ALISON BOSHOFF: Sacre bleu – it’s Mullet Antoinette! Emilia Schule sports rebellious hairstyle after months of wearing towering wigs playing the French Queen in the hit BBC show

It’s not quite a guillotine, but after months of wearing sky-high wigs to play the French queen, Marie Antoinette star Emilia Schule rebelled by cutting an undercut into one side of her head to create this curious, asymmetrical, punk-like to create mullet.

But her revolutionary look is being glossed over now that she’s started filming the sequel to the hit BBC show – so it’s wigs all over again.

Incidentally, the 30-year-old actress has struck up a warm friendship with her British co-star Louis Cunningham, the actor who plays Louis XVI (and in real life is the son of Princess Charlotte of Luxembourg).

She shared a photo of the two of them at a scripting session and then a photo of a Post-it note on which she had written, “Recast Louis Cunningham,” to which he replied by printing “F*** YOU” in all caps.

Preparations for the second series started last month and filming is expected to last around six months. It will be about the ‘Affair of the Diamond Necklace’ and the first rumblings of the French Revolution.

…but our acting queen likes a wig

Here’s jolly national treasure Dame Judi Dench… wearing a wig made from shredded paper. Dame Judi, 88, says her family has had a tradition of making clothes from packaging.

During a speech to promote her new book – Shakespeare, The Man Who Pays The Rent – ​​she said seriously: ‘That packaging material holds its shape quite well.’

Friend and co-author Brendan O’Hea joked: “Your grandson Sammy calls you the most childish person he knows.”

Dench recalled playing pranks on actor Geoffrey Palmer on the set of the TV series As Time Goes By.

‘We used to get there early, before the director. When you’re rehearsing for TV, the sets are huge, with lots of different rooms of furniture everywhere.

“We used to hide in the furniture and jump at Geoffrey Palmer.”

Good to see Jamie Oliver back on our screens with his 5 Ingredient Meals, on Channel 4. But what happened to his brother-in-law Paul Hunt – married to Jamie’s sister Anna-Marie – who ran his business empire until disaster struck?

In 2021, two years after celebrity chef Jamie’s Italian company went bankrupt, Hunt went out and resigned from about two dozen companies in the Oliver empire.

I’m told it’s still extremely awkward at family gatherings. To make matters even more unbearable, the families live close to each other in Essex.

Cynthia is in love again

Actress Cynthia Nixon experiences a series of doomed on-screen love affairs. Firstly, there was her romance with Che in And Just Like That, which managed to irritate fans of the Sex And The City franchise and ended badly.

And now comes another unexpected twist: this time in the second series of Sky Atlantic drama The Gilded Age, written by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

In the show, set in New York in the 1880s, Nixon (pictured above) plays Ada, the downtrodden, “kind but not bright” younger sister of Agnes (played by Christine Baranski), who married well and is worth a fortune is.

Decades after a lonely conversation, Ada surprises everyone by falling head over heels in love – but it is not said with whom.

Fellowes said, “You know, love is a pretty fundamental part of most of our lives. The biggest mistakes we ever make, and the times we make the most fools of ourselves, are usually related to love in some way.

“And I think it’s good to show your characters in love because then you can take them to areas they wouldn’t normally go if they were feeling sane and sane.

“We use love this season to show who Ada really is. We have seen one side of her, as Agnes’ dominated sister.

‘But there’s more to it than that. There’s an emotional dimension to her that I think we’ve glimpsed but never really seen. And we’ll see this season.’

He adds ominously, “Of course, happiness in drama is usually a matter of a moment. Happily ever after is what comes when the drama is over.”

The show will stream from October 29.

Telly Dragon Sara’s company is £1 million in the red

Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies is a big hit with viewers for her no-nonsense business smarts on the show. However, it can be revealed that all is not entirely rosy in her own affairs.

Documents filed with Companies House earlier this year show that the company that built her reputation – Crafter’s Companion – is more than £1 million in the red.

In the notes to the accounts for the year to March 2022, the directors describe the period as ‘challenging’, noting that one major customer has gone bankrupt and the impact of Covid continues to impact the business. High freight costs and tariffs on Chinese imports have also had an impact.

The company’s accountants said: ‘The group and the company have suffered reduced sales orders post year-end and are in breach of banking covenants. As stated, these events or circumstances indicate that there is material uncertainty that may cast doubt on the group’s and the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.’

In July 2023, a loan was taken out to support Crafter’s Companion. The accounts show a loss for the year of £1.27 million, compared to the previous year’s profit of £231,000.

Davies joined Dragons’ Den in 2019, when she was just 35, becoming the youngest dragon.

Crafter’s Companion was founded when she was a college student and spotted a gap in the market for an envelope making tool that could be used by card makers.

She designed the gadget and had it made from MDF by a local furniture maker. The company now employs more than 190 employees.

Davies has won more than 25 business awards and was recognized for services to the economy with an MBE in 2016.

She appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 and this year was a judge on The Ultimate Wedding Planner for the BBC.

A spokesperson said: ‘Although these are incredibly challenging trading times, there is great confidence in Crafter’s Companion; hence the financial investment. This will support the company’s next phase of growth without passing on costs to consumers.”

Stage star Frances Ruffelle – the original Eponine in Les Miserables – has found love with a friend of 26 years after the pair went for a lockdown walk.

Norman ‘Beausy’ ​​Bowman is a West End star who appeared in Mamma Mia and 42nd Street.

In an interview with Broadway World, Frances, 58, said: “We first met in Les Mis. Beausy was in the cast and we became friends. . . no lovers. But the friendship continued and suddenly there was a lockdown, and we went for a walk, and the next thing you know, we’re living together in the countryside.’

Ruffelle and her new flame have a double act – Frankie & Beausy – which is in London on November 20 at the Crazy Coqs.

Successor Brian Cox says he was the worst director in theater history when he worked for Dundee Rep in his youth.

‘I was terrible! I would ask and I would have the book in front of me and I would be on page 12. Meanwhile, the rest of the cast was on page 23.

“So I was sitting there daydreaming, and someone tapped me on the shoulder. And I said, “Oh, yeah?” And it’s the actress, and she says, “Telephone!” I said, “For me?” She said, “No, on stage.”

“I forgot to call the phone for the play.”