20-May-2009 | Oleh: Thani Hasbullah Siti Kembali Ke IB Secara Solo

Teks oleh Thani Hasbullah

KUALA LUMPUR, 20 MEI 2009 :  Pentas Istana Budaya (IB) bukanlah baru buat Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza Taruddin tetapi beraksi dalam konsert secara solo adalah sesuatu yang baru bagi Penyanyi Wanita Paling Popular itu.

Buat pertama kalinya, Siti akan menterjemahkan perjalanan seninya dalam dunia hiburan selama 15 tahun bagi tatapan semua peminat pada  26-28 Jun 2009 ini dalam sebuah acara yang digelar Konsert Satu.

Pada sidang media pengumuman Konsert Satu di IB semalam, Siti menggambarkan persembahannya kelak sebagai sesuatu yang sangat istimewa dan tidak pernah ditonjolkan sebelum ini.

“Sejak awal remaja lagi Siti telah menceburi bidang nyanyian sehinggalah Siti telah dewasa dan seterusnya berada pada tahap sekarang. Banyak sudah pengalaman yang Siti lalui dan bermacam-macam perasaan pernah rasai. Semua itu akan Siti gabungkan menjadi Satu.

“Inilah konsert yang idamkan sejak sekian lama. Ia adalah konsert pertama Siti yang dibuat secara eksklusif. Sebelum ini Siti hanya membuat persembahan dalam konsert tribute di IB mahupun pentas lain. Untuk makluman semua, konsert ini juga bertujuan mengumpul derma kepada badan kebajikan yang akan ditentukan kelak,” kata Siti.

Siti juga menjelaskan, idea Konsert Satu tercetus daripada saranan Perdana Menteri Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak yang telah memberi inspirasi One Malaysia atau Satu Malaysia.

Kata Siti dalam konsert itu dia akan mendendangkan sekirang-kurangnya 30 buah lagu termasuk sebahagian lagu dalam album terbarunya, Lantera Timur. Konsert itu akan mengenengahkan Pat Ibrahim sebagai Pengarah Konsert dan Aubrey Suwito sebagai Pengarah Muzik. Ia anjuran Yayasan Nurjiwa.

Bagi Pat yang sebelum ini terbabit dengan pementasan Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical dan P Ramlee The Musical bersama Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina, konsert Siti kelak akan menjadi sesuatu yang menarik serta meninggalkan kenangan manis kepada mereka yang menontonnya.

“Saya harap konsert ini akan menjadi konsert yang terbaik. Dengan konsep yang ditonjolkan kelak, belum ada lagi artis tempatan tampil dengan konsert yang seumpamanya.

“Kita tahu pentas IB adalah antara terbaik di dunia. Rugi kalau saya tidak menggunakan sepenuhnya elemen-elemen yang kita ada. Saya akan banyak menggunakan kesan bunyi dan cahaya bagi memberikan kesan dramatik.

“Konsert ini akan mempunyai jiwanya yang tersendiri. Walaupun ia tidak menggunakan okestra penuh, kami akan menggunakan 20 pemuzik serta 25 penari. Siti akan terlibat dalam bentuk lakonan, nyanian dan tarian,” kata Pat.

Turut hadir pada sidang media semalam ialah suami Siti, Dato’ Seri Khalid Mohd Jiwa dan Pengarah IB, Mohamed Juhari Shaarani .

Tiket kini sudah mula dijual dengan harga RM80, RM120, RM180, RM250 dan RM300. Ia boleh didapati di kaunter tiket IB, Triways Travel & Tours (KLCC & Taman Tun Dr. Ismail), Malaysia Travel Bureau, MTB (MATIC), Sri Amera Holiday Sdn. Bhd di Level 1, Plaza Sentral Shah Alam , Pasar Awam Presint 16, Putrajaya serta Ticket Charge, Signature Office Suite, The Boulevard, Midvalley, KL.

Ia juga boleh didapati dengan menghubungi pusat panggilan di talian 03-41498600 (Isnin – Jumaat, jam 9 pagi – 6 petang).

Murai

Spider Boys Spin Web Of CHARM

Spider boys spin web of CHARM
Fighting Spiders’ young cast steals show from older stars like Ezann Lee
By Charlene Chua
May 17, 2009
 
 

THEY are newbies with barely any acting experience.

