into their home to parents everything would be alright – show off Henry, relive the “terrifying” and, as you can see from our gorgeous, labour and reveal why the baby is a exclusive pictures, little Henry was “little ringer” for his besotted daddy… delivered safely and in good health on 5 November, weighing 8lb 13oz. Congrats guys, Henry’s beautiful! For cheeky chappy Thomas, who was Thomas: Thank you so much. Being a a fan favourite on the 2019 series of dad is just the best thing ever. I’m The Apprentice and is known for his absolutely loving it. THOMAS WEARS TOP BY BOOHOO, TROUSERS BY NEXT. SINEAD WEARS DRESS BY THOMAS WEARS TOP BY BOOHOO, TROUSERS NEXT. WHITE & GREY WEARS CARDIGAN HAND KNITTED BY NANNY, BABY HENRY NEXT. ASDA BY BILLIE SHEPHERD’S RANGE FOR GEORGE AT OUTFIT UNDERNEATH
WWW.OK.CO.UK 63 It sounds like the birth was quite stressful though – what happened? Sinead: So, Henry was 13 days late and I really didn’t want to be induced, as I’d heard it was more painful – which it was! I went in on the Wednesday to start the process, but the baby was distressed and his heart rate dropped. They monitored me and told me they couldn’t give me the pessary [to start the induction] as a result. They actually wanted me in the labour ward that evening but there were no beds. Anyway, the baby was fine and his heart rate went back up. They kept me in overnight on a different ward, then at 7am in the morning, took me upstairs, broke my waters, put me on a drip and within four hours he was here.
A dropped heart rate sounds frightening… Sinead: Yeah it was! And because of Covid-19 Tom couldn’t come and stay with me until I was on the actual labour ward, so I had to spend that first night on my own. When I heard Henry was in distress, I got really scared. Thomas: It was well scary. Sinead rang me up crying, and I couldn’t do anything to help. It was the day before lockdown, I couldn’t even go to the hospital. I just panicked so much. I kept telling her it was gonna be fine, but I was proper scared. But the team that looked after her, the midwives and the doctors, were fantastic.
You had a relatively short labour – you must have been relieved? Sinead: Oh massively. That and I was just so THOMAS WEARS CARDIGAN BY BOOHOO, T-SHIRT BY M&S. THOMAS WEARS CARDIGAN BY BOOHOO, T-SHIRT SINEAD WEARS TOP & TROUSERS BY BOOHOO, HEELS WEARS BABYGROW BY NEXT BABY HENRY NEXT.
64 WWW.OK.CO.UK 65 THOMAS WEARS JUMPER BY BOOHOO. SINEAD WEARS JUMPER & SKIRT BY NEXT. THOMAS WEARS JUMPER BY BOOHOO. SINEAD & SKIRT ASDA WEARS OUTFIT BY BILLIE SHEPHERD’S RANGE FOR GEORGE AT BABY HENRY 66 glad to have the contractions stop. They you.” And it’s true! I was crying my eyes out. I middle name. My grandad was a proper were so painful. was like, “Give him to me!” I cut the cord and legend and it’s lovely to carry the name on, Thomas: They told me she was really everything. I’ve never felt love like it, I tell ya. and little Henry’s middle name is Albert. struggling with the pain, so they said they We just loved it – nice strong name! would give her an epidural. Then the doctor So, you’d agree he’s totally worth it? came in and just said “no”. The baby’s heart Thomas: Oh my God, absolutely. Henry Albert sounds very regal… rate had dropped so low again, they couldn’t Sinead: The second he was put on my chest, Thomas: Oh yeah, he’s gonna be a king! I’m risk it. Sinead was upset, and in the worst pain I knew it had all been worth it. gonna set him up with Princess Charlotte she’s ever experienced. I was so panicked and when he’s older. worried and kept asking the doctors if she was okay. I was an absolute mess. Can you already see the sort of child ‘IT’S THE BEST he’ll be? That all sounds so traumatic! Sinead: He’ll be cheeky – he’ll be the image Sinead: I honestly thought I was gonna die, THING THAT’S EVER of Thomas. it was that painful. Other women on the ward Thomas: And my mum said I was the devil were screaming too – it wasn’t just me. HAPPENED TO ME’ child, so I’m looking forward to that. Ha! Thomas: It’s clichéd to say, but it’s true – seeing it all happen was like watching my How are you both coping with favourite pub burn down. And the labour hasn’t put you off having day-to-day life as new parents? more babies in the future? Sinead: Every day is different. Henry doesn’t Thomas! Thomas: No chance. I want a football team! have a routine at the minute – he feeds when Thomas: [Laughs] Nah, I’m kidding. Being Sinead: We’ll see about that... I would he wants. We’re taking each day as it comes. there for the labour and seeing that baby definitely want more, though. I’d love a girl. Thomas: I love just watching him. I could sit come out, that was unbelievable – it was the and stare at him forever. And I do! best thing that’s ever happened in my life. Where did the inspiration for the name My mates all said to me, “When you see that come from? Is the sleep deprivation getting to you? baby being born, something happens to Thomas: Henry is my grandad’s name and my Sinead: I’m not gonna lie, it is difficult – but THOMAS WEARS ROLL-NECK BY BOSS, JEANS HIS OWN. BABY HENRY WEARS GREY OUTFIT BY BILLIE SHEPHERD’S RANGE FOR GEORGE AT ASDA WEARS GREY OUTFIT BY BILLIE SHEPHERD’S RANGE FOR GEORGE AT THOMAS WEARS ROLL-NECK BY BOSS, JEANS HIS OWN. BABY HENRY
WWW.OK.CO.UK 67 ‘ONCE I’M IN FOR THE EVENING I’LL VERY HAPPILY CHILL WITH THE BABY ALL NIGHT’
68 it’s worth it. You just have to get up and carry on. That’s the thing, you don’t have a choice, you just have to get on with it. I’ve been breastfeeding and while it was difficult to start with, it’s getting better every day. Henry’s still learning, I’m still learning. But we’re getting through it.
