Table of contents for 42 - 2022 in Best

‘If you have natural rhythm, darh-ling, you can dance until you are 100. Ballroom is perfect for that. It’s not your age. I mean, I can teach you… a bit.’ I’m happy to forgive him for his harsh scores because, like me, he shares a love of margaritas and his home has a herb garden full of mint that works with a Mojito – the perfect before-dinner cocktail. Craig is an amazing cook and won Celebrity MasterChef in 2020. ‘I love cooking,’ he says. ‘I did three episodes for Lorraine, darh-ling.’ He tries to give me tips on desserts that aren’t too tough to make. Chocolate fondue is ‘quick, easy, 12 minutes – no less, no more – in the oven. Thirteen and it is a biscuit!’ No need to…

When you hear mention of The Princess of Wales – for most of us, the image that comes to mind is that of Diana, William’s mother, preserved in our memories forever young and beautiful after her tragic death at the age of 36. It is a tough act to follow. But with the sad passing of the Queen in early September, William and Kate have risen up the line of succession and the former Duchess of Cambridge has taken on the title associated with the most photographed woman in the world, Diana. As expected, this new title and that of her husband, William, the new Prince of Wales, encompassed a host of new responsibilities and Royal duties. As Prince Charles said warmly: ‘With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and…

Strictly judge and King of the Ballroom Anton Du Beke has another string to his bow – as a novelist – with his series of stories set among the glitz and the glamour of the fictional Buckingham Hotel. His fifth book in the series, which follows the adventures of ballroom dancing hero Raymond De Guise – now home on leave and reeling from the tragic events at Dunkirk – is out this week. As bombs rain down on London, life carries on at the Buckingham. We caught up with Anton, who is married to Hannah Summers and a father to twins George and Henrietta, five, to hear about his inspiration, family life and what’s new with Strictly. Congrats on The Ballroom Blitz! Was it a pleasure to revisit the Buckingham?…

In this feel-good family entertainment singing show, players guess who can and can’t sing from a group of people standing before them, all without ever hearing them sing a note. Helping the players of I Can See Your Voice to whittle down the mystery singers for a cash prize, are celebrity investigators Jimmy Carr, Amanda Holden and Alison Hammond and host Paddy McGuinness. As the players try to work out the clues, they need to remember one simple rule: everything the good singers say is true, but the bad singers can tell a few lies to make everyone believe they can sing. Guest music artists joining the fun include the singing legend Lulu, The X Factor winner and West End star Alexandra Burke, Erasure’s Andy Bell, Blue’s Simon Webbe and many…

As I walked home from school, I couldn’t wait to see what treats my mum had picked up when she’d gone shopping. Snacking was my Achilles heel and I loved anything from chocolate biscuits and bags of crisps to Brussels sprouts dipped in salad cream! Growing up, I was always the biggest one in my friendship group. I learned to make jokes about my weight just so I could get there before anybody else did, but inside I found it far from funny… By the time I was 12, I’d started secondary school and was wearing a size 14. It was the first time I’d experienced bullying and was constantly called cruel names like ‘fatso’ and ‘Mrs Blobby’. I was teased and would go home and cry, wishing I could…

HOW DO I HELP HIM IN HIS GRIEF? I am so sorry, Vanessa, to hear of your partner’s sad loss. My husband also lost a sibling recently to a sudden illness – it was unexpected, and his sister was only in her 40s, and left behind two young boys. My partner is finding it so difficult to cope and just can’t seem to accept what’s happened. What can I do to support him? I feel so helpless… Jane, Bedford Your husband has had an almighty shock coupled with intense and profound grief. I know my Ben is grappling with so many emotions having lost his beloved younger brother – at times, they engulf him completely. Your support will involve listening, providing food and comfort, directing him towards professional bereavement counselling…

Whitney Houston 10.12.1985 Shot at Blackwall Tunnel Studios. She was in London shooting the video for ‘How Will I Know’. She seemed very shy and stayed in the changing room between shots which made getting good pictures of her quite tricky. Martin Kemp & Shirlie Holliman 26.1.1984 At Andrew Ridgeley’s 21st birthday party at Foubert’s in Foubert’s Place, just off Carnaby Street, home of The Mud Club. Dollar 17.9.1986 This was a tricky day, as the duo were no longer an item and things were a little tense. Not ideal when trying to pull off a steamy shot. Shot at my friend John’s flat in Marble Arch. It was for the record sleeve of ‘Haven’t We Said Goodbye Before’. John used to lend me his flat a lot in the…