POPULAR:Viewers are taken with (from left to right) Edwin Goh, Liang Shijie and Frederick Fielding, the young stars of Fighting Spiders. –TNP PICTURE: CHOO CHWEE HUA –TNP DESIGN: PRADIP KUMAR SIKDAR –PICTURE: MAGICRAZED

But they have charmed television viewers since the debut of Channel 5 drama Fighting Spiders in mid-April.

So much so that fans are saying the trio – Frederick Fielding, 16, Edwin Goh, 15 and Liang Shijie, 11 – have outshone their more experienced co-stars.

Fighting Spiders, a 13-episode 1960s-set drama which will end its run in July, revolves around the adventures of three boys – Soon Lee (Edwin), Peter (Frederick) and Charlie (Shijie), who go on a quest to find the Raja Labah-Labah (The King of Spiders).

And while the cast also includes Rebecca Lim, Ezann Lee and Janice Koh, it’s these boys who appear to be the selling point for the show’s trailers.

Their on-screen antics are now dominating some online forums on the show.

The series’ Facebook fan page has over 800 members with fans discussing the three boys’ characters and scenes at length.

Wrote Andrew Cm on the Facebook page: ‘The way Peter (Frederick’s character) said that line, ‘I’m glad you came to visit’ was lovely. It had so much feeling and subtext.’

Another netizen, knitkitten, said on the MediaCorp forum: ‘I am a huge fan… I especially like Charlie (Shijie’s character), he is just so cute and funny.’

Good friends off-screen too

So how did the boys get cast in the show?

British-born Frederick, a Tanglin Trust School student, had actually accompanied his elder brother – a student at the Centre Stage Arts School – for the audition, but ended up snagging the part instead.

Edwin, who studies at Holy Innocents’ High School, had responded to the online casting call after encouragement from his school’s vocal coach.

Frederick and Edwin have had no prior television acting experience unlike Shijie, whose role of Charlie was already written with him in mind.

This was because the Kheng Cheng School student had impressed the show’s producers with his portrayal of a cute grandson three years ago, in My Time With Ah Kong – one instalment of the five-episode Channel 5 drama, The Stories Of Love Anthology Series.

Despite their newfound fame, the boys don’t think they have stolen the limelight.

Instead, they were full of praise for Janice who plays Edwin’s long-suffering mother in the show.

Still, getting recognised in public and having schoolmates ‘whisper about us’ are things they now take in their stride.

The producers of the show said that they weren’t surprised with the trio’s current popularity as ‘sparks flew’ when the boys auditioned together for the first time.

So what makes these boys tick?

Frederick, whose best subject is drama, is a straight-As student who aspires to be both an actor and lawyer.

Said his mother, Ms Moira Fielding, 46, a housewife: ‘I’m extremely proud of him and won’t mind if he does acting part-time in the future because he really loves it.’

Like Frederick, Beijing-born Shijie is also the pride and joy of his tuition teacher mother and engineer father.

Said his mother, Ms Li Xuemei, 40: ‘Shijie is very obedient, we will support him regardless of what he wants to be in the future.’

Edwin, however, is set on making acting his sole career choice.

Before Fighting Spiders, he played the lead in several of his school’s musicals such as I Want To Be A Star, which were staged at The National Library.

Said Edwin’s father, Mr Terence Goh, 48, a ship supplier: ‘I think he definitely has what it takes to make it in showbiz.’

No bed of roses

But the road to fame hasn’t been a bed of roses for the boys.

For example, Shijie, who doesn’t cry easily, had to rub Glycerin – a viscous liquid that is widely used in pharmaceutical formulations – on his eyes so that he could tear convincingly on cue.

It’s obvious that the camaraderie the boys share translates off-screen as well.

Frederick was quick to point out that Edwin was ‘close’ to actress Kimberly Chia, who plays Edwin’s docile love interest in the show.

Shaking his head fervently, Edwin denied this, much to the amusement of the other two boys.

Instead, he confessed to having a soft spot for ‘spunky girls’ while Frederick said that a smart, caring and loving girl is his ‘ideal type’.

The pair spoke for Shijie before dissolving into loud laughter: ‘He likes girls with a thin crust and (are) deep-fried.’

Shijie who was also giggling uncontrollably, agreed.

‘I only like food,’ was all he could muster.

 

The NewPaper

IT's BECAUSE WE'RE VERY VAIN

IT’S BECAUSE WE’RE VERY VAIN
HK trio Grasshopper reveals the secret to how it’s still going strong after 24 years in showbiz
By Kwok Kar Peng
May 06, 2009
 
 

THEY are in their 40s and not exactly great lookers.

