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As Star Trek captain Jean-Luc Picard and X-Men leader Professor Charles Xavier, he was the epitome of calm leadership under pressure.

But actor Sir Patrick Stewart, who has passed away aged 86 after a secret health battle with Alzheimer’s, spent his life fighting his own personal demons, coming to terms with his abusive childhood.

His father Alf was one of the last men evacuated from Dunkirk and then parachuted into Italy to fight in the brutal Battle of Monte Cassino where 54,000 Allied troops were killed or injured.

Back home in Mirfield, Huddersfield, he subjected the seven-year-old’s mother to brutal beatings.

Often, the young child would stand between his father’s fists and his mother in a desperate attempt to shield her.

“As a child I witnessed his repeated violence against my mother, and the terror and misery he caused was such that, if I felt I could have succeeded, I would have killed him,” he said. “If my mother had attempted it, I would have held him down.

‘INVINCIBLE GRACE’

Full heartbreaking statement after Patrick Stewart’s death at 86

ICON GONE

Hollywood icon Sir Patrick Stewart dead aged 86 after legendary career

“For those who struggle to comprehend these feelings in a child, imagine living in an environment of emotional unpredictability, danger and humiliation week after week, year after year, from the age of seven.

“My childish instinct was to protect my mother, but the man hurting her was my father, whom I respected, admired and feared.”

It was on stage where he found a way to break free from his home life and forge his own path.

“I managed to find my own refuge in acting,” he said. “The stage was a far safer place for me than anything I had to live through at home – it offered escape.

“I could be someone else, in another place, in another time.

“However, whenever the role called for anger, fury, or the expression of murderous impulses, I was always afraid of what I might unleash if I surrendered myself to those feelings.”

Born on July 13, 1940, in Mirfield, near Huddersfield, life was bliss until his father Alf returned home from war with what would now be called post-traumatic stress disorder.

He said: ”My parents’ bedroom had a partition built into it, which is where my old brother Trevor and I slept. No hot water, no cooking facilities, no toilet, bathroom. Just an open fire and a gas ring.

“I’d never known anything else.”

Reflecting the violence at home, Stewart’s own anger was close to the surface and he struggled to contain it at school.

He said: “I was beaten with a cane by my headmaster when I was 14, when I was innocent of what he was accusing me of.

“It was one of the hardest moments ever, because I wanted to attack him. I would have killed him.

“If I’d actually got my hands on him, I don’t think he’d have made it out.”

His salvation came in the form of English teacher Cecil Dormand who put a copy of Shakespeare in his hands and encouraged him to perform.

It was the Mirfield Secondary Modern School drama club that gave him a glimpse of something beyond the confines of his terraced home and violent abuse.

He said: “The first moment that I walked onto the school stage I felt safe — it was the safest place I’d ever been.

“For one thing I wasn’t Patrick Stewart because I didn’t like Patrick Stewart very much.

“And it was a different world, it wasn’t my world — because I didn’t like that very much either.”

He got another dreaded summons to his headmaster’s office. But this time instead of a caning he saw Mr Dormand and someone from the West Riding County Council who offered him an eight-day residential drama course.

It was there he met a young Brian Blessed, who he would later perform with in the classic TV drama I, Claudius.

Years later they bumped into each other together at a glitzy awards ceremony in Los Angeles:

“There we were: two working-class boys from Yorkshire, walking down the red carpet.”

He left school at 15 and got a job as a junior reporter on his local paper the Mirfield & District while dedicating every moment to acting, much to the annoyance of his editor.

He said: “There were about a dozen amateur dramatic societies in my community. Every church, every chapel had one — even if it only meant doing a pantomime once a year.

“The editor eventually said ‘You’ve got to give it all up, this acting business, and learn to be a journalist. If you don’t, you can get off my paper.’

“So I went upstairs, packed up my typewriter and left.”

He got a scholarship to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and in 1966 joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, a relationship that would last for nearly three decades.

He went on to win two supporting actor Olivier Awards for his Shakespeare performances, for Antony and Cleopatra in 1979 and Hamlet in 2009.

He was awarded a knighthood for services to drama in 2009 and was knighted by the late Queen in 2010.

The stage was his true love despite one appearance on Coronation Street in 1966 and playing John Le Carre’s Russian spy Karla in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley’s People.

But in 1987 he was tempted by what he thought would be a quick Hollywood cash grab and be back home on the stage in a few months.