Rising interest rates, soaring energy bills, the growing cost of groceries… The escalating cost of living has people up and down the country panicking and for single women, it can feel particularly daunting. Which is why Ingrid Ulett has found an unusual way of dealing with the situation. Even though she’s 51, Ingrid is flat-sharing. ‘When my marriage of 20 years ended in August 2020, I ended up sleeping on a friend’s couch for a month,’ she explains. ‘At that point, I was living in London, where rent and bills were astronomical. Even though I was working a full-time job, providing IT support in a school, there was no way I could afford a place of my own. Flat-sharing was my only option.’ Therefore, after looking online, Ingrid moved in…

1 Daily walking: make it brisk Focus on speed-walking rather than just hitting 10,000 steps a day. Pump your arms back and forth with your elbows at right angles, because as your arms speed up, your legs will, too. Listening to high tempo tunes also helps. Research suggests that this stimulates heart rate and breathing patterns, helping cells to deliver oxygen to your muscles faster. 2 Dinner: add an extra veg When it comes to fruit and veg, studies suggest 10 portions a day slashes heart disease risk by 25 per cent, stroke by a third, and reduces our chances of cancer. So, with every meal, squeeze in a bonus bite. ‘Ordering a side of wilted spinach or cooking peppers with a pizza could shift your dietary pattern to a…

COUNTDOWN Netflix When a nurse discovers an app that predicts your exact time of death, she realises she has three days to save her own life. Chiller, starring Elizabeth Lail. HORROR EXPRESS BBC iPlayer This classic from 1972 is set on the Trans-Siberian Express and stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. An English palaeontologist working in Manchuria in 1907 discovers a frozen two-million-year-old anthropoid monster with mystical powers. On the journey home, the beast thaws, comes back to life and wreaks havoc. ORPHAN: FIRST KILL Amazon This prequel to the 2009 smash hit Orphan charts Esther’s escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility. Now at liberty to unleash her own brand of evil, she travels to America by impersonating the missing daughter of a wealthy family.…

Whether it’s her time on Blue Peter, cleaning the Celebrity Big Brother house or even taking part in Celebrity SAS, we all have our favourite memory of Anthea Turner. But the veteran TV personality, 62, sat down with best to discuss matters more personal, as she grieves for her mother, Jean… Hi, Anthea. Your mum died six months ago – how are you coping? Time goes so quickly, doesn’t it? But six months is enough to really process how I feel about losing a mum. It brings your mortality to the fore… as did turning 60, and through conversations with her friends and my father, I began to reconfigure Mum as a person, as Jean Turner and Jean Walker. It’s something children, whatever age, often forget because the relationship you…

‘There can’t be many people that won’t be affected by what’s about to hit us, namely the winter of discontent mark 2. I’ll never forget the first one in 1979, which was miserable enough, but I fear this one could be harder. The super-rich won’t even notice it, those lucky enough to be living ‘off-grid’ will sail through it, as will the politicians, many of whom have over many years caused this giant destructive mess, because we pay their bills. I’m not in any of those groups, but what I am, and always have been, is thrifty. And while I know it won’t fix our shattered economy, or pay those super-inflated mortgages or crippling energy bills, every little helps, right? It’s like my mum used to say, “take care of…

LESLEY Like most women who grew up in the Sixties, I have one beauty regret; plucking my eyebrows into thin arches like Twiggy, the face of the swinging Sixties. My mum Rosina, whose lush brows were inspired by Audrey Hepburn, warned me, ‘They won’t grow back’, and I wish I’d listened. There have been many trends – from Brooke Shields and Madonna-style heavy brows of the Eighties to Pamela Anderson’s Nineties skinny shape. But trends aside, a well-defined brow will always be in demand. Get the shape and colour right, and they’ll roll back the years and can be as good as a face lift. There are myriad products on the market to enhance what you have. • Go easy with the tweezers. It can take over 65 days for…