ENERGETIC: A stunt that was performed during one of Grasshopper’s high-energy concerts, although it is not for sure that it will be performed here.

But the members of Hong Kong’s iconic dance trio Grasshopper still attract fans and have sold seven consecutive concerts in their home base alone earlier this year.

What explains their appeal after 24 years in showbiz, even with young gorgeous-looking singers bursting on to the scene like popcorn?

A 20-minute phone interview with Remus Choy Yat Kit provided the answer. He was flamboyant and witty.

The appeal of Grasshopper seems to be a fixation with looking good and improving their dance moves.

Remus unabashedly peppered the interview with the Cantonese phrase ‘oi lang’, meaning vanity, a term more comfortably used on weight-conscious and dolled-up women.

But, ‘Grasshopper has always been very ‘oi lang’ and so we will be taking along all our ‘lang sam’ (beautiful costumes) over,’ he cooed, of the group’s concert here on Saturday.

Each of them – Remus, his brother Calvin Choy Yat Chi and their childhood friend, Edmond So Chi Wai – will take along ‘four or five outfits’ for the concert. They come with a hefty price tag.

Accordingly to Remus, the outfits alone cost more than HK$400,000 ($76,500), with fabric sourced from Japan, England and Italy.

FLAMBOYANT: (From far left) Edmond So, Calvin Choy and Remus Choy will take along ‘four or five outfits’ for the concert. PICTURES: HYPE RECORDS

‘Wah, the designs of the outfits are really fantastic! Grasshopper has never been short of extravagant outfits and all of them are top fashion,’ he bragged. ‘The colours will dazzle you so much your eyeballs will burst.’

He wasn’t able to tell me which is his favourite outfit though, claiming every single piece is so beautiful that he loves them all.

Then he added with pride: ‘And I’ll be sure to take along my 4.5-inch heels too!’

He will be slipping into a pair of cream-coloured and sequined heels in a segment to salute Grasshopper’s mentor, the late songstress Anita Mui.

And he won’t just be strutting around in them, he’ll be dancing and jumping.

His high-heeled antics have wowed female singers like Joey Yung and Denise Ho, whom, he claimed, were awestruck when they attended their first Grasshopper concert in Hong Kong.

Remus sounded excited as he recalled their reaction: ‘They told me how amazing I was and that I looked like I was roller-blading in them.’

He claimed he could handle the pain and insisted that men can wear heels just like girls.

Then, sounding almost miffed when I asked if he was worried of literally breaking a leg or spraining his ankle, he said: ‘Grasshopper has 24 years of performing experience. How is it possible that a pair of heels can pose a problem?’

Ironically, Remus, Calvin and Edmond’s background in singing and dancing couldn’t really be more humble.

In an interview with Stephen Chan on the Hong Kong talkshow Be My Guest earlier this year, they admitted they had no formal training in singing.

Dancing lessons came from Remus and Calvin’s mum, a dance enthusiast who taught her sons the tango and the cha-cha-cha.

Remus said: ‘She scattered powder on the floor and we’d do the twist. Then I’d teach Edmond; you have no idea how much time I spent teaching him.’

All the effort has paid off. Edmond jokingly added on the popular talkshow that he now dances even better than before.

The father of two girls said: ‘When I was in my 30s, I worried whether I’ll still be able to dance a decade later. But now when I’m practising my dance routine for the concert, I feel like I’m still in my 20s.’

Remus has the group’s strict diet and exercise regime to thank for that, and he swears by it.

He spends three hours every morning working out different muscle groups in the gym. Then he’s off jogging for more than an hour in the afternoon.

He’s also strictly off sugar, salt, oily food and junk snacks, and he doesn’t eat carbohydrates after 6pm.

‘We are very ‘oi lang’, so we want to wear smaller-sized clothes,’ he said.

Doesn’t he crave potato chips?

Thankfully, no.

The man has been a health freak for years and doesn’t even hanker after ‘tong shui’ (desserts), seemingly a must-have for the typical Hong Konger.

And he came up with anecdote that left this reporter swearing off chips for a while.

‘When my friends offer me potato chips, I take one from them and light it up. The chip will burn immediately and I’ll show them the copious amount of oil dripping from it.

‘Eat less of them and you’ll be fitter.’

