For the last few months I’ve been thrilled to work with Dannii Minogue on her Closer Magazine column in the UK. In fact, I’ve known the Aussie star for eight years or so now. We’ve partied in Ibiza, walked down many a red carpet and sipped lychee martinis in LA!

Not only is she smart and sophisticated –she’s a great girl and has her feet firmly on the ground. It’s refreshing in the celebrity world nowadays!

Anyway, a couple of things…..

Firstly Dannii’s started a brilliant new blog (www.danniiminogueofficial.blogspot.com) where she’s going to be filling everyone in on her everything Dannii – hopefully including her return to X Factor later this year. Contracts are due to be signed for this year’s show any day now. Oh, and just because she’s not in the UK until the end of April doesn’t mean she’s not busy! She’s currently on the panel judging for the Number One Australian telly show Australia’s Got Talent.

Right now Dannii’s going through a tough time, like all Australians, with the devastating Bush fires on the outskirts of Melbourne. Over 300 people have died already. The star has spoken out about the awful fires and says: “It’s unbearable to think that people were trapped and unable to escape the deadly blazes. The loss of lives is devastating. I have family that live in the Dandenongs, so we are always worried for them. I have been to many of these beautiful country towns. It is hard to believe whole towns like Marysville are no longer there.”

“My thoughts go out to all the families affected by these devastating fires. I am awe struck by the bravery of the fire fighters and extended emergency services. The generosity of the local community is inspiring. There is an endless supply of love and support for everyone who has been affected by these terrible fires.”

Terribly sad…..

On the plus side – follow Dannii’s great new blog by clicking here!

I caught up with the delightful model Caprice this week and she informed me she’s still winning the battle against the credit crunch – just about!

The blonde model – who is this year celebrating 20 years in modelling – said: “Everyone’s being hit by this credit crunch.”

My company and my properties around the world have not escaped this Goddamn recession. I just hope it’s over sooner rather than later. It doesn’t matter how much money you have – nobody is safe right now.”

She’s ecstatic with her new collection of By Caprice lingerie for Spring/Summer 2009. And actually the range isn’t half bad! In fact, it’s pretty ace – and it’s affordable in these current penny-pinching times.In the coming weeks you’ll be able to see my full chat with Caprice where we talk babies, plastic surgery and whether she’ll ever become a bride.

Until then we filmed a little ‘Quickie with Closer’ sketch for you to enjoy.The By Caprice Spring-Summer 2009 Range is available at Littlewoods Direct, ASOS, Debenhams and Fig Leaves now!

Check out another exclusive sit down chat in it’s full entirety….

This time I caught up with the wonderfully fashionable duo that is Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine. The full chat is in the interviews section now and was in last week’s edition of Closer!

They couldn’t help but tickle me!

In the past I’ve not always found Will Young that easy to get on with – he can often be either grumpy or stand offish. But he was on fine form and more charming than ever before when we met up for a chat last night after he had performed tracks from his new album Let It Go that comes out on September 29.

And from what I heard last night, Will has another Number One album under his belt. The new material is great – and absolutely perfect for his voice. Smooth, soulful and pretty much the best stuff he’s ever released. He has a great voice live too…..

Will threw a garden party in the grounds of the Fulham Palace to celebrate his first outing of music from the new record. He performed completely live with his band and had two ace backing singers. It was great listening to him perform in front of such an intimate crowd full of mainly record company PRs and journos. The head honchos of 19 Management were there too – including Pop Idol’s Nikki Chapman and big boss Simon Fuller.

Will sang four new songs, hit single Leave Right Now and covered Joni Mitchell’s track Help Me. The new tracks are great. The first single is Changes and is a radio smash hit to start with, Disconnected is slow and pure, album title track Let It Go is my personal favourite and Grace is the soulful classic all the fans will love.

Talking about the new album Will told me: “I’m so excited to be starting work on a new album and performing all the new material.
“The last album was harder to get out and I wasn’t as comfortable with it. I felt far more uneasy about the material last time – but this one has been a really easy process. It was easier to write and easier to record. I feel so much less pressure on this record – it’s just great to be doing another record seven years later.”