But Star Trek: The Next Generation became a global smash and his cultured, thoughtful Picard became an iconic role.

The sci-fi TV series ran for seven years, with Sir Patrick starring in Star Trek Generations in 1994, Star Trek: First Contact in 1996 and Star Trek: Insurrection in 1998 and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

He said: “I was contemptuous. I knew of the original Star Trek, of course… I thought, ‘This is not what I do. I’m a classical actor.’

“I thought I’d just go to California for a year, get a tan and earn some money.

“I came to love Jean-Luc Picard and to admire him, and he has had an effect on me. Some of his qualities, I believe, have rubbed off on me.

“The sense of responsibility, the sense of duty, the determination that you will not be compromised.”

In 2000, he was cast as powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier in the film adaptation of Marvel‘s X-Men comics.

He would come back to the series in 2014’s X-Men: Days Of Future Past, 2017’s Logan, 2022’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness and 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine.

Again, his thoughtful, nurturing persona and his rivalry with old friend Sir Ian McKellen’s Magneto became cinema legend.

He said: “I love him deeply. So does my wife. He married us — he performed the ceremony in a Mexican restaurant.”

Singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell was Stewart’s third wife and eyebrows were raised at their 38-year age gap.

He had two children, Daniel, 59, and Sophie, 54, with his first wife Sheila Falconer who he married in 1966 and divorced 24 years later.

He was briefly married to producer Wendy Neuss in 2000 then he met and married Sunny in 2013.

The couples’ fun Instagram posts of the Shakespearean actor in hilarious situations, like being dressed as a lobster, burst his rather serious Shakespearean public face.

Making home in Los Angeles, where he watched every game of his beloved Huddersfield Town, he started having weekly therapy sessions to deal with his traumatic childhood.

Stewart said: “It wasn’t until I came to California and people would say, ‘You’re not in therapy? Let me recommend somebody.’ I was introduced to a brilliant woman with whom I did therapy weekly for about six years.

“It was thanks to her that all this stuff came out and I realised that acting was an escape for me.”

In 2006 a routine check up discovered an 85 per cent blockage in his heart and he underwent emergency surgery to fix it by having a stent inserted.

He said: “I was diagnosed very unexpectedly during my annual physical by my cardiologist, who said ‘What are you doing this afternoon?’

“To which I said ‘Well actually, I’m going for lunch.’ And he said, ‘I’d rather you didn’t.’

“And in five minutes I was on a gurney giving details of my next of kin and so it was rather dramatic.

“I didn’t have time to brood on it, but what I did know was that I was in the best possible hands I could’ve been in and I was going to be taken care of whatever the outcome.

His mother Gladys died in 1977, three years before Alfred. After turning 80 in 2020 and with the pandemic and lockdown in full swing he began to think about his own mortality.

He said: “When my father was living alone, I believe he missed her badly.

“And perhaps he might even have regretted aspects of their married life.

“I was already older than both my parents when they died, but I think it was the coronavirus. It did something to me.

“It made me feel so vulnerable.”

In a final video posted on Instagram before his death, Sir Patrick reflected on love and the emotions evoked by his performances of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

He said: “I hope it has brought pleasure and curiosity but more than anything else I want it to have communicated all the multiple features that love might have.”

Christmas has come early for me because two of my favourite artists, Aitch and Tom Grennan, have teamed up for a telly collab.

I can exclusively reveal that the good pals secretly recorded scenes together for next year’s series of The Voice.

New judge Aitch, who has been shooting the 2027 show in Salford in recent weeks, invited Tom down to ITV studios to film the Battle stages of the popular competition.

And Tom’s guest role went down so well with producers, they are now eyeing him up as a full-time coach in the future.

My source said: “They have been friends for years, so it was a no-brainer for Aitch to give Tom a call and invite him to be a guest judge.

“While he has never appeared on reality TV, Tom has worked his way up from the bottom, so knows how contestants are feeling.

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“Sometimes, guests are quite wooden, but Tom really impressed bosses with his time on the show. They are now talking about him possibly becoming a regular coach.”

Earlier this month, fans watched as will.i.am brought Cheryl out of her self-imposed retirement to help him pick his final three.

Meanwhile, in pre-recorded scenes which aired last weekend, fellow coach Kelly Rowland drafted in Delta Goodrem.

In 2023, Aitch revealed on Instagram that he had recorded a “banger” with Tom, although the song is yet to be released.

