When John Major first sat in the Cabinet Room after succeeding Margaret Thatcher he asked his aides: “So I can invite anyone I want for lunch . . . even Joanna Lumley?”

But when Tony Blair inherited the hot seat he offered the campaigning actress a chance of real power. “Senior Labour figures privately sounded out Ms Lumley to become Labour’s candidate for Mayor of London,” says Michael Cockerell, the veteran political film-maker who spoke to the former Prime Minister for a series of BBC documentaries.

“They were looking for a glamorous figure who could stop ‘Red’ Ken Livingstone becoming Labour’s official candidate. It came from the highest level. Unfortunately for Labour, Joanna turned them down.” The Oscar-winning Glenda Jackson eventually lost to Frank Dobson, who was swept away at the polls by the expelled Livingstone.

Yet, after her Gurkha triumph, could the time now be right for an independent “Lumley for London” campaign that would surely have Boris Johnson quaking?

• Trudie Styler, co-founder of the Rainforest Foundation, flew with an entourage of eight, including her hairstylist, from New York to Washington, on a private jet before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. “Yes, I do take planes,” she said. “To travel and speak out about the horrors of an environment that is being abused at the hands of oil companies.” Poor hubby Sting flew on a commercial flight from London.

• When even Benny Andersson admits, “I don’t watch Eurovision”, then why should we? The Abba performer told the BBC: “Musically it’s not what it should be. It might have been a little bit more meaningful in the 1950s and 1960s and when we entered, but after that I’m not sure if anything ever happened.” A Swedish snub to our triumphant Bucks Fizz, surely? Benny does allow grudgingly: “As television, it’s a good show.”

• Rehearsals are now in full swing for Michael Jackson’s 50-night O₂ Arena residency. Randy Phillips, head of AEG Live, which is underwriting the shows, says that the £12 million production will include 22 set changes and “take the audience on an entertainment experience only imagined in dreams or big-budget motion pictures”. No pressure, then. But what of reports that monkeys and elephants will roam the stage? “No animals. No animals!”

• “How much are you paid out of the licence fee for being on television, harassing Members of Parliament and other people?” demanded Lord Foulkes of Cumnock during a feisty BBC News Channel interview. £92,000,” was the instant reply from Carrie Gracie, his inquisitor, who added: “Every single call I make from my own phone. I would never make a personal call from the BBC because I understand what public sector money is about.” Gracie is a Chinese-speaking award-winning interviewer. Will her BBC colleagues follow her transparent approach to salary declaration?

The Face: Peter André

A battle of words has followed the split between Katie Price and her ex-pop star husband. The glamour model said she was “devastated” that Peter André had ended their marriage. The six-packed singer from Down Under said that he could not cope with Price when she was drinking.

André, 36, of Greek descent, who enjoyed a 1996 chart-topper with Mysterious Girl, secured a ticket back to the big time when he met his wife on I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!.

The couple recently upped sticks to Los Angeles so that Peter could attempt to re-create his musical magic. While André concentrates on his new album, his estranged wife had cause to remind him: “I’m the one making money, Pete.”

Susan Boyle may be held in awe for her vocal talent, but not so much for her strong Scottish accent. The Britain’s Got Talent star’s interview with Oprah Winfrey was subtitled so that Americans could understand her.

Postscript

Eminem bonded with Jonathan Ross at his London home: “He came back to mine to look at comics,” tweeted Ross. “He’s a big Marvel fan. I gave him Avengers number three.” No prank phone calls, we trust.

people@thetimes.co.uk

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