As the urbane captain of a rural cricket club and a keen fencer who once worked for Christie’s auction house, Jamie Theakston is seen as a quintessentially middle-class broadcaster.
But, according to me, the actor/presenter was accused of creating substandard housing in London’s lowest-income areas.
He was accused by wealthy neighbours from West London. Their application to construct a stylish outhouse in their back yard has been denied by planners. The plan had been viewed as an attempt at creating a beds-in sheds type facility.
Theakston, who co-hosts Heart FM’s Breakfast show with Amanda Holden, submitted plans for a garden-flat style outbuilding with gym in the back garden of his 19th-century £6.5 million home in Chiswick, an area favoured by famous faces including Ant and Dec, and actor David Tennant.
Actor and presenter Jamie Theakston has been accused of trying to create the sort of substandard housing found in some of London’s most down-at-heel districts. This accusation is made by his West London neighbors. His application for a stylish outhouse to be built in his back yard was rejected by planners because it was considered an attempt at creating a “beds-in sheds” style facility. Pictured left to right: Sophie Siegle (left), Jamie Theakston, her husband
After a series of objections by neighbours, Hounslow council officials rejected the plan on the grounds that it was too large and harmful to wider conservation areas.
The view of a neighbour, which suggested that Theakston (pictured together with Sophie Siegle), might convert Theakston’s outhouse to a self-contained dwelling in the future, was also supported by development chiefs. A resident commented on Theakston’s website that the plan was designed so it could be used in the future as a bed-in-sheds facility.
Hounslow council staff have rejected this plan following a string of objections form neighbours. They claimed that the proposal was too big and detrimental to conservation.
Others complained about 51-year-old Theakston’s plan to cover the outhouse in upmarket Japanese-style charred timber cladding — deemed at odds with the area’s Victorian properties. One neighbor wrote that the design was not compatible with other properties and does not enhance or complement the streetscape.
“It’s not clear how the darkened appearance of wood is related to the use of yellow brick or red brick in building the houses.
The Top Of The Pops former host is now trying to expand his property. He won an ugly planning battle to construct a 4-bedroom home at the bottom 120ft of his garden, despite opposition from Michael Attenborough (the theatre producer).
The Top Of The Pops presenter is making a new attempt at developing his property after winning a long planning battle. In 2018, he built a four-bedroom house in his 120ft backyard, in spite of the opposition of Michael Attenborough, his theatre producer.
Tolstoy, Chateau-living now has a cottage
Alexandra Tolstoy, Russian oligarch Sergei Pugachev’s partner, lived an extravagant lifestyle.
The 48-year old socialite says that she feels ‘flooded’ by euphoric joy to live in an Oxfordshire ‘little cottage.
Historian Count Nikolai Tolstoy’s daughter has three children with Pugachev, 58, once known as ‘Putin’s banker’, and who’s been holed up in France since he was accused in Russia of embezzling more than £655 million.
One friend, Annabel Heseltine, daughter of former deputy prime minister Lord (Michael) Heseltine — who owns a stately home complete with its own arboretum — consoles her online: ‘It’s adorable and children love small spaces.’
Camerons are cool because Tory Mustique is a hotspot
Boris Johnson’s visit to Mustique led to an investigation. David Cameron, however, has not been deterred from taking his family to vacation in West Indies to see the playground of the wealthy and famous.
It is believed that the former Prime Minister stayed on the private, small island over the Christmas holiday. “Where else can you get winter sunshine?” One of his friends agrees.
Mustique is a beloved member of the Jet-Set since Lord Glenconner acquired it in the 1960s. He also gave Princess Margaret a ten acre plot for her wedding.
Confusion over who paid for Boris’s £15,000 trip there in 2019 with his now wife, Carrie, led to a formal investigation, which concluded that no rules had been broken, but that it was ‘regrettable’ he hadn’t offered a full explanation sooner.
David Ross, a Conservative Party donor and tycoon of Carphone Warehouse, admitted that he facilitated the accommodation.
Annabelle, TV’s star in the love scene played Blinder
Peaky Blinders is a hit TV show where Annabelle Wallis seduces Tommy Shelby, the gangster-kingpin. Her real seduction is even greater.
According to the actress, she has not had one, nor two, but five men competing for her affections. ‘I had five on the go — you know, on the burners,’ she admits.
The hit TV series Peaky Blinders featured Annabelle Wallis as Tommy Shelby, a gangster kingpin. Her real seduction is even greater
Wallis, 37 years old, went out with Coldplay star Chris Martin two years after his uncoupling from Gwyneth Paltrow. Wallis lived in Portugal for 18 years with her British family expats until then.
Her love for Portuguese boys was “always” and she explained that they were so beautiful. A motorcycle and a cigarette…and that was it — I was done.’
Sadiq Khan of London has announced his plan to eliminate the prosecutions of young cannabis users. Grace Campbell, 27, is pleased with her dad Alastair Campbell. “Am looking for an ID under 25s,” she jokes. Khan’s plan allows under-25s to be caught using Class B drugs in certain boroughs and not face prosecution. Grace stated in 2019, “I love drugs, and I’m open about it.”
Grade was seduced by Kathleen’s voice and he went into showbiz.
Lew Grad, the cigarette-smoking broadcasting tycoon, was Britain’s most important provider of television entertainment. But Kathleen, their wife, had an equally inspirational effect on their lives.
A family member told me that Lady Grade, an actress, died in New Year’s Day at the age of 100. She encouraged Lord Michael Grade, future chairman of BBC, to get into showbusiness.
“Michael was struck by Kathy’s singing on the stage,” I hear. “It was his first time to see the theatre, and it was something he had never experienced or heard before.”