Peaches Geldof has big news to celebrate – she’s finally admitted she’s engaged to boyfriend Thomas Cohen.
The star confessed all to me this week when we hit the fabulous Gareth Pugh for MAC launch party at the University of Westminster. And she couldn’t help but gush about how her life has come around full circle of late.
“Yes I’m engaged,” the newly svelte star beamed. “It happened six months ago but we are only just making it public now. We don’t want to get married for a couple of years yet and I knew what people would say. We first met four years ago and we bumped into each other last Christmas on Portobello Road and started dating again and that’s where he asked me. It was very romantic and I’m really happy. We don’t want to get married for a couple of years yet though so don’t expect me in a wedding dress for a long time.”
After, it’s fair to say, a rocky few years she’s looking fantastic, is happier than ever before and has ditched the nightlife she craved so badly when she emerged as a wild child teen all those years ago. It must be a weight off father Sir Bob Geldof’s mind that peaches has changed her wild ways. She’s even bought a house with her boy Tom – who plays in a band called S.C.U.M.
“We’ve just bought a beautiful 3-bed Victorian house in London,” Peaches added. “I’ve spent the whole of today trying to sort getting a mortgage – it’s such a strange adult territory! And it’s been a real bitch getting it too. They nearly didn’t let me have it – maybe it’s probably because they recognised me. It’s the perfect place and size for me and my fiancé and we got it pretty cheap for what it should have cost.
“I can’t wait to start decorating it. I’m obsessed with buying vintage sofas off of Ebay for £200. I now have five of them! Tom came round my flat today which is tiny and you can barely move from all the sofas I’ve bought.”
I couldn’t be happier for Peaches and let’s hope this marriage is more successful than her first. Peach really had us all gasping in horror when she ran away to las Vegas with boyfriend Max Drummey in August 2008 and got hitched on a whim. She divorced Max, who still remains a friend, after just six months. But this time it seems like the real thing. “These days I just sit indoors and nest,” she laughed. “I’ve left all my crazy years behind me. I’m just a really happy girl looking towards a great future now.”  I’ll raise a glass to that.

Dita Von Teese oozes glamour so it’s no wonder that she tells me she would never slip in to Simon Cowell’s shoes and launch her own TV talent search for the next burlesque star.
Speaking to me at the VIP opening of the Cointreau Privé at 215 Piccadilly she said: “I’ve been approached so many times and if I had a dollar for everyone someone had that exact idea thinking they were the first one then I wouldn’t ever have to work again. It’s a really tricky thing because everyone thinks it’s such a great idea but for me my show is my heart and soul and everything I ever dreamed of so if someone was to sit me down and pick apart my show I would find that deeply personal and I feel that it would be the same for me to criticise someone’s personality and beauty. So I have a hard time imagining that a show like that could be really successful. If someone is up on stage taking their clothes off and being sexual how do you judge that? Being sexy is different to different people. I could never be Simon Cowell.”
And funnily enough another item Dita would never be seen dead in is Spanx pants. Grimacing she said: “I’ve never worn a pair of Spanx, no. I’d rather just work out and eat well, that’s how I feel. I get that people really love them but I love lingerie so much and the beauty of lingerie. Until they make glamorous Spanx then I’d rather just not.”
For Cointreau Privé tickets visit www.cointreauprive.co.uk

Leona Lewis is promising me her third album will be worth the wait. At a fundraising event for Hopefield Animal Sanctuary this week Le promised me it will be worth the wait.
“I’m like, come on already! But it takes to time as I want to make this album my best yet. I hope to have the album out towards the beginning of next year. I’m working with the amazing producer Fraser T Smith at the moment and it’s coming along really, really nicely. Then I’d love to do another tour at the end of next year and go to Europe and America. That’s my goal and where I’m heading towards but we haven’t made any plans just yet.”
And as for lyrical content it comes down to the old and new men in her life – ex Lou Al-Chamaa and new beau Dennis Jauch.
“I am in a very good place and that’s definitely inspired songs. I’m always inspired by the situations that I’ve in. Right now I’m happy and I’m good. But I want everyone to relate to the songs so I haven’t made any of them specific to Dennis. There is a lot of different content on the album – some is about love and some is about heartache. There’s a lot going on in there.”
Bunny lover Leona nearly showed anger talking about Lady GaGa wearing her infamous meat dress.
“That dress was so offensive,” Le added. “If I saw her wearing that I would laugh at first but I guess it’s her way of expressing her art and each to their own. Maybe I should start dressing as a carrot with a bunny under my arm to make my own point.” Erm, OK!

