Andy Burnham looked even more pleased with himself than usual when he joined sporting legend Denis Law to unveil a bronze plaque honouring fellow star Jimmy Greaves on The Football Walk of Fame in Manchester in 2017.
Opened the previous year on the doorstep of the city’s National Football Museum, the tourist attraction was meant to be a permanent tribute to the beautiful game’s most celebrated figures.
But in 2023, Manchester City Council ordered the removal of the Walk of Fame – which included some 40 plaques by that point – to make way for an ice rink and seasonal event stands.
This horrified the founders of the attraction, who desperately appealed to the now Prime Minister for help. They claim he repeatedly ignored their pleas.
‘I wrote to Andy Burnham on two occasions on behalf of Paul Trevillion [the acclaimed sports artist who co-created the walk] and myself to request his intervention and support,’ co-founder David Courtney tells me. ‘However, my request fell on deaf ears. He was easy to get hold of when he wanted to pose for the cameras but not when he actually had to stand up for something. This felt incredibly frustrating, especially given Andy Burnham’s public, deeply personal ties to football culture.’
The walk was launched in collaboration with the National Football Museum at a ceremony attended by Sir Bobby Charlton, marking 50 years since England’s 1966 World Cup triumph. Among those named on the plaques were Sir Bobby, fellow winner Sir Geoff Hurst and Manchester United legend George Best.
Burnham is a season ticket-holder at Everton FC and was given an original drawing by Trevillion of club legend Dixie Dean. No10 did not respond to my requests for comment.
Andy Burnham looked even more pleased with himself than usual when he joined sporting legend Denis Law to unveil a bronze plaque for Jimmy Greaves in 2017, writes Richard Eden
Absolutely Fabulous actress Helen Lederer is launching Writing Funny, a podcast giving up-and-coming comedy writers tips for their projects. Nicola Sturgeon will be a guest on Lederer’s ‘pretend-but-genuine Open University module for witty writers’. What is more ripe for comedy than a luxury motorhome on a driveway, apparently invisible to the human eye?
Ashley after the Big Apple of her eye
Real life is seemingly starting to imitate Sex And The City for Bridgerton star Simone Ashley. The Surrey-born actress moved last year to New York, where the drama about Carrie Bradshaw and her pals was set.
‘My friends are all in a similar age group and it is that kind of Sex And The City narrative of trying to find love in a city like this,’ she says of their adventures. ‘It’s always a conversation whenever we’re hanging out – if you put it out there, then you’ll find it.’
The 31-year-old, who plays Kate in Netflix hit Bridgerton, is single after splitting up with her boyfriend of three years, lawyer Constantin ‘Tino’ Klein. She’s trying to ‘manifest’ love with ‘someone that I can experience joy with, someone that I can be myself with and someone I can learn something about myself from’.
Bridgerton star Simone Ashley, 31, likened her new NYC life to that of Carrie Bradshaw and Co
Hardman Kemp is faithful to Traitors
Tv tough guy Ross Kemp, whose documentaries have included The Fight Against ISIS and Behind Bars, is in awe of the measures taken by the BBC to maintain secrecy around The Celebrity Traitors, in which he will be seen competing in the autumn.
‘The disclaimer [for contestants] is longer than the Bayeux Tapestry,’ the 62-year-old tells the Joe Marler Will See You Now podcast. ‘Pollsmoor and Belmarsh [maximum-security prisons] have less policing around them.’
Producers are right to worry about blabbermouths. In May, I overheard Richard E. Grant talking loudly about his fellow contestants in Kensington High Street, west London.
Parenting at Fringe is no joke, says Potter star
Harry Potter actress Jessie Cave has accused the Edinburgh Festival of pricing out parents. The 39-year-old, who played Ron Weasley’s girlfriend Lavender Brown, is taking her show, Only Work, to the Fringe next week.
It will include reflections on motherhood and her decision to join adult platform OnlyFans last year. But the mother of four is not happy.
‘I resent how extortionate the cost of taking a show up there is,’ she says. ‘Not to mention how it is not a place where you are encouraged to bring your children.’
Mother of four Jessie Cave deemed the Fringe to be not somewhere children are welcome
Thomson’s famine
He’s a familiar face to millions, thanks to his roles in Cold Feet, Coronation Street and Men Behaving Badly, yet John Thomson admits that he hasn’t received a pay cheque for months.
‘Last year was feast, this year famine,’ says the actor, 57. ‘I haven’t done a single acting job for six months.’
Referring to the trend away from traditional TV networks to streaming services, he said: ‘It’s hard now. No one has got any money. If you want to advertise your product, why would you pick a commercial station that people are kind of tuning out of? You’re not getting the views. Everybody has switched to platforms where they just pay subscriptions.’
Cold Feet star John Thomson admitted that he hasn’t received a pay cheque for months
Barack Obama will be charging £1,500 for a photo opportunity and premium seat when he makes a speaking appearance at Manchester’s Co-Op Live arena in October.
But the 44th US President isn’t even the biggest attraction in his own family. Former First Lady Michelle charged £2,200 for a pre-show photo op and signed copy of her memoir, Becoming, on the speaking tour to plug her book.
Tickets for her London appearance were even offered for £50,000 on secondary sites. Perhaps Michelle will join her husband this autumn to help boost his VIP sales?
Read the full article here