But, back in February, Aitch gave fans a taste of the track, called Home, after streaming it live on social media.

A source added: “Tom and Aitch actually have a couple of songs together.

“But they are still working out when best to release one.”

Tom was due to return last night with the release of his comeback single, Wrapped In Gold, from his upcoming fifth album, which is due out next year.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed that one of their collaborations ends up on there.

EXCLUSIVE: His co-star Tessa Peake-Jones, who played Raquel, says it was ‘poignant and quite sobering’ watching the comedy legend grapple with the past

Only Fools and Horses star Tessa Peake-Jones has told how Sir David Jason felt saddened watching himself playing Del Boy in lost archive clips, as he hankered to be back in his prime.

The actress, who played his wife Raquel from 1988 for 15 years, says she enjoyed sitting with him, and other actors from the hit BBC sitcom, to watch newly discovered gems that they all believed had been lost many decades ago.

But she revealed that at times the 86-year-old became maudlin as he looked back. “You know, he’d just been knighted, he was in every programme going, Darling Buds of May, all of them. And he said, ‘There I am in my prime, and now here I am as an old man sitting watching it.’ I found that really quite moving.

“He just said, ‘Oh, I’m finding it very sad,’ and I said, ‘What do you mean?’ I ended up becoming his therapist on the sofa and he said, ‘I just I look at myself then in my prime as the best I could possibly be,’ which of course he was then – in his forties and fifties, he was more famous than anyone in Britain on telly.

“And I knew what he meant when he said he felt sad because this is us looking back on what we were, particularly for him because he was at his absolute peak. It must have felt very peculiar. You’re not ever going to be what you were then.”

And she added: “He’s still a very vibrant man, he’s got a lot of energy, he’s doing things all the time, but it was just very poignant and quite sobering.”

At the end of the first episode, which airs on Tuesday, David can’t get over how good the pair of them looked back then. “It is difficult because we are looking back at a time when we were both beautiful,” he says. Tessa responds with positivity, telling him: “Maybe we still are but we don’t see it as easily.”

But speaking afterwards she said she had also found watching the lost archive clips and outtakes difficult at times too. “Some actors really like looking at themselves. I will run a mile, I absolutely loathe it. So it was slightly torturous for me, particularly because not only are you watching scenes that you’re acting in, but you’re 30 years older.”

She believes that the secret of the comedy’s longevity is that its humour, written by the late John Sullivan and also starring Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney, had universal appeal. “John didn’t leave anyone out. He really cared about family and he cared about what people shared watching on telly.

“I know we all go, ‘oh, isn’t Del awful with all his scams’, but at the end of the day he’d do anything for anyone. He was kind. Looking at comedy these days, bar the odd brilliant one like Ghosts, some of them are quite cruel. It doesn’t make me laugh when you see someone being horrid about someone else.”

Tessa, now 69, says that she has received thousands of letters from fans over the years wanting to talk about her role as Raquel.

But even though she was in Only Fools for many years, she still gets more fan mail for one tiny role that she played in 2013.

“I had 30 seconds of screen time on Doctor Who,” she laughs. “But it happened to be when one Doctor becomes another. I was in a Christmas special when it happened – it was Matt Smith leaving and Peter Capaldi coming in. I must have had six lines in it, maybe seven. But I’ve had more fan mail about that 30 seconds of screen time than anything I’ve ever done in my career.”

She said the Only Fools fans aren’t far behind the Doctor Who ones. “We have many extremely obsessive fans who are almost as as powerfully connected.”

Tessa said the remaining cast from the hit sitcom were all astonished to hear that 66 bits of film, including full scenes and outtakes, had been discovered. “What’s so hilarious is that I believe all these bits and bobs were found in like a drawer at the BBC in White City,” she laughs. “Think what other gems are in drawers somewhere in those buildings. It’s extraordinary, isn’t it?”

She said it had been hard at times to work out if she even knew whether the clips had been cut from the original upsides. “I suppose you’re you’re wound up in the general whirly gig of all of it. You’re rehearsing constantly. You’re filming every weekend – life’s marching at quite a pace. So I suppose even when you record these things, if they don’t get put in, you sort of forget them.”

But, in the films, Sir David marvels at just how much ends up on the cutting room floor. He laughs: “I remember discussing it with John – we cut more jokes out than other shows had got in their entire episode.” The extra bits span 10 episodes from the 90s and cover the stories about blow-up dolls, Peckham Spring water, Cassandra’s miscarriage and Raquel giving birth to Damian., as well as the Jolly Boys coach trip to Margate.