Meanwhile at the same event Alexandra Burke seemed to have lost her star credentials despite her recent X Factor stint. A private tour of the sanctuary with Leona was successfully auctioned off for £600 but when it came to bidding for a dress Alex had designed herself and donated alongside a signed note the lot finished at a grand sum of…£50. Ouch.

Anyone wishing to donate can visit www.hopefield.org.uk. Leona will be back at the Essex based sanctuary on December 18th to perform a Christmas Carol Concert.

Christine Bleakley tells me plans are underway for her wedding to footballer fiance Frank Lampard – but next year’s European Championships are causing hassle for the couple’s plans.
Speaking at the Sky Women In Film And Television Christine told me: “The wedding plans have started but ideally we would do it next summer but we have to assume, possibly, that Frank may be going to the Euro. But we don’t know that until the last minute.
“You kind of have to assume that he might which eats up into the whole of next summer unfortunately. It’s just timing really. We will get there, we have a few thoughts. I would just be happy to go off and just do it but then that’s a difficult thing to do as well. When people say they did it and it was just the two of them I’m like ‘How did you actually do it?’ Its really hard.”
But Christine – who last show on Daybreak is tomorrow – says she’s yet to find a dress.
“I haven’t tried any dresses on yet as I think the dress is very in keeping with where you get married,” she added. “We need to arrange a few other things first before I can start thinking about the dress. I did think that I would go and try stuff on but now I think I’ll hold off for a little bit. “I’ve never been a little girl who had the wedding plans from the age of three. I’m not really girly when it comes to it. I’ll wait until we figure out how and where and then those things will happen afterwards.”
And talking of dresses – the star is getting excited about her appearance on dancing on Ice from January. But don’t expect her to be flashing her cleavage ala Holly Willoughbooby. “Holly was pregnant last year so she had her big, long flowing gowns but I’m not Christine Bleakley boobie unfortunately,” she added. “I know the set might change this year so I would just like to wear something in keeping with that and with Phillip.” Sounds good.

