British actor Idris Elba is not just one of our most successful Hollywood stars.
He has also made a name for himself as a respected DJ who has performed at Ibiza superclubs and huge festivals around the world.
However, the Londoner has revealed that when he was asked to provide the musical entertainment at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding reception in Windsor, Meghan insisted on taking control.
The American former actress, 40, told Elba, 49, what songs he should play in his set.
‘Meghan had sent me a playlist, so I knew what she wanted already,’ he explains.
The Luther star, who has performed as a DJ for the queen of pop Madonna and even collaborated on a track with Sir Paul McCartney, notes that those were all ‘high-pressure gigs’.
British actor Idris Elba is not just one of our most successful Hollywood stars. He has also made a name for himself as a respected DJ who has performed at Ibiza superclubs and huge festivals around the world
However, when he’s asked which he found to be ‘most stressful’, he replies: ‘The wedding, no doubt. This wasn’t like my cousin’s wedding.’ The evening celebration was held at Frogmore House, the Grade I listed former home of Queen Victoria’s mother.
‘This wasn’t at the community hall — the reception,’ says Elba, who made his name in celebrated U.S. crime drama The Wire. ‘This was a big, big deal.’
He adds of the Sussexes: ‘They’re good friends and I wanted to make sure they had a great time, so there was a lot of pressure.’
The night-time reception had already proved controversial. While showbusiness pals including George Clooney and James Corden were invited, some of Harry’s oldest friends were left wondering why they hadn’t made the guest list.
Those who failed to receive invitations included Tom Inskip — known by his friends as ‘Skippy’ —with whom Harry had been best friends for years.
Skippy reportedly served as a protective figure throughout the Prince‘s teen years, and was even at his side during Harry’s infamous Las Vegas holiday in 2012.
The smart set’s talking about...Delevingne’s calling the midwifeWith the society models Cara and Poppy Delevingne for sisters, she could have easily swanned into a similarly glamorous career. But cerebral Chloe Delevingne is shunning the spotlight to become a midwife instead.
Chloe, the 36-year-old daughter of property developer Charles and his wife Pandora, tells me she’s studying midwifery at University College London Hospitals.
‘It’s a lot more full-on than I thought, but I’m loving it,’ she says at a Mayfair party. ‘In January, I’ll be in the hospital full-time. My sisters are creative; science was always my thing.’
Chloe — who has two children, Atticus, seven, and Juno, six, with husband Edward Grant — adds: ‘I started years ago, but then I got pregnant. Now they’re both in school full-time, so I’ve gone back.
‘There’s a lot of pressure — it’s like, “I’ve got to not f*** up”.’
Tax trouble for Windsor MPHe is the Tory MP with a £4.5 million mansion who was once mooted as a successor to David Cameron, so this will come as a surprise.
I hear Adam Afriyie is facing court action from an HMRC bankruptcy petition over unpaid tax. All is revealed in newly filed court documents.
It’s not the first time that Afriyie, 56, who has been MP for Windsor since 2005, has faced such a petition. Two years ago, he faced similar legal action as it emerged that he was renting out his Grade II listed mansion in Old Windsor for £1,950 a night on Airbnb. It was an embarrassing blow for the former shadow minister, who lives in the village with his second wife, Tracy-Jane (below), a barrister and ex-wife of crime minister Kit Malthouse.
Before that, the marketing agency Axonn Media — which helped make Afriyie worth up to a reputed £100 million — was separately plunged into insolvency.
Afriyie tells me: ‘I will, of course, pay any tax that is due.’ His spokesman explains that the petition is subject to legal challenge.
Singles mingle as Spencer twins join the
