Ginny Dougary :: Award-winning journalist and writer

Ginny Dougary :: Award-winning journalist and writer » Celebrities http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk Politics, celebrities, interviews, opinions, travel, and more... Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:11:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Ricky Gervais in his most ‘postmodern’ interview ever http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2010/04/03/ricky-gervais-in-his-most-postmodern-interview-ever/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2010/04/03/ricky-gervais-in-his-most-postmodern-interview-ever/#comments Sat, 03 Apr 2010 21:09:34 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=324

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2010/04/03/ricky-gervais-in-his-most-postmodern-interview-ever/feed/ 0 Mitch Winehouse on the torment of Amy’s self-destruction http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/12/20/mitch-winehouse-on-the-torment-of-amys-self-destruction/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/12/20/mitch-winehouse-on-the-torment-of-amys-self-destruction/#comments Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:07:38 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=259 Photo - Phil Fisk

So, let’s get the great big elephant out of the room straightaway. Is there something a bit iffy about the way Mitch Winehouse appears to be making a career on the back of his daughter’s demons? What career, you might ask. Well, there are at least two documentaries in the pipeline in which he features large as day, as well as Mitch Winehouse’s Showbiz Rant, an online TV series that films him in his cab sounding off to various celebrity-lite passengers (David Hasselhoff; someone called Shaggy, who was told to take his feet off the seat) – “And don’t get me started on that Lady Gaga…” and so on – and now he’s even recording an album of his own, Rush of Love, due to be released in spring. Isn’t it a bit weird, I ask him, since he would never have got an album out if… “Never. Not in a million years,” he jumps in. “Course not. I mean, I’m not an idiot. I know that I got the album ’cos I’m Amy’s dad.” Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/12/20/mitch-winehouse-on-the-torment-of-amys-self-destruction/feed/ 0 Sandi Toksvig on her Christmas cracker http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/12/14/sandi-toksvig-on-her-christmas-cracker/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/12/14/sandi-toksvig-on-her-christmas-cracker/#comments Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:04:57 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=253 Sandi Toksvig has a habit of being picked up by strange women in public conveniences, which sounds like a cheap gag but happens to be true (although not in a George Michael way, obviously). Only the other day, she was sitting in one of those cubicles where you have to push your foot against the door to keep it closed — a challenge in itself if, like her, you’re under 5ft tall — when a woman burst in, mid-flow, apologised profusely, retreated, and then reappeared, saying: “I think you’re Sandi Toksvig — can I have your autograph?” Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/12/14/sandi-toksvig-on-her-christmas-cracker/feed/ 0 Tracey Emin on a year of living dangerously http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/08/12/tracey-emin-on-a-year-of-living-dangerously/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/08/12/tracey-emin-on-a-year-of-living-dangerously/#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:44:29 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=228 Tracey Emin is serene. That is not a sentence that comes naturally. She has emerged from her year of living dangerously — nothing to do with wild antics and everything to do with ill health — purged of both her demons and a giant, Gothic-sounding tapeworm. We meet in Spitalfields, East London, where Emin lives and works. She was a little bit late for our interview and so I had a chance to potter around her studio. This is where her embroidery and appliqué pieces are created and the room resembles a well-stocked children’s day centre. There is a row of orange washing baskets brimming with brightly coloured fabric and a wall of plastic boxes filled with all manner of things, neatly labelled: “Bits and bobs”, “Postcards and diaries” and “Voodoo dolls”. At the far end of the room is a trio of antique French chairs and a circular table, a glass top protecting an Emin oeuvre/tablecloth of appliquéd letters of the alphabet, and a ridiculously large bean bag on which Emin and her team of seamstresses sprawl, a (literally) laid-back sewing bee, to protect their spines and necks while they work. A glass door opens on to a small courtyard just large enough to contain a wrought-iron table and a couple of chairs. In the corner, next to several bicycles, is an impressively full rack of wine bottles which, on closer inspection, all bear the same label: Château de Tracy (sic). Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2009/08/12/tracey-emin-on-a-year-of-living-dangerously/feed/ 0 Kay Saatchi on life after Charles Saatchi http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/07/27/kay-saatchi-on-life-after-charles-saatchi/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/07/27/kay-saatchi-on-life-after-charles-saatchi/#comments Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:22:03 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=137 Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/07/27/kay-saatchi-on-life-after-charles-saatchi/feed/ 0 Is John Humphrys really the pussycat of Radio 4? http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/06/14/is-john-humphrys-really-the-pussycat-of-radio-4/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/06/14/is-john-humphrys-really-the-pussycat-of-radio-4/#comments Sat, 14 Jun 2008 10:52:00 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=132 John Humphrys, the so-called rottweiler of Radio 4, is in fact a pussycat. This would have been more of a surprise if I were one of the six million-odd regular listeners of the Today programme, where Humphrys has honed his interrupting skills with filibustering politicians over the past 21 years, but since I can think of nothing less soothing than starting my day with the soundtrack of argumentative discourse on governmental policy, this is not the case. Related posts:

