That's a lot of bras: Michelle Mone lives her Monopoly dream by buying a £2million pad in Mayfair

Lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone has fulfilled a childhood dream - by buying a new home in the area renowned as the most expensive spot on a Monopoly board.
The 39-year-old Ultimo boss has moved into a £2million flat in one of London's most exclusive streets.
And in an interview with this week's Hello! magazine, she said she had been inspired by playing the board game as a child.

Ding dong! Ultimo boss Michelle Mone, seen here at her new front door, has fulfilled her dream to buy a £2million home in London's Mayfair - the most expensive area in Monopoly

'My goal was always the same - to buy Mayfair. Now here I was, 30 years later, having just been handed my own little piece of Mayfair.
'An amazing apartment on the area's best street - a part of me did think "wow, how did I do that?".'

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Mone has seen a complete transformation from her early life through working ruthlessly hard on her bra and pants brand.
Born into a cramped one-bedroom flat in Glasgow's East End, she is currently refurbishing her mansion in Scotland.

Local ladies: Michelle, left, enjoying a day out with Yvie Burnett and Carol Vorderman, right, earlier this month at her now local restaurant Scott's of Mayfair 

The property boasts its own cinema and nightclub, but she wanted a London pad as a base in the city where most of her work is done.
Mone told the magazine she has struck up a close friendship with fellow TV star Carol Vorderman, with whom she appeared on Celebrity Apprentice.
They get on so well that the spare bedroom in her new London flat is known as 'Carol's room'.

Va-va-vroom: Formula 1 heiress Tamara Ecclestone was unveiled last week as the new face and body of Ultimo

With the boss: But Michelle gives model Tamara a run for her money when it comes to looking glamorous

This week's issue of Hello magazine

The pair were seen earlier this month grabbing a bite to eat at what is now Michelle's local - celebrity favourite Scott's in Mayfair.
Later this year, Mone said, she would be taking part in the BBC's Celebrity MasterChef.
She has also just unveiled Tamara Ecclestone, daughter of Formula One billionaire Bernie, as the new face and body of Ultimo.
The 26-year-old socialite is the latest in a long line of high-profile beauties who have promoted the range, including Rachel Hunter, Penny Lancaster, Helena Christensen, Sarah Harding, Kelly Brook and Mel B.
Michelle herself is currently enjoying her own model looks after losing more than six stone.
She's worked just as hard in her business life too.
Ultimo has been named the UK’s leading designer lingerie brand and Michelle was recently listed as one of the top three female entrepreneurs in the UK and as the number one woman in business by Glamour magazine.
She claims the secret of her success is quite simple: giving today’s women what they want.

'Models had become so expensive that no one could afford to use them': Veteran stylist on why celebrities replaced the supers

How-to guide: Sasha Charnin Morrison has written a book for aspiring celebrity stylists

She's said to be one of the most powerful people in fashion and has worked with everyone from Jennifer Lopez to the Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Now stylist Sasha Charnin Morrison has revealed her industry secrets in a new how-to guide for aspiring celebrity stylists.
In a new interview, she reveals why the jobs in which she suffered the most verbal abuse were the ones where she learned the most, and how celebrities came to replace supermodels.
She told Fashionista.com: 'The girls were so expensive that no one could afford to use models anymore.
'Their fees were outrageous and they were never available and celebs were there and they were eager to promote their movie. That was the pressure cooker.
'Suddenly there was a name behind the dress and suddenly the star is the stylist.'
According to Ms Charnin Morrison, 1995 was the year that transformed celebrity styling.
'Everyone I spoke with pinpoints the moment that Barbara Tfank dressed Uma Thurman in Prada for the 1995 Oscars as the time when everything changed,' she explained.
'It wasn’t a costume design by Helen Rose, it wasn’t a Bob Mackie creation, it just wasn’t a costume. It was a piece that someone could buy off a rail. Before then, you just just didn’t know where red carpet gowns came from.'

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She added that the stars who didn't use stylists have a very specific look. She named Blake Lively, Diane Kruger, Kate Moss and Sienna Miller as celebrities with great personal style.

Career break: The role of stylist developed when stars replaced models in campaigns and on magazines. But some, such as Diane Kruger, Sienna Miller and Blake Lively are style-savvy enough to dress themselves

But most women in the public eye, she explained, have limited time to source clothing for all their public appearances, and often lack the eye for fit and shopping address book of a professional stylist.
But even celebrities with stylists are not infallible, as Ms Charnin Morrison reveals in the Fashion Crimes section of her book.
She uses Gwyneth Paltrow's 1999 Oscar dress as a key example, describing how the actress had decided to remove padding from the bust of the Ralph Lauren gown at the last minute.
'As she walked down the carpet the dress started to grow,' she recalled.

Fashion history: Uma Thurman changed the industry when she wore Prada for the 1995 Oscars (left), while Gwyneth Paltrow's decision to remove the padding from her Ralph Lauren gown in 1999 was a poor one (right

Does an alpha woman need the love of a beta husband?

The old adage was that behind every successful man stood a supportive wife. But with more women taking on increased responsibility in business, does the saying hold true in reverse?
Here, DIANA APPLEYARD speaks to three high-achieving alpha women who say they could never have achieved their success without the support of their beta men.

HE’S MORE DOMESTICATED THAN I AM


The entrepreneur and the admin assistant: Jenny and Stuart

Jenny McLaughlan, 35, is a senior sales manager who has set up her own business, gumigem. She is married to Stuart, an administrative assistant. They live with their children, Maisie, three, and Miller, 15 months, in Dundee.