With the dark Winter days drawing in, all you want to do is snuggle up with a big plate of carbs and catch up on the soaps, right? But did you know, studies show it’s actually OK to do that when it comes to weight loss? It sounds weird, but research shows you’re more likely to have slimming success if you treat yourself to a little bit of what you fancy now and again. So whether you’re a savoury or sweet person, you don’t need to put the brakes on all your cravings – just as long as you’re sensible. This time of year in particular you might find stodgy or sweet things extra appealing and having the odd treat helps perk you up – vital for keeping a diet…

Lamb Korma Using shop-bought paste means this curry comes together quickly. Lamb neck fillet is tender, so doesn’t need long to cook. You can swap it for chicken breast, if you like. Serve with rice or naans. Serves 4 Hands-on time: 20min Cooking time: 30min • 1tbsp vegetable oil• 1 large onion, finely sliced• 3 50g lamb neck fillet, cut into 2cm chunks• 4tbsp korma spice paste, we used Patak’s• 6 tomatoes, roughly chopped• 50g ground almonds• 250g natural yogurt, plus extra to drizzle• Large handful of coriander, roughly chopped• Small handful of toasted flaked almonds, optional 1 Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and cook onion for 10min, until softened. Add lamb and cook for 10min, stirring occasionally, until lamb is cooked through. 2 Stir in…

Growing up, I experienced what it was like to live on the bread line with the rest of the nation. I was born in March 1932, when the UK was in the midst of the Great Depression – we lived in poverty and food was scarce following the end of World War I. I lived with my parents and seven siblings in Fulham, London, and we struggled to make ends meet. There were four of us to a bed and the mattresses were full of bed bugs and lice. We never complained because everyone was in the same boat at that time. By September 1939, World War II had started, and I was evacuated to Guildford, Surrey, at age seven. We were told the news by our headmaster at school,…

BOOSTER JAB QUERY My mum, 73, felt ropey one day last week, took a test and was positive for Covid, just two days after receiving her booster jab. Meaning, she most likely already had Covid when she got her booster. How does this affect its efficacy? And could it make her symptoms less severe? Just confused as to how it might affect everything! Cathy, Hexham DR HILARY SAYS: It is worth remembering that many millions of people have had booster jabs to protect them against Covid-19 infection and many thousands of them will have unknowingly had these jabs whilst they were incubating natural infection without knowing it. In other words, they were asymptomatic. I am unaware of any significant repercussions as a result. Anyone who is already unwell is advised…

PJ & Duncan 22.9.1994 Looking more like Ant & Dec in this shot from a Smash Hits session at Blank Space Studio. SNAP! Volume 2 by Neil Mackenzie Matthews, £35. Out 29 October in hardback. Pre-order from Redplanetbooks; redplanetmusicbooks.com/collections/photo-books/products/snap-music-photography-vol-2…

Do you have a story you’d like to share with our amazing army of best readers? We’re looking for real-life stories from women just like you and your friends – and will pay up to £250 for all those that make it into these pages. Stories can be funny, sad, emotional, inspirational – just like some of the examples on this page. The only rule: they must be true. Have you been on a diet that changed your life? Have you battled against tough times and come out fighting? Have you found love or happiness against the odds? If you – or a friend – have a story to share, whatever the subject, do drop us a line, with your contact details, a photo and a brief outline of your…

The first time I met my half-brother was when I was twenty-nine and the temp agency sent him to me. It was an autumnal Monday, a day of damp cold and thin rain shining on the pavement outside. None of us wanted to be in the office, but as we hadn’t won the lottery, all twelve of us had turned up. The telephone rang spot on nine o’clock. I glared at it resentfully. ‘Good morning, Hill and Coleman,’ I twittered, in the “how-may-I-help-you” voice that they had taught us to use on the Customer Care course. ‘Mandy speaking.’ ‘Mandy! Hi!’ Vivacious Viv, I called her – my exhaustingly cheerful contact at the Blue Bird Recruitment Agency. She was soft as a draughty duvet on the outside and hard as the…

TRAVEL SNAPSHOT The Hound of the Baskervilles is perhaps the best known and best loved of the Sherlock Holmes novels. It is the story of Watson and Holmes and their investigation into a super hound. It may be fictional but the inventor of this tail (pun intended), Arthur Conan Doyle, was not – and his story is said to be inspired by the legend of the evil Richard Cabell, living in nearby Buckfastleigh, who was rumoured to have murdered his first wife, alongside her faithful hound. The reason is shrouded in rumour and mystery but to pay for what he did, when he died around 1677, folklore decreed, phantom black dogs were said to spend the evenings howling at his tomb to take away his soul before racing across the…