Will’s also ecstatic that his new tour has sold out and been extended like it has. “And its amazing that the tour has sold out so well too,” he added. “It’s always a worry that things won’t sell out but we had to add extra dates in the end. So I was thrilled.”

Oh and FYI, Will’s still puffing away on the fags too – and was walking around after his performance with his Marlboro Lights in hand.

This album has instant pop classic written all over it…..and I can’t wait to get my hands on an actual copy!

Capital FM Breakfast host Johnny Vaughan spared an hour to have a chat recently – and Closer Magazine have run the edited version of the chat I did with him this week.

But for the full uncensored version click on the right hand side under Johnny Vaughan within the interviews section. He talks about John Travolta and his ‘gay’ characteristics, apologizes to the Beckhams and discusses Amy Winehouse’s drug issues!

He’s a top guy and it’s well worth a read!

I briefly saw Aldo before he did a ‘cook off’ against British chef Theo Randall. The pair went head to head supported by celebrity helpers Tamar Hassan and Claire Goose and the battle was hosted by former Pop Idol judge Nicky Chapman.

Aldo’s looking forward to becoming a dad for the second time with his model wife Nikki. She’s due to drop their second child any day now…..

I have to say Tamar Hassan (above) is a top guy and seems to be going from strength to strength with his acting career. As well as appearing in Eastern Promises in that horrendous fight scene with a naked Viggo Mortensen and Batman Begins, he has four films coming out over the next year. He’s completed work on new film Cass, filmed parts for Goal 3 and City Rats and is currently filming for a flick called K. I hope he becomes a big star – he’s a cheeky geezer but highly amusing and always a pleasure to see.

I spoke with EastEnders star Patsy Palmer who is lovely in real life – and not half as scary and common as muck as she is on the soap. She tells me she’s enjoying life on Albert Square and is pleased she has some big storylines coming up soon!
One thing I didn’t realise is that she lives in Brighton and commutes daily to Elstree Studios to film for the show. Bit of a trek if you ask me – but she said she much prefers life down by the sea. Sounds bliss!

My favourite part of the night without a shadow of a doubt was when comedian Rory Bremner stood up and performed a short stand up slot to get the crowd of Prosecco swilling punters ready for the auction. Rory’s had me in hysterics imitating US President George Bush. He said: “The thing I don’t get about George Bush is why he’s so obsessed with merkins.” Rory then proceeded to do an impression of George Bush and say: “I’m proud to be an a-merkin.”

He also quipped that the prize for the auction to win a “Week in Jordan” was the “country, not the slapper”. Classic.

There’s a new band on the block that I’m loving right now. Two Spot Gobi are the hottest new thing on the music scene in the UK and I really think they could go all the way!

Think Maroon 5 twisted with the funk of Brand New Heavies and softened just a little. The boys have a great new song called Sunshine Lady and are getting booked for live gigs left, right and centre for events over the US this summer. They will be big – mark my words….

Click here to check out the band’s website….or check out their My Space at www.myspace.com/twospotgobi……and to listen to tracks! Loving the bands logo too…..

Last Night I went off to the Edge Of Love premiere – the new film starring Sienna Miller, Keira Knightley, Matthew Rhys and Cillian Murphy.

I don’t often watch the films at a premiere – opting to duck out for dinner before the after party – but I watched this one and loved it. It’s written by Keira’s mum Sharman Macdonald and tells the story of the poet Dylan Thomas and his two lovers in wartime Britain. Sharman sat right in front of me in the cinema and was crying towards the end in the final scene watching her daughter on screen. Both Keira and Sienna are great in it – although Sienna’s accent is supposed to be Irish and it sounds a bit random from time to time.
Sienna also looks surprisingly older in the film too. She actually had to fatten up for this role and you can really see it on the screen – she looks miles bigger than Keira.

Sienna’s mum Jo told me afterwards that she was in tears towards the end too…..bless the crying mums!

I spoke to Matthew Rhys and asked if he was dating anybody right now (he’s rumoured to be back canoodling with Sienna once again now she’s single from ditching Rhys Ifans). He replied: “I’m single.” He laughed when I asked whether he was a ‘scallywag’ like Dylan is portrayed in the film. He quipped: “Dare I answer that. We are both Welsh and I tried my hand at poetry once but it didn’t work out. I’ll leave the scallwag criticisms to others who know me!”

