RICHARD EDEN: TV chef is left simmering after phone snatch drama

Having cooked for Princess Diana and taught Jamie Oliver the secrets of Italian cuisine, it’s safe to say that Gennaro Contaldo is more accustomed to handling delicate ingredients than criminals.But the celebrated television chef, 77, reveals he had to fight off a young thief after his mobile phone was snatched at an east London market.‘I had my phone in my hand in Walthamstow market,’ says Gennaro, who recently opened a new Soho restaurant Bolo. ‘This girl comes along – it was a girl, after, I realised – jumped on me, bang, took my phone. I didn’t scream. I just jumped back. And then I pinned her down on the floor. I wanted my phone.’He recalls her shouting out: ‘I don’t have anything! I’m going to scream!’ Gennaro Contaldo, the celebrated television chef, 77, revealed he had to fight off a young thief after his mobile phone was snatched at an east London marketGennaro says: ‘I put my hands inside her pocket and two phones came out. One came out, I said, this is not mine. The other one... I picked it up.‘People had come along to help me. They recognised me. I went, “That’s my phone!” I said [to her], “Go!” She was only 20-odd years old.’The veteran restaurateur, who is known for his screen partnership with late fellow Italian chef Antonio Carluccio and their BBC series Two Greedy Italians, does not specify exactly when the incident took place. He says he travels around the world with two phones now in case he ever loses one – or it gets stolen.On the Hungry podcast, Gennaro, pictured with Oliver, says: ‘If you’ve got a ticket, it’s on the phone. You don’t have any more papers, anything like that.‘You know, you’ve got your appointments, you’ve got your bank account, your card is there [on your phone]. Then you lose it – what happens?’Ramsay family road-test Aspiring chef Tilly Ramsay, 24, has been dating marketing manager Henry Farrow, also 24, for almost four years Gordon Ramsay may have welcomed Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty enthusiastically into the family when he married daughter Holly, 26, but his youngest daughter admits introducing a partner to the clan can still be daunting. Aspiring chef Tilly, 24, has been dating marketing manager Henry Farrow, also 24, for almost four years since they met at university.‘We’re not exactly a quiet bunch – a lovely bunch, but not quiet,’ she says. ‘My parents knew of him because I was talking about “My best friend” and they were a little bit “sus” about it. His first time properly meeting my mum [Tana] was a car journey down to Cornwall – so I threw him in the deep end: five hours in the car!’Mission made for Princess Margaret..Princess Margaret would have taken no prisoners when dealing with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, claims her close friend Lady Anne Glenconner. ‘She was quite outspoken, Princess Margaret,’ Lady Anne tells me at Wimbledon BookFest, where she was promoting her new memoir, Trunks & Tiaras. ‘I think Meghan Markle would have been quite surprised,’ she adds. ‘She would have got a bit of straight-talking and Princess Margaret would have liked that.’ Lady Anne adds of King Charles’s aunt: ‘She adored the late Queen and I think she would have been fairly horrified and sad at what’s happening today.’Vintage look for Tali wows at Versailles Tali Lennox, 33, attended a lavish party complete with live harp music, archery and outfits worthy of Marie AntoinetteShe's already pop royalty thanks to her mother Annie, but Tali Lennox enjoyed a taste of the real thing during an extravagant weekend at the Palace of Versailles. The artist and model, 33, attended a lavish party complete with live harp music, archery and outfits worthy of Marie Antoinette. Tali, whose mother found fame with the Eurythmics, wore a £940 white vintage lace dress and bridal-style veil by Parisian fashion label Les Fleurs. She matched it with a headpiece and styled her black hair in long plaits almost reaching the floor. She shared photos online of the party inside Le Grand Controle, the sumptuous hotel within the Versailles estate, where rooms can cost nearly £2,000 a night.James’ hairy experienceAmong those tipped to succeed Daniel Craig as James Bond, James Nelson-Joyce was once so insecure about his appearance that he went to extraordinary lengths to change his look. Moving from Liverpool to Surrey as a teenager to attend drama school, the actor, 37, recalls feeling like an outsider among his straight-haired peers. ‘That’s why I got my hair chemically straightened,’ he admits. ‘When I went home, my dad said, “What have you done to your head?”.’ Wrestler-turned Hollywood star John Cena is impressed by British stamina away from the ring. ‘You guys have got it all, the Brits, they do it my way,’ says the actor, 49, who’s in London with co-star Jessica Biel to promote their new action-comedy, Matchbox: The Movie. ‘They start drinking at noon, they get into bed at eight, get a good night’s sleep and do it again. I like it.’ Python Eric’s health fears Monty Python star Eric Idle, who was told in 2022 that an early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer had saved his life, has suddenly cancelled a forthcoming tour because of ill health. California-based Idle, 83, promoted his latest book, Idle In Provence, and toured Britain last month but now he has called off events Down Under. ‘It is with great regret that, on the advice of my doctors, I must withdraw from my planned An Evening of Idle Conversation tour of Australia and New Zealand,’ he says. ‘This isn’t a decision I take lightly, but when the doctors talk, I must listen.’