TALK OF THE TOWN: Scarlett Johansson says no to a posh house while filming in London - for a £60,000 suite in Claridge's
Scarlett Johansson has declined staying in a historic mansion in sylvan Hampstead while filming in London – due to security fears.
The famously private actress – who is in the capital to shoot the latest Jurassic World movie – was reportedly rattled by the recent riots across the UK and did not feel safe enough in the house earmarked for her. Scarlett, 39, promptly moved her family into an expensive luxury suite at Claridge's.
The north London suburb is renowned for its village charm, high quality of life and abundance of green space.
But, according to my source, the star 'took one look at the place in Hampstead, saw there was no liveried security doorman like you might get in Manhattan' and opted instead for the security of a £60,000-a-night room at the prestigious Mayfair hotel.
'Scarlett is with her nanny and children so she turned the other place down,' an insider explained.
Scarlett Johansson has declined staying in a historic mansion in sylvan Hampstead while filming in London
Instead she is staying at a £60,000-a-night room at the prestigious Claridge's hotel, Mayfair
Filming for the currently untitled fourth Jurassic World film started at Sky Studios Elstree on August 18 and is expected to wrap in October.
Production on the movie has moved between the UK, Malta and Thailand but Scarlett's US comedian husband Colin Jost, 42, has been unable to travel with her.
The penthouse suite is said to be the most expensive in London, having been refurbished in 2023, and reportedly welcomed Leonardo DiCaprio as one of its first guests.
The ninth-floor 12,000sq ft glass-wrapped room boasts four bedrooms, a panoramic view of the city and a 24-hour butler service.
The suite is furnished with crystal taps by French luxury house Baccarat and adorned with 75 works by artist Damien Hirst. It also boasts a rooftop garden with a private pool.
How Sofia paid someone to say she's hot!
Modern Family and Griselda star Sofia Vergara revealed she once had to pay an intern to pretend they represented her and tell TV bosses how 'hot' she was
Today she is one of the most famous women in Hollywood, celebrated for her beauty, but Modern Family and Griselda star Sofia Vergara, left, revealed she once had to pay an intern to pretend they represented her and tell TV bosses how 'hot' she was.
When the actress started to get offered more television work 30 years ago, she had no agent, so would pay the intern to say it for her.
'I cannot sell myself – how wonderful and hot I am. So, you're going tell them how wonderful and hot I am,' she quipped. It clearly worked!
Coldplay are giving free tickets, with business flights and a hotel room, to their Sydney show to help raise money for Children With Cancer UK.
Honeysuckle's bargain messages - at £18 a pop
But Foyle's War star Honeysuckle Weeks has taken matters into her own hands by offering messages on personalised video site Cameo – at just £18 a pop
The 45-year-old actress is one of a number of celebrities who offer fans the chance to receive custom messages in exchange for – often sizable – sums of cash
Finding lucrative work can often prove difficult for those in the acting business. But Foyle's War star Honeysuckle Weeks has taken matters into her own hands by offering messages on personalised video site Cameo – at just £18 a pop.
The 45-year-old actress, right, is one of a number of celebrities who offer fans the chance to receive custom messages in exchange for – often sizable – sums of cash.
EastEnders actor Danny Dyer charges nearly £100 for videos, while fans of Harry Potter's Miriam Margolyes will need to fork out £129 to receive a custom message.
The star, who is a budget option in comparison to her fellow thespians on Cameo, used her first recording to apologise for noisy builders at her house. Her page says fans can make a birthday 'unforgettable with a video from Honeysuckle'.
The Good Life's Felicity Kendal has revealed how things changed on set when the Queen came to watch a recording.
Speaking about a royal visit in 1978, she says: 'The boys were terrified that they would let slip some expletive or something.
'But what was so wonderful was from nowhere there was polishing the brass and carpets were being re-done. And then the audience suddenly had comfortable chairs – It was magic.'
Is Jo really cut out for Nigel's party?
Jo Wood caused a social media ruckus after she posted this photo of herself draped over Nigel Farage's shoulder, but it was just a cardboard cutout
Jo Wood caused a social media ruckus after she posted this photo of herself draped over her visitor's shoulder.
The ex-wife of Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood captioned the shot of her with her arms round Nigel Farage: 'Dinner in the garden with Dean, Debbie and Nigel.'
Her Instagram followers reacted with questions such as 'Why?' But, dear reader, do not worry. It was just a cardboard cutout – although that didn't appease Jo's fans. One quipped: 'Dart practice hopefully!'
Bake Off's Dame Prue Leith has signed up to the trendy health fad app ZOE which tracks users' blood sugar levels – and has had to kick her love of trifle, cheese and cream after discovering her husband John Playfair is healthier than her.
'I thought I would be healthier than John – he's addicted to ice cream and cakes. But it turns out I have more bad bacteria than good while John has a terrific gut microbiome.
'I'm off trifle and I'm no longer hoovering up the remains in the serving bowl as I do the washing-up!'
Liz's kisses for 'hubby' David
Elizabeth Hurley, 59, seen left David Walliams, wished him a happy 53rd with a video documenting their ever-closer friendship, including very amorous shots of them kissing
David Walliams' biggest birthday shock has been revealed... a chance to be the new Mr Elizabeth Hurley!
Liz, 59, seen left with the ex-BGT judge, wished him a happy 53rd with a video documenting their ever-closer friendship, including very amorous shots of them kissing.
David posted photos of his bash on Instagram and Liz commented: 'Happy birthday, future husband.'
Should his rumoured girlfriend, actress Keeley Hazell, be worried? Last week I revealed they were having a 'fur baby' – a puppy called Eric.
Downton Abbey is filming at Highclere Castle, but its chatelaine Lady Carnarvon admits she and her husband Geordie, right, are both being kept in the dark over the plot for the new third movie, due for release in winter 2025.
However, she admits their dogs love the Downton catering team and can be found most days on set.
'They have remembered the form with delight: catering trucks that make lots of delicious snacks, just the sort of things they love for breakfast and for lunch,' she reveals.
'Our dog Alfie is quite often missing and usually deaf to all calls.'
Jumbo day for Dad
Cush Jumbo said it was a 'big deal' to take her Nigerian immigrant father to Buckingham Palace in 2019 when she accepted her OBE (pictured)
She made a splash on US TV in The Good Wife, but it's as a good daughter that Cush Jumbo, right, is most proud.
The 38-year-old – who is returning as detective June Lenker in a second season of Apple TV+'s Criminal Record – was made an OBE by the Queen in 2019 for services to drama.
Cush said: 'My dad was a 17-year-old immigrant from Nigeria and on his first day he sat on a bench outside Buckingham Palace and cried as he had no money.
'So it was a big deal to take him to the ceremony and go back to that bench and say, "Now you're walking me into the Palace."'
Just a year ago he was singing for Prince Michael of Kent, but now Italian tenor Al Bano will have to be satisfied with entertaining socialite Princess Camilla of Bourbon Two Sicilies. The singer, 81, posed with Camilla, 53, for a selfie in Sardinia.
