Keira Knightley and her rocker husband’s surprise role in kids’ Christmas nativity revealed
MY school nativity plays were theatrical car crashes, with the wise men forgetting their lines and Mary dropping baby Jesus.
But when your parents are Keira Knightley and Klaxons rocker James Righton, the production turns out to be far more special.
Mums and dads who sent their kids to the same posh London school as the showbiz couple told me that James had pulled out all the stops for this year’s nativity after taking a starring role in last year’s carol concert.
They added: “James is absolutely brilliant and was really involved with the nativity this year.
“Last year, he got up on stage and performed during the service, which was amazing. None of us could quite believe it, and Keira was in the audience cheering him on.
“This year, he has sprinkled some magic over the nativity, but let the kids take centre stage. It was magical and so special to see.”
Keira has been on the promotional trail for her new hit Netflix series Black Doves, which is phenomenal if you haven’t yet seen it.
‘Banter is important’
But now she’s finished for Christmas and has opened up about her festive plans during a chat with Nick Grimshaw on BBC 6 Music.
“I am hibernating and drinking nice wine and doing all the festive things,” Keira said. “We did some wreath-making the other day.
“I got two children to make wreaths and they’re not that bad.
“I’m not cooking — my husband cooks and he is very good.
“He is a little bit OCD, so as long as that stays in the kitchen, the marriage survives. It means Christmas dinner will be very good.”
Opening up about her role in her gripping spy thriller, Keira went on to reveal she had formed a close friendship with co-star Ben Whishaw.
She added: “He is one of the nicest men in the world.
“We just laughed. Which is all you can do when you’re a spy.
“We met just before filming and, luckily, we really got on.
“The centre of the story is a platonic relationship between me and Ben. It’s about two best mates.
“One happens to be a spy and the other is an assassin. So the banter between them is so important and we really got on.”
Vin the mood to party
NOT since Wimbledon won the FA Cup in 1988 has Vinnie Jones celebrated this wildly.
The former football hardman’s stage debut in Only Fools And Horses: The Musical has gone down a storm with fans who thought he was excellent – or “bonnet de douche”, as Del Boy would say.
And Vinnie lapped up the cheers from the audience inside the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith.
The Lock, Stock legend plays Peckham gangster Danny Driscoll – one half of the show’s notorious Driscoll brothers.
And there was more than a nod to his breakthrough Brit flick role, namely him repeatedly smashing in some poor sod’s head with the Trotter van door and uttering his famous catchphrase: “It’s been emotional.”
He also has a scrap with Del Boy (Sam Lupton), and even a dust-up with Uncle Albert, brilliantly portrayed by co-writer Paul Whitehouse.
With Tom Major as Rodney, Vinnie’s run at Hammersmith goes on until January 5 before the show heads out on tour.
You’d be a plonker to miss it.
Jack’s booze blues
JACK WHITEHALL has admitted his co-star dad Michael is guilty of drinking away the profits during their recent comedy tour.
Revealing his old man’s expensive tastes, Jack said: “He just needs four bottles of champagne and a defibrillator, just in case.
“He genuinely wants four bottles in the dressing room for every show.
“And he says he wants the champagne in case he has to entertain guests – but he doesn’t have any friends.
“He didn’t invite anyone to the shows. He just wanted to get p***ed himself. We didn’t sell a lot of tickets. We ended up losing money as we were just paying to prop up my dad’s drinking habits.”
All to play for, Tom
TOM GRENNAN was beaten to the Christmas No1 spot by WHAM!’s Last Christmas on Friday, but he could still top the charts before the year is out.
His song It Can’t Be Christmas hit No4 last week, but has taken a narrow early lead in this week’s singles rundown.
It is now 500 sales ahead of George Michael’s timeless classic, after vinyl versions of Tom’s tune came out on Friday.
It’s all to play for.
Feast your pies on Jason
ONE look at topless Jason Derulo is enough to make me put down the mince pies.
The Talk Dirty singer ripped off his shirt as he performed at iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball in Miami.
And Camila Cabello put on a wild show when she took to the stage in a black and blue outfit and thrilled the audience by performing Move live for the first time.
The ex-Fifth Harmony star dropped her new album C,XOXO in the summer and belted out hits from the record, including old favourites such as Havana.
Watching clips of Camila’s energetic set reminded me of her stellar moment on stage at Glastonbury in June, when she rode in on a BMX bike – repeating a similar stunt here – and later rubbed ice lollies all over herself.
She knows how to put on a show.
Bruv Paul’s club vision
IT sounds like Paul Chuckle is just as much of a laugh off screen as he is on it, because he’s revealed he’s a secret party animal.
The comic, who is best known for starring in ChuckleVision with late brother Barry, has revealed he loves nothing more than hitting a nightclub, at the age of 77.
He is currently in panto in Nottingham, playing Starkey in Peter Pan, and says he hopes to enjoy some wild nights in the city.
During a TikTok live chat, Paul – who occasionally DJs at clubs, too – said: “I will be out clubbing again.
“I doubt I’ll be playing, but I’ll certainly be out clubbing.
“I just love clubbing. Don’t we all?”
I hope I have the same party spirit as him when I’m in my seventies, although given I get sleepy when I’m at a gig past 9.30pm, I’m not so sure.
It sounds like he is always up for taking things to the max, though, after a tough start in life.
Speaking about growing up in Rotherham, he said: “I had a great childhood. But it was on a council estate. We didn’t have any money.
‘Enjoying life’
“I had nothing until I was 23 years in the business – me and Barry – from the 1960s to 1986.
“Then we got our own series, The ChuckleHounds, followed by Chuckle- Vision and our life changed. I’ve never been a rich person. Comfortable, very comfortable, and I’m not complaining.
“It was a hard life up until 1986, and it’s not been so bad since.
“But I’m still here, still working, still out there and still enjoying life.”
Good on him.
Jedward’s festive Gem
YOU might think Christmas at Gemma Collins’ house would be over the top as it is.
But now she has invited Jedward to spend the big day with her, too.
The Irish twins, who have released a festive single called Lovemas, have become close pals with the reality star in recent years – so much so that they are planning to head to her Essex mansion on Wednesday.
In an exclusive catch-up, John told me: “Gemma has asked us to be with her for this Christmas. She’s already ordered cookies. We are always there in spirit with Gemma. She is such a vibe and such a great human – Gemma is literally our family.
“We’ve got so many memories together. I was upset when I lost my phone recently because I had so many pictures.”
But the pair also revealed that they have discovered an unlikely hobby with the glam former Towie star.
Edward added: “Me and Gemma are loving having a fire. We’ve been making a campfire in the back yard. Literally, we are experts now.”
I’ll take their word for it.
Let’s hope she has good insurance.