Sir John Standing Supports Wife Through Third Cancer Battle
Veteran actor Sir John Standing, whose 60-year career includes collaborations with Laurence Olivier and Peter O’Toole, and a recent role as Captain Imbert-Terry in Netflix’s The Crown, now devotes time to his wife Sarah amid her third cancer diagnosis. At 91, Standing cares for the 66-year-old Sarah, who confronts aggressive large B-cell lymphoma, a non-Hodgkin lymphoma variant.
Sarah, daughter of actress Nanette Newman and late director Bryan Forbes, states, “John has been amazing. It’s a lot for him – he’s 91. I should be the one taking care of him. But life has a funny way of spinning on a sixpence. He’s been making me laugh and doing endless jigsaws with me and going on short walks.”
Sarah received clearance in 2023, but the cancer returned. Author of memoir Dancing With The Red Devil on her initial fight, she reflects, “It’s just bloody unlucky that it’s come back for a third time.” Treatable and manageable, her condition gains uplift from TV presenter Trisha Goddard, who battles stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. “She’s my great cancer buddy,” Sarah explains. “When you’re on steroids, the nights are long. So we speak to each other at least twice a week.”
Younger daughter Tilly attends all appointments. “I feel very fortunate,” Sarah adds.
Bruno Tonioli Urges Female Hosts for Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing undergoes changes after Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly depart, with producers considering male co-hosts like Rylan Clark, Bradley Walsh, and dancer Johannes Radebe. Former judge Bruno Tonioli, 70, cautions against abandoning female leads.
At a West End charity gala, Tonioli states, “I think it will be better for them to find two women to replace Tess and Claudia because what I liked is that you had these two women holding the show. It was empowering to watch and that’s what Strictly should be. Having Tess and Claudia together on the show made it quite special.”
Yasmin Le Bon Recalls Terrifying Fan Encounter
Model Yasmin Le Bon, 61, married to Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon for over 40 years, describes a frightening late-night incident in New York. In a 24-hour deli, she feared for her safety from an obsessive fan.
“There was one time in New York in a 24-hour deli late at night, there was a particular character, and I did think: ‘Oh no, this is it, this is going to be the end – in a Korean deli at midnight. I’m going to get macheted. She’s going to realise I’m the person that stands between her and her true love,'” Le Bon reveals.
Ex-MP Mike Amesbury Mourns End of Marriage After Assault
Former Labour MP Mike Amesbury, 56, lost his parliamentary whip, resigned, faced conviction for common assault, and served brief imprisonment after punching a man in Cheshire. The incident ended his 18-year marriage to social worker Amanda Perraton, with whom he shares a son.
“I lost everything, my career, my good reputation, our family home. And just before Christmas, the end of an 18-year marriage,” Amesbury writes in his blog. Once MP for Runcorn and Helsby, he seeks to rebuild: “I’m trying to slowly gain more work. Trying to make sense of a world that doesn’t easily forgive.”
Alice Naylor-Leyland Celebrates 40th with Fiery Cake
Socialite Alice Naylor-Leyland marked her 40th birthday at London’s Harry’s private members’ club with a triple-tiered cake topped by blazing candles, challenging fire wardens. “This is 40,” she captioned an online photo.
Guests included director Emerald Fennell, model Poppy Delevingne, DJ Lady Mary Charteris, and husband Tom Naylor-Leyland, heir to the £176 million Fitzwilliam estate. Charteris called herself honored to join the “birthday gang.”
Nicola Coughlan’s Dance Moves Irk Bridgerton Co-Star
Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlan improvised dance steps on the set of The Magic Faraway Tree, but co-star and screenwriter Simon Farnaby, 53, disapproved. At a BFI Southbank screening, Coughlan recounts, “Simon said: ‘Feel free to improvise.'”
Yet Farnaby responded, “You know that dancing you’re doing… it’s really annoying. Don’t do that.”
Charles Dance Avoids Mentoring Young Actors
Despite a 50-year career, including Game of Thrones, Charles Dance, 79, rejects offering unsolicited advice to emerging talent. At Advertising Week Europe, he explains, “It’s a bit arrogant to think you know it all just because you’re ‘a senior’. But if they asked [for acting tips], then yes.”