The call for a healthier lifestyle has been extended to supporters going to their concert this Saturday.

Remus has called on his fans to start working out and building up their stamina or he says they won’t be able to keep up with the hyperactive group.

Also, he reminded them, all concert-goers should come dressed in red because the colour symbolises celebration, good luck, popularity and ‘is a very beautiful colour too’.

Fans can meet Grasshopper at an autograph session at Jurong Point Centrestage at 7pm on Friday.

WIN TICKETS

WHAT: Grasshopper Right Now in Concert 2009

WHERE: Singapore Indoor Stadium

WHEN: 9 May, 2009, 8pm

TICKETS: $148, $128, $98, $68 available from Sistic at 6348 5555 and http://www.sistic.com.sg

WIN TICKETS: Here’s your chance to dance off your worries with Grasshopper live on stage. The New Paper and Hype Records are giving away five pairs of tickets to the concert. Each ticket is worth $128.

Call our contest line at 1900-9140801 and answer this simple question: Grasshopper will pay tribute to its mentor in the concert. Who’s this mentor?

1. Roman Tam

2. Leslie Cheung

3. Anita Mui

The contest closes tonight at 11:59pm. Each call costs 20 cents. Winners will be notified via phone.

 

The NewPaper

Marriage 'Finished': Berlusconi

ROME – ITALY’S Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said in a television broadcast on Tuesday evening that his marriage to Veronica Lario was ‘finished or about to finish’.

‘It displeases me that a matter that is finished or about to finish is made so public by the newspapers when it should remain a private affair,’ Mr Berlusconi said in an interview with Rai Uno.

‘Frankly, I was not expecting this storm,’ he said, adding that in the past the media ‘have published false stories’ and made ‘personal attacks based on slander’.

The billionaire leader reiterated calls for his estranged wife Veronica Lario ‘to say that she was wrong’ to accuse him of ‘cavorting with minors’ – in reference to him attending the 18th birthday party of a friend’s daughter.

Ms Lario has also clashed with her husband over his choice of inexperienced but attractive female election candidates.

On Tuesday Italian Catholic daily Avvenire reprimanded Mr Berlusconi after his well-known penchant for glamourous young women triggered the start of divorce proceedings.

In an editorial, the newspaper said the 72-year-old had a ‘self-declared weakness for actresses in the bloom of youth’ and called on the three-time prime minister to mend his ways.

News reports also circulated on Tuesday that Mr Berlusconi and Ms Lario, a former actress 20 years his junior, had chosen the lawyers who will represent them in divorce proceedings.

Speculation over whether she will seek damages from her husband, whose family’s fortune is estimated at 6.5 billion euros (S$12.8 billion), filled the pages of Italy’s press.

Mr Berlusconi reportedly fell for Ms Lario when she bared her breasts during a performance of a play, ‘The Magnificent Cuckold’, in Milan in 1980. — AFP

Straits Times

Kenali Gaya: Fesyen Gaya Muslimah

Oleh Siti Nur Almizan Aripin
snur@bharian.com.my

Pemakai perlu pastikan warna tidak terlalu menonjol, tidak ikut bentuk badan serta cara bertudung dengan betul

SOALAN:

SAYA seorang wanita yang bertudung dan sangat meminati fesyen Muslimah masa kini. Bagaimanapun, saya kekurangan maklumat dan tidak mempunyai kepandaian di dalam mengatur gaya sehingga membuatkan saya tidak yakin untuk berfesyen. Ketinggian saya 164 sentimeter dengan berat 49 kilogram.

NURUL

JAWAPAN:

IMEJ bertudung gaya paling popular ketika ini. Ini kerana masyarakat kini lebih berani untuk bangkit bergaya seiring dengan pembangunan negara yang pesat. Persoalannya adakah stail yang dibawa bertepatan ataupun sekadar menjadi mangsa fesyen.

Fesyen Muslimah dikategorikan di dalam kelompok gaya tersendiri dan ia berbeza dengan fesyen anggun sopan yang lebih merujuk kepada gaya yang sering digayakan Datuk Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin.

Gaya Muslimah memperuntukkan seseorang itu harus mengetahui syarat berpakaian Muslimah seperti pemilihan warna yang tidak terlalu menonjol, silhouette (bayangan) tidak mengikut bentuk badan, fabrik tidak jarang dan cara bertudung dengan betul. Ini supaya seseorang itu tidak terkeluar daripada landasan fesyen Muslimah.

