SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE: Now George Clooney wants to be Mr President

By Sebastian Shakespeare

Published: 19:41 EST, 6 July 2014 | Updated: 04:05 EST, 7 July 2014


George Clooney and fiancee Amal Alamuddi

George Clooney and fiancee Amal Alamuddi

George Clooney’s aunt Starla told me last month that the Hollywood star planned to enter politics and said his British fiancee, human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, would help him achieve his ambitions.

Now one of Clooney’s friends says the actor has set his sights on the White House.

‘George wouldn’t want to be a senator, it’s more like President, and I know that’s something he’d love to do,’ says Stephen Henry, who has known Clooney for 20 years.

‘George can get any audience he wants right now, and if he wants to make a change  in America, he could do it easily.’

Henry adds that Amal, 36, must be ‘extraordinary’ to have inspired George to marry again at the age of 53.

‘There’s no question that she will be a tremendous asset to him,’ he says. ‘They could be the next Barack and Michelle.

‘Now that he feels he’s found the right person, he’ll be far more effective, politically, and life will be more complete for him.’

 

BBC’s boss boasts he can earn ‘tons more’ outside

More than 100 BBC executives are earning six-figure salaries, despite pledges to curb top pay and offer viewers better value for money.

Now Director-General Tony Hall has claimed that he could be earning ‘tons more’ than his £450,000 wage packet in the private sector.

Former Royal Opera House chief Lord Hall is confronted over his salary by Sir John Tusa in the new Radio 4 series, the Leadership Gap, to be broadcast on Friday.

 

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By comparison, Simon Stevens, the NHS England chief executive installed last year, is paid £189,900, after taking a voluntary 10 per cent pay cut.

‘Is running the BBC twice as hard as running the NHS?’ a sceptical Tusa asks Hall.

The BBC boss is in no doubt about his value. ‘If you look in the outside market, I could be earning tons more,’ he says. ‘I’m paid what I’m paid and I hope to do a good job.

‘I take my hat off to anyone who’s trying to run the NHS. It’s a phenomenally important organisation.

‘I am more than content with what I am paid. It’s a great deal of money.’

 

Daisy gives us the low-down

Daisy Lowe stepped out in a lacy black bra and matching high-waisted underpants covered by a sheer dress at the Drury Club in London

Daisy Lowe stepped out in a lacy black bra and matching high-waisted underpants covered by a sheer dress at the Drury Club in London

Model-turned-cook Daisy Lowe, 25, may aspire to be the next Nigella Lawson, but she could give Nancy Dell’Olio a run for her money over who has the most attention-seeking wardrobe.

Lowe, daughter of fashion designer Pearl Lowe and Bush musician Gavin Rossdale, stepped out in a lacy black bra and matching high-waisted underpants covered by a sheer dress at the Drury Club in London over the weekend.

Daisy, who has dated Doctor Who star Matt Smith, does have a book to promote, which might explain her choice of outfit.

Her cookery book, Sweetness And Light, covers everything dessert-related, from lemon cheesecake to sticky toffee pudding.

But unlike Nigella’s creations, all these recipes are wheat and dairy-free with no refined sugar.

‘You’ll find recipes here to satisfy even the sweetest tooth,’ she says.

What is it about model Donna Air and beards?

 

What is it about model Donna Air and beards?

The girlfriend of James Middleton, hirsute brother of the Duchess of Cambridge, has been admiring the beard of Young British Artist Gavin Turk and compares it with her own beau’s whiskers.

‘James faces some stiff competition from Gavin,’ she tells me.

‘I’m not sure James has figured out a grooming regime yet with his beard, but at least it always  smells nice.’

Perhaps he should emulate the artist’s regime. ‘I rub mine with Moroccan oil,’ says Turk.

 

Could that really be a Conservative MP among the Hillary Clinton groupies queuing up at her book signing at Waterstones in Piccadilly?

‘I’m very much an admirer of hers,’ Simon Burns tells me.

‘I worked on her New Hampshire primary in 2007/8 and I met her a number of times when I was a minister. The easiest way to get an autographed book was to come to the signing.’

Prince Harry speaks with former driver Sir Jackie Stewart at Silverstone

Prince Harry speaks with former driver Sir Jackie Stewart at Silverstone

Chelmsford MP Burns has been having a long-running feud with Speaker John Bercow, whom he once called a ‘stupid, sanctimonious dwarf’, though he later apologised for the outburst in the chamber.

Will history remember Hillary more kindly than Mr Bercow?

‘I think they are . . . incomparable,’ says Burns.

Is Sir Jackie flying the flag for independence?

Prince Harry, just back from Brazil, was at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone yesterday with an old friend of the Royal Family, Sir Jackie Stewart, former world motor racing champion.

Sir Jackie, nicknamed ‘the Flying Scot’, was in tartan trews and a cap to match.

Is he nailing his colours to the mast in connection with September’s referendum on Scottish independence?

Actress Amanda Holden was there, too, along with supermodel Naomi Campbell.

Veteran Tory minister Ken Clarke shook hands with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

Mr Clarke’s handshake seems more gripping than Mr Ecclestone’s.

Perhaps he was hoping for a donation to Tory coffers...

Naomi Campbell and Fabiana Ecclestone
Amanda Holden

Naomi Campbell and Fabiana Ecclestone (left) and Amanda Holden (right) attend the British Grand Prix

Kenneth Clarke shakes hands with Bernie Ecclestone during the 2014 British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit

Kenneth Clarke shakes hands with Bernie Ecclestone during the 2014 British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit

 

Knighted by the Queen, tycoon John Madejski nevertheless failed to win entry for all his women friends to the snooty Stewards’ Enclosure at Henley on Saturday.

One who accompanied the Reading FC chairman had to go shopping for an outfit after being turned away at the entrance to the regatta’s enclosure because her dress was deemed too short.

‘It’s ridiculous,’ says a friend. ‘She was wearing a lovely dress, but it was only a little above the knee, so the doorman said she had to come back in a longer dress.’

Looks like Sir John will just have to buy the enclosure before next year’s regatta.

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I think he is over confident with his charm. Marriages among couples having lived for years together, break within weeks,giving work a reason to grow apart. He should first get his personal life stable even before he prepares his first public speech. I wonder which president so far has wife from a different country.

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And there was me thinking that he wanted to get married.. because he fell in love .............

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This is fantasy about George Clooney and politics from people who want to be interviewed. Why would he need to run for office when he has influence the way he is. As for displaying affection shown in public - grown-ups don't. Unless one is a close friend of the couple there is no possible way of knowing how they feel about each other.

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This country cannot afford anymore disasters.

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I thought you people like actors as presidents? And this one is at least intelligent.

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So does he want to marry this woman now because of love or because he wants to be President?, I'm confused now.

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Agree . hopefully he does not think Americans are stupid to vote for him especially with a non-american wife who has never lived here. She will first have to ditch Julian Assange and her other clients to campaign for him. He is too over confident with his charm and money.

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He can't be any worse than the man in the White House now.

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He would find it a disadvantage not to be married when campaigning for the Presidency. I hope he's genuinely in love with his fiancé cos it seems a touch too convenient to want to marry a lawyer of her persuasion and so quickly.

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He always seems knowledgeable on American issues whenever I've seen him in serious interviews. When you look at someone like Bush who was by far, the thickest President ever in office, why not??

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George for President. Absolutely.

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Jackie Stewart has worn tartan trews as long as I can remember, long, long before Alex Salmond and any referendum.

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