EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Welsh sexpot Catherine Zeta-Jones snubbed Michael Douglas when the pair had their first 'nightcap'

By Ephraim Hardcastle for the Daily Mail

Published: 19:42 EDT, 25 April 2017 | Updated: 02:29 EDT, 26 April 2017

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Welsh sexpot Catherine Zeta-Jones, 47, was initially unimpressed with Michael Douglas, 72. A smitten Douglas first met the actress after his publicist arranged for him to have a drink with her.

Recalling the pair having a 'nightcap', he has admitted: 'I said to her after about half an hour, 'You know, I'm going to be the father of your children'.

She said, 'I've heard a lot about you and I've seen a lot about you and I think it's time I said goodnight'.'

Happy now: Catherine Zeta-Jones, 47, was initially unimpressed with Michael Douglas, 72

Knocked back: Douglas admitted he was initially snubbed by Zeta-Jones when his publicist set up a meeting

Alan Yentob, 70, not only continues to trouser a six-figure salary from the BBC, but he also set up a private TV company last year. So if the Insolvency Service bans him from being a company director how will he fare?

Yentob stepped down as BBC creative director in 2015 after the collapse of Kids Company where he was chairman of the trustees. He is still on the staff as presenter and editor of TV arts show Imagine.

Says a BBC source: 'Why should he be allowed to remain in charge of a seven-figure BBC budget if the Insolvency Service thinks he is not fit to be a company director?'

Since BBC Today presenter Sarah Montague squealed at the sight of a mouse, the hospitality trolley has been banished to an adjoining corridor. Jeremy Corbyn's well-nourished lieutenant Diane Abbott apparently took full advantage of the discreet trough on her last appearance.

She made short work of the rolls, buns, fruit and yogurt before gliding into the studio munching a crumb-laden croissant.

Says my Radio 4 mole: 'Usually guests leave something for the staffers to eat after we go off air. Not in the case of Diane.'

Greedy: Diane Abbott scoffed the rolls, buns, fruit and yogurt before entering the BBC Radio 4 studio munching a crumb-laden croissant

Seasoned punters at Newbury on Saturday knew that the Queen's horse was a good bet when HMQ stayed on for the fifth race of the day rather than returning to nearby Windsor Castle for afternoon tea. Call to Mind won at 6/4. But following the Queen's nags doesn't bring you riches. Punters who loyally placed £1 to win on each of her runners over the last five seasons would be down over £100.

Barack Obama, who lambasted the fat cat bankers in a 2009 TV interview, has accepted £312,000 from a Wall Street firm for a speech at a lunch in September. The fee – equivalent to his annual salary when US President – will put him on a pay-per-speech par with Bill and Hillary Clinton. Obamacare?

Tory politician Sir Simon Burns, 64, who is leaving the Commons after 30 years, has long had a difficult relationship with pompous speaker John Bercow, 54. While clashing with Bercow in the chamber in 2010, Burns described him as a 'stupid, sanctimonious dwarf'.

David Cameron claimed that Burns's ministerial driver reversed into Bercow's car in Speaker's Court. When Bercow, who stands at 5ft 6in, complained that he was not 'happy' – also the name of one of the Seven Dwarfs – it's claimed that Burns cheekily responded: 'So which one are you?'