Beryl's in peril Dame Beryl Bainbridge is unlikely to win many Brownie points with the sisterhood when she appears on Desert Island Discs today. Your view: Are men more capable than women?"I still think men are more capable than women," the author tells Kirsty Young. "I always have thought so. I have never ever thought to myself that I was better than a man, ever."
Supernanny sends her cheeky rival to the naughty step As the no-nonsense star of Supernanny best known for her "naughty step", Jo Frost has arguably done more than anyone else to hone contemporary child-rearing skills. For all that, Mandrake learns that the presenter of the hugely popular Channel 4 series is now finding her previously unassailable position under threat - from a man. "We are launching a rival show called Supermanny," discloses my mole at the television production company Ricochet. "There is a growing number of male nannies, so we are hoping that Supermanny will prove to be even more popular than Supernanny." The move comes amid rumours that Miss Frost will not be renewing her contract with Ricochet. One of her chums tells me that the former nanny from south London has become "increasingly uneasy" at the way Ricochet has lately been "branding" her. Although the programme makers turned her into an unlikely sex symbol with her stern manner, scraped-back hair and stilettos, she has been at pains to distance herself from her "dominatrix" image. "It was Ricochet who wanted that whole look," she has insisted. The 37-year-old builder's daughter is claimed to have made up to £5 million from Supernanny merchandising deals, a Supernanny magazine, website and a parenting consultancy business. She has become a household name in the United States, where she is currently filming the fourth series of an American version of Supernanny, which has attracted significant ratings. Ricochet also sold the format to scores of other foreign countries, where it became a hit with different women performing her role. Although she had no children of her own, Miss Frost was chosen by the producers after she responded to their newspaper advertisment seeking a television-friendly nanny. Having worked in childcare for 13 years, she was acting as a consultant at the time, providing advice to struggling mothers. Last year, Supernanny made some unwanted headlines when Roger Graef, the award-winning filmmaker and a founder member of the Channel 4 board, claimed that its makers were being told to make toddlers cry on camera in an attempt to boost ratings. This was denied. A spokesman for Ricochet confirms that it is working on a pilot for Supermanny, but insists that it is not planned as a replacement for Supernanny. "Jo is under exclusive contract to Ricochet," adds the spokesman, who declines to say when her contract is due to end.
Irons sets his heart on Gina for his debut The achingly fashionable Gina McKee has caught the eye of Jeremy Irons. Mandrake hears that the actress, who is currently appearing in the Harold Pinter double bill The Lover/The Collection in the West End, is being lined up to star in Irons's debut as a film director, The Misremembered Man. It is based on Christina McKenna's novel, set in County Derry, Ireland, about a lonely, middle-aged bachelor named Jamie who finds love through a lonely-hearts column with Lydia, a woman who is temperamentally his opposite. "Jeremy reckons Gina would be wonderful as Lydia," says my man with the clapperboard. "We hope to get John Reilly, who starred in the film Walk Hard, to play Jamie." Irons, who himself has a home in Ireland, insists it is "early days", but he is plainly passionate about his first job as a director.
Edna: the self-portrait If Dame Edna Everage's nose looks rather unflatteringly large in this garish new work, then she has only herself to blame. It is a self-portrait. The Australian dame is characteristically modest about her finesse with a paintbrush. "I suppose, as an amateur artist, I'm at about the same level as either Hitler or Churchill," she trills. She adds that she has been a keen painter all her life, but could never give it the time she wanted because of her career as a performer. "A bit like Hitler. If only he had not been thrown out of art school he might not have then gone into politics and become a mass murderer," she observes, sagely. In Dame Edna's case, the art world's loss has clearly been showbusiness's gain. On that front, I am told that her alter ego Barry Humphries is to take a leaf out of the book of Sacha Baron Cohen - he who metamorphosed effortlessly from Ali G to Borat - and create an entirely new character. "He will be based on Conrad Black," says Humphries. Least said, soonest mended, as Mandrake always says.
From Russia with loathing for Putin It is unlikely to do much for Gordon Brown's relations with the Kremlin, which have been frosting over since Vladimir Putin refused to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, the former KGB agent accused of poisoning Alexander Litvinenko in London. But Sir David King, who as the Government's Chief Scientist played a key role in the investigation into Litvinenko's murder, has accused the Russian president of masterminding the murder of nearly 300 of his own people in the Moscow apartment bombings in 1999, which Putin blamed on Chechen terrorists. "I can tell you that Putin was responsible for the bombings," Sir David claimed to Mandrake at the Morgan Stanley Great Britons Awards. "I've seen the evidence. There is no way that Putin would have won the election if it wasn't for the bombings. Before them he was getting 10 per cent approval ratings. After, they shot up to 80 per cent."
Paint it black It should perhaps come as no surprise that Ronnie Wood, having never shied away from controversy during his 33 years with the Rolling Stones, is now raising eyebrows in the art world. The bewigged Wood stands accused of offending Muslims with the latest exhibition at his Scream gallery. The artist Sarah Maple depicts women in Islamic dress in a series of provocative poses. One work features the artist, who was raised a Muslim, in her mother's headscarf exposing what she describes as the "breast of Kate Moss". Another has a woman in a hijab sucking suggestively on a banana. "This is pornography," says Prof Azam Tamimi, of the Muslim Association of Britain. "There are a lot of filthy minds out there. It's not Islamic, it's not Christian and it's not Jewish. A lot of people will be offended."
Hirst sells out In a move that will provide ammunition to critics who accuse him of being more of a businessman than an artist, Damien Hirst is to open his first shop. The former enfant terrible of British art, has signed a 10-year lease on premises in Marylebone that he plans to turn into a shop selling art, books and clothing. Hirst, who has an office nearby, will pay £90,000 a year to rent the 1,250 sq ft corner unit in Hinde House, a development that includes a lingerie shop, furniture store and "celebrity" hair salon. The 42-year-old artist, who announced the £50 million sale of his diamond-encrusted skull For the Love of God to an anonymous investment group last year, is said to hope that the shop will be the first of a chain of stores. | 
