With 361 million followers on Instagram and a billion-dollar fortune, Kim Kardashian is used to having doors opened for her, from the White House to royal palaces around the world.
I can reveal that the American model and reality star was however refused entry to the Irish castle of Dominic West and his aristocratic wife Catherine FitzGerald.
West, 54, who made his name in US crime series The Wire and went on to play Prince Charles in Netflix hit The Crown, has revealed that his mother-in-law, Olda FitzGerald, refused to let Kim stay at Glin Castle in 2014 when she was on honeymoon with rapper Kanye West.
“She called my mother-in-law and said, ‘Can we come stay with Glin?’” West says on the Travel Secrets podcast.
She said, ‘I’m sorry, we’re closed.’
With 361 million followers on Instagram and a billion-dollar fortune, Kim Kardashian is used to having doors opened for her, from the White House to royal palaces around the world
Rejected: Dominic West’s mother-in-law refused Kim a stay at Glin Castle in 2014 when she was on her honeymoon with rapper Kanye West
When Olda later told her daughter and son-in-law, they were astonished: ‘We said, ‘Who? You said WHAT?”
Kim was looking forward to a honeymoon in Ireland after marrying Kanye in Florence, Italy.
There have been rumours in the past that they were staying in Glin, County Limerick.
West reveals that the newlyweds stayed at Ballyfin Demesne, a five-star hotel in County Laois owned by the late American businessman Fred Krehbiel.
The actor hinted that it was his mother-in-law Olda FitzGerald who rejected the American celebrity and her rapper husband
‘Ballyfin Hotel is based on Glin and was owned by a wonderful American who bought it and restored it on the advice of my wife’s father,’ said the Sheffield-born actor.
‘He was a great connoisseur of Irish art and architecture and wrote all the books on the subject.’
West, who was educated at Eton, and Catherine, 53 and a friend of King Charles, took over the running of Glin after her father, Desmond, the last Knight of Glin, died in 2011.
West isn’t convinced Kim and Kanye enjoyed their honeymoon in Ballyfin Demesne. The couple divorced in 2022.
“I’m not sure they liked it,” he says.
‘They went to the cinema in Portlaoise, a town that is not exactly glamorous.’
Avoid this at all costs, warns Stephanie
Bring up Strictly Come Dancing with Stephanie Beacham, who is still not over her 2007 appearance on the popular BBC show with her partner Vincent Simone.
“I hated every minute of it,” the former Dynasty star tells me. “It wasn’t for me.”
Beacham, 77, who will soon appear in the film Duchess, warns prospective Strictly contestants: ‘I would say if you really want to lose 10lb, work from morning till night and don’t mind all your hard work and sweat being filmed, then go for it, but it’s not something you would do for the money.
“It’s a lot more complicated than that.”
Strictly Come Dancing star Stephanie Beacham ‘hated’ every minute of her time on Strictly
Phones are a bad note for DJs
Queen Elizabeth once told violinist Nicola Benedetti that in the digital age she was faced with “a sea of mobile phones” rather than a crowd of people walking around.
Now one of the world’s top DJs is complaining that partygoers are more interested in their phones than in dancing to the music he’s playing.
After performing in Greece, Bob Sinclar complained online: ‘Damn, I feel so depressed tonight. It was the worst performance of my entire career.
‘You enter the club, beautiful place in Mykonos, beautiful girls. You think it’s going to be fun.
‘People aren’t moving — they’re constantly filming on their phones. I’ve never been so bored.’
Ashley’s whitewash has now faded
She plays Mindy Chen, the only Asian character in Netflix’s Emily In Paris. However, Ashley Park preferred to see herself as a white actress to further her career.
The 33-year-old American, of Korean descent, plays the best friend of Emily, Lily Collins’ character.
She says, “I grew up in the Midwest and was the only woman of color all four years of college musical theater. I always thought, ‘If people forget that I’m Asian, if I look, feel, and act from a white person’s perspective, then I’ll be happier and I’ll go far.'”
She adds that she later embraced her heritage.
Ashley Park, who stars in Emily in Paris, said she preferred to see herself as a white actress to further her career
Miranda’s miracle
Comedian Miranda Hart has revealed that behind her cheerful appearance, she has been suffering from an undisclosed ‘chronic illness’ for three years that is causing her to gain weight.
Miranda, the star of the BBC sitcom of the same name, is publishing an autobiographical book about her struggle, I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You, in October.
Miranda, the daughter of Captain David Hart Dyke, a former aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth, said: ‘My book explains why it is a miracle that I can be abroad again after years of chronic illness.
‘I find it really hard not to feel ashamed about gaining weight.
‘Not because I’m striving for an aesthetic ideal, but because it doesn’t represent me and who I am by nature. But life happens.’
Comedian Miranda Hart has revealed that behind her cheerful exterior, she has been suffering from an unnamed ‘chronic illness’ for three years that has caused her to gain weight
Nadiya deserves a nice crust
Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain continues to earn big bucks.
She has made £1.6 million in profits from Nadiya J Hussain, the company she invests her earnings into.
Recently published accounts show income – up to November last year – rose by £350,000 from £1.2m in 2022.
Nadiya won the sixth season of the popular cooking show and founded her own company in 2015.
The Great British Bake Off star has raked in £1.6million in profits from Nadiya J Hussain, the company she invests her earnings into