Actress Emilia Fox played coy when I asked her if she was looking forward to being an auntie to brother Lawrence and Billie Piper’s baby. “Am I going to be an auntie? You might know more than I do then because I’ve been away filming in Johannesburg for six weeks doing an episode of Silent Witness. So I haven’t caught up on family news. It would be great if it was true.” Erm, come on Emilia. Billie’s got a bump and everything!

The party, held at the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge and sponsored by Elle magazine and Moet and Chandon champagne, was a grand affair with free flowing booze and lots of stars popping in to the ballroom area.

I caught up with Keira Knightley and she was on flying form. Everyone’s bound to bang on about how skinny she is – but she’s always been bloody skinny. I think everyone needs to get over the fact that’s how Keira’s built.
I also discussed cheese with her. She grew up in Teddington – next to where I live in Hampton and we both frequent the same framer’s market. She told me: “It’s honestly the best place to get great cheese. Me and my mum are always in there when we are in town.”

It looked like a slightly tense moment when Keira’s ex-boyfriend Jamie Dornan and her current beau Rupert Friend stood chatting for a while….. I desperately tried to earwig on that one but couldn’t quite grasp the conversation!

I also spotted charming model Ben Grimes, X-Files star Gillian Anderson, fashion designer Matthew Williamson and model of the moment Poppy Delevingne.

Keira and Sienna eventually separated from the main party and went into a private room to hang out with friends. Sienna didn’t arrive until later on after filming the Jonathan Ross show and I watched her have a mini diva fit whilst posing for the cameras inside the party. As the crowd of snappers started yelling to get her attention Sienna waved at her PR team and said: “Tell them to stop shouting.” It’s what they do lover…..she should know that by now!

Edge of Love is out today!

The night – hosted by an exceedingly glamorous Margherita Taylor - is an annual dinner with all proceeds going towards the charity Help A London Child. I love the fact that the radio station is so loyal to the charity and always striving to make a difference in a London child’s life. With so many charities based on highlighting issues abroad nowadays it’s refreshing to have something benefiting the capital!

I arrived to meet my gorgeous pal Luci and bumped into the first two celebrities of the night – Tara Palmer Tomkinson and Blue singer Duncan James. We went aboard and enjoyed a champagne reception served by some of the big name DJs from Capital. Sam Mann and Welshy from the breakfast show served our champers!

TPT ended up bing one of the main bidders in the celebrity packed auction at the end of the evening. Tara paid £5,000 of her hard earned cash as a personal donation to the plights of the children of London – following a heartfelt speech from Margherita Taylor.

But after the auction it all got raucous. And I found out TPT is a seriously such a fun girl. Crazy as hell, but she knows it. I caught her later on in the night in the boys toilet complaining about there being a queue in the ladies! She told me all about her new album – she’s getting excited about unleashing her new album and assures me it’s going to surprise people. “It’s Dido-esque,” she giggled. “And it’s not called Black Swan like everyone’s been saying.” I wish her all the best and hope her head wasn’t too bad today – she looked a tad tipsy when I left.

I nattered to Amanda Lamb from Channel 4’s A Place In The Sun and she revealed she’s just bought a new three-storey house with her hunky man in my own hometown – Hampton! I gave her the phone number for the local taxi firm too!

A real treat was being on a table with Mica Paris, who I adore. She’s such a good egg and always up for a fun night out. She’s preparing to do a residency at the O2 Arena in their IndigO2 venue that holds 2,000 people. She’s also recording a brand new album of new material. Catch Mica’s new residency – Mica Paris and Friends, Sunday June 29th and every last Sunday of the month at The Indigo @ 02 Arena. www.indigo2.com for info and tickets.

I hear there will be guest appearances from the likes of Estelle and Chaka Khan during the dates……

Pic: The Lovely Jon Furniss

It was eventful too with a few celebrities dropping by. Amazingly I had a very special guest – none other than Gossip Girl’s leading dude Chace Crawford! My good friends at Outside Organisation brought him down as a special treat! Thanks to Sophie and Dan – pictured looking uber fabbo with me and my man Chace!

Extra special thanks go out to the Queen of Kings Road clubland Alice Wilson – she put on a wonderful bash for me! Mucho love Ally!