Sir Ian Mckellen and Ellie Goulding among guests at The London Standard's star-studded launch party

Londoner’s Diary

The London Standard launched with a bang on Thursday with a glamorous bash held at Sael London, Jason Atherton’s buzzy new restaurant in St James’s. A cross section of the capital’s cultural titans mixed with bright young things in the music, art and fashion worlds. Sir Ian Mckellen held court at one table, dispensing wisdom to hopeful young thesps, while artist Jonny Yeo joked about his much meme’d portrait of the King at another.

Among the guests were singers Ellie Goulding and Ella Eyre, model Adot Gak, who wrote about the scourge of heroin chic for the inaugural issue of the paper, activist Munroe Bergdorf, TV personality Sophie Habboo, socialites Jack Guinness, Henry Conway and Lady Martha Sitwell, director of the V&A museum Tristram Hunt, and actors Tom Rhys Harris, Ellen Francis, and Nick Blood, who stars alongside Sophie Turner in the new ITV drama Joan. Blood told us that they all had a brilliant time on set and Turner was a “joy to work with”.

The Londoner caught up with Standard columnist and broadcaster Rachel Johnson, who is a contestant on the new season of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. Johnson said that she didn’t do any preparation for the gruelling eight day military training course, but she’s still done harder things on TV. “Celebrity SAS was much less stressful than Celebrity Best Home Cook,” she told us, referencing the BBC cooking show she appeared on in 2021 (she lost out to Ed Balls). “I had to make croquembouche for Mary Berry, which was way scarier than being shouted out by ex special forces soldiers,” she said.

The soundtrack to the evening was provided by DJ Fat Tony, Fancy Shews, and Twiggy Garcia, who had the dancefloor bopping late into the night. Guests sipped Don Julio margaritas and knocked back oysters, before a round of late night mini burgers. The party was hosted by The London Standard’s proprietor Lord Lebedev.