Londoner’s Diary: Soho hotting up again with return of sex empire

It seems Paul Raymond’s sex club empire is returning to Soho.

The Boulevard Theatre, once owned by the porn millionaire known as the ‘King of Soho’, has recently been granted a new sexual entertainment licence. Meanwhile, iconic nightclub Madame Jojo’s plans to reopen with cabaret in the spring. Jojo’s will be run by Simon Hammerstein of the risque Box nightclub.

Not all locals are impressed. During a renovation, Soho Estates pledged the Boulevard would be a “serious” theatre space. The original planning application said it would remove “sex uses”. Forty staff were let go during the pandemic. Raymond left property worth around £650m to grandaughters Fawn and India Rose James in 2008. It is run by their father John as Soho Estates.

Jon Sopel takes a dig at the BBC

Ex-NEWSNIGHT presenter Emily Maitlis sparked fireworks by accusing the BBC of being part-managed by an “active agent of the Conservative Party” in her MacTaggart lecture last night. Her partner on a new podcast, Jon Sopel, who was until recently the Beeb’s North America editor, put the boot in too. “Umm. Have you missed top line?” Sopel tweeted with a link to a BBC story about the speech, saying it ignored Maitlis’s point. They won’t be welcome in W1A for a while.

Difficult second date for Rishi Sunak

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have one of their final hustings for PM in the TalkTV studios tonight. Their first debate there last month ended abruptly when presenter Kate McCann collapsed on air. “I look forward to getting grilled by you again shortly!” gushed Sunak when McCann recovered. But it isn’t to be just yet. For tonight’s events, McCann has been replaced by tub-thumping Julia Hartley-Brewer, who will be asking Sunak about a new interview where he has revealed how he argued against pandemic lockdowns.

Idris Elba brings it home

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Idris Elba was back in his native Hackney last night to launch new film Beast. “I’m a dreamer and there’s a lot of dreamers that come from this part of the world,” he said, after having a kickabout on the beige carpet with some local teens. Pal Stormzy showed up in support, tripping over The Londoner’s Hush Puppies as he was looking for his seat. Producer Will Packer and his wife Heather Packer smiled for the camera. Journalist Yinka Bokinni hosted.

Put Prince Andrew out to pasture, says royal watcher

Tina Brown, author of The Palace Papers, has a royal favourite. “I’m so in love with Prince George,” she said at the Edinburgh Book Festival, “he’s the only child other than my own I follow on Instagram”. The royal watcher also hopes Louis will become a rapper. But she’s not so keen on Prince Andrew, saying “he should go and live on a farm in South Africa.”

A fitting tribute at the Proms

Sir Simon Rattle dedicated last night’s Prom to his friend, the composer Harrison Birtwistle, who died this year. “Harri was a combination of roughness and warmth” recalled Rattle, addressing a packed Albert Hall . “We went back 46 years to my first time conducting his Meridian at the Barbican. One day, in the lift, he asked me how it was going. “Fine”, I said. “But it’s a bit dark.” “Oh you think it’s dark, do you?” said Birtwistle. “Well, make it darker”.

The Prom began with a performance of the spirited Donum Simoni MMXVIII – Simon’s present, 2018 – which Birtwistle wrote for Rattle while he was struggling with a longer composition. It’s four and a half minutes long. His instruction to Rattle on how it should go? “Don’t prettify it”, he told Rattle. “Make it like it is”. Last night Rattle didn’t, and did.