Prince Andrew and Emily Maitlis, Newnight, 2019
(Picture: PA)Emily Maitlis has offered some rare praise to Prince Andrew. Their Newsnight head-to-head in 2019, about the Prince’s relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, irreparably damaged his reputation. Now Maitlis says “all credit to him, he let me ask every single question that we, I, the women who had their questions, needed answering.”
Maitlis, who left the BBC last year, now hosts The News Agents podcast. She was in Davos last week for the World Economic Forum, where she ended up in the same room as Princess Eugenie.
Maitlis told The Political Party podcast she didn’t introduce herself because “I feel very sort of respectful of his daughters and their life… I really wish them well and it shouldn’t impact on anything they do in their lives.” She is working on a film adaptation of the interview.
‘Closed’ gallery now open
The Wallace Collection, one of London’s hidden curatorial gems, is going global. The collection of fine and decorative art, created by Victorian connoisseur Sir Richard Wallace, has traditionally been “closed”, meaning artworks rarely leave the building. Now the directors have managed to renegotiate the terms of Wallace’s will so that the Collection can collaborate with galleries and museums across the world. Hopefully this means more people can enjoy its treasures, among them The Laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals.
Egos clash on new Speilberg film
Steven Spielberg and long-time collaborator Tony Kushner have been in town promoting their new film based on Spielberg’s life. But Kushner fears his work on The Fabelmans will go unnoticed after he received little credit for West Side Story. “I felt like I disappeared a little bit,” he says. “Steven filming a movie about Steven, by Steven - I’m going to just vanish. That’s not easy. I’m not a person with no ego.”
I dub thee, Sir Ozzy
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has assured Ozzy Osbourne fans that the singer is under “full and careful consideration” for a knighthood. 35,000 groupies have petitioned for the Black Sabbath front man to become “Sir Ozzy”, joining the ranks of Sirs Elton, Paul and Mick. The campaign began a decade ago, with little progress. This might be their year.
Toasting fifty years of Fay
Vogue chief Dame Anna Wintour sat front row with director Baz Luhrmann for Dior’s Spring/Summer launch at Paris Fashion Week yesterday. Actors Elizabeth Debicki, Rosamund Pike and Maisie Williams lined the catwalk with Bianca Jagger. At the Groucho Club, our former restaurant critic Fay Maschler, now of Tatler, toasted fifty years since her first piece for the Standard. Chef Angela Hartnett and writer David Hare were among the guests.