Gaya bertepatan adalah pemakaian kaftan dengan pemilihan warna tanah ataupun biru laut. Selain itu, kaftan paras lutut boleh digayakan bersama seluar palazo, manakala pemilihan fabrik jarang seperti chiffon dan georgette boleh dipakai tetapi mesti berlapik fabrik lain, sebagai contoh, fabrik satin.

Untuk nampak berani dan terampil, seseorang itu boleh menggunakan fabrik bermotif sebagai contoh corak ‘gingham’ dan geometrik yang menjadi trend corak terkini dalam persada fesyen antarabangsa.

Pemilihan material tudung boleh disesuaikan mengikut acara dihadiri. Penggunaan fabrik memberi tampak formal, ringkas serta selesa. Selain itu, tudung fabrik memberi banyak dijual di pasaran dan ia popular pada ketika ini.

Padanan aksesori bersesuaian dengan gaya Muslimah amat penting di dalam membentuk sesuatu gaya. Mereka yang bertudung haruslah berwaspada dan bijak dalam memilih aksesori supaya ia tidak nampak sarat.

Lakaran kali ini, Rizman Ruzaini mengetengahkan rekaan kaftan dan palazzo yang longgar serta sesuai untuk wanita Muslimah berkerjaya. Ia juga sesuai untuk bersantai.

Teknik yang digunakan adalah pin tuck dan drapping di bahagian dada dan labuh baju serta susunan batu swaroski di leher baju. Penggunaan teknik tersebut adalah untuk memanipulasi bentuk badan supaya ia kelihatan lebih sopan dan kurus. Warna kelabu dan biru firus gelap adalah pilihan warna yang sesuai untuk Muslimah.

PROFIL: RizmanRuzaini Rizman dari Bukit Bendera, Pulau Pinang dan Ruzaini dari Kamunting, Taiping, Perak mengasaskan label RizmanRuzaini

Berkelulusan Ijazah Sarjana Muda (Kepujian) Seni Reka Fesyen, UiTM Shah Alam

Melakar nama melalui pertandingan fesyen Jarum Berlian 2003, Trofi Pesona Pengantin 2004 dan Mifa8 2007

RizmanRuzaini menjadi pilihan ramai selebriti dan kenamaan, antaranya Ziana Zain, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, Erra Fazira, Zahida Rafik, Fazura, Noryn Aziz, kerabat diraja Selangor, Johor, Terengganu dan Pahang.

Mereka boleh dihubungi di talian 017 4766 004 atau e-mel rizman_ruzaini@yahoo.com. Boleh juga layari laman web http://www.rizmanruzaini.blogspot.com untuk maklumat lanjut.

Berita Harian

Baring BABE Makes Them GAPE

Baring BABE makes them GAPE
Bride-to-be Michelle wows on set of new TV series
By Jeanmarie Tan
May 03, 2009
 
 

IT’S a scene many of her hunky male co-stars were eagerly awaiting.

–TNP DESIGN: PRADIP KUMAR SIKDAR –PICTURES: MEDIACORP, AP

Actress Michelle Chia is no stranger to posing in barely-there swimsuits for print shoots, including the latest cover of Shape magazine.

But on this rare occasion, the boys were treated to the lithe beauty – donning a string bikini of her own – in the flesh.

In the new Channel 5 series Polo Boys, Michelle plays a serious-minded university professor-turned-water polo coach of a team of eight players, including Adrian Pang and Nat Ho.

It is scheduled to open on 21 Jul at 8pm.

Her character is fully clothed in gym gear over the six weeks of filming.

But in one brief minute of the show, she appears wearing a two-piece while confronting an arrogant rival coach (Timothy Nga), with her boys standing behind her.

There was much buzz over the poolside scene as it’s the first time the 32-year-old was wearing so little on the set.

Michelle has filmed other bikini scenes for the Channel 5 drama Lifeline and several Channel 8 shows, but was usually ‘alone’ in them.

BOYS & BABE: (From left) Hansen Lee, Julian Low, Nat Ho, Kiwi Lim, Michelle, Eddie Tioh and Paul Foster.

She told The New Paper: ‘I’m definitely more self-conscious this time because the guys are all so fit and athletic.

‘I’m totally comfortable with photo shoots because it’s in a studio and there are the makeup artists, stylists and photographers, so no worries at all.

