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A wonderful Christmas time should be reserved for Sir Paul McCartney, who has just completed his Got Back world tour, in which he reunited with his former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr.
While Sir Paul, 82, shows no signs of slowing down, with plans to finish a new album next year, mystery surrounds the stage musical It’s A Wonderful Life which he announced he was working on in 2019.
It was going to be a glorious cabbage.work between him and the late theater impresario Bill Kenwright, who had acquired the rights to Frank Capra’s classic 1946 Christmas movie.
The Oscar-nominated drama starred James Stewart as George Bailey, a suicidal man saved by a guardian angel on Christmas Eve.
However, I have heard that plans for the musical adaptation have been put on hold after the two lifelong friends from Liverpool apparently had creative differences over the production before Kenwright’s death in October last year, at the age of 78 years old.
A source tells me: ‘Bill was incredibly upset by the outcome of a business meeting between him and Paul because they couldn’t agree on how the stage version of It’s A Wonderful Life would progress.
‘Paul wanted the production to focus on the music, while Bill wanted more action and talking on stage. It is a shame that two great legends could not agree on the outcome of the program in which they both decided to invest.
“The project will not see the light of day.”
Plans for the musical adaptation have been halted due to creative differences (Pictured: Paul McCartney with his former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr, with whom he worked on their last tour).
The Oscar-nominated drama starred James Stewart as George Bailey, a suicidal man saved by a guardian angel on Christmas Eve.
Kenwright was complimentary about working with McCartney on the project, saying it was “a dream come true.” Meanwhile, Sir Paul admitted of the production: “Musicals are difficult things to put on.”
But a source close to Macca says the proposed play may still come to fruition. Representatives for Paul McCartney and Bill Kenwright declined to comment.
Richard E Grant has some comforting advice for those grieving a loved one.
The Withnail And I star, whose wife of 35 years, Joan Washington, died of cancer in 2021, tells me: ‘Surround yourself with as many friends as you can.
“It helps ease the pain of missing someone at Christmas.”
Bridgerton star Sabrina is lucky in love with Lachie
She played Lord Bridgerton’s secret lover in Netflix’s risqué period drama Bridgerton, but in real life Sabrina Bartlett found a man willing to commit to her.
The 33-year-old London star will marry Australian tactician Lachie Stewart. She revealed her engagement on a visit to Perth in Western Australia.
‘Lach’d In,’ she wrote alongside an image she shared online of her stunning sparkler.
Bon vivaur Stephen Fry is taking the alcohol in his stride. “I don’t drink champagne because it gives me asthma,” Oldie tells me at the Christmas lunch at the National Liberal Club in London. “And I’m not drinking whiskey because it gives me acid reflux.”
Fry, 67, says champagne gives him asthma while whiskey gives him acid reflux
Fry, 67, married to Elliott Spencer, a teetotal comedian 30 years his junior, says he will drink a vodka and soda to lose weight.
Office party suits TV star Idris
He’s not the nine-to-five type, but Idris Elba still saw fit to host an office Christmas party over the weekend.
The Luther actor, 52, was accompanied by his wife, Canadian model Sabrina, 35, at the festive celebration for his mock company ‘Elba Corp’, which was held at Porte Noire King’s Cross in London.
Idris could be seen wearing thick-rimmed glasses and a blue shirt, while Sabrina, a UN goodwill ambassador, wore a dark skirt suit.
I heard that the couple’s workers had to be up to speed on their dance moves, as while playing music on the decks, Idris jokingly warned the revelers: “If you don’t know this dance, you’re fired.”
Paris receives a reprimand from the designer
The wealth and popularity of irrepressible party girl Paris Hilton has little appeal for Italian-Lebanese fashion designer Tony Ward, who I can reveal has blacklisted the hotel heiress from wearing his designs.
The wealth and popularity of irrepressible party girl Paris Hilton have little appeal for Italian-Lebanese fashion designer Tony Ward.
“If Paris Hilton wanted to wear my dress today, I would say no.” She wouldn’t even come close to that,’ he tells me.
‘When we started 20 years ago, we dressed it, but it doesn’t have the right image for us. I am not everyone’s designer and I am not destroying my image.
It’s the trendy private club where Prince Harry courted Meghan Markle, and now I hear Soho Farmhouse is expanding to the Spanish party island of Ibiza in spring next year.
“It will bring all the things members love about Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire to members living and visiting the White Isle,” a source tells me. The new Balearic spin-off will include an outdoor pool, a holistic wellness experience with a gym, yoga deck and an organic garden restaurant. Anyone interested?
Let him rest Jess
Government minister Jess Phillips angered many when she boasted about receiving preferential treatment from a Palestinian doctor at an NHS hospital because of her stance on the war between Israel and Gaza.
And he also launched a surprising attack on left-wing, middle-class people, criticizing them for acting “like their shit doesn’t stink.” “They believe they are totally and absolutely tolerant and they hate intolerance,” he said.
“However, we are completely intolerant of people who think differently than us and I hate that, especially on a class level.”
She made the comments at her show at London’s Kiln Theatre.