By the time Tessa joined in 1988 the show had been on air for seven years and was a huge hit. The actress is enormously proud of the reaction her first episode got, when Derek Trotter first met Raquel on a blind date. “John wrote that brilliant script and it’s the only time the programme’s ever won a BAFTA,” she recalls. “He did that just to see what would happen for Del Boy’s character if if he was to fall in love.”

Having conceived Raquel as a one-off character, the writer quickly changed his mind. “John saw the public response and thought he could take this character of Raquel further – that it might change the dynamics of Derek and Rodney Trotter’s relationship. He thought, ‘Iet’s bring her back and see what happens’. And then a lot did happen. Such a lot.”

Unlike Sir David Tessa does not consider Only Fools to be the pinnacle of her career. “This was one of many, many things. I wouldn’t call it the thing I’m proudest of, I don’t think it’s my greatest achievement being in Only Fools, much as I’ve loved doing it. I’ve still got to meet my peak,” she laughs. “I might reach it next year.”

And well she might because 2027 brings viewers not only the last series of ITV’s Grantchester, in which Tessa has played vicarage housekeeper Sylvia Chapman since 2014, but also new Channel 5 crime series The Last Resort, in which she stars as a sixty-something sleuth alongside Caroline Quentin and Jason Watkins.

Tessa believes that, for fans, these new documentaries will be the last surprise from Only Fools and Horses, which is marking its 45th anniversary having launched in 1981.. “We’re all too old and also there is no one to carry John Sullivan’s mantle,” she says. “He was a one-off genius. So I don’t think there can be any other surprises. Thank God for things like UK Gold – who knows, in 100 years people might still be watching it.”

– Only Fools and Horses: The Lost Archive, U&Gold, Tuesday 20th & 27th October

EXCLUSIVE: Richard Marx, a friend of Sir Tom Jones, has said the decision to axe the music icon from The Voice UK coaching panel was ‘handled badly’ amidst the public backlash

Sir Tom Jones’ friend has said the backlash surrounding ITV axing him from The Voice UK is “pretty significant”. The music icon, 86, was sensationally dropped by the ITV talent show after 13 years as part of a major shake-up.

Bosses had hoped to offer Sir Tom a role on the show, but in a “different capacity”. Although he’s currently appearing on series 14, next year will be very different. Long-standing coach will.i.am will be joined by returning coach, Kelly Rowland, as well as newbies Cheryl Tweedy and rapper Aitch.

Sources have since said that Sir Tom has ruled out returning to the show next year. He previously said that while he didn’t want to leave the show, ITV had made the decision “a while ago.”

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Speaking to the Mirror, Sir Tom’s pal and The Voice Australia coach, Richard Marx, said: “The way that went down, and I don’t know the behind-the-scenes details, but I know Tom a little bit, and he’s such a class act, and I think however they handled it, they handled it badly, it seems.

“And the backlash, the public backlash, has been pretty significant.” Richard went on to add: “I haven’t seen him in a while, but I actually spent some time in the studio with him years ago, and I grew up idolising him. When I was a little kid, it was Tom and Elvis; they were my guys.

“Years later, his son, who manages him, reached out to me, and we went into the studio together, Tom and I, and nothing ever really came of what we did in the studio, but he and I hit it off and got to spend some time together. He’s just such a lovely guy. I absolutely love Tom.”

Richard went on to say that despite Sir Tom’s health struggles, his pal is “remarkable”. He said: “I just saw a clip on TikTok yesterday from a gig like a week ago, and he came out, and you could tell he was like, ‘Ugh, my hips hurt!’ or whatever, you know, like, but then he sits down, and his voice is the same! It’s unbelievable, he’s 86. Holy s*8t!

“That’s goals for me, man! I want to be that. Tony Bennett was able to do that, and I look at Tom; there are so few people whose voices don’t just ultimately leave them in some way, shape, or form. And I think it’s a testament to Tom, and Tony Bennett also, if you just never stop singing, you just got to go—you just got to stay—sing all the time, and that’s what they do..”

After a career spanning decades and 14 albums, Richard also disclosed that trying to pick a setlist for his recent shows at the London Palladium had been “tricky”. “Especially in America,” he laughed, adding: “But in such an incredibly wonderful way. Which is why sometimes, I don’t play all the singles. I’ve done a few gigs here, where I didn’t do anything but hits.