So, what’s Henry’s sleep like? Sinead: Well, last night for instance, we put him down at about 11.30pm and he slept through until three; then he was up at five again until seven. But he’ll nap throughout the day. We’re not in a routine yet, but he’s ever so content. He loves to sleep.
Have you had a lot of well wishes from celebrities? Thomas: So many people have congratulated us! Lord Sugar, Judi Love, Ryan-Mark Parsons – everyone I’ve ever done stuff with on the TV has been in touch. We’ve had so many cards. I’m gonna get the Tipp-Ex out and sell ’em next year!
What have been the best presents? Thomas: We got lots of lovely gifts. My mum knitted some gorgeous outfits and I think they are my favourite, she’s very talented. We’ve had a full baby West Ham kit, which I’m very happy about! One of my mates got him a teddy bear which breathes – it’s the scariest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. It’s meant to be white noise, but it terrifies me! I look at this thing and think it’s possessed!
Babies do love white noise, though… Thomas: Well, exactly – so I’ve gotta keep it around. Sinead: Henry loves the sound of the hoover, too. I often put the hoover on when he’s there. Thomas: And he loves the car, doesn’t he? Going round the bends and stuff. And rocking him in the pram.
What sort of dad is Thomas, Sinead? Sinead: He’s very hands-on. He’s even helped change the nappies, which I was surprised by. Thomas: I just love cuddling him, bathing him, having him in my arms – I love it all.
How do you find the time, considering you’re still working full time doing your deliveries? Thomas: I don’t need a lot of sleep – I can get away with three hours a night. Once I’m in for the evening, I’ll very happily chill with the baby all night. I go to work and FaceTime Sinead four of five times a day, and she’s always sending me little pictures.
Sinead, how do you cope when Thomas is not there? Sinead: I think I prefer it. He makes more mess when he’s at home! OK!
WORDS: SARAH MORTON PHOTOS: JAMES RUDLAND STYLING: LUCY MOON HAIR & MAKE-UP: CLAIRE PORTMAN USING ORIGINS AND PAUL MITCHELL MATCHING PJS BY M&S MATCHING
WWW.OK.CO.UK 69 ‘YOU HAVE TO CHERISH THINGS WHEN THE CLOCK IS TICKING’ AS WE PASS WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS TH BIRTHDAY WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE LIFE OF BLACK PANTHER STAR CHADWICK BOSEMAN AND REVEAL THE REASONS WHY HIS TALENT WILL LIVE ON FOREVER
ack in August, the showbiz world Black Panther – aka T’Challa – in the was dealt a truly devastating blow. Marvel films Captain America: Civil Actor Chadwick Boseman’s family War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity announced with “immeasurable War and Avengers: Endgame. Bgrief” that the Black Panther star had Black Panther was the highest passed away at the age of 43. grossing film of 2018 – significant The actor’s millions of fans had no idea because it was the first big-budget he had been diagnosed with colon cancer superhero movie with a black director, in 2016 and had been fighting a private lead and predominantly black cast. battle against the disease while continuing Chadwick was fully aware of how to make movies. important this was, and when he won Three months on from his tragic death, a SAG award, he referred to Nina the world is still in mourning for a man who Simone’s song To Be Young, Gifted inspired so many. Chadwick, who would And Black in his speech, saying, “It Black Panther have turned 44 on 29 November, made speaks to the fact that you have the was a career- a huge impact in a short period of time. same dreams as other people, you defining role Born in South Carolina in 1976, Chadwick have equal if not more talent at Aaron Boseman was the son of Leroy, an times, but you don’t have the same upholsterer, and nurse Carolyn. Destined opportunities. You don’t have the to have a career in the arts, he wrote and same doors opened to you, the same ceremony before his cancer became staged a play called Crossroads at high nepotism, the same money or resources too advanced. And although he wasn’t school after one of his classmates was shot that can be put towards your dreams… referring to his marriage specifically, he and killed. He studied directing at Howard When you aspire to do something that is did allude to limited time when he said, University in Washington, but after a brief outside of something the world would see “You have to cherish things in a different stint as a drama teacher in New York, he you doing – To Be Young, Gifted And way when you know the clock is ticking; moved to LA to pursue his acting career. Black is all of that. It’s to have yoyouu are under presspressure.” In 2010, Chadwick landed his first major everything, but then nnotot qquiteuite HavinHavingg gogot together with the part as a regular on the TV drama series be able to grasp it. Andnd to acaactortor onone year prior to his Persons Unknown, and three years later, be able to persevere didiagnosis,agn Simone, who’s got his breakthrough film role in biopic through that.” a sisinger,n stayed with him 42, where he played baseball player Jackie Following his death,h, eveverye step of the way Robinson. This was the first of three roles Chadwick’s Avengers ththroughout his four- where he played prominent black historical co-star Mark Ruffalo yyear cancer fight. figures. The