So, who did tell Kate Winslet to 'settle for fat girl parts' then? The mystery deepens
Titanic star recalled the cruel putdown when she was still a drama student... but as for who said it, the plot thickens
With Kate Winslet’s appearance on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs making headlines after she recalled being cruelly told to “settle for the fat girl parts” by a drama teacher in her youth, I’m reminded the infamous episode has long been shrouded in mystery.
The Oscar-winning actress in fact first publicly recounted the incident a decade ago, prompting her alma mater Redroofs theatre school in Maidenhead to swiftly deny such comments had ever been made there. The Reading-based Starmaker theatre company, also attended by the teenage Winslet (she’s now its patron), similarly distanced itself from the controversy.
So what do we actually know? While Kate recently confirmed the guilty party to be female, her publicist once vaguely stated the notorious put-down “occurred during an independent drama workshop over a summer in London”. The plot thickens!
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News of Idris Elba’s knighthood will come as little surprise to regular readers of this column: I revealed here months ago that the Luther star, already the owner of an OBE, was soon to be upgraded to Sir Idris.
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Recalling starring alongside the late Dame Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey, Hugh Bonneville now mischievously remarks of the formidable actress: “There were good Maggie days and tough Maggie days...she could be spiky and tough, and could fell a makeup artist at 100 yards.”
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Having been bizarrely sacked twice by rock legends The Who last year, drummer Zak Starkey, son of Sir Ringo Starr, hopes for a happier 2026. After turning down the chance to rejoin old bandmates Oasis on tour, Zak, who’d also been with The Who for 29 years, found himself axed by the latter last April. Days later, the sacking was publicly reversed by guitarist Pete Townshend - only for Starkey to be fired again the following month. “I think they just wanted to change - and then they didn’t, and then they did,” Zak now reflects. “I think they’re still confused. I’m still confused.”
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Life as a Labour luvvie just isn’t the same since Sir Keir Starmer arrived in Number 10. Firecracker actress Frances Barber, a Labour member for 40 years, wails: ”I think I hate every single person on Starmer’s frontbench. The idiocy, the midwitters, the hypocrisy, the two-faced audacity, the arrogance, the condescension, the warped U-turns... I just want to weep.' Happy New Year, Frances!
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Celebrating 50 years of sobriety, Sir Anthony Hopkins used to regularly booze with fellow thespians at West End pub The Salisbury. Returning to the London establishment decades later, the Welshman stuck to tonic water. “Did you used to come here?" All the famous actors would come in,” piped up a starstruck barman. “Yeah, they’re all dead now,” Hopkins replied.
