The Gossip - Keira, Gordon and Newspaper Nudes

One of Natasha Archdale's Newspaper Nudes

Every fortnight, Ben Dowell reports exclusively on the whispers and chit chat from the world of arts and media.

Oh dear. What is going on at Glyndebourne?
The opera house, easily one of the most beautiful venues showing some of the world’s best productions, has been sending out begging letters to regulars asking them to stump up some cash as they’re apparently short. I wouldn’t mind but the last time I went – admittedly to the wonderful Julio Cesare in 2005 - my seat set me back a cool £175.
Thank God the weather was OK and I brought a nice picnic.
But I can tell you one thing – they aint getting any more money out of this starving hack I can tell you.



Sad to reveal: Channel 4’s plans to develop the first UK television drama written by Hollywood director Neil LaBute has fallen through because LaBute hasn’t got the time any more.
 It has been hoped that the series, which was called 21-30 and was about a fictional reality show that follows contestants' lives through their 20s, would be shown next year, but alas no. “We’re gutted,” says my source at Tiger Aspect productions. “He just couldn’t commit the time in the end.”


Gordon Brown’s book on his political heroes hasn’t been selling well – but guess who has been telling every diary editor in Fleet Street this terrible news?
Well none other than the office of George Osborne, shadow chancellor and a man who makes no secret of his detestation of the PM.



I’m rather a fan of young artist Natasha Archdale who recently showed at The Gallery on the Charing Cross Road in London with work which included specially commissioned portraits of nude women made out of Financial Times articles about the men doing the commissioning (do keep up at the back).
Well anyway, Tash tells me that two “big Hollywood” stars have asked for portraits of their own squeezes based on articles about them. And this column will be the first to reveal their names.


Whatever you think of Keira Knightley – at least she is cultivated.
Outgoing Proms director Nick Kenyon tells me that the Pirates of the Caribbean star was spotted at the Classical Musical Festival at the Albert hall which has tragically come to an end for another year.


Alexander Masters, writer of the fabulous story of his homeless friend Stuart Shorter (Stuart: A Life Backwards) and which has just been shown on the BBC, tells me that he is getting his teeth into his next subject: a maths genius called Simon Norton who happened to be living in the flat below when he was writing the Stuart book.

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