Petronella Wyatt
Petronella Wyatt | |
---|---|
Born | 1968 (age 55–56) London, England |
Nationality | British |
Education | St Paul's Girls' School University College, London. |
Occupation(s) | Journalist, writer |
Parent(s) | Woodrow Wyatt Verushka Banszky Von Ambroz |
Petronella Wyatt (born May 1968), is a British journalist and author. She is the daughter of the former journalist and Labour politician, the late Woodrow Wyatt, and his fourth wife, the Hungarian Veronica (Verushka) Banszky Von Ambroz.
Biography
Born in London, Wyatt attended St Paul's Girls' School in London and later graduated from University College, London.
She has been a weekly columnist for the Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator, of which she was deputy editor. She currently writes political interviews and main feature articles for the Daily Mail. Her interviewees have included John Major,[2] David Blunkett,[3] and Piers Morgan.[4] Wyatt is known for her direct and playful interview style. In 1996, when interviewing the proposed Labour Minister for Women Janet Anderson, Anderson joked that "under Labour, women will become more promiscuous", which Wyatt reported as policy.[5] Denis Healey regretted at the close of an interview with Wyatt that there was no time left for "rumpy pumpy".[6]
Wyatt's television appearances include Question Time and Newsnight.
Personal life
Wyatt, known to her friends as "Petsy," lives with her mother in St John's Wood, North London.[1]
After she had lived in the United States for the latter half of 2003 with Charles Bruce Berry at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2004 British newspapers reported that she had had a four-year affair with the then-Conservative MP Boris Johnson.[1] The affair, which had been well hinted at in UK newspaper gossip columns, included passionate London taxi cab rides around St John's Wood during which they would ask the cab driver to insert cassette tapes of Wyatt singing Puccini.[7] Although Johnson had promised to leave his wife,[8] after a break-up, they had rekindled their relationship during which Wyatt had become pregnant and then had an abortion; resulting in her mother discovering the affair and reporting it to the press.[1] Johnson was sacked from his shadow cabinet post by Michael Howard, not because of the affair but because he had lied about it.
Wyatt, whose hobby is singing and lyric-writing, loves to sing Cole Porter; and her party trick, which she performed for Norman Lamont’s birthday, is singing Lili Marlene in the husky tones of Marlene Dietrich.[9] Wyatt co-wrote a cabaret act called Kiss and Tell with the pianist and composer Jeremy Limb, poet Lloyd Evans, and opera singer Melinda Hughes. It debuted at London club Volstead in November 2007.[10]
Wyatt writes about her attention to her Wikipedia entry.[11] In May 2007, Private Eye reported that Wyatt had been instructed by Paul Dacre, the editor of the Daily Mail, to pen an attack on Wikipedia over the content of her entry on the site.[12] This was published on 22 April 2007 when Wyatt admitted to writing her initial entry and then threatening to sue over vandalism to the page.[13]
She writes against cycling in London, as championed by her ex-lover Boris Johnson, now Mayor of London.[14] Her half-brother, Pericles Wyatt, promotes cycling where he lives.[15]
Publications
- Father, dear Father: Life with Woodrow Wyatt, Hutchinson, London, 1999. ISBN 0-09-929760-4
References
- ^ a b c d Porter, Andrew; Hellen, Nicholas (2004-11-14). "Boris Johnson sacked for lying over affair". London: The Times. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "I've been vindicated", The Spectator, 20–27 December 1997
- ^ "The Home Secretary's home truths", The Daily Telegraph, 20 December 2004
- ^ "Main in the mirror", The Spectator, 20 July 2002
- ^ Picardie, Ruth (3 October 1996). "Promiscuity. A new war cry for Labour?". London: The Independent. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- ^ Popham, Peter (1997-04-17). "Media families 5. The Wyatts". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
- ^ Lewis, Roger (2006-10-15). "The only dumb blond in Westminster village". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ^ "Woodrow, Verushka, Pericles and Petronella: welcome to the world of the Wyatts". London: The Independent. 2004-11-20. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
- ^ Dougary, Ginny (2005-04-13). "David, Kimberly, Boris and Petsy: it's showtime". London: The Times. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ^ "She's had voice training, dance lessons and a brand new dress". London: Daily Mail. 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ^ Wyatt, Petronella (2009-04-04). "PETRONELLA WYATT: I'm marrying a gloriously unsuitable man!". Daily Mail. London.
- ^ "Street of Shame". Private Eye. No. 1185. 25 May 2007. pp. p4.
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has extra text (help) - ^ Petronella Wyatt on Wikipedia, David Cross, 24 April 2007.
- ^ Wyatt, Petronella (2010-02-19). "Beware the rogue bicycles... Petronella Wyatt attacks the cult of cycling after her frail mother was knocked down". Daily Mail. London.
- ^ Tucson Citizen "Sheriff’s video shows scofflaw bicyclists" by Ryn Gargulinski on Mar. 11, 2008