LIBRA 24 September – 23 October Landing a dream job is a strong possibility for Librans like Murder, She Wrote legend Angela Lansbury, and The Theory of Everything and Star Wars actress Felicity Jones. This is your chance to put an unusual talent on display and to be rewarded for it. Trust your instincts and don’t give up. CAPRICORN 22 December – 20 January Romantic prospects are starting to take an upward swing. Your partner wants to shower you with gifts. Enjoy their generosity and let them pamper you. Are you single? You will meet someone who intrigues you at a cultural gathering. The end of the week is a good time to start a new diet or health regime. ARIES 21 March – 20 April Unexpected developments could turn…

TOP TIP On 21st October Breast Cancer Now are encouraging us all to wear pink! Visit www.wearitpink.org to see how you could raise money at the same time!…

Running into our bedroom, our three daughters woke us up. ‘Mummy! Daddy! There’s water coming in. The castle is flooding!’ they shouted. It may have sounded like fantasy or jesting but we did, in fact, live in a castle. And, as I had grown to learn, life in a castle isn’t always a fairytale. Wearing only my nighdress, I walked to the drawing room, where water was gushing down the newly painted walls. I could see I needed wellies just to cross the floor. I panicked as the library was above us and housed rare, irreplaceable old books. Running to collect as many buckets and washing-up bowls as I could find, I shouted to my husband David and the children, ‘Put these on the floor wherever you can see water…

With the cost of living becoming an increasing worry, it’s easy to prioritise saving money over other concerns, like caring for the environment. Luckily, there are some brands and products that won’t cost a fortune and have brilliant eco credentials. Here are some of our favourites… Fake it yourself Use it up! Before you throw away food peelings, consider their beauty benefits. The tail end of cucumbers are still full of anti-inflammatory, hydrating benefits – rub a slice, flesh side up, onto skin for a cooling hit before rinsing away any residue. Believe it or not, puffy eyes can be calmed with potato peelings. Place a thick piece underneath your eyes (skin facing up) and the enzymes in the produce will help reduce inflammation. 1 RAISING THE BAR… Beauty bars…

It’s National Baking Week this month and best has partnered with the award-winning, dairy-free, original plant-based cheese ‘Sheese’ – a delicious and versatile alternative to dairy – to offer eight lucky readers a tasty hamper of goodies to celebrate! Winners will each receive a hamper of Sheese worth over £25 to try, as well as a beautiful glass cake stand worth £23.99, to show off their bakes. Sheese’s creamy products are perfect for baking and their website is crammed with scrumptious recipes, such as jam-filled double chocolate muffins, mini cranberry and orange cheesecakes and carrot cake sponge, so hop over to buteisland.com to get some inspiration. Sheese has been made with pride on the Scottish Isle of Bute since 1989 and now has the largest range of vegan cheeses available…

Even in the most solid of unions, we all have our ‘worst case scenarios’ when it comes to relationships and how, in our worst nightmares, we imagine them ending in tears. And Loose Women panellist Ruth Langsford shared hers, when she got candid recently during a debate on the ITV show. The 62-year-old had been discussing the subject of partners cheating with a younger person – and whether or not this was the ultimate betrayal. Her fellow panellists all shared their thoughts, at which point Ruth addressed her ‘worst fear’ – of GB News presenter Eamonn Holmes ‘leaving her for someone the same age’. As some of the panellists talked about how devastated they would be if their partners cheated on them with a younger woman, Ruth’s view was different……

WHO I AM – MY STORY – MELANIE C WELBECK, £20 Spice up your life with the story of how an ordinary lass became part of the biggest girl band ever. Mel, alias Sporty Spice, tells about life as part of the Spice Girls, and includes the good times and bad. A DIFFERENT STAGE – GARY BARLOW PENGUIN, £30 Telling the story of his journey from working men’s clubs to filling international stadiums, singing star Gary shares personal photos, and never-heard-before ancdotes. An intimate story of the life behind the songs we all know so well. RYLAN – TEN: THE DECADE THAT CHANGED MY FUTURE SEVEN DIALS, £20 A decade since he first found fame as a hopeful on The X Factor, Rylan has become a national treasure. In this…