second was singer James talked about the DDespite a few public Brown in the 2014 film Get On Up, while actor’s “power and appearances, the the third was African American Supreme impact on the next couple kept Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who generation”, while ttheir relationship Chadwick played in the 2017 film Marshall. actress Lupita llargely private – but While these performances were highly Nyong’o said, “I thinkk acaccording to Simone’s acclaimed, Chadwick will be most fondly he understood the ggrandmother,ra they were remembered for his role as superhero power of words and With his hhappy.ap “They respect chose to manifest powerower wife Simone eaceachh oother,” she said. “She’s through his word. Hee useusedd very hhappyap and he is too.” his mouth to build, too ediedify,fy, SSimone’simone’s sister had also never to break.” spoken about their romance, describing The star died at his home in LA on 28 her sibling as Chadwick’s “queen”. August with his wife Simone Ledward and Commenting on an Instagram pic of him close family by his side. His brother Derrick, with Lupita Nyong’o, she wrote, “His real a pastor, said the actor told him he was life queen is gorgeous and together they ready to go, saying, “Man, I’m in the fourth embody true love. Not to mention they’d quarter and I need you to get me out of the make beautiful babies.” game.” Derrick said, “When he told me Tragically, the couple did not have As Jackie that, I changed my prayer from, ‘God heal enough time to become parents, but Robinson in him, God save him,’ to ‘God, let your will Chadwick’s legacy will live on forever. OK! baseball be done.’ The next day, he passed away.” biopic 42 WORDS: RHONA MERCER Knowing that he didn’t have long left, PHOTOS: ALAMY, GETTY Chadwick married Simone in a private
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ON THE UP
have to admit I wasn’t GIFT A LITTLE LUXURY Ia fan of puffer coats – until Gap released its cool collection last year. I’ve since become a convert. If you are yet to invest in the cosiest coat around then you’ll be pleased to know Gap’s upcycled puffer is back. Not only do they come in an array of funky styles such as this leopard print (my fave), they are made f our Christmas gift guide last luxuries in life. With designer from 100% Iweek didn’t give you enough fashions, beautiful beauty sets and recycled, inspiration for innovative presents, chic interior buys, you’re bound water then Fenwick might just have the to find something they’ll adore. repellent extra treats you are looking for. BAG TORY BURCH £495, CANDLE JONATHAN ADLER PrimaLoft Coat This festive season you’ll find a £88, BLACK ORCHID PARFUM TOM FORD £138, GIN DECANTER JONATHAN ADLER £168, JUMPER insulation Gap one-stop shop of gorgeous gifts for VICTORIA BECKHAM £375, CHOCOLATE RITA FARHI material. £99.95 those loved ones who like the little £13.99. VISIT FENWICK.CO.UK
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84 BOX CLEVER GET LUXURIOUS PRODUCTS GET LUXURIOUS PRODUCTS AT A BARGAIN PRICE WITH THIS LITTLE BEAUTY WORDS: LYNNE HYLAND STYLING: MICHELLE DARLOW PHOTOS: PIXELEYES WORDS: LYNNE
The goodies Murad Barry M Crystal Percy & Reed Perfectly ancy treating yourself Night Fix Rock Nail Polish Perfecting Wonder Balm Fto some beauty Enzyme A lucky dip nail 150ml A full size of must-haves while saving Treatment 5ml paint in one of four this fab hair smoother, money? Then check out A luxe night sparkly shades. worth £31 alone. the OK! Beauty Edit, product to repair a new monthly beauty skin while box curated by the OK! you sleep. beauty team that delivers an edit of luxe samplers, Dr PawPaw travel treats and even Outrageous some full-sized products. Orange Lip Balm Each box costs as little 25ml A full size of Parfums de as £13 but is worth a the iconic balm in Marly Delina minimum of £30 – and a new tinted and Pegasus you don’t even have to version. Exclusif 1.5ml pay postage. Our debut Two his‘n’hers box is worth more than Balance Me Vitamin C Repair Serum samplers of this £65 – what a bargain! Go 7ml The benefits of Vitamin C in high-end to ok.co.uk/beauty-edit a gentle, slow-release form. fragrance brand. to grab one. WWW.OK.CO.UK 85 BEAUTY DIRECTOR LYNNE HYLAND SHARES THIS WEEK’S MUST-HAVES TRENDS AND TIPSES TRENDS AND TIPS
1Bag this You’ll find Judith Leiber’s outrageously out-there handbags clutched in Aliciaa Keys and Rihanna’s paws, and now you’ll find her neww fragrance clutched in mine.. The designer certainly wasn’tn’t kidding when she called it More Is More because thatt blingy bottle houses the world’sorld’s first customisable fragrance,e, with three scents and sevenn possible combinations in oone.ne. You just toggle the sliders ttoo choose whether to spray one,ne, two or even three of them at once. It’s £95 for the bottle,e, £25 for refills and the best funfun I’ve ever had creating a neww signature scent.
Tutu 2 lovely As a flatfooted twerp in a tutu, I only lasted one kids’ ballet lesson, and my adult life has confirmed I’m more suited to the bar rather than the barre. Nonetheless, the sheer prettiness of Laura Mercier’s Ballet á Paris Christmas collection is making my heart pirouette with joy. From lipstick, blushers and powders in sugarplum- pink packaging to the Prima Ballerina Mini Eyeshadow Palette, £28, it’s all perfectly en pointe.
