Star-studded search for top chef Angela Hartnett’s missing dog Betty

SOME of London’s most famous names have got behind a search for a top chef’s beloved missing dog this week.Angela Hartnett OBE, the chef behind Mayfair’s Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Murano, has lost her Jack Russell terrier, Betty.

Celebrities including Nigella Lawson Gary Lineker and Ricky Gervais have called for information. Betty was last seen in Spitalfields on Saturday. Tom Parker Bowles, whose mother Camilla has just become Queen Consort, also came out in support. He tweeted asking for an update on the search. It is his only public statement since the accession of his step-father to the throne.

Hartnett is offering a reward for the pet’s return and says “we are heartbroken”.

All is very quiet in the Commons

WILL MPs have to come back to the Commons during conference season? Just as Parliament was reopening after the summer break, a mourning period for the Queen has shut the doors again. Party conference season later this month means there will be few sessions until mid-October. This leaves little time to discuss the new PM’s energy plan. Now we hear some in the corridors of power are considering scrapping conference recess, meaning MPs would have to have less boozy conferences and come back to Westminster instead. A spokesperson for the Speaker told us: “more details will be announced in due course”.

Wicked’s change for the Queen

WEST END musical Wicked had to make a late show change on Thursday after the death of the Queen. Producers created a pre-show warning because the first lyrics are “Good news: she’s dead” in a song celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the West. The cast are said to have asked for the alteration. Some musicals have cancelled shows next Monday, when the Queen’s funeral takes place.

Partridge, Lord of film production

LORD of the Dance Michael’s Flatley’s new self-funded spy thriller Blackbird, which he stars in, has been panned by critics, with Mark Kermode calling it “one of the worst films I have ever seen”. But it’s given inspiration to Steve Coogan and his most famous comic character. “Wouldn’t it be interesting if Alan Partridge wrote, produced, directed and starred in a film?” he tells Picturehouse magazine.

Triumphant days in Toronto

Londoners Diary 13th September

ACTOR Ewan McGregor and his wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead were at the Toronto International Film Festival last night for his new film Raymond and Ray, about two half-brothers who reunite at their father’s funeral. Ethan Hawke and Sophie Okonedo, who are also in the film, attended too. Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner was in Toronto, supporting her husband Joe Jonas and his film Devotion. Elsewhere, Olivia Colman promoted her new Sam Mendes film Empire of Light, and got a kiss on the cheek from co-star Micheal Ward.