Pauline Prescott: ‘John would have resigned over his affair’

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/06/14/is-john-humphrys-really-the-pussycat-of-radio-4/feed/ 0 A close encounter with George Clooney http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/04/07/a-close-encounter-with-george-clooney/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/04/07/a-close-encounter-with-george-clooney/#comments Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:25:46 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=119

Robert Redford: An American idol

Dennis Hopper

All by herself

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Felix Dennis: ex-addict, poet – and murderer?

Did maverick magazine mogul Felix Dennis murder a man 25 years ago?

The fine art of extracting an interview bombshell

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/04/02/maxim-publisher-felix-dennis-ive-killed-a-man/feed/ 0 Omid Djalili, seriously funny http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/03/25/omid-djalili-seriously-funny/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/03/25/omid-djalili-seriously-funny/#comments Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:27:18 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/03/25/omid-djalili-seriously-funny/

Funny girl

Sandi Toksvig on her Christmas cracker

Ricky Gervais in his most ‘postmodern’ interview ever

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2008/03/25/omid-djalili-seriously-funny/feed/ 0 Robert Redford: An American idol http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/11/03/robert-redford-an-american-idol/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/11/03/robert-redford-an-american-idol/#comments Sat, 03 Nov 2007 09:34:06 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/11/03/robert-redford-an-american-idol/

All by herself

A close encounter with George Clooney

Dennis Hopper

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/11/03/robert-redford-an-american-idol/feed/ 0 Rock’s Stepford wife http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/08/21/rock%e2%80%99s-stepford-wife/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/08/21/rock%e2%80%99s-stepford-wife/#comments Tue, 21 Aug 2007 12:02:28 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/08/21/rock%e2%80%99s-stepford-wife/

Ginny meets Dolly

Elizabeth the first

Tracey Emin on a year of living dangerously

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/08/21/rock%e2%80%99s-stepford-wife/feed/ 0 Al Gore – he’s hot http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/07/20/al-gore-he%e2%80%99s-hot/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/07/20/al-gore-he%e2%80%99s-hot/#comments Fri, 20 Jul 2007 12:10:44 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/07/20/al-gore-he%e2%80%99s-hot/ Photo: Brett Wilson The Goracle – also known in Washington these days as “Al Gore: rock star” – clears his throat and starts singing the lines from a Bob Dylan song quietly and unselfconsciously: “ ‘I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now’ . . . it’s a lovely lyric. He’s written so many great ones . . . like ‘He not busy being born is busy dying’.” The former Vice-President of the United States may be joining the likes of Madonna and the Pussy-cat Dolls on stage at Wembley’s Live Earth concert tomorrow but his vocalising – as far as I know – will be restricted to challenging each and every member of the audience to make a pledge right now to do his or her bit to save the planet. Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/07/20/al-gore-he%e2%80%99s-hot/feed/ 0 Culture vulture http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/05/12/culture-vulture/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/05/12/culture-vulture/#comments Sat, 12 May 2007 14:17:29 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/05/12/culture-vulture/ Photo: Mark Harrison Australians, in my experience, however deeply transplanted, still crave the cerulean skies and bright light of their birthplace which is why it is unexpected to find Clive James, on the sunniest of English spring mornings, in a curtain-drawn lair of such impenetrable gloom that the atmosphere seems to fizz with electricity from all the wattage. Or, perhaps, that's just the effect of his personality. Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/05/12/culture-vulture/feed/ 0 Educating Piers http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/04/07/educating-piers/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/04/07/educating-piers/#comments Sat, 07 Apr 2007 12:48:20 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/04/07/educating-piers/ Photo: Mark Harrison The Penis on Legs – aka Piers Morgan – is resiliently handling my barrage of offensive, tabloid questions. It’s just as well that’s he’s so robust since two days after we meet he gets fired again; only this time it’s for charity, Comic Relief’s celebrity The Apprentice, where we see Morgan enjoyably insulted by the likes of Maureen Lipman (responsible for the aforementioned penis jibe), Alastair Campbell, and later, Graham Norton’s: “Piers Morgan – what an easy person to hate” is greeted by whooping cheers from the audience. Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/04/07/educating-piers/feed/ 0 For the sake of integrity, keep the PR meisters at bay http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/03/06/for-the-sake-of-integrity-keep-the-pr-meisters-at-bay/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/03/06/for-the-sake-of-integrity-keep-the-pr-meisters-at-bay/#comments Tue, 06 Mar 2007 12:22:18 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/03/06/for-the-sake-of-integrity-keep-the-pr-meisters-at-bay/

