When Mel Coleman – an energetic 60-year-old in apparently impeccable health – died last year, just weeks after being diagnosed with bowel cancer, his wife, the tennis star and TV presenter Annabel Croft, was comforted by their only son, Charlie, 27.
“Charlie said it was like a hand came down from heaven and plucked Mel out, leaving our family with a big hole that will never be filled,” Annabel later recalled.
Now Charlie has cheered up his mother and two sisters with some happy news.
“He’s engaged,” a friend tells me. “The family is excited and really looking forward to the wedding. It’s given everyone a boost.”
Charlie, who works in finance, has clearly found a gem: he’s marrying a scion of a family of jewelers. “He won’t be short of options for sparklers,” jokes the pal.
Delighted: Annabel Croft with her newly engaged son Charlie Coleman
His bride-to-be is Honour Wainwright, 28, whose father, Michael, is a director of Boodles, the jewellery business founded in Liverpool in the 19th century. Pictured: Honour Wainwright (left), Annie Wainwright (centre) and Michael Wainwright (right) in May
Mel Coleman and Annabel Croft attend the first British Ballet Charity Gala of 2021
His future bride is Honour Wainwright, 28, whose father, Michael, is a director of Boodles, the jewellery business founded in Liverpool in the 19th century.
He is the sixth generation of his family to run the company, for which Earl Spencer’s twin daughters, Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia, work as models.
The Princess of Wales and her sister, Pippa Matthews, attended the Boodles Boxing Ball, where friends including Hugh van Cutsem took part in charity fundraising matches.
Honour, a graduate of the University of Exeter, works as a marketing manager at Boodles, having previously worked at magazine giant Conde Nast.
“I grew up in Boodles,” she said in 2022. “It’s always been a part of my life and I always knew that eventually I wanted to work here.”
Following the death of Mel, an America’s Cup and Admiral’s Cup sailor, Annabel, 58, joined Strictly alongside Johannes Radebe and left the show’s judges in tears when she blew a kiss to the sky after a dance. She was denied a place in the final, angering viewers.
Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe performing on Strictly Come Dancing in November 2023
In June I told you that Annabel had decided to part with the house she and Mel, a ‘DIY enthusiast’, built almost 20 years ago.
“I don’t cry every day anymore,” she said. “I’m ready to sell now.”
With their three young children in mind, the couple bought a dilapidated house in Surrey in 2001. They wanted to tear it down and build their own dream home.
The house had been rented to students who had left a tap on and flooded it. In the end, she and Mel built a beautifully proportioned neoclassical home. With six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a conservatory and of course an all-weather tennis court, it is likely to sell for more than £6 million.
Annabel hopes to find a smaller home, closer to what she calls her “tennis family” at Wimbledon, where she commentated on this year’s championship.
She said of her beloved Mel: ‘[He’s] “The last person I think about when I go to sleep and the first person I think about when I wake up.”
Who would have thought Stephen Fry’s underwear would have so many fans?
He’s certainly not on par with pop star Harry Styles, but Stephen Fry claims fans still ask for his underwear.
“Sometimes I get very personal questions, like, ‘Would you send me your underwear?’” the 66-year-old explains.
‘I used to see people on talk shows like Parkinson talking about viewers asking their guests for their underwear.
“I thought it was because they were a pop singer or an actor, but now it seems like even if you look like me, there’s someone in the world who wants my underwear.”
If you say so, Stephen…
Stephen Fry visits day nine of Wimbledon in July
King’s holiday labels remain stuck
Forget removing Prince Andrew from the Royal Lodge at Windsor, King Charles had enough trouble getting his stuff to Balmoral last weekend.
‘The Firm’ need at least two lorries to transport their luggage for their two-month annual holiday on Deeside. But someone forgot to tell the staff they would be arriving on Saturday.
“The driver tried the intercom, but got no answer,” an astonished bystander told me.
‘He called from his taxi, walked back to the intercom, but still got no answer. As he walked away, a voice came over the intercom and he was finally let in.’
King Charles III inspects the Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, at the gates of Balmoral on Monday
The King’s furniture wagon arrives at Balmoral Castle on Saturday
There was no one at the gate to greet the driver and he had to use the intercom a few times before the gate was opened for him
Balmoral Castle is a Victorian royal Scottish country house and estate
Suchet swaps London Docklands for Dartmouth
John Suchet, former ITN newsreader, has a bulletin about his own life.
He has moved to Dartmouth in South Devon, where David Dimbleby also has a house.
“Life is much more social there,” says Suchet, 80, who previously lived in the Docklands area of east London.
‘There’s always something going on and it’s impossible to walk into town without running into someone you know.’
John Suchet, former ITN newsreader, on Good Morning Britain on August 5
Grimmy grins and endures as Grace’s fiery waiter
Former X Factor judge Nick Grimshaw was mistaken for a waiter when he and Grace Jones were guests at a Wimbledon guesthouse.
“Every time she wanted a drink she would tap me and say, ‘Oh, can I have another Pimm’s?’ and I would say, ‘Well, I’ll get her one because she’s Grace Jones and she’s amazing,'” the 40-year-old broadcaster said.
‘At one point she said, “Why don’t you put some in a bag?” I grabbed a couple of pints of Pimm’s in a paper bag and took those.’
Sir Roger Moore was not a fan of the famously temperamental singer when he appeared in the 1985 Bond film A View To A Kill.
“I did all my own stunts,” he recalls, “except for that one time I slept with Grace Jones.”
Nick Grimshaw attends the 2024 BRIT Awards at the O2 Arena on March 2 in London
Grace Jones enjoys a strawberry during the second day of the Wimbledon Championships on July 2
Team Suki shows up for her Swift performance
Suki Waterhouse was overcome with emotion after opening for Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium last weekend.
“My nervous system will never be the same,” said the singer and actress, who has a five-month-old daughter with Batman star Robert Pattinson.
Londoner Suki, 32, wore a peach-coloured ruffled dress by Chloe for the show, which was watched by pals including model Georgia May Jagger, actress Eiza Gonzalez, TV presenter Poppy Jamie, socialite Jack Guinness and singer Lilith Ai.
They wore white T-shirts featuring the face of Suki, who stars in the hit TV drama Daisy Jones & the Six.
Suki Waterhouse to open for Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium on August 17
Famous fans: Eiza Gonzalez, Poppy Jamie, Jack Guinness, Georgia May and Lilith Ai
Suki Waterhouse and Taylor Swift pose for a photo