SLEB Safari comes to you today filled with bonhomie, joie de vivre and any other French word that seems appropriate. The reason for this ebullience is news of the return of Will & Grace. Sleb Safari has been missing Just Jack and Karen. And Will and Grace too obviously.
The show will return for 10 episodes some time in the next year so Sleb Safari invites you to binge watch the first eight series as preparation.
Something else which caught Sleb Safari’s eye was a talk by Claudia Winkleman, another of Sleb Safari’s favourites.
Claudia, she of the Alice Cooper eye liner and skin tone that’s a shade somewhere between Donald Trump and Oompa Loompa, was speaking at a Conversation with Standard Issue event and saying all manner of cheery things about her brilliant mum who taught her that appearances mean little and mirrors are only for brushing your teeth.
“I was brought up by the strongest and most brilliant woman I’ve ever come across – my mum. She was strong and fantastic and taught me everything I needed to know in being female.
“We weren’t allowed any mirrors in the house, which would explain how I do my makeup… and the fact I look like I’ve slept in a skip.”
Claudia’s mum is former newspaper editor Eve Pollard who Claudia says would tell her teenage self she looked “fine” and nothing more.
“... she wanted to teach us that appearance is a waste of time, it’s not in the least bit important.
“Read books, be funny, be clever, be chatty, this is how you make an omelette... She was, and still is, my role model.”
Eve Pollard offered her own explanation.
“I think it’s important to teach girls that they are people first and looks second. Frankly, mirrors are for brushing your teeth and that’s about it – and I hope this has stood her in good stead for her career now.
“Claudia works in one of the most vanity-obsessed industries and, yes, of course she uses the Strictly facilities and the spray tan, but the basics are actually about her being silly, funny and smart when she needs to.”
And her mum is right. Claudia is mischievous and fun, whip smart and self-deprecating, and that’s why we love her. She’s a treat on Radio 2 on Sunday nights, writes a brilliant column for The Sunday Times and is the best thing about Strictly Come Dancing.
It’s endearing and refreshing that Claudia often seems to have got ready in the dark and is proudly and beautifully orange. She's an inspiration and not just to us. Can you think of any other female TV presenter who the new president of the United States of America wants to look like rather than grab?
Silence, Solange has the floor
SLEB Safari finds it refreshing that no matter how big the superstar their childhood relationship with siblings was the same as anyone else's.
Solange was interviewed by her sister Beyonce for Interview Magazine and it very quickly became clear she was the one who liked to have the floor in her family which would have been no mean feat when your sister is Beyonce.
"I remember having so much perspective about my voice, and how to use my voice, at such a young age—whether it was through dance, poetry, or coming up with different projects," Solange said.
"I guess I always felt a yearning to communicate—I had a lot of things to say. And I appreciated y'all's patience in the house during all of these different phases. They were not ever very introverted, quiet phases."
Parents, if this is how your child behaves take heart, she might grow up to be Solange and then you can retire early.
48 Hours Until Witless Is Back
THE second series of Witless –a comedy about two women in witness protection – starts on Wednesday on BBC3 and if you haven’t seen the first series you need to hop on to the iPlayer pronto and catch up on the five episodes. You will thank Sleb Safari for it.
Happy Christmas Richard E Grant
SLEB Safari doffs its hat this week to actor Richard E Grant for being refreshingly honest about his thriftiness.
Richard, who incidentally cannot metabolise alcohol and therefore sensibly avoids it, was chatting to The Guardian about all manner of things when he was asked about his weekend routine.
"I couldn’t get through the weekend without Christmas pudding (I buy them in the sale and open one a month)."
Sleb Safari rather likes the image of Richard E Grant rummaging about on the reduced shelf in his local Co-op and cheerily filling a shopping basket with 12 Christmas puddings before pottering home and stacking them in a kitchen cupboard. That’s one way to make Christmas last all year.
Social Media Smut
Would you look at Pharrell's outfit. He wins Golden Globes' best dressed by a mile.
Waiting for our ride to the @GoldenGlobes tonight... w/@mimivaldes #HiddenFigures pic.twitter.com/fi5NxvITvi
— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) January 9, 2017