86 BUZZWORD – “SHELLAC” 3To dye for FOR EYELASHES THIS WEEK BEAUTY Everyone from Kylie to Elle DIRECTOR LYNNE GETS Macpherson has entrusted their hair to colourist Josh A SNEAK PEEK AT A NEW Wood, and now we mere TECHNIQUE FOR INCREDIBLY mortals can inch a little closer to his exclusive atelier service LONG-LASTING EXTENSIONS – albeit at home. He’s just launched Miracle Shot (£29, including dye and toner), ail polish or gel polish? In my view, there’s no inspired by salon tech and comparison. One chips within a day, the other lasts made to calm the nerves of a fortnight, with the sort of sheen you simply can’t anyone worried DIY dye will paint on yourself. wreck their tresses. You mix this NNow imagine a revolutionary technique that promises to do conditioning potion into your for eyelashes what Shellac has done for nails, using LED light dye, right before applying, to “cure” lash extensions and double their wear. (Can I call it and it strengthens your hair Shellashes?). Its actual name is Gel-Lys and I’ve been one of while you’re the first to try it, in no lesser hands than A-list lash pro Camilla colouring it, Kirk-Reynolds, who’s worked on movies with everyone from protecting Renée Zellweger to Kristin Scott Thomas. against Although Gel-Lys is so new she can’t reveal which private breakage clients she’s using it on, she tells me her “celebrities and royals” and fading. love it, and reckons it’s a game-changer for Hollywood, where Josh reckons regular lashes cause headaches for continuity. it’s a huge The Gel-Lys difference, she explains, is all in the LED light breakthrough which “cures” a special adhesive to bond each false lash firmly in home to my own. Instead of falling off as the glue weakens, these colour – and if extensions should only be shed with my own natural lash loss anyone should cycle. “You’re looking at infills every four to seven weeks, instead know it’s him. of every two to four weeks,” she says. It takes two hours 30 minutes, so a little Before longer than a regular full set, but as soon as I open my eyes I can see it’s worth the wait. My lashes look like I’m wearing the best mascara in the world, which is exactly the aim. As Camilla puts it, “I love anything fake, as long as it looks real.” It’s been six weeks since my treatment, and I can’t think of anything better for lockdown. Sure, there’s been a bit of shedding, but my lashes are still incredibly full and I’ve hardly worn a scrap of eye make-up. After Normally, my false lashes get criss-crossed and gappy after a week, so this is life-changing. 4 I’ll be gutted when In the Nude they’re gone. Alas, there aren’t yet many therapists offering Nudestix is the Duplo Bricks of make-up – chunky, simple and Gel-Lys in the UK as requiring only starter-level motor skills to construct something training has been put decent. I’m pleased to report its first foray into skincare is similarly on hold by Covid, but easy to master, comprising five products put together by a celeb I predict this will be as dermatologist. There’s a make-up melt, £34, and cleanser, £16, to revolutionary for lashes as shift the daily detritus, a two-in-one mask-meets-moisturiser, £35, gels have been for nails. and a pair of quick mini-facials, from £24. The Lemon-Aid Detox & Glow Micro Peel, £32, is easy-peasy lemon squeezy. GEL-LYS FROM CAMILLALASHES. COM COSTS £440 FOR A FULL SET AND £240 FOR INFILLS PHOTOS: GETTY, CAMILLA KIRK-REYNOLDS PHOTOS: GETTY, WWW.OK.CO.UK 87
Fearne Cotton And Nicole is a fan of cold Scherzinger water dips… takes ice baths
THE BIG CHILL PLUNGING YOUR BODY INTO ICY WATER COULD BE THE ANSWER TO GETTING FIT AND BEATING THE BLUES THIS WINTER
earne Cotton often shares her chilly sea “for clarity, calm vibes and pure Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith has wellbeing tips on her Happy Place exhilaration”. She posted a picture on a swimming lake at her Oxfordshire home. podcast, but there’s one which will Instagram, adding, “I’m getting more Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger also send shivers down your spine – quite and more into cold water therapy.” advocates the practice of cold water Fliterally. The former Radio 1 DJ is a big fan Fearne’s penchant for wild swimming is therapy, recently sharing a photo of herself of immersing herself in cold water, whether shared by many it seems, with a noticeable braving an ice bath. Brrr! that’s in the privacy of her own bathroom surge in the potentially nippy pastime Emotional trauma and holistic expert or at the English seaside. since the first lockdown. Antonia Harman says, “Cold water therapy Speaking earlier this year to fitness What’s more, it was recently revealed is a great way to clear your head if you guru Joe Wicks, she said, “I’ll have a warm that more and more celebrities are taking wake up feeling groggy. It can help shower and then I put it on the most cold, the plunge to invest in outdoor “status anything from hangovers to depression freezing setting it will go on. I can stay in lakes” with the Beckhams digging one at and anxiety. Other benefits include there now for three minutes and then I get their Cotswolds home and Ed Sheeran boosting the immune system, deepening out. It’s heaven, you’re pumped!” installing a “nature pond” that could sleep and reducing inflammation.” In October she took her two children provide the perfect spot for a refreshing Here’s a look at how cold water can help Rex and Honey for a bracing dip in the morning swim at his Suffolk estate. Even improve our health – mind, body and soul.
IMPROVES METABOLISM BOOSTS CIRCULATION Cold showers taken two or three We’re often told cold water does times a week can increase metabolism wonders for our circulation – and it’s and, over time, they could help to not an old wives’ tale. Antonia says, fight obesity. Antonia explains, “Cold showers stimulate blood flow “Brown fat [the fat we’re born with as as the blood rushes to the vital opposed to the fat we associate with organs. Your heart is forced to pump conditions like heart disease and more efficiently, pushing blood obesity] burns when we’re cold to through your vessels and supplying keep us warm – it’s literally our body’s every part of your body with much- stored fuel. Cold exposure increases needed oxygen and nutrients.” our metabolic rate from 25-40%, so The bottom line is that “regular cold having a cold shower a day is a great showers promote healthy blood way to get lean!” circulation and a healthy body”.