When you think of Sir Cliff Richard things that automatically spring to mind are Mistletoe and Wine, Wimbledon and those cheesy annual calendars he does for his loyal fans.
The last thing you think of are his rock star credentials. And the man himself says he lived through the crazy rock star years of the sixties without once being tempted to trash a hotel room or have a 24-hour booze binge.
“I lived through the day and age when popstars liked chucking TV sets out window,” says Cliff, 71. “My band used to laugh at me saying I wasn’t cool enough. They would joke that I’d never throw a television out the window, instead I’d get into a hotel room and get the hoover out to leave it looking nice. And my generation hardly even owned a TV set – they couldn’t afford it. The last thing I’d do was throw one out a window.”
Cliff, who’s about to take his annual holiday in America and Barbados following the success of his Souliscious UK tour, says he’s glad he never got persuaded to turn to the dark side of fame when it came to booze and drugs.
“It’s sad that youngsters nowadays can’t hold it together,” bachelor boy Cliff, who has sold in excess of 250 million albums, says. “There’s always been drugs in our industry since the very beginning. I just don’t get why people do it.
‘Put it this way I realised quickly early on that the herbal cigarettes everyone around me was smoking wasn’t just a cigarette. I never smoked and would have my windows open wide. It’s a piece of good fortune that I never started smoking. I had an aversion to it – my father smoked heavily and I couldn’t stand it. He’d get me to pass an ashtray to him and when I did I’d have to leave the room and wash my hands.”
He sounds genuinely upset by the passing of Amy Winehouse due to her alcohol addiction.
“There is a self destruct button in the industry and when you think about the people that have died too young in our business like Amy Winehouse it’s just sad,” he says. “Too many young talented lives. Amy was too talented to have lost so quickly. Amy obviously didn’t deal with her drinking habit. Having never had a problem like that I don’t know what it takes to pull out of that situation. I do have friends who have been addicts and have stopped. It is possible to stop – I’m just lucky to have never gone down that road. Somebody told me once that you can be a lush but not an alcoholic – and that’s me.”
He shows no signs of slowing down yet. And you get the impression he’d be working a whole lot more if his music was reaching a larger audience.
Cliff’s miffed radio stations across the UK have blanket banned his recent recordings and without his tracks getting played to a mass audience sees
little point in slogging his guts out on new material.
“Radio play is where I suffer,” explains, the star, who has never married. “There’s a new station coming out and they’ve made a point of saying they’re not going to play me. That’s just unfair. Whether these radio stations like it or not they’re essentially lying to their public. Outside of America there was nobody until I did it. This was five years before the Beatles were even around and I’d sold millions of records.
But yet still I’m ignored? It’s ridiculous. Over the years of the chart I’ve outsold every single artist. I’ve sold more single records than The Beatles,
Elvis or Sinatra or Elton. I was the real deal. It’s depressing working on an album project and at the end of it not getting the music to the people.”
He goes as far as saying not being played on the radio makes him consider a full time retirement. He says: “Retirement says you’re going to stop forever. I prefer the word stop. I can stop eating chocolates for a while. But it doesn’t mean I won’t eat chocolates ever again. So in some ways I think I’d like to stop. And then just phone up when I have an urge to record or tour. I won’t retire yet. But not being played on the radio makes me want to retire.”
Cliff does however say the opportunity to judge on one of the UK’s top TV talent shows would be something he would have loved to have done – but he’s
never been approached.
He says deadpan: “I don’t understand why nobody has ever approached me about being involved in a show like X Factor – I would have loved to have done it.
It’s something I’d definitely consider. The American one is the big one these days isn’t it? But we do have a UK X Factor here, don’t we? I would have validity here – after all I was the first person who kicked off British music around the globe.”
People are obsessed with Sir Cliff’s extraordinary toned physique these days. Despite being in his seventies he posed topless in his last calendar for fans. He puts it down to good genes, a healthy diet and lots of tennis.
“But let’s face it,” he laughs. “I’m never going to be Arnold Schwarzenegger.”
Although it’s clear when it comes to using moisturiser and looking after his skin he’s definitely not shy. “I try every single moisturiser on the market,” he admits. “If I’m recommended a moisturiser then I immediately by an industrial lot of it and slather it on. I sit there for a show and a make-up artist recommends it and I buy a gallon and lash it on. Men have the same problem that women have with their skin. Men are out there in the wilderness being damaged all the time. I’ve got a feeling that if I wasn’t in this business I wouldn’t worry about my looks. I’d probably be incredibly fat with bad skin.”
There would be no topless shoots going on then!

