Ozzy Osborne heartbreak as Black Sabbath legend's death sees him miss out on dream

Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, who died this week aged 76, narrowly missed out on receiving his long-craved for knighthood.

While fans relentlessly campaigned for the Black Sabbath frontman to be made Sir Ozzy, the singer himself had publicly admitted he "couldn't imagine anything better". It finally emerged in 2023 that the reformed hellraiser, who enjoyed a warm rapport with the King, was closer to receiving the gong than many imagined. Asked about the prospect of an Ozzy knighthood at the time, a spokesman for the government's honours team confirmed: "Mr Osbourne has been under consideration for a while."

Had fate not intervened, would the Prince of Darkness have finally got his invitation to the Palace?

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Months after his previous attempt at Irish in TV series MobLand met with mockery, Pierce Brosnan again struggles to convince.

The former 007, who left County Meath for England aged 12, now appears on screen as Dublin civil servant-turned-painter William Coughlan in movie Four Letters Of Love. A prominent reviewer witheringly concludes from the Emerald Isle: "Brosnan, as ever in such situations, touches vowels from all 32 counties in his effort to master an Irish accent not his own."

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Recalling turning down a young Sir Tim Rice in 1969 when the lyricist touted his and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, retired theatrical agent Michael Whitehall, father of comedian Jack, still holds a grudge. "I thought Tim was sweet - had I known what was going to happen subsequently, of course I wouldn't have thought he was so sweet!" he bitterly remarks.

Why such rancour? Rice married Jane McIntosh in 1974 - a year after her divorce from grumpy Michael.

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Defending naked cycling following calls for such charity gatherings to be banned, ex-Tory MP Sir Michael Fabricant insists: "It's just a bit of fun. These are fairly innocent events, if people don't want to see bits and pieces wobbling about, don't look!"

Locals should be forewarned that publicity-mad Michael, 75, plans to cycle in the buff through his old Lichfield constituency.

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Forty-five years since the death of bonkers comic genius Peter Sellers, the star's biographer Roger Lewis recalls once receiving a letter from a retired Norfolk CID Inspector, recounting the time he found young Peter bizarrely masquerading as a peer of the realm in a Norwich hotel. Further investigation, just after the war, revealed Sellers had form for such subterfuge up and down the land, prompting a "very real attempt by the authorities to have him certified".

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Perky pop veteran Lulu, addresses mischievous gossip she once secretly romanced Take That member Jason Orange when touring with the band in the 1990s.

"I could be their mother...I was slightly embarrassed," reflects the singer, 45 at the time while Jason was 24. "At that age, you could maybe fancy one of them. You kind of do [fall in love], but not in a sexual way. You can have a crush, you don't have to act on it."

Heaven forfend!