88 HEALTH&FITNESS
HELPS FIGHT COMMON ILLNESS Taking a cold dip can help your resistance to common illnesses, REDUCES IMPROVES HAIR including colds and flu. Antonia says, “The lymphatic system INFLAMMATION AND SKIN doesn’t have a pump like our cardiovascular system does, so it AND SWELLING Ever noticed how good becomes pretty stagnated unless you move a lot. Another way to A cold shower will your skin looks after a get it pumping is via cold water immersion. When cold, the lymph reduce swelling and wash in chilly water? vessels contract, forcing the system to pump fluids through the inflammation by “A plunge into cold water body, flushing out waste.” She goes on to add that, “Cold water lowering the tightens your skin and exposure also triggers leukocytes (white blood) cells to attack and temperature of reduces pore sizes,” destroy unwanted substances in the lymph. This means you’re damaged tissue and explains Antonia. “You’re better able to fight bugs and infections.” constricting blood also less likely to have vessels. Antonia excessive oils, greasy hair explains, “It even and breakouts, compared numbs nerve endings, to washing in hot water. bringing immediate The cold also stimulates RAMPS UP relief. That’s why follicles, which can increase HAPPINESS some athletes soak in hair health and thickness.” LEVELS an ice bath after a Another benefit is that You might also find strenuous workout.” cold water closes the that you have a spring Hmm, we’re still not follicles, making your hair in your step after sold on that one! appear shinier. taking a chilly dip. And it’s no coincidence, says WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW… Antonia. “The cold Unfortunately cold water therapy isn’t a cure all, advises Antonia. water triggers a flood “If you‘ve recently been released from hospital, have a heart of mood-enhancing condition or are immune-compromised then it should be avoided. neurotransmitters. It’s important to know your own body and limits. In short, these make “Cold baths, showers and dips also take a little getting used you feel happy.” to, so for anyone wanting to try, it may be wise to start slowly – a few seconds at first and then build up from there.“ OK! ANTONIA HARMAN IS THE FOUNDER OF DIVINEEMPOWERMENT.CO.UK SHE IS AN EMOTIONAL TRAUMA AND HOLISTIC EXPERT
WORDS: CHARLOTTE HULME AND SUSANNA GALTON PHOTOS: GETTY
WWW.OK.CO.UK 89
FESTIVE FEAST THESE TRIED-AND-TESTED RECIPES WILL ENSURE YOU SERVE UP A TRIUMPH ON CHRISTMAS DAY
Brined SERVES FOUR COOKING TIME SIX HOURS INGREDIENTS ● 25g garlic, crushed For the brine ● A pinch of black peppercorns ● 4 litres water For the turkey roast ● ● 400g salt 1 x 2-2.5kg turkey ● A small handful of fresh rosemary ● 225g butter ● A small handful of fresh thyme ● Salt and pepper ● A small handful of fresh sage ● 3-4 bay leaves to decorate turkey ● 5-6 sprigs of bay leaves (optional)
his technique will ensure that your the brine at this stage) to cover it 10. Preheat the oven to 65°C/150°F/ Christmas bird is succulent, entirely. Pour the water from the gas mark ¼, using a thermometer Ttender, and packed with flavour. container into a jug to measure it for accuracy. 1. To brine the turkey, clear two – this is how much brine you will 11. Rub the turkey with the butter, shelves in the fridge – you’ll need the need. The bigger the turkey, the then season it with salt and pepper. space for chilling. Find a container that more brine is required. 12. Place the turkey in a roasting tray, will comfortably hold your turkey when 6. Place the turkey breast-side down on a rack if possible, and roast for 5-6 covered in brine. in the container. Pour on the brine, hours (longer for bigger birds). 2. Bring the water and salt to the boil straight from the fridge, and cover. 13. Remove the turkey from the oven in a pan. Once the salt has dissolved, 7. Leave the turkey in the fridge and, using an oven thermometer, check remove the water from the hob and or a cool place for about six hours. it’s cooked. The temperature should be leave to cool for 5 minutes. Remove the turkey from the container 70°C/158°F in the thickest part. 3. Add the rest of the brine ingredients and discard the brine. 14. Remove the legs and turn up the and stir. Allow the brine to cool, then 8. Wash the turkey. Fill the container heat to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. refrigerate for at least 12 hours. with fresh water and leave the bird in Return the legs to the oven to brown 4. After refrigeration, strain the brine it for 1 hour. Change the water at least for 10-15 minutes. Allow the crown to remove all the herbs and spices. three times during this period. to rest for 30-40 minutes before serving 5. Put the turkey into the container 9. Remove the turkey from the the turkey decorated with bay leaves, and pour on enough fresh water (not container and pat it dry. if using.
WWW.OK.CO.UK 91 COOKING TIME ONE HOUR Perfect INGREDIENTS ● 1kg Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes, peeled roast and cut into large chunks ● 100ml vegetable oil ● Flaky sea salt potatoes he secret to crisp leave to steam on a wire golden roasties with rack for 20 minutes. Tfluffy insides is allowing 4. Preheat the oven to them to steam before 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5. roasting. 5. Put the oil in a roasting 1. Wash the cut tray, then pop it in the potatoes to remove oven for 10 minutes to any excess starch. heat up. Add the potatoes 2. Bring a large pan of (don’t overcrowd the tray) salted water to the boil. and turn them in the oil Add the potatoes, reduce to coat. Roast for 35-40 to a simmer and cook until minutes, turning twice, they are almost breaking up. until they are crispy. 3. Carefully remove the 6. Season with flaky sea potatoes from the pan and salt and serve. Rich gravy
his rich and indulgent gravy 6. Cook on the hob, freeing any bits is a real showstopper. sticking to the pan as you go. with T1. Preheat the oven to 7. When the vegetables are quite 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. dark, pour in 2 litres of hot water and 2. Slice the celery, carrots and boil for 10 minutes. onions and place in a roasting tray 8. Reduce the heat and simmer for port with the garlic. 25-30 minutes to thicken. 3. Bash the chicken wings or thighs 9. Strain the sauce through a fine and giblets (if using) with a rolling pin sieve into a pan, pushing as much to break them up, then put them on liquid through as possible. top of the vegetables, along with the 10. Pop the pan on the heat, add the pigs in blankets. Drizzle over the oil, port and lemon juice and warm up for season and roast for 1 hour. a couple of minutes before serving. 4. Remove the tray from the oven Tip: Alternatively, make the gravy and put it on the hob. ahead and freeze it, ensuring that it’s 5. Mash everything with a fork or cold before freezing. When ready to masher, then mix in the sage and onion use, simply thaw it out and heat until and flour. it’s piping hot.