Educating Piers

David, Kimberly, Boris and Petsy: it’s showtime

Culture vulture

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2007/03/06/for-the-sake-of-integrity-keep-the-pr-meisters-at-bay/feed/ 0 Game, set and in shape for more http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/06/01/game-set-and-in-shape-for-more/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/06/01/game-set-and-in-shape-for-more/#comments Thu, 01 Jun 2006 15:03:16 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/06/01/game-set-and-in-shape-for-more/

Funny girl

The essence of Elle La Belle

Kay Saatchi on life after Charles Saatchi

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/06/01/game-set-and-in-shape-for-more/feed/ 0 Who wants to be good? http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/03/09/who-wants-to-be-good/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/03/09/who-wants-to-be-good/#comments Thu, 09 Mar 2006 13:31:56 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/03/12/who-wants-to-be-good/ Ginny Dougary 30 years after the birth of punk, Malcolm McLaren reveals that his gran invented it — and taught him the virtues of being bad Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/03/09/who-wants-to-be-good/feed/ 0 Hostess with the mostest http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/02/11/hostess-with-the-mostest/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/02/11/hostess-with-the-mostest/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2006 16:50:19 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/02/11/hostess-with-the-mostest/ Ginny Dougary Davina McCall may host shows at the tackier end of the television spectrum, but her appeal lies in a naughty, but oddly wholesome niceness. As she takes on BBC One’s primetime chat-show slot, Ginny Dougary meets a former wild child who has turned her bad times to spectacular good. Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2006/02/11/hostess-with-the-mostest/feed/ 0 The essence of Elle La Belle http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/23/the-essence-of-elle-la-belle/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/23/the-essence-of-elle-la-belle/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:02:53 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=26 Ginny Dougary The Body has a mind all right, but it's hard to fathom. Wth rings on her thumbs and rings on her toes, Elle still turns heads wherever she goes. She is clearly a hippy chick at heart, particularly where accessories are concerned. The half-moons of her big toes are adorned with tiny crystals that twinkle as she wiggles them. Her bronzed forearm is covered in bits of string, ribbons and shells and each one has a story: “This one’s for breast cancer and Kylie. We’ve known each other for years. I haven’t spoken to her since she’s been ill and it’s on my mind. Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/23/the-essence-of-elle-la-belle/feed/ 0 A suitable case for treatment http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/12/a-suitable-case-for-treatment/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/12/a-suitable-case-for-treatment/#comments Sat, 12 Nov 2005 20:12:37 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=37 Ginny Dougary Few lives are as dramatic or traumatic or just plain strange as Kelsey Grammer's. From the violent murder of his father and his sister, to his own drug addiction and vicious physical and mental abuse at the hands of a string of ex-lovers, the star of Frasier could well do with some therapy from his alter ego. And yet there remains a childlike innocence and genuine kindness about Grammer. Ginny Dougary went snorkelling with him. Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/12/a-suitable-case-for-treatment/feed/ 0 One tough kookie http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/05/one-tough-kookie/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/05/one-tough-kookie/#comments Sat, 05 Nov 2005 19:45:10 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=9 Ginny Dougary From honorary Rat Packer to early-adopting New Ager, Shirley MacLaine has always been an unconventional broad. In a wonderfully frank interview, she talks to Ginny Dougary about politics, sex, and brother Warren Beatty. Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/05/one-tough-kookie/feed/ 0 Funny girl http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/07/09/funny-girl/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/07/09/funny-girl/#comments Sat, 09 Jul 2005 23:37:04 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=29 Ginny Dougary Jennifer Saunders is the unrivalled queen of British comedy. Here she talks, absolutely frankly, to Ginny Dougary about age, Eddy, shyness, weight – and the importance of being English. Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/07/09/funny-girl/feed/ 0 Preacher man http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/06/25/preacher-man/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/06/25/preacher-man/#comments Sat, 25 Jun 2005 20:08:09 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=14 Ginny Dougary For 20 years, Bob Geldof has raged, hectored and charmed to get what he wants: hope for Africa. but even superheroes have their flaws, as Ginny Dougary discovers in a stormy encounter. Just how much of a bully do you have to be to pull off something extraordinary? Does it matter if you bruise or upset people along the way and do you even care if you do, when the goal you are striving for is so important? Do you feel outraged to be challenged over issues which you consider to be trivial, unnecessary and possibly obstructive? These are the questions which nagged me after interviewing Sir Bob Geldof. Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/06/25/preacher-man/feed/ 0 All by herself http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/06/11/all-by-herself/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/06/11/all-by-herself/#comments Sat, 11 Jun 2005 11:49:51 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/06/11/all-by-herself/ Ginny Dougary Despite her frail beauty, Naomi Watts has overcome the pain of her father’s untimely death – and the label ‘Nicole Kidman’s best friend’ – to become a star in her own right.