‘But it’s different… and a bit weird for TV. It’s outside with many more fully-dressed people around, so you attract a different kind of attention.

‘And I’m the only girl (in the scene)!’

For someone who’s known to have one of the sexiest figures in showbiz, Michelle was surprisingly ill at ease when it came to baring her bod.

WORRIED ABOUT TAN

The minute she removed her T-shirt to reveal the bikini, all eyes were fixed on her.

Wolf whistles and teasing followed, with shouts of ‘Where’s my camera?’ and ‘Come on, take it off!’.

She bashfully declined to pose for individual pictures in her bikini.

She also kept her bathrobe on any chance she got, removing it only when it was time for the takes.

And during rehearsals, she tied the bathrobe around her waist, amid gusty winds and a slight drizzle.

When asked why she appeared so awkward, Michelle said: ‘Shy mah! It’s kinda cold too.

‘So how do I look? I’m very critical of myself… You must choose the best picture okay!’

Michelle – who’s getting married to actor Shaun Chen next weekend – revealed she was initially ‘worried’ about the role because of a different kind of exposure.

She said: ‘Because I’ve been preparing for the wedding, people are always like ‘Keep yourself fair!’, being a bride and everything.

‘But I’m a lot more tan already, so no choice lah!

‘I’ve been tan for the longest time so I know how I look like (when I’m tan) and I don’t mind.

‘But I’ve been fair and my skin’s been good for the past four years, so it was very ke xi (Mandarin for a pity).’

She claims Shaun prefers her to be fairer – and with straighter, smoother hair.

‘He’s a traditional man. Just last night, he was like, ‘Oh baby, ni hen hei leh (Mandarin for you’re very dark).’

Michelle is thankful she hasn’t come out sunburnt because the production crew would follow her with an umbrella and show her to the shade whenever possible.

But the 1.64m bride-to-be insists there wasn’t any special preparation for the scene because she had no time to exercise regularly due to her ongoing wedding preparations.

She said Shaun is ‘fine’ with the bikini scene because he knows she’s a water baby – but joked that he might change his mind after they’re husband and wife.

There was no doubt his future missus was getting a lot of attention from the men because of her hot bod.

Best medicine

Kiwi Lim, who plays one of the polo players, said: ‘I wasn’t in a good mood this morning, but after she (took the robe off)… it was (like getting) medicine straightaway.’

He added: ‘As I was walking right behind her (for the scene), I had to look at her legs (to follow her stride)… I tried not to (sneak glances at her butt), but I actually did, haha!’

When Michelle walked by him, Adrian even hooted cheekily at her: ‘Look at that! Crunches huh? You’ve got more abs than me man, what the hell!’

He then said to us: ‘So far it’s been us guys doing any kind of shedding, but what’s in it for us? So after some gentle persuasion, the writers deigned to accede to popular demand.

‘I’m glad I was here for the scene, because I’m not even involved in it.’

Adrian admitted that although he and Michelle go ‘a long way back’, this is by far the skimpiest he’s seen her in.

And what’s his verdict? He quipped: ‘Shaun’s one lucky bastard.’

8 things about her wedding

1 The 11 May banquet dinner will be held at the Ritz Carlton. There’ll be an autumn theme, a dark colour scheme and a live band.

–LOVEBIRDS: Shaun Chen and Michelle.

2 Celebrity hair guru Addy Lee is in charge of Michelle’s hair, makeup and jewellery.

3 The alcohol is sponsored by Carlsberg (she’s their spokesman), and the invitations by The Card Room.

4 MediaCorp artistes Zhang Yaodong and Zzen Zhang are Shaun’s best men, but Michelle’s bridesmaids comprise her own friends and not her celebrity colleagues.

5 Michelle spent the last two weekends preparing mystery handmade wedding favours for her 1,000 guests. She hinted: ‘All I can say is it’s something very special that’s from my family – sort of. It’s something that I love and must have every day.’

6 Michelle will be wearing four ‘very feminine’ wedding gowns – one for day, three for night – specially designed for her by The Wedding Present.

7 Her day dress is white, has lots of French lace and will make her ‘look like a mermaid’.

8 It will be followed by a cream-coloured ‘princessy’ gown with handsewn Swarovski crystals, a deep blue ‘flowy’ garment and lastly, a surprise outfit in a ‘different colour and different style’. She joked: ‘I’ll come in a bikini!’

 

The NewPaper