“But when I was putting that setlist together, I thought ‘Man, I am the luckiest guy in the world to be able to have a setlist like that.’ I know that first of all, I cater to the people who’ve supported me all these years, and I know that they want to hear the hits. I get it, because I’m the same way when I go see um when I go see a band play, if they don’t do most of the material that I know and love, I’m going to be a little bummed out.”

His shows, he says, are a journey for fans to kick back and relax, listening to their favourite hits live, while also being introduced to new material. He’s also a fan of Niall Horan, explaining: “I’ve never seen Niall, but I’m a fan of his. If you’re the kind of performer I am, who talks to the audience a lot, once you build a rapport with that particular audience, they’re in.

“It’s almost like you saying to your friends at a dinner party, ‘Hey, listen, can we pause the Sade station here for a few minutes, because I want to play you a couple of songs I’m really into?’ Of course, your friends are going to go, ‘Yeah, show me! What do you got?’ It’s kind of like the same thing. I tell everybody, ‘If you come to see me live, I’m very proud of the music that we play.”

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Sir Tom Jones has reportedly turned down an offer from ITV to appear as a “super guest judge” on The Voice UK after he was dropped as a coach for the next series.

Sir Tom Jones has reportedly snubbed an offer from ITV to take on a “super guest judge role”.

The legendary Welsh singer recently claimed that ITV had “fired” him from The Voice UK. It’s now been reported that he turned down a “super guest judge” position in the forthcoming series, which will feature Cheryl and Aitch on the panel.

Following news of his absence from the panel in the upcoming series, Sir Tom revealed he had been offered a scaled-back role, but was “not thrilled” about the proposition.

A source told The Sun: “It all got pretty messy and Tom and his team were furious about how things played out. ITV had hoped he would return in some capacity, but it isn’t happening.”

Following Kelly Rowland’s debut as a coach on this year’s show, the insider also revealed she is keen to bring bandmate Michelle Williams over for a mini Destiny’s Child reunion, reports Wales Online.

The insider added: “They are now hoping the big pull, along with the return of Cheryl, will be a mini reunion for Destiny’s Child.”

The Mirror has approached ITV and Sir Tom’s representative for comment.

Sir Tom previously posted on social media: “To be clear, I did not want to leave The Voice as I love the show and really appreciate the audience. ITV made this decision – obviously a while ago, and I was told just recently.

“The reason given is because of a financial difficulty with insurance. They now say in the press they wanted to ‘refresh’ the show, and with a new coaching line-up there wouldn’t be a chair for me.

“They are offering a much-reduced role where I would make an appearance but without being actually involved from the start, and I’m not thrilled about that. So the only thing I know right now is that there’s never a good time to fire an 86-year-old who’s still pretty good at his job.”

An ITV spokesperson had previously stated: “We have loved working with Sir Tom Jones over the past nine years on The Voice UK. While he will no longer be a full-time coach on series 15, we continue to talk to Sir Tom and his team about his involvement in the next series.”

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Sir Tom has long expressed his passion for The Voice UK, telling The One Show in 2024 that it was “the perfect job”. The music legend went on to say: “I like listening to new voices and hopefully I can give some advice.”

He added: “So it’s the perfect job for me- well it’s not really a job- it’s something that I love to do. I still feel the same way now because this is the 13th series, so I still feel the same way now as I did when we started because you get new voices all the time, new people coming on.”

Sir Tom made his return to The Voice UK having been axed from its fifth series and replaced by Boy George. The programme originally launched on the BBC in 2012 before switching to ITV from its sixth series, coinciding with Sir Tom’s comeback.

Sir Tom subsequently commented: “I wasn’t really upset with the BBC. But whoever was responsible made a mistake.” He went on: “There’s a knockback right there, at my time of life – to prove to these young singers coming on the show that even I got a knockback, after all that time. Then you’ve got to think – it’s their loss. I knew what the public felt because of the feedback I had.”

The Voice UK continues Saturday, October 17 at 8.35pm on ITV1 and ITVX

Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant has said he will ban the contentious Orange Order parade at Drumcree.

The dispute has led to a stand-off between Orangemen and nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road in Portadown lasting almost two weeks.

Sir Chris said the chief constable advised him “it would not be possible to enable the procession to happen without a major intervention which would carry an unacceptable risk of serious injury, disorder and a wider contagion effect across Northern Ireland”.