Naomi Almost-Mega Watts is quite right when she says that she’s not the sort of actress who lights up a room. Admittedly it would take a Day-Glo aura to penetrate the dungeonesque gloom of the Manhattan hotel foyer we meet in, but it does take a while to register that the childlike figure approaching me – fair hair scraped back in a stubby ponytail, pale face with no make-up, jeans, flat silver pumps, baggy bleached-blue cardigan, clutching a takeaway coffee – is a Hollywood star. Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/06/11/all-by-herself/feed/ 0 Better by design: how I can improve your life http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/05/25/better-by-design-how-i-can-improve-your-life/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/05/25/better-by-design-how-i-can-improve-your-life/#comments Wed, 25 May 2005 14:33:38 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=35 Ginny Dougary Sir Terence Conran has designed a Peace Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. Now he wants to do a Jamie Oliver on our "horrid" homes. Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/05/25/better-by-design-how-i-can-improve-your-life/feed/ 0 David, Kimberly, Boris and Petsy: it’s showtime http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/04/13/david-kimberly-boris-and-petsy-its-showtime/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/04/13/david-kimberly-boris-and-petsy-its-showtime/#comments Wed, 13 Apr 2005 15:57:03 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/04/13/david-kimberly-boris-and-petsy-its-showtime/

David Blunkett: The Musical

Who is David Cameron?

David Hockney on why iPhones are the future for art

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/04/13/david-kimberly-boris-and-petsy-its-showtime/feed/ 0 Me, Myself, I http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2004/11/13/me-myself-i/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2004/11/13/me-myself-i/#comments Sat, 13 Nov 2004 11:58:27 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2004/11/13/me-myself-i/

Tracey Emin on a year of living dangerously

Paula Rego on her museum to celebrate the brutal world of Portuguese storytelling

Kay Saatchi on life after Charles Saatchi

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2004/11/13/me-myself-i/feed/ 0 Being Graham Norton http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2004/06/01/being-graham-norton/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2004/06/01/being-graham-norton/#comments Tue, 01 Jun 2004 14:48:37 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=34 Ginny Dougary Britain's naughtiest chat-show host has played his camp, cheekie-chappie card to the max. But now he's showing worrying signs of growing up. Ginny Dougary watched him dip his toe into the US market - and asked a few rude questions of her own. Related posts:

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2004/06/01/being-graham-norton/feed/ 0 Dennis Hopper http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2004/03/12/dennis-hopper/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2004/03/12/dennis-hopper/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2004 09:58:51 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2004/03/12/dennis-hopper/

Felix Dennis: ex-addict, poet – and murderer?

Maxim publisher Felix Dennis: ‘I’ve killed a man’

Did maverick magazine mogul Felix Dennis murder a man 25 years ago?

]]> http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2004/03/12/dennis-hopper/feed/ 0 Ginny meets Dolly http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2002/11/02/ginny-meets-dolly/ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2002/11/02/ginny-meets-dolly/#comments Sat, 02 Nov 2002 20:16:33 +0000 Administrator http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/?p=16 Ginny Dougary Dolly Parton's bosom goes before her. It is impossible to think of her voice and her songs without conjuring a mental picture of that famous cantilevered shelf which juts so implausibly over her minuscule waist. Her top-heavy form even enlivened debate in the House of Commons when some years ago Kenneth Clarke chastised Gordon Brown for relying on the "Dolly Parton school of economics — an unbelievable figure blown out of all proportion with no visible means of support." Related posts:

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