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queens of hearts & spades…

Queen of baking Mary Berry met the future Queen of England last week at the Royal Horticultural Society in Wisley, Surrey, and they seemed equally delighted by the experience. Maybe the Duchess of Sussex (see p14) should ask her sister-in-law for advice about good PR, rather than turning (if the rumours are true) to corporate organisations used to dealing with celebrities. On p19, Carol McGiffin also praises Her Majesty The Queen – famous for her thriftiness and love of second-hand stuff, if Joanna Lumley is to be believed. We applaud you, Ma’am! If any readers have thrifty tips they would like to share, let me know. Please let me know your thoughts, siobhan.wykes@hearst.co.uk…

start your week with a smile

1 LOOKING GOOD! We’re a little mesmerised by this striking picture of a chameleon that was recently posted on Instagram by Chester Zoo. We’ve never seen one this close up before! The caption informed us that, according to folklore, the reptiles don’t actually change colour – they reorganise a layer of crystals in their skin cells, so that light is reflected differently depending on how they feel. Green, apparently, means they’re happy. Well, he certainly makes us smile! 2 Who wowed the crowd? Downton Abbey has finally hit the big screen and the cast wowed as they graced the red carpet for the film premiere in Leicester Square. All eyes were on Michelle Dockery, 37, who dazzled in a gold asymmetric gown. Elizabeth McGovern, 58, stunned in a vibrant pink dress, whereas Laura…

patsy’s painful past

She’s back on the box as one of EastEnders’ most iconic characters – Bianca Jackson – after a five-year break from the spotlight. But at 47, Patsy Palmer has revealed she couldn’t be more different to the young single mum that stepped foot in Albert Square over two decades ago… The now mum-of-four (to Charley, 27, Fenton, 19, Emilia, 18, and eight-year-old Bertie), based these days in California, admitted she didn’t tell BBC producers at the time that she already had a son, Charley, after landing her role in 1993. ‘The industry didn’t favour people with children, especially women. It was very hard back then… so I didn’t tell them until after I started working there and they were really shocked,’ she recalled in a recent interview. And her swift and stratospheric rise to…

amanda’s shock confession

Remember that scene in the film Bridesmaids, when Kristen Wiig realised that, when you have to go, you just have to go? Well, Amanda Holden knows that feeling only too well, as she admitted recently… on TV. Amanda has never been backwards in coming forward, so it’s par for the course that she feels no shame about her loss of control. It was while she was on a booze cruise to Calais for the ITV2 show Shopping With Keith Lemon that Keith asked, ‘Have you ever got so drunk you’ve c***ped your pants?’ Keith probably wasn’t expecting Amanda to respond with a story about how she did once lose control of her bowels! Although, in her defence, she had a ‘funny tummy’ at the time. But it should come as no surprise that…

‘i’ll never be “that fatty on the red carpet” again…’

Actress Lisa Riley, 43, has had her ups and downs, much like her Emmerdale character, Mandy Dingle – but she’s lost none of that sparkling personality with the pounds she’s shed in recent years. Here, Lisa talks about her highly anticipated return to soapland… Hi, Lisa! What can we expect from Mandy’s return to the Dales? Naughtiness, all the way! She needs a home – and will do anything to get her hands on more money. She also has bridges to build, especially with Uncle Zak: she should have been there when his wife, Lisa, was dying. My on-screen son Vinnie returns, too, and he’s not who you think he is! As Mandy’s son, he’s had the best teacher in manipulation – 17 years of learning from the best. They get up…

country living

TOP TIP Check trousers also work well with a plain white shirt and pumps. TOP TIP A floral blouse teamed with classic navy and green is an easy way to embrace this trend. TOP TIP A heavy blazer is the perfect transitional cover-up. STYLIST: RACHEL GOLD HAIR AND MAKE-UP: CARL STANLEY PHOTOGRAPHY: NEIL MACKENZIE MATTHEWS…