Cliff’s Soulicious Tour, Live at the O2, DVD is out now

Are your paws up, Little Monsters? Right, I shall begin.
At this week’s BBC Children in Need Rocks event in Manchester I was summoned to speak to the current Queen of Pop Lady Gaga.
Before you say it, obviously Madonna is the High Priestess of Pop and always will be. But there’s no escaping Gaga is pushing the boundaries of pop music these days.
Her album Born This Way is an international hit and she’s preparing to take the album on a world tour with the Born This Way Ball. If it’s anything like her debut tour Monster’s Ball then we’re in for a treat.
The first thing Gaga wanted to clear up was this supposed feud with Madonna. Recently Madge was heard saying, “Lady Who?” when asked about her Gaga at her W.E premiere in London. But the lady herself says there’s no beef between them. “Madonna is a wonderful influence on me, obviously,” she said. “I feel blessed to have grown up with a powerful blonde woman to show us all the ropes. It’s all down to her that I’m able to do what I do.
“I really like her new single too. The one that leaked. There’s no problem between us.”
Gaga, who sipped on a large glass of white wine while we nattered, had a lot to get off her chest when we met – she told me she’s yet to found a house and spend any of her estimated £60 million fortune.
“The truth is I’ve looked at a few places but I can’t find a house that is me,” she said. “There’s no gusto to settle down yet. I’m actually perfectly happy being a gypsy and being on the move. I’m not obsessed with anything material other than fashion when it comes to spending money. Just fashion. I don’t care for cars, boats or houses. The money just sits piled up in a bank and waves at me. I’m like, “hello money, it’s me!” every time I drive past a bank. I want to put all the money back into my career and my live shows.
“I stay at my parents a lot, in hotels and I’m quite happy – I’m only 25. People forget I’m young.”
And the star reveals she’s quite the domestic Goddess – even cleaning toilets, much to her friend’s amusement. “I last cleaned a toilet four months ago,” she laughed. “I was staying at a friend’s house and I’m actually very domesticated. I went to a friends and the toilet was dirty so I scrubbed it up. They came home laughing because I was in a weird skirt and a funny outfit and cleaning the toilet furiously. It obviously must have looked very amusing and they found it very funny.”
She nearly chokes on her vino when I suggest the word vacation. She’s given up trying to take a break. “I never take a vacation,” she scoffs. “Vacations are overrated. I do try and take them but once I arrive and I’m supposed to be on down time but I inevitably start writing and end up working. So it’s not a vacation at all. I try to chill out but it’s hard. For example I have a rule about melodies – if I think of a melody or lyric throughout the night but I can’t remember them in the morning then they were not worth it.”
Gaga, who performed a blistering three song set at Children in Need Rocks, only has one true way to chill out – watching TV cookery programmes and making Italian dishes herself. She reveals: “I watch cooking shows all the time. Non stop actually and I’m an excellent cook. You’d be very surprised if you came around for dinner. Anything Italian and I’m good at it. I grew up in a very Italian family.
“My father will just shout a recipe at me at home and I’ll make it. That’s my real vacation. Not so much palm trees and beaches – it’s going home and seeing my family. I’m a traditional woman in that way and I love going home to serve my dad and things.
“Art Smith is my favourite telly chef, I’m obsessed with him. I heard Gwyneth Paltrow was doing a show too. I bet she’s amazing – she’s a wonderful person. One of a kind.”
The star has just released a raunchy coffee table book with uber cool photographer Terry Richardson and will soon start upping the stakes preparing to tour. One thing you can definitely expect is live vocals from this girl. She think it would be cheating the fans if she couldn’t perform her hits live.
“You don’t want a pop star that can’t cut it live,” she says looking confused when I merely mention miming.  “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Everybody always laughs at me when I’m cutting vocals in the studio. I just stand there saying, “Man I fucking love to sing”. Performing is everything. Dancing and performing live is what I’m about. Creating a show is hard work but it’s been incredible. Working with designers on the live tour with the fashion and most importantly I’m going to be pushing the envelope on any tour anybody has ever seen. It’s going to be pushed from an innovation perspective with technology this time around. I wouldn’t ever consider miming a live performance. Not for a fucking second. I’d rather sound bad for a second or two than mime. With this life comes many blessings so the fans deserve the truth from me as a singer. No matter what.”
You can’t help but notice she’s been looking more ladylike and less kooky with her fashion of late. And why not – designers must be bashing her door down to get her wearing their couture creations. Gaga is the ultimate kooky clothes horse. She says: “It’s not a conscious move that I’m dressing a little more lady like at the minute I’m actually schizophrenic when it comes to fashion. It all depends on my attitude. Some days I want to be a lady and some days I mix it up. Lately I’ve been feeling feminine and sexy and I’m happier than I’ve ever been with my clothes.”
And with that our time together is over. As a parting gift she says: “Hey Dean, don’t you worry I’ll be back to my filthy attire very soon. You had better be ready.” Don’t let me down, Gaga.

Lady Gaga’s new single Marry The Night is out next Monday, The Monster Ball Tour is out now on DVD and Lady Gaga x Terry Richardson is out this week.

Barbara Windsor (above centre with me) sounds like she’s enjoying life after EastEnders. And she would be on our screens more if she had something she found a role she felt compelled to play. “The truth is Peggy Mitchell was a hard act to follow,” Babs told me at this week’s screening of Sky 1HD’s Little Crackers. “I know everybody knows I’ve done the Bingo adds. But I honestly haven’t found anything that floats my boat. If I had then I’d be busier but I haven’t yet.” It’s a travesty she’s not on our screens more. Check out Little Crackers on Sky1HD from December 18.

Kylie Minogue WILL be touring again next year to celebrate her 25 years in the music industry and her new orchestral hits album. But this time around expect something extremely different to her feather clad camp-offs of yester-year. My sources tell me she will most likely have creative director William Baker on board still but it won’t be the feather-fest of her huge stadium tours. “It will be smaller venues,” says my source. “She wants to showcase her voice minus the fizz. It will still be Kylie but very chilled with an orchestra.” I like the sound of this.
Meanwhile, the brunnette hair won’t be here for much longer. I’m told Kylie’s taken another small role in an indie film and she’s gone dark purely for said role. Bring back blonde Kyles….

