Forty years since first becoming a household name belting out Walking In The Air, Aled Jones points out there’s a very good reason for him never growing tired of the Christmas classic. “I just think of the money…every January when that [royalties] envelope goes through the letterbox,” Aled, 54, now mischievously remarks.
Mercilessly teased in the playground after reaching number five on the UK charts in December 1985, the Welshman adds: “I spent probably two years at comprehensive school every break listening to kids sing, [to the Walking In The Air tune] ‘My name is Aled Jones, I like to pick my nose, I do!”‘ Aled had the last laugh…
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As plenty of us continue to anxiously pin hopes on Christmas deliveries arriving on time, posh balladeer James Blunt rages from his Cotswolds pile: “Pretty much every delivery…[the couriers] leave my parcel on a stone wall half a mile away from my house.”
Spare a festive thought for millionaire pop stars in remote corners of the English countryside!
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While old show-off Gyles Brandreth delights in revealing he personally persuaded Sir Mick Jagger to make a surprise appearance at Dame Judi Dench’s West End stage show last Sunday (Gyles was hosting the one-off event), the Rolling Stone was unaware of an unflattering anecdote at his expense.
Gyles still regularly dines out on a tale dating back to a holiday in Jamaica, rudely recalling to audiences: “We’re on the beach and coming towards us is a little old lady, teetering along…it wasn’t until we were up close that we realised it was actually Mick Jagger.”
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Enthusing about Birmingham audiences currently enjoying his portrayal of King Richard in Robin Hood, panto veteran Christopher Biggins gushes: “I always say the northern audiences are the best.” Since when have the fine West Midlands folk of Brum been northerners, Biggins!
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After insisting he still feels “in his twenties”, sprightly octogenarian Sir Michael Palin chuckles: ”Except that I’m 82 and not 28. You have more than three glasses of wine and come back on the Underground…you might slip and not “mind the gap” and that’ll be the end of you.”
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Sir Anthony Hopkins is increasingly exasperated by his young co-stars “mumbling” on camera. The screen legend doesn’t hold back – Hopkins was recently heard bluntly warning one fresh-faced actor he’d have “no career left” if said mumbling continued.
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Though romcom Love Actually remains a firm Christmas tradition in living rooms up and down the land, Keira Knightley, who famously played Juliet, steers clear of the 2003 film. The actress , who only saw her Love Actually performance the once, confirms she prefers watching Bruce Willis in rival festive favourite Die Hard.