COOKING TIME HOUR AND MINUTES
INGREDIENTS ● 4 pigs in blankets ● 2 celery sticks ● Olive oil ● 2 carrots ● Salt and black pepper ● 2 onions, peeled ● 2 tbsp dried sage and onion ● 1 garlic clove, peeled ● 2 tbsp flour ● 10 chicken wings or thighs ● 2 litres hot water ● Turkey giblets, if supplied with ● A splash of port the turkey ● A squeeze of lemon juice
92 Shredded sprouts with bacon SERVES FOUR COOKING TIME - MINUTES hredded brussels sprouts 3. Remove the bacon and with bacon makes a quick, chestnuts from the pan. INGREDIENTS 4. Seasy and delicious festive Add the sprouts to the pan ● 500g sprouts, ends side dish. and stir-fry for 5-6 minutes removed 1. Shred the sprouts using until soft, but still a vivid ● Olive oil a food processor or a knife, green colour. ● 3 strips of streaky bacon, then wash. 5. Tip the sprouts into cut into thin strips 2. Heat a little oil in a frying a serving bowl, stir through ● 100g cooked chestnuts pan. Fry the bacon and the bacon and chestnuts and (optional) chestnuts, if using, until crispy. season to serve. OK! ● Salt and black pepper WRITTEN AND STYLED BY: VICTORIA GRAY PHOTOS: WINFRIED HEINZE VICTORIA GRAY WRITTEN AND STYLED BY:
WWW.OK.CO.UK 93 HIGHLAND PLAN YOUR DREAM FLING ESCAPE TAKE THE HIGH ROAD TO OUTLANDERER COUNTRY FOR HEART-STIRRING HISTORY AND SENSATIONAL SCENERY
WHY GO? Mist-shrouded mountains contrasting with deep dark-blue lochs and earthy-hued valleys peppered with romantic castles are enough of a reason for OK!’s longing to visit the north of Scotland. We were lucky to squeeze in a trip just before tighter travel restrictions were announced, but a visit to the Scottish Highlands – an adventure-lover’s dream – should be high on your to-do list for 2021. In this natural outdoor playground you’ll meet friendly locals who love to recount local legends and tales of marauding clans. The landscapes are also popular film backdrops, having appeared in many Harry Potter movies and historical TV drama Outlander. Following in the tracks of Outlander’s Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser) and WHERE CAN I STAY? Graham McTavish (Dougal and Buck Mackenzie), who took their own Highland road The restored Old Manse in a picturesque setting trip, OK! set out to tick off sights like Loch Ness, Glencoe and Glenfinnan Viaduct. on the shores of Loch Ness – famous for Nessie- spotters who flock here to try to spy the elusive Loch Ness Monster – is a perfect base from which to Atmospheric explore the Highlands. A short drive from Inverness, views across it feels as though we’ve walked onto a film set as we Loch Ness enter the handsome lochside lodge full of antiques, four-poster beds with tartan furnishings and luxury touches from Mulberry and Designers Guild. Sleeping up to 12 people over six rooms, the self-catering lodge has a large country kitchen as well as a “snug room” where OK! spends the late afternoons in front of a roaring fire. The manse is run by siblings Matthew and Magda, who can organise weddings at the on-site church, whisky-tasting tours, canoeing, fishing and the services of a private chef. After sightseeing, OK! can’t wait to see what chef John has prepared. Dinner kicks off with canapés in the drawing room before we’re called into the loch-view dining room. Menu highlights are the Scottish smoked salmon and homemade pesto bread, venison with pomme purée and blackberry jus followed by heavenly chocolate fondant.
94 Urquhart Castle ruins perch dramatically on the lochside MUST-SEE Graham and Sam ATTRACTIONS at Cawdor Castle Less than 15 minutes’ drive from the manse, OK! is blown away by the visual drama of Urquhart Castle, perched on a rugged outcrop on the shores of Loch Ness. Visitors can climb the narrow spiral staircase of Grant Tower, visit the tiny prison cell and watch a film about the castle’s history. Just outside Fort William, about 60 miles away, is FOR OUTLANDER Scotland’s highest peak, Ben Nevis. Bagging “the Ben” OBSESSIVES is a must-do for many hikers, but the less brave can Fans of Outlander will want to visit Glencoe. This area of stunning natural beauty walk in its shadow. Another must-see is Glenfinnan, the with its cascading waterfalls, craggy peaks and amazing wildlife (golden eagles 21-arch railway viaduct Harry Potter fans will recognise and red deer) appears in the show’s opening credits. Outlander actors Sam from the films. Take The Jacobite steam train – aka the and Graham kicked off their road trip in Glencoe, documented in their new Hogwarts Express – which crosses the viaduct on its book, Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, And A Scottish Adventure Like No Other. journey from Fort William to Mallaig. It’s considered Their journey sees them tackling challenging roads, embracing various forms one of the world’s greatest railway journeys. of transport, including a kayak and a tandem, and meeting Highland chiefs in their castles. In one mishap their camper van got stuck in the gate of Cawdor Castle, blocking a marathon and leaving runners distinctly unamused! The Jacobite – or When OK! asked the Scottish-born actors what they loved so much Hogwarts Express about the Highlands, Graham replied, “I love the people, their humour, – steams across their strength. It’s one of the last wildernesses of Europe. Its landscape Glenfinnan Viaduct tells the story of its people.” Sam added, “The tangible history… you can feel the ghosts of those before us. It’s a melting pot of cultures and always shares a foot set in its past.” TAVISH (HODDER & STOUGHTON, £20) IS OUT NOW TAVISH C WORDS: MEGAN DAVIES EDITED BY: OK! TRAVEL EDITOR ANNABEL MACKIE PHOTOS: GETTY, CHRIS HUMPHREYS PHOTOGRAPHY, PETER SANDGROUND
