I could hardly believe my eyes when I opened my Daily Mail on Wednesday to see a picture of my neighbour and friend Becks being embraced by the Princess of Wales at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital.
Of course I asked her how it happened. Was it set up? Becks, full name Rebecca Mendlesohn, replied no, it happened by accident. She’d taken a breather outside during her cancer treatment and when she got back inside Kate was passing through the ward.
Since Becks’s hair is only just beginning to grow back, the princess recognised her as a fellow cancer traveller, so stopped and – much to Becks’s surprise – just hugged her.
Becks told me: ‘There’s a hug and there’s a hug. It was so genuine I knew she was feeling my pain and I was feeling hers. It was very emotional, heartfelt and warm. I felt the love. We felt for each other.’
Kate’s display of empathy at the hospital where she was treated could not be more different from the description of her by Meghan in the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary. The duchess accused her of being ‘formal’, and not ‘huggable’ when they met.
Meghan described herself, by contrast, as a ‘hugger’ whose informality was ‘jarring for the royals‘.
Well, the truth wins out in the end. Kate makes an unannounced visit to her cancer ward and hugs sufferers – Meghan, meanwhile, is pilloried as an ‘ambulance chaser’ by Hollywood star Justine Bateman for what she called a ‘repulsive photo-op’ at a centre for victims of the Los Angeles fires.
What a telling little incident Becks’s encounter turned out to be. Not just proof that decency and honesty shine through but also that, despite Meghan’s efforts, there is only one winner in The Hugging Games.
The Princess of Wales embraces Amanda Platell’s friend Rebecca Mendlesohn on a cancer ward
Meghan was pilloried as an ‘ambulance chaser’ by Hollywood star Justine Bateman for what she called a ‘repulsive photo-op’ at a centre for victims of the Los Angeles fires
Bridget Jones dreary
Ahead of the fourth (and, let’s hope, final) Bridget Jones movie, Mad About The Boy, Renee Zellweger and Hugh Grant tell British Vogue the original couldn’t be made today, because a sleazy older boss and a young employee would breach human resources rules.
Yet Grant was 40 and Renee 31, so hardly an old boss pouncing on an ingenue. If this is the best they can do to drum up publicity, the movie’s going to be the dud insiders have predicted.
Bridget Jones star Renee Zellweger attends the SAGA awards in Los Angeles in 2020
Wake up Gen Zzz!
Tragic that a third of Gen Z, the under 25s, took more days off for stress and mental health than any other age group, a survey reveals.
Crikey, in my early 20s I got up at four to work as a reporter on the local newspaper, toiled until the evening, fell in love with Mark Skulley, was heartbroken when he dumped me, never took a day off and learnt the joy of a pay package.
If Gen Z don’t wake up, they’ll let the best years of their lives slip through their angst-ridden fingers.
Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates gush with excitement after becoming Match Of The Day co-presenters. No joy chez Platell, I’m afraid. As an ardent football and Spurs fan I can’t get my head around women discussing Premier League football even though they’ve never played it. I’ll continue watching – but with the sound off.
I know Victor was a macho man!
Much controversy as Village People will play Donald Trump’s favourite song, their iconic hit YMCA, at his inauguration with some in the LGBTQ community claiming he has misappropriated the anthem as they were all gay.
Not true! Back in the Eighties after one of their gigs I was pursued relentlessly by their original singer Victor Willis who’s still frontman. All I can reveal is, he is definitely not gay.
The Village People, pictured in 1978, will play at the inauguration of Donald Trump next week
Each morning for 468 days since she was seized by Hamas terrorists, the mother of British hostage Emily Damari, 28, repeats the same mantra to her daughter: ‘Keep strong, keep alive, you’re going to be OK.’ With the ceasefire due to start on Sunday, Mandy asks: ‘Will I be hugging my Emily in days?’ I hope her prayers and those of other families with loved ones held hostage are answered.
Westminster wars
As the economy tanks, Keir Starmer insists he is standing by his Chancellor – so the hapless Rachel Reeves is unsackable and will be in her role at the next election. Easy for him to say given a third of people in a recent poll predicted he wouldn’t be in his job as PM by the end of the year.
Amid all the criticism of her fiscal decisions Reeves says she is ‘happy to be known as the Iron Chancellor’, clearly associating herself with Margaret Thatcher. Iron? She’s more like the lead-weight Chancellor sinking the economy.
Kemi Badenoch says she won’t reshuffle her shadow cabinet before the next election. Who would notice if she did? Of its 25 members even I can only name about four of them.
US actor Timothee Chalamet rides an electric Lime bike on to the red carpet in London
Timothee Chalamet, the star of Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, arrived at the London premier – without his squeeze Kylie Jenner – on an electric Lime bike and parked it on the red carpet.
How nerdy (Bob rode a Triumph Tiger motorbike) when he’s playing the coolest guy on the planet. I’m not sure what’s more uncool, the electric bike or that he’s dating a Kardashian.
Whatever, if the reviews are anything to go by, he’ll need a shelter from the storms.
Despite earning up to £5 million a year as England football manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson died with debts of £8 million. Blimey, his lover Nancy Dell’Olio and their £4million Regent’s Park mansion were high maintenance – but this own goal’s in a different league.
After a £500,000 raid on their home, tech boss Paul Birch and his wife are aggrieved the police closed their case after five weeks. Maybe they should just be grateful they weren’t harmed and the thieves took a £6,000 pink and silver Oyster Perpetual 36 Rolex watch. By any standards of good taste it is a monstrosity and they did the couple a favour.
Still no apology from the Beeb for playing the music of rapper Jake Fahri, known as TEN, on their show 1Xtra, after discovering he is the murderer of 16-year-old ‘gentle giant’ Jimmy Mizen. Some justice that having breached his bail conditions Fahri has now been recalled to prison.
‘Ageless’ Nicole Kidman, 57, is shunned by the Baftas, with no Best Actress nomination for her new sex-fest movie Babygirl where her 50-something character is celebrated by feminists for ‘bravely’ revealing she has fillers and Botox. No need for acting lessons there, eh Nic?