Christine McGuiness proudly declared earlier this week that she’s a ‘five-star lesbian’ on the look out for a wife – and it seems she may have already caught someone’s eye.

As I can disclose the former Housewives of Cheshire star, 38, who was married to TV Paddy McGuinness for 11 years before they split in 2022, is getting close to Olympic boxing star Nicola Adams, 43.

The pair recently attended The DIVA Awards 2026, a celebration of the achievements of LGBTQIA women and non-binary people, at the Leonardo Royal Hotel, in London, where their blossoming romance was undeniable.

An onlooker tells me: ‘They were inseparable and looked like they were a couple.’ It appears to be early days for Christine and the retired sports star, who are now following each other on Instagram. A representative for Nicola, tells me: ‘We don’t feel the need to make a comment at this time.’

Undefeated Adams split last year from her partner of seven years, model and influencer Ella Baig, 28, with whom she had a son, Taylor Nate, by IVF in July 2022. Having tried to make their relationship work through couples’ therapy, Nicola previously admitted that Ella’s career as an OnlyFans model, which included posing in nude photos and engaging in explicit chat, put a strain on their relationship.

‘She is an amazing woman, and I admire her confidence and independence,’ said Nicola. ‘However, as much as I respect what she does, I can’t deny that it has had an impact on our relationship.’

A pal close to Adams tells me: ‘Nicola and Christine will make a good match as they’re both getting over long-term relationships and have children.’

Indeed, they may be compatible on the parental front, but when it comes to living arrangements they are at odds.

Nicola last year put her four-bedroom family home up for sale for £950,000 but Christine remains living at her £2.5 million family home in Cheshire with Paddy. The exes happily ‘co-parent’ their children - twins Leo and Penelope, 11, and Felicity, eight.

‘I always make sure that that’s known,’ said Christine of her living arrangements on the It Started With A Kiss podcast. She added: ‘We’re very fortunate, we live in a lovely big home, and it just works.’

A representative for Christine did not respond to my request for comment.

The Hairy Bikers took TV viewers on their culinary adventures for over two decades until Dave Myers sadly died from cancer in 2024.

Now Si King admits getting new solo TV projects off the ground is proving tougher than expected. ‘There’s lots of plans but it’s a difficult TV market at the moment, but I hope some of these projects will make it on screen,’ King tells me at the Fortnum & Mason Drink Awards 2026 at the Royal Exchange in London.

New peer pressure after Labour Lords suspensions

He’s booted out the belted earls and lined up a new breed of professionals to replace them.

But Sir Keir Starmer may be regretting some of those he nominated for peerages before Christmas. ‘There are demands from No 10 that the consent forms that new peers sign – saying they’re squeaky clean – contain more questions, so there’s less wiggle room,’ I’m told.

This is apparently prompted less by Matthew (Lord) Doyle, who campaigned for a chum who’s a convicted paedophile, than by Joe Docherty, now Lord Docherty of Milngavie, though both have had the Labour whip suspended. It was recently disclosed that Docherty resigned as head of an educational group following findings that hotel rooms ‘booked and paid for’ by the group in 2017 and 2018 had, in fact, been used by Lord D not for work but for romantic encounters.

Docherty denied this brought the group into disrepute and alleged it was ‘being brought into question because of his sexuality’. The House of Lords Appointments Commission will only say that consent forms ‘are kept under regular review’.

Nicky Hilton fully booked

From dazzling on the Devil Wears Prada 2 red carpet to rubbing shoulders with the Spencer twins and popping up at stylist Olivia Buckingham’s baby showers all in a single week, Nicky Hilton is fast becoming a fixture of London’s beau monde. Next month, I hear the Hilton heiress, 42, will be the guest of honour in Mayfair as fashion label Alice + Olivia by Stacey Bendet hosts a party for her to celebrate her new jewellery collection with Theo Grace.

Claudia Winkleman isn’t ditching her trademark fringe anytime soon, even if it’s getting in the way. ‘I can’t see anything because the fringe is too long and so if I have an autocue, I read it badly,’ she admits.

The former Strictly presenter, 54, says her co-presenter Tess Daly, had to ‘do all the heavy lifting when the scores came in.

As for the fringe, Claudia says it weighs ‘heavier than a mountain’. Maybe it really is time for a trim.

Royal star’s new feat: a sculpture fit for the King

Catching the King’s eye even once in a lifetime would be considered a tall order by most people. But Fernando Montano has pulled it off twice.

The first time was back in 2014 when the Colombian, a soloist with the Royal Ballet in London until 2020, was flown home to perform in front of the then Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall at the presidential palace (pictured, right).

Two years later, they met again, when Montano was invited to Highgrove where the future King assured him his performance in Colombia was ‘one of the things that we remember the most’.

