Page 42 Daily Mail, Friday, August 23, 2019
[email protected]
Follow me on Twitter
@sebshakespeareQ
UIRKY Hollywood director
Tim Burton used to live in
inter-connecting houses
with Helena Bonham
Carter, each decorated to
their own his ’n’ hers tastes
and personal styles.
Though now separated from the celebrated
actress, Burton is apparently planning to
imitate the unusual domestic arrangementsUIRKYHollywooddirectorDOES BBC star Emily Maitlis
regret calling her book — a
behind-the-scenes account of her
biggest scoops — Airhead: The
Imperfect Art Of Making News?
The Newsnight presenter’s
appearance at the Cliveden
Literary Festival next month is
billed as an audience with
‘Britain’s Sharpest Airhead’.
Flattery, of a sort, I suppose.■
Goss brings
Churchill to
the West End
SIR Winston Churchill will break
into song in Upstairs, Downstairs:
The Musical, a West End retelling
of the classic ITV drama, written
by former pop idol Matt Goss.
Based on the Seventies series
depicting the lives of an aristo-
cratic family and their domestic
staff in Belgravia, it’s on course to
beat Downton Abbey as the first hit
period drama to reach the stage.
Goss, lead singer in Eighties boy
band Bros, has written 40 songs
for the musical, which has the
blessing of Dame Eileen Atkins, co-
creator of the original ITV series.
Written with composer Stephen
Endelman, it’s set in 1912 and will
introduce a young Winston, who
had then just been appointed First
Lord of the Admiralty.
‘The story is a love affair set
against the backdrop of rising
nationalism in Germany,’ a
producer familiar with the project
tells me. ‘Churchill is a key
character, reluctantly preparing
the country for war.’at his new £11 million mansion
(above) in another fashionable
corner of North London.
It is thought these alterations
could be with a view to entertain-
ing his rumoured new muse, the
French actress Eva Green, 39,
(right) who played Bond girl
Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale.
I can disclose that the 60-year-
old director of Edward
Scissorhands and Batman has
applied to make a series of
eye-catching changes to the five-
bedroom house he bought from
Shirley Valentine star Tom Conti
at the end of last year.
Burton, who has alreadycovered the house with
scaffolding, wants to demolish a
two-storey side extension and
replace it with what’s described
by the architect as ‘a caretaker’s
flat’ in the plans lodged with the
local council.
Just like Helena’s prop-
erty, it will be linked to
his own and contain
a kitchen, living
room and terrace.
His architect,
Andrew Greig,
tells me: ‘We are
hoping to start
work in Sep-tember and are optimistic the
plans will go through.’
Burton, who has two children
with Helena, also wants to knock
down the boundary wall and
replace it with a higher one,
as well as construct a
new conservatory at
the back of the house
and install a Victorian
spiral staircase.
Former owner Conti
will no doubt be
delighted that
Burton plans
to maintain
the ground-floor ballroom, where such
luminaries as Hollywood star
Rod Steiger, rock legend David
Bowie and classical conductor
Sir Georg Solti have attended
parties over the years. He will
also keep the minstrels’ gallery.
The house remains so close to
the heart of Conti — who bought
it for £770,000 in 1985 — that he
does not wish to hear about
Burton’s ‘improvements’.
Conti tells me: ‘All I can say
is that I’m extremely
sentimental about the house.
Therefore, I want to know
nothing about any plans.’Is Burton giving
his £11m des res
a fancy facelift
for a Bond girl?