Thursday 22 September 2022 12:17 AM EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Lady Eliza Manners's pride at being a wallflower trends now
As the youngest of the Duke of Rutland’s spirited daughters, Lady Eliza Manners is used to being the centre of attention at parties. But the 25-year-old interior designer is in danger of blending into the background in this outfit.
She’s wearing a floral dress that imitates the decoration at her family’s ancestral home in Leicestershire, Belvoir Castle. ‘A celebration of this wallpaper, which pre-dates the castle,’ explains Lady Eliza.
There have been four castles on the site, the present one having been built between 1801 and 1832.
Lady Eliza Manners attends the Cartier Queen's Cup Polo 2022 at Guards Polo Club on June 12
She wore a floral dress that imitates the decoration at her family’s ancestral home in Leicestershire
Notting Hill film ‘got rid of’ ethnic roles, says comic star Omid Djalili
Notting Hill cemented Hugh Grant’s reputation as Britain’s leading man and helped property prices in the once run-down corner of West London to soar to those of Mayfair or Belgravia.
Yet, the comedian Omid Djalili has now slammed the 1999 smash-hit romantic comedy, claiming that ethnic actors’ scenes were axed — and his own role reduced — to make it ‘more white’.
Djalili, who compered the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for the Queen at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May, claims: ‘Notting Hill, another film I was cut out of, for being too brown.
Film, 'Notting Hill' (1999) staring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. Comedian Omid Djalili has now slammed the romantic comedy, claiming that ethnic actors’ scenes were axed and his own role reduced to make it ‘more white’
Omid Djalili as casfe owner in the film Notting Hill - pictured with Hugh Grant. The actor has said his role in the film was reduced along racial lines
‘Notting Hill was a film where they tried to show the diversity of the Notting Hill area, then [a] producer goes: “We want this to be more white.” So they got rid of everyone.’
In the film written by Richard Curtis, Djalili, 56, made an uncredited cameo as a vendor who sells Will (played by Grant) the orange juice that he accidentally spills on Hollywood star Anna (Julia Roberts).
‘I had some lines that were taken out, so it looks like I’m an extra,’ says Djalili, who was born in London to Iranian parents. ‘I just give Hugh Grant the orange juice. The only ethnic minority who stayed in the movie was Sanjeev Bhaskar — he had a couple of lines. But, yeah, they whitewashed the film, unfortunately.’
Speaking on Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre podcast, Djalili, whose film credits include roles in Gladiator and The Mummy, adds: ‘I’m not
