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SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE: Kate Moss and Joan Collins help scandal-hit Mario Testino stage his comeback 


Some prominent figures caught up in #MeToo scandals have disappeared from public view, but royal favourite Mario Testino is staging a comeback, with the aid of his famous friends.

The photographer, who captured some of the most memorable images of Princess Diana, was accused of sexual assault by 18 different male models and assistants last year.

Yesterday, however, Dame Joan Collins shared this photograph of her and Testino with his loyal friend Kate Moss in the South of France.

Yesterday Dame Joan Collins shared this photograph of her and Testino with his loyal friend Kate Moss in the South of France

Yesterday Dame Joan Collins shared this photograph of her and Testino with his loyal friend Kate Moss in the South of France

‘Mario and Kate together again,’ the former Dynasty star wrote next to the picture, which she shared with her fans online.

It is the first time that Testino, 64, has appeared in public since the allegations, which he strenuously denies.

His reunion with Moss comes just a week after I revealed that Testino had embarked on his first high-profile project — photographing the world’s richest artist, Damien Hirst, who had turned his model girlfriend, Sophie Cannell, into an exhibit by painting her naked body with multi-coloured polka dots.

Testino's (pictured with Moss in 1996) spokesman tells me he has been working on philanthropic projects such as children's playground projects in his native Peru

Testino’s (pictured with Moss in 1996) spokesman tells me he has been working on philanthropic projects such as children’s playground projects in his native Peru

Another sign that Testino — who shot more than 60 covers of British Vogue and photographed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — is being welcomed back into the fashion fold is that he and Hirst collaborated on the project with top fashion director Sarajane Hoare, who works with Conde Nast titles Vogue and Vanity Fair.

At the time of the scandal, Conde Nast announced that it would ‘not be commissioning any new work’ from Testino for the foreseeable future.

His comeback will continue in November when he stages an exhibition on Japan at Hamiltons Gallery in Mayfair.

Moss, who smiles brightly with Testino in the snap, is well positioned to offer him comeback advice. She successfully rebranded herself after being caught snorting what was claimed to be cocaine in a West London recording studio in 2005, prompting designer labels Burberry, Chanel and H&M to sever contracts worth millions.

However, just 12 months after the scandal, Moss signed 18 contracts with brands including Rimmel, Agent Provocateur, Calvin Klein and Burberry. That same year, she was also crowned ‘model of the year’ at the British Fashion Awards.

Testino’s spokesman tells me he has been working on philanthropic projects such as children’s playground projects in his native Peru.

Here’s why you shouldn’t mess with Meghan’s BF

As the Duchess of Sussex tackles her critics, who better to have in her corner than Jessica Mulroney?

Fashion stylist Jessica (pictured), whose two sons were page boys at Meghan and Prince Harry's wedding, has been showing off her bulging biceps online

Fashion stylist Jessica (pictured), whose two sons were page boys at Meghan and Prince Harry’s wedding, has been showing off her bulging biceps online

Fashion stylist Jessica, whose two sons were page boys at Meghan and Prince Harry’s wedding, has been showing off her bulging biceps online.

‘My love for fitness only started after I had children,’ says Jessica, 38. ‘I used to love sports, but really never became a serious gym rat until I reached my 30s. It’s never too late.’

Chloe can be seen at a party pretending to examine the posterior of Ashley Benson with a stethoscope

Chloe can be seen at a party pretending to examine the posterior of Ashley Benson with a stethoscope

Take a seat for Dr Delevingne

Where are the louchest parties being thown this summer? 

Without a doubt the LA home-from-home shared by those London socialites, the Delevingne sisters.

Here, Chloe can be seen at a party there jokingly pretending to examine the posterior of U.S. actress Ashley Benson with a stethoscope. 

Ashley is reported to have married Chloe’s sister Cara. Dressed as a doctor, Chloe remarks: ‘Pretty sure I’m not doing this correctly.’

Dragon Bannatyne is selling off his ‘forever’ rectory home

The romance is over: health club tycoon Duncan Bannatyne has put on the market the home he vowed he’d keep until the day he died.

‘I’ll always have this house,’ the former Dragons’ Den star declared after he bought the five-bedroom former rectory in Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees, in 2014. ‘I’ll never, ever sell it.’

Scotsman Bannatyne, 70, who made dental receptionist Nigora Whitehorn, 39, his third wife in 2017, has apparently undergone a change of heart and the property is now on sale for £875,000, some £100,000 more than he paid for it.

He bought it shortly after the divorce from his second wife, Joanne McCue, which cost him £345million.

‘When this came up, I just loved it, so I had to buy it,’ Bannatyne said after moving in. He also has a holiday home in Portugal.

The father of six declines to comment on the sale, but one friend jokes: ‘This should pay for a new handbag or two for Nigora.’

Banderas’s plum role at Waitrose!

Was that Hollywood heartthrob Antonio Banderas pushing a trolley around the supermarkets of Surrey’s stockbroker belt?

It seems The Mask Of Zorro star, who lives in Cobham with his girlfriend, investment adviser Nicole Kimpel, 36, loves to do the local shopping. ‘I go to Waitrose or Morrisons,’ says the 59-year-old Spaniard.

‘People are very polite. The other day, a guy asked me [putting on a plummy accent]: ‘Are you living here?’ I said yes, and he said, ‘Well, lucky us!’ and walked away.’

That’s Waitrose for you…

Olympic showjumper Tim Stockdale, who presented the television show Only Fools On Horses, left more than £560,000 in his will. 

Probate documents reveal that Stockdale, who died from cancer last November aged 54, bequeathed his entire estate to his wife, Laura, with whom he had two sons, Joseph and Mark. 

At the height of his career, disaster struck when he broke his neck in three places in a fall; but after intensive treatment, his determination saw him back in the saddle after three months, and soon competing again at the highest level.

Last Tango In Halifax star Anne Reid is delighted to have been finally cast as a member of the landed gentry. 

She’s to play Lady Denham in ITV1’s forthcoming costume drama Sanditon, after a 60-year career which has often seen her ‘below stairs’. 

Says Anne: ‘Usually, I’m in the kitchen in these dramas. For some reason, people think I look domesticated. 

‘This is the first time I’ve ever got upstairs. People are bowing and scraping to me all the time — I can’t get used to it.’

BBC nature presenter Kate Humble says there’s no room for vanity on her globetrotting adventures. 

‘This isn’t Strictly,’ she insists. ‘There are no lights and no make-up — why do you think I look so s**t on the telly.’

Humble, 50, adds: ‘It’s partly economic, but partly because it’s the best way to make a programme. We’re often on foot, so you can’t have a huge entourage.’ 



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