His decision has been welcomed by Sinn Féin and the SDLP, but DUP leader Gavin Robinson said he now needs to “explain what his government intends to do to restore confidence in the rule of law”.

The move comes on the 13th day of deadlock between residents and the local district lodge of the Orange Order.

The Parades Commission had ruled that the march, on Sunday 27 September, could go ahead with restrictions in place.

But the parade, from Drumcree Church into Portadown, did not happen due to a large protest on the Garvaghy Road.

Under legislation, a secretary of state can overturn a Parades Commission determination, especially following some form of input from the police.

Sir Chris had been coming under increasing pressure from Sinn Féin and the SDLP to stop the parade.

On Friday night, Sir Chris said: “The Parades Commission have advised me that while ultimately a matter for the courts to determine, the commission is of the view that, in light of this current assessment by the chief constable, the original determination does not now have enduring legal effect.

“Consequently, and in the interests of wider public interest and safety, I’ve come to the conclusion that the circumstances under which that decision was made have now changed considerably.

“As a result, the procession cannot go ahead as it was determined.”

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher had asked the secretary of state to review the Parades Commission determination allowing the Drumcree parade.

In a statement on Friday night, Boutcher said his “current assessment was that all available, lawful and proportionate options to facilitate completion of the procession had been exhausted”.

“Any remaining options would have required a substantial public order intervention,” he said.

He added: “Further to this, such an operation would in my view have had not only catastrophic long-term consequences for trust and confidence in policing, but for the Northern Ireland Executive and the peace process.”

Earlier, First Minister Michelle O’Neill confirmed she had received a letter from police investigating protests over the Drumcree parading dispute.

On Thursday, the police said they had begun issuing letters inviting people “reasonably suspected” of committing offences linked to the protests to interview.

Model Jerry Hall will tonight find herself in some uncomfortable situations on Celebrity Traitors – but she should be used to navigating awkward social situations after her string of controversial romances

Model Jerry Hall will need to put her acting skills to the test on Celebrity Traitors tonight if she’s cloaked up and hoping to deceive her co-stars.

But the 70-year-old is no stranger to navigating awkward social situations after her numerous high-profile and controversial relationships. The Texas-born star was a long-term partner of Rolling Stones icon, Sir Mick Jagger, with whom she shares four children.

She was also married to American businessman Rupert Murdoch, who owns numerous newspapers worldwide and previously owned Sky. But why did she split from arguably two of the most powerful men in the public eye? Here, we look at Jerry’s relationships and the reasons they broke down.

Sir Mick Jagger

Jerry and Sir Mick first met in 1976 at a dinner party. At the time, she was engaged to British singer and Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry. Sir Mick was also married to Bianca Jagger at the time.

Just a year later, the couple began an affair, and Jerry eventually left Bryan. Later that year, Jerry seemed to be a positive influence on Sir Mick, encouraging him to quit both heroin and LSD. By 1990, they had tied the knot in a traditional Hindu wedding in Bali; however, they were not legally married.

Just two years later, though, their relationship was plagued by allegations of infidelity on Mick’s side. Despite working through their differences, things came to a dramatic end in 1999.

It emerged that Mick was expecting a child with Luciana Gimenez Morad, who later welcomed a son Lucas Maurice Morad Jagger. Jerry subsequently filed for divorce, with British courts declaring their 1990 marriage void due to a lack of legal registration.

The pair later came to a “mutually acceptable legal and financial settlement”. She later said that she found annulling their relationship rude, but remained on good terms with Mick. These days, the pair have a very close blended family.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2010, Jerry said: “Getting a divorce is always horrible, because you feel you’ve failed. Everyone hates to give up on a marriage. You think your family’s broken up.

“But we managed to keep the family quite strong and to still be friendly. Divorce is not the end of the world. It’s worse to stay in an unhealthy marriage. That’s a worse example for the children.”

Rupert Murdoch

In 2015, Jerry started dating Rupert after his sister and niece introduced them. By October of that year, the pair went public and were seen attending the Rugby World Cup final together in London.

Their relationship went full speed and they got engaged in January 2016. Rupert announced their news in the Births, Marriages and Deaths page of The Times newspaper, which he owns. He popped the question with a staggering 19-carat marquise diamond ring.

Just three months later, the pair tied the knot at Spencer House, followed by a bigger celebration at St Bride’s Church on Fleet Street, with Rupert saying he felt like “the luckiest and happiest man in the world” as their friends and family gathered to witness their big day.