BASED ON 12 PEOPLE SHARING, THE OLD MANSE, LOCH NESS, COSTS FROM £575 A NIGHT HOW TO IN LOW SEASON AND £695 A NIGHT IN HIGH SEASON (EXCEPT PUBLIC HOLIDAYS). CALL 01463 861301 OR VISIT HIGHLAND-ESCAPE.COM. THE OLD MANSE IS JUST UNDER 17 MILES BOOK FROM INVERNESS AIRPORT. FOR TOURIST INFORMATION, SEE VISITSCOTLAND.COM. CLANLANDS: WHISKY, WARFARE, AND A SCOTTISH ADVENTURE LIKE NO OTHER BY WARFARE, CLANLANDS: WHISKY, SAM HEUGHAN AND GRAHAM M WWW.OK.CO.UK 95 HOTSPOT
Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge
BROOKS GUESTHOUSE We loved BRISTOL the rooftop caravans
THE LOWDOWN LED mood lighting and a Bristol often tops the list of the best places seating area with colourful to live in the UK, scoring highly for its leafy Designers Guild cushions. green spaces, vibrant foodie scene, vintage Breakfast is usually stores and hip labels (the city’s Gloucester served in the open-plan Road claims to be the longest stretch of dining room which leads independent shops in the UK). out to a courtyard garden, There are also picture-perfect where there is normally an neighbourhoods, such as Clifton Village honesty bar. But in these with its café culture and chic boutiques, Covid-19 times, a wicker as well as the rejuvenated harbourside picnic basket was offering restaurants and bars by the water. delivered to our caravan instead. With miniature WHERE TO STAY glass bottles of milk, orange juice, With so little Christmas cheer around, why homemade granola and yoghurt, not inject some fun into your life with a stay as well as a hot bacon roll, OK! in one of the four Rocket Airstream-style certainly wasn’t complaining! silver caravans on the Astroturf rooftop at Brooks Guesthouse? WHERE TO EAT The boutique hotel has 24 bedrooms, and Directly opposite Brooks is the the well-equipped “Rockets”, which have historic St Nicholas Market. It’s The Jetty views across the city’s Old Town, feature a housed in a heritage-listed arcade has great double bed, flat-screen TV, shower room, where you’ll find inviting food stalls seafood (we loved the Middle Eastern wraps and fancy cakes) and an Take a stroll indoor marketplace selling around St jewellery, clothing and artwork. OUT AND ABOUT Nicholas Market Just a stone’s throw from Brooks Look out for artwork such as The Mild Mild is The Jetty, a super-stylish brassiere West mural, by world-famous Bristol-born boasting large, blue glass-rimmed Banksy, on a street-art walking tour. You can windows and a marble-topped bar. also view two of engineering giant Isambard Seafood is a menu staple, with Kingdom Brunel’s works – the iconic Clifton classics such as moules marinière, Suspension Bridge, an architectural marvel BOX EDITOR PHOTOS: PAUL ! TRAVEL prawn cocktail and herb and that spans the Avon Gorge, and the SS OK crab-crusted cod. There are also Great Britain, at one point the world’s largest amazing steaks and burgers for steamship and now a museum. OK! carnivores. The delicious truffle ROOM RATES FOR BROOKS GUESTHOUSE BRISTOL IN DECEMBER and Parmesan fries are nearly COST FROM £89 PER NIGHT FOR TWO PEOPLE SHARING ON WEEKDAYS AND A NIGHT IN A ROCKET CARAVAN COSTS £109 obligatory! And if you don’t wish INCLUDING BREAKFAST. CALL 0117 930 0066 OR VISIT BROOKS to have dinner, the afternoon tea GUESTHOUSEBRISTOL.COM. TO BOOK THE JETTY, CALL 0117 203 4456 OR VISIT HARBOURHOTELS.CO.UK. FOR MORE ON THE comes highly recommended. CITY, GO TO VISITBRISTOL.CO.UK REPORT BY: ANNABEL MACKIE, REPORT BY: 96 WORLDWIDE HOROSCOPES
OK! MAGAZINE Number 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EN Tel: 020 8612 7000 Outside UK: +44 (0)20 8612 7000 RUSSELL GRANT AUSTRALIA EDITION Editor In Chief: Shari Nementzik OUR ASTROLOGER TELLS YOU ALL YOU NEED Phone: +61 421 396 225 [email protected] TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR WEEK AHEAD!
BULGARIA EDITION Editor In Chief: Nevena Dyakova ARIES TAURUS GEMINI Phone: +359 2 870 49 81 [email protected] MARCH 21 – APRIL 21 – MAY 22 – APRIL 20 MAY 21 JUNE 21 CHINA EDITION A colleague is getting Your standards may not A sense of closeness in Editor In Chief: Ivy Li Phone: +86 158 1066 1764 too used to ordering everyone be shared with someone you find friendships makes you feel good. You [email protected] about. No one should expect you to yourself working with. Your ideas of can enhance this by making group do what they demand if you don’t what is worthwhile and value for concerns a priority. You have faith in CYPRUS EDITION agree with them. It is becoming money may not fall in line with a a project and you’re keen to get Editorial Director: Marilena Ierodiakonou apparent that your approach to partner’s. Trying to thrash out started. A workmate will suggest Telephone: +357 22 580 800 a job is very different to theirs. different views will lead to arguments. approaching a job in a different way. [email protected] STARLINE ** STARLINE ** STARLINE **
GEORGIA EDITION Editor In Chief: Nino Jibladze Phone: +995 32 2295919 CANCER LEO VIRGO [email protected] JUNE 22 – JULY 24 – AUGUST 24 – JULY 23 AUGUST 23 SEPTEMBER 23 GERMANY EDITION Editor In Chief: Tim Affeld A partner will try to Financial affairs should Not everything will be Telephone: +49 4041 1882 5000 move the goalposts to suit their own be your first priority. A property or easy and you aren’t expecting it to [email protected] purposes. When your priorities differ, insurance matter will need urgent be. Even opportunities you do run you need to talk. Communication attention. Money interests may into will be approached with caution. GREECE EDITION and cooperation are key if you are involve a third party and you will You take nothing for granted and a SP: SPOKE, 0333 202 3390. ONLY. ERTAINMENT Editor In Chief: Nikos Georgiadis Phone: +30 210 25 94.031 going to avoid resentment and have to gain approval over decisions careless friend could benefit from [email protected] unnecessary conflict. being made in this