Gemma Arterton is hoping to be the first woman 007
I ask because the 35-year-old former Bond Girl says she only agreed to appear in Matthew Vaughn’s The King’s Man after he told her she’d be portraying a 007-type figure.
‘He said he would love to have a female action-spy, James Bond-esque character,’ says Gemma, who plays Polly Wilkins in the prequel to the Kingsman films.
Maybe she’s had enough of leaving viewers shaken and stirred in raunchy outfits — and wants to be the one to carry the gun.
Gemma Arterton (pictured), hopes to be the first female “007”?
PM’s wife and her boss wooed to join the herd of Netflix hits
Carrie Johnson had an active year. She worked for an animal rescue and became a mom for the second consecutive time.
But I can reveal 2022 could be a blockbuster for the Prime Minister’s wife, as she has been in talks with Netflix to produce hard-hitting nature documentaries.
On streaming websites, shows featuring stars such as Sir David Attenborough have been huge hits.
And after Prince Harry and Meghan scooped an estimated £100 million-plus Netflix deal as executive producers, signing up with broadcasters is a no-brainer for public figures.
Carrie is 33 years old and heads communications for the Aspinall Foundation. She and her boss, Damian Aspinall, are being courted by Netflix, among others, who want them to make a programme about the elephants at Aspinall’s wildlife haven.
The Herd currently resides at the Howletts Wild Animal Park (Kent), but will soon be transferred to Kenya as part of an unprecedented project.
A friend of Mrs Johnson tells me: ‘Carrie’s phone was ringing off the hook after it was announced she was working hard on the project to rewild the elephants. It’s an inspiring story, and she and Damian are such charismatic and passionate people that they are the right people to tell it.’
Carrie received requests from streaming and national broadcasters to document the remarkable animals’ journey of 4,000 miles to their secret location in Kenya since July when the Rehoming Project was first announced.
Damian, son of gambling tycoon John Aspinall, and Carrie hope this will pave the way for a wider programme on the ‘cruelty’ of zoos.
They plan to create a show that is similar to Seaspiracy on Netflix. This controversial series made strong arguments against eating fish, and was one of the most-viewed streaming shows in the world.
A source close to the pair tells me: ‘Carrie and Damian are the perfect pair to teach the world about the horrors of zoos. Watch this space!’
Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood gets a great deal of Satisfaction from painting, saying: ‘There is no kind of therapy like the one you have from starting a picture and then seeing it through to the end.’
I can see why the 74-year-old rocker finds art so good for his mental health — especially as, I can reveal, he has raked in £600,000 in the past year selling his paintings.
Many are still up for grabs, including a flattering oil of bandmate Mick Jagger, on sale for £750.
Heavy-duty hols! Alice’s 12 bags of Christmas
This picture would have led you to believe Alice Naylor Leyland was moving. But, it turned out that the socialite was actually packing to go visit her father at Christmas.
Alice, 35, whose company creates themed dining sets for posh social events, captioned the snap: ‘Packing light again.’
You might think Alice Naylor Leyland would be moving her house based on this photo. However, the picture shows that Alice was in fact packing to see her father during Christmas.
This is despite having 12 pieces of luggage outside her Cambridgeshire Regency mansion, Stibbington House, where she was joined by her husband, Tom, the heir to the £176 million Fitzwilliam land-owning fortune, and their three children, Billy, Nancy and Felix.
The excessive luggage prompted one pal to comment: ‘I thought you were donating to charity, all those bags. Maybe you should give just one bag.’
Former Cabaret star Jane Horrocks, 57, was surprised to discover she’d been shunted to the cheap seats at the Kit Kat Club (aka London’s Playhouse Theatre) to watch the latest production.
Jessie Buckley is 31 and plays Sally Bowles (a role Jane performed in 1993), along with Old Etonian Eddie Redmayne (199).
My spy tells me Jane was told it was because Jessie doesn’t like to look into the whites of the eyes of anybody who’s previously played the part.
Dismal take-off for harry’s travel firm
Eyebrows were raised when Prince Harry launched eco travel firm Travalyst, preaching how to holiday sustainably — after taking private jets around the globe.
I can reveal the first year of trading for the firm, set up with start-up cash from Harry and Meghan’s charity Sussex Royal, has been a damp squib: it made just £11,538 in profits.
Travalyst calls for everyone to ‘explore our world in a way that protects both people and places’.
It seems that everyone except the Duke and Duchess are interested. They provoked outrage in 2019, when they took their fourth flight on a private jet in 11 days — on Sir Elton John’s plane, no less.
Maybe a luxurious holiday company with private jets could be more profitable for the couple.
Omicron is a French variant that has almost made British citizens infidels. Raymond Blanc, a celebrity chef and restaurateur managed to sneak back home to France to honor his mother who was locked down last year at the tender age of 97.
‘I just came back from France,’ he reveals, adding: ‘I was lucky to be able to go to my village, gather my family and celebrate my mum with a mass and prayers, a visit to her grave and arrange flowers on her tomb.’
Based in Oxfordshire, the 72-year old Michelin-starred chef was devastated to lose his inspiration to cook.
Which one took on Jude during the food fight?
Gwyneth Paltrow is a celebrity that can make your lunchtime sandwiches disappear and be replaced by kale, or another Goop-worthy vegetable.
Jude Law (left) — who appeared opposite Gwyneth (right) in The Talented Mr Ripley — gallantly refuses to name a co-star who took over as unofficial food tsar on one film set
Jude Law — who appeared opposite Gwyneth in The Talented Mr Ripley — gallantly refuses to name a co-star who took over as unofficial food tsar on one film set.
‘One actress decided that the food was very unhealthy and got it all changed to healthy gluten-free,’ he recalls. ‘There was this uprising because the crew wanted pie and custard.’