It presumably still lingered in the regal memory when, recently, Montano – ignoring friends’ advice – wrote to the King to let him know that he’d just created his debut sculpture. Punningly entitled ‘HiKing’, the bronze shows HM in purposeful stride in Scotland. ‘He’s hiking in the Highlands,’ says Montano, 41, whose work has just been unveiled at Mayfair’s Bernard Shapero Gallery. ‘But it’s also “Hi King”, to make him more approachable.

‘I received an acknowledgement from his private secretary saying, “The King was fascinated by the complex creative process for it”,’ Montano tells me. ‘If you look at my phone, I have hundreds of pictures of His Majesty.’

They’ve done the trick – the King, said his private secretary, ‘thinks the sculpture is wonderful’.Jeremy Corbyn was ousted from Labour after saying claims of antisemitism in the party were ‘overstated’ but he insists he’s always challenged bigotry on his own side. ‘At a [Labour] march in Liverpool, a group of people started shouting a lot of horrible sexist stuff against Margaret Thatcher,’ Corbyn said on the Rosebud podcast, explaining: ‘A number of us intervened and said “No, we shouldn’t be doing that.”’ He added:‘I disagree profoundly with Margaret Thatcher’s economic vision, but it’s not because she’s a woman.’

Jeremy Corbyn was ousted from Labour after saying claims of antisemitism in the party were ‘overstated’ but he insists he’s always challenged bigotry on his own side. ‘At a [Labour] march in Liverpool, a group of people started shouting a lot of horrible sexist stuff against Margaret Thatcher,’ Corbyn said on the Rosebud podcast, explaining: ‘A number of us intervened and said “No, we shouldn’t be doing that.”’ He added:‘I disagree profoundly with Margaret Thatcher’s economic vision, but it’s not because she’s a woman.’

Why bride Dua is pulling faces before her big day

Dua Lipa is getting married to her actor fiancé, Callum Turner,

Jeremy Corbyn was ousted from Labour after saying claims of antisemitism in the party were ‘overstated’ but he insists he’s always challenged bigotry on his own side. ‘At a [Labour] march in Liverpool, a group of people started shouting a lot of horrible sexist stuff against Margaret Thatcher,’ Corbyn said on the Rosebud podcast, explaining: ‘A number of us intervened and said “No, we shouldn’t be doing that.”’ He added:‘I disagree profoundly with Margaret Thatcher’s economic vision, but it’s not because she’s a woman.’

later this year but she’s already pulling all the stops to ensure she looks flawless.

The pop singer, 30, recently visited her favourite beauty clinic in Milan, run by facialist Alessandra Ricchizzi, where she underwent a manual facelift.

In a photo shared online by Ricchizzi, Dua is seen undergoing the procedure with a specialised glove device around her face.

The 40-minute ‘Manual Lifting’ procedure, which was done across two sessions, uses an LED light lifting glove device which manually lifts tissue and muscles on the face.

Costing up to £520, the treatment is ‘ideal’ for those ‘aged 30 and over, to target the early signs of ageing, loss of tone and uneven texture’. Alessandra wrote alongside the picture:‘Two amazing days treating the one and only Dua Lipa. Grateful, inspired, and incredibly proud.’

Let’s hope Dua feels the same way about the results!

Phoebe Dahl’s tale of the unexpected

Her grandfather, Roald Dahl, said that he ‘loved it all’, recording in his memoir, Going Solo, that on arrival in East Africa he found it ‘wonderful and beautiful and exciting’ – and Phoebe Dahl is every bit as entranced.

‘When I first visited Kenya, I came back a different person. Not in a cliché way – in a real, quiet, something-has-shifted way. I couldn’t explain it to anyone properly. I just knew I had to go back.

So I did. And then I stayed,’ says Phoebe, daughter of Lucy Dahl, the youngest of Roald’s five children.

‘[Africa] strips something back,’ adds Phoebe, 37, explaining why she’s made Kenya her home. ‘You remember what you actually care about. What time actually feels like when you stop wasting it.’

Roald once tackled a black mamba while naked but armed with a golf club. All ended well – an augury for Phoebe, I trust.

It’s Strictly safari for Tasha Ghouri

Strictly Come Dancing star Tasha Ghouri is embracing life on the wild side with conservationist and wildlife photographer Cam Whitnall.

Tasha, 27, has been dating Cam, 30, who runs the Big Cat Sanctuary Zoo in Kent since last year and he’s already whisked her off on safari trips across Namibia, Botswana and Kenya.

He tells me at the BT Sport Industry Awards at Battersea Evolution, London: ‘Now Tasha is hooked on going on safari and photographing animals.’

She adds: ‘We got quite close to lions, to the point where I thought, should we be this close?’

(Very) modern manners

While bridesmaids typically wear dresses, supermodel Erin O’Connor chose to break tradition at a pal’s wedding.

‘I was asked to be a bridesmaid by someone I really love, and I didn’t quite know how to put the dress on,’ reveals Erin, 48. ‘She just gave one [dress] code, and it was blue.

‘I said, “Are you all right with me wearing a suit?” and she said, “Of course”.’