capacity. following your example. STARLINE ** STARLINE ** STARLINE ** JAPAN EDITION Editor In Chief: Kana Sugamori Phone: +81 3 6802 8048 [email protected] LIBRA SCORPIO SEPTEMBER 24 – OCTOBER 24 – LATVIA EDITION OCTOBER 23 NOVEMBER 22 Editor In Chief: Laila Pastare This isn’t the time to get Misunderstandings can Phone: +371 674 960 47 [email protected] into debt. However, it may be worth result from pretending to understand your while to give some serious what someone is telling you when PAKISTAN EDITION thought to investment ideas you don’t. Put your pride in your Editorial Director: Saher H Paracha concerning land or property. pocket if there is anything you don’t [email protected] Efforts made to keep your loved fully comprehend. Keep questions Phone: +92 358 437 03 ones sweet will be worth it. on the practical side. STARLINE ** STARLINE ** ROMANIA EDITION Editor In Chief: Elena Stoichita Phone: +40 727 165 712 [email protected] SAGITTARIUS CAPRICORN NOVEMBER 23 – DECEMBER 22 – RUSSIA EDITION DECEMBER 21 JANUARY 20 Editor In Chief: Vadim Vernik Phone: +7 980 5252 1254 A colleague is starting to People in power who are [email protected] take it for granted that you will in a position to make decisions include some of their responsibilities affecting what you do and cannot THAILAND EDITION in your own work schedule. Make it do are in an irritatingly changeable Editor In Chief: Weerawut Ujjutamanus Phone: +66 2204 2740 5 clear that you may have been willing frame of mind. They may be trying [email protected] to do more than your share but this to fit new regulations into your must not become a regular event. workplace without much success. UK EDITION STARLINE ** STARLINE ** Editor: Charlotte Seligman Phone: 020 8612 7410 [email protected] AQUARIUS PISCES JANUARY 21 – FEBRUARY 20 – USA EDITION FEBRUARY 19 MARCH 20 Editor In Chief: Richard Spencer Phone: +1 212 672 3991 [email protected] Before making snap Are you expecting too decisions, try to see a situation from much from those around you? VENEZUELA EDITION another person’s perspective. This Imagining goals that are too far out Associate Director: could reveal a whole new picture of reach will lead to disappointment. Alejandro Gutiérrez Tremola which could, in turn, be of benefit Pie-in-the-sky dreams have no use Phone +58 212 406 4436 to you. An old friend will be other than to distort reality. Keep a [email protected] mentioned in a conversation. practical approach to all that you do. STARLINE ** STARLINE ** HEAD OF OK! WORLDWIDE Emma Radford ENT NETWORK ACCESS CHARGE. MAXIMUM SIX MINUTES DURATION. COST 80P PER MINUTE PLUS YOUR TELEPHONE COMPANY’S **CALLS TO STARLINES [email protected]
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WWW.OK.CO.UK 97 LIFELESSONS THE FASHION GURU AND DESIGNER TALKS ABOUT BEING MISTAKEN FOR CHRIS MARTIN AND WHY HE ALWAYS TRUSTS HIS GUT
Not a lot of people know bravest thing is being honest this, but I’m very good at… with yourself, even if you don’t listening. I’m always there for like the answers. my friends to talk to. I think a lot of people who don’t The best thing my parents know me too well think I’m taught me was… to always just about work, work, and believe in yourself. And stand work. I’m always there for up for what you believe in. somebody, whatever the time of day, if they need to call me. My perfect evening is… If they call me twice and I playing Scrabble with my haven’t picked up, I know I’ve friends. I also love to watch TV got to pick up the third time. with lots of nice bottles of wine. Don’t get me wrong, it won’t be The best day of my life is… yet a sober evening. to come and hopefully when I marry the person I’m in love with. My last holiday was… in the I have had days where I’ve said, UK last year when I went to “This is the best day of my life.” Bamburgh for a week. I love When I did the first Spider-Man Bamburgh and I love Bamburgh premiere, I put Jodie Kidd in the Castle. We have the best first Spider- coastline in Man dress, the Northeast. and I woke ‘STAND UP up with my The one thing flatmate FOR WHAT I am most coming in, proud of is… going, “You’ve YOU my family and done it, kid.” I thank them He threw BELIEVE IN’ for always all of these being there for newspapers on me through the bed. I was on the front cover difficult times. Work-wise, I’m of every single one, from the most proud of being the tabloids to the broadsheets. youngest fashion designer on the schedule of London Fashion The person I would choose to Week and becoming the play me in a film is… Chris youngest-ever creative director Martin. I’ve been mistaken a few of a luxury brand when I worked times for him and it was really for Mulberry at the age of 22. embarrassing when someone asked for my autograph and The worst fashion blunder I was with loads of friends in I had was… making it into a a posh restaurant in London. magazine’s “worst dressed” list. It was the waiter and he said, I was squashed in between Tom “It really is you, isn’t it? Oh Cruise and Ray Quinn. I hadn’t my God, you’re Chris Martin.” followed my own rules. I spent My friends were laughing, so £5,000 on a shiny metallic suit. I actually signed the piece of But they didn’t have it in my paper with Chris Martin on it. size, which at the time was a Scott small. So I basically looked like The bravest thing I have done a basted turkey in Bacofoil! OK! is… walk away from a business GET SCOTT’S PODCAST FASHION OVERDOSE deal which was a lot of money. ON ALL PLATFORMS. THE HERVEY HENSHALL X My gut told me to. I think the OZERLAT VEGAN CHOCOLATE TURKISH DELIGHT RANGE (INSET) IS AVAILABLE AT OZERLAT.COM Henshall most important thing is to AND THE HERVEY HENSHALL X SEJLI CANDLES always go with your gut. The ARE AVAILABLE AT SEJLI.COM
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