So Leona Lewis is in the studio once again working on tracks for the next album. And she has a new partner in crime this time around – hitmaker Fraser T. Smith. The pair have been holed up in the studio for the past few weeks after Simon Cowell called in Fraser for his expert songwriting and producing skills. And if you ask me this is a GREAT move. Fraser’s responsible for some of the best hits of the last few years – Adele’s Set Fire To The Rain, James Morrison’s Broken Strings and Taio Cruz’s Break Your Heart. Good luck Le!

Cher Lloyd is taking steps to becoming a major big shot in the music world. Her album Sticks and Stones is riding high in the charts this week and now she’s gone and got herself new management with former Bros star Craig Logan. Cher becomes one of Craig’s first signings for Logan Media Entertainment in a deal that should see Cher start to really push some buttons across the pond in the States. After all, Craig was the man that guided Pink and countless others to superstardom.
Keep a look out on Cher’s twitter feed tomorrow – a little birdie tells me she will be announcing details for her debut tour….

The Wanted’s Max George, who was crowned Celebrity Spectacle Wearer 2011 this week, revealed that, with the band trying to crack America next year with Def Jam records, he and fiancee Michelle Keegan are pushing their wedding back until 2013. “The wedding has been delayed until the year after next ,” he admitted “It’s going to take some time. But the long distance always makes us stronger.” We’ll see….

Taio Cruz (above with me) tells me his work with Cheryl Cole on her third solo album is coming along very nicely indeed. We caught up for drinks alongside model Cara Delevinge at Whisky Mist this week where he was launching his new range of luxury RXTR watches. The Ketel One vodka flowed and Taio told me: “The tracks we’ve worked on are mid-tempo. Not party anthems like people have said. There’s three or so at the minute and she’s fantastic to work with.” I bet.

Calling all the secret Santas out there! Join Text SANTA and Ashley Banjo in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record™ for the ‘Largest gathering of people dressed as Santa Claus’ at the Oval Cricket ground in London next Sunday. It’s also being filmed for ITV’s Text SANTA launch show so you could be famous! Visit www.itv.com/textsanta for all the info.

Martine McCutcheon is hoping to make a return to the charts with a new album next year. The singer and actress has joined forces with her fiance songwriter Jack McManus, who also penned The Wanted’s latest single Warzone. “It’s going to be different to anything I’ve done before,” she told me at the Spectacle Wearer of the Year 2011 awards. “Jack’s the cool and trendy one and I’m more classic, so he’s helping to keep me more current. Between the two of us we’re a good team.”

Beverley Knight was back on top form this week performing as part of her Soul UK tour at the Royal Albert Hall. Lemar and Wretch 32 popped by to see Bev kill it on stage singing some of her greatest hits and tunes from new album Soul UK. X Factor finalist Johnny Robinson naturally stole the show when he pitched up to watch. Love that guy!

Get ready for Tulisa to unleash her solo material – and we should have it on our iPods for sometime around February. The star told me at Children in Need Rocks in Manchester organised by Gary Barlow (above with me): “You won’t have any new material until the start of the year. It’ll all be out in February. I’m happy to do it when X Factor has finished – I didn’t want to rush anything just to be able to perform on the show. I want to concentrate on the music and not be panicking about the acts going straight after I’ve performed.”
And it sounds like the judge is getting pretty excited about Little Mix starting to become real contenders to win X Factor. “I feel like Little Mix were the underdogs and they have risen up the polls,” she added. “I’m starting to imagine who could be in the final. I reckon Amelia will be in the final. She’s done so well. I think it’s because she’s new and fresh and people love that.”

Meanwhile Tulisa’s man Fazer is one busy man. He’s working on his debut solo album as well as Tulisa and Dappy’s own records. But the star, who has just released N-Dubz Greatest Hits, says to expect the unexpected. “I want to work with people like Phil Collins and surprise everyone,” he said. “Taking a sample of his or Stings songs would be good. Dappy and me are huge fans of the eighties. The way the records were structured worked. We’re all about big hooks and choruses.”
What can we expect from Tulisa’s record then? Fazer says: “Obviously Tulisa has been on X Factor and people think she’s going to come out with a ballad or summit. But she’s going to have a dance song straight away, then there’s a rock record, then a power ballad. She’s doing everything. Totally versatile. It will be an album for the masses.”
Fazer played extremely coy when the possibility of working with Rihanna was mentioned, as has been rumoured. “Fingers crossed,” is all he would say.