JENNY SAYS:

Every day I leave home by 6.30am to work on my online business selling pendant teething necklaces for babies. I get home at 6pm, then work late, answering emails.
I need to travel a lot to conferences and meetings, while Stuart works a normal nine-to five-day. There are times when I am on my knees with exhaustion. I could not cope without him.
He takes the children to nursery and picks them up, as well as doing most of the cooking, washing and cleaning, which means that I’m free to pursue a demanding, high-powered career.
Stuart has no desire to advance at work or do more than he is already doing. He loves being at home with the children, and he’s far more domesticated than me.
It doesn’t annoy me that he’s unambitious. We couldn’t both be like me; it would split us up, especially when I struggle with the stress and emotion of being the breadwinner.
In our case, opposites attract. Diligent, methodical and organised, Stuart counteracts the buzz of my pressurised working life. Our relationship has lasted because he balances my alpha tendencies.
The only tension between us is caused by me worrying about being a good enough mum while achieving as much as I can in my career.
But we cope by sitting down and talking everything through every evening. If we couldn’t talk openly, there’s no question we’d argue.
There are increasing numbers of alpha women and they certainly need beta men to support them.

STUART SAYS:

I grew up in a traditional Scottish family in which my dad was the breadwinner and my mum brought up the three of us single-handedly.
Now, in the evenings and at weekends, I am the prime carer and it’s a very different way of life.
You would think my mates would tease me, but lots of men I know have wives who earn more than they do — it’s becoming common.
I don’t mind earning less. My biggest concern is that I know Jenny would love to spend more time with the children and it breaks her heart when she has to go away at weekends. But she’s so driven and ambitious, and is determined to make her business a success.
We have a joint account, so there are no rows about our finances, but there might be if we had his and hers accounts because I would hate to have to ask her for money.


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SOMETIMES I WISH WE COULD SWAP PLACES


The CEO and the stay-at-home dad: Marion and Peter

Marion King, 45, is CEO of VocaLink, an electronic payments firm, Vocalink. She and her husband Peter, a stay-at-home father, live in Bedfordshire with their children Gregory, 18, and Nicholas, 16.

MARION SAYS:

Driven, ambitious and challenge-seeking, I am a typical alpha woman, while Peter is family-orientated, caring and happy to play the supporting role in our relationship.
He’s been a stay-at-home father since 1997, providing our sons with a wonderfully stable family life.
One of five children from a Welsh farming background, his mum brought him up to cook and help around the house, so it comes naturally to him, while one of the boys once asked me if I even knew how to scramble an egg!
It is Peter who makes it possible for me to leave home at 7am, rarely returning before 7.30pm. I often have to travel abroad on business.
Growing up in a non-academic home, I went to a comprehensive. I’m the only one of the three girls in our family who has a career.
Even as a teenager I had this sense of being driven, of wanting financial independence.
After school, I trained as an accountant. I met Peter, a publican and restaurateur, in a nightclub. Subconsciously, I was looking for a partner who would be a foil to my driven personality.
Early in our marriage, my career was going from strength to strength, so when I was offered a job with Reuters in Hong Kong, Peter gave up work and we moved there with our sons, who were three and one.
He loved looking after the boys, so when we came back to Britain, it was natural for Peter to stay at home and I continued as breadwinner.
Peter is the oil in the engine of our family. Occasionally, I think it would be lovely to swap roles because there are times when I miss the children.
And yet it’s only momentary, because I love my career, and it suits my personality. What’s more, my husband has been a terrific role model for the boys.

PETER SAYS:

My male friends think I’m lucky, but I fully appreciate that my lovely lifestyle is all thanks to Marion.
What matters most is that we are a team. Family is important to us. The boys and I give Marion the love and stability she needs to go out there and thrive in the cut-throat world of business.
When she was offered the job in Hong Kong, we jumped at the chance. I had worked 17 hard years in the licensing trade and was ready to step off the career ladder.
I remember over-hearing a former girlfriend saying: ‘Peter’s become awfully domesticated, hasn’t he?’
It was probably intended to hurt, but I just found it funny.
I don’t feel emasculated. I have an extrovert personality and love being the only man on the coffee morning circuit.
Of course, there have been flashpoints: if I’m heading off to watch a rugby match and Marion is facing a 15-hour day with flights to Brussels and Paris then, understandably, there is jealousy and she’ll say: ‘I wish I had your life!’
My friends scoff occasionally, but I know how important my role is and what a difference I have made to my sons’ lives. I tell people I’ve changed more than 2,500 nappies. Not many men can say that.

I’M THE OGRE AND HE’S A ‘LONELY WIFE’


The high-flying lawyer and the part-timer: Hannah and Andy

Hannah Sutter, 50, a former corporate lawyer, runs a food business. She and her husband, Andy, a GP, live in Edinburgh and have two children, Maria, 19, and Joel, 15.

HANNAH SAYS:

When I was working as a lawyer and commuting weekly to London from Edinburgh, Andy downsized his GP work to four mornings a week so he could become the main child carer.
I was a partner in a big City law firm, so from Monday to Thursday I lived in London while he stayed at home. It was a sacrifice on his part and one he was happy to make, but I have to admit that problems still arose.
Andy started calling me ‘the ogre’ because when I came home at the weekend, I was so full of myself and my career. He joked about it, but I knew that it made him feel uncomfortable.
He really did suffer from lonely wife syndrome: he’d spend the week running the house and looking after the children, and then I’d breeze in and try to take over.
It doesn’t matter how much you earn — and I was making a ridiculous amount — you still have to be sensitive to the other person’s needs and recognise their role.
While not belittling him, I became aware that I was not fully appreciating what he was doing at home, especially when I could not have done it without his support.
I decided to give up working in the City in 2005 because I was tired of the commute, felt ready to pour all my energies into a new venture — and I’d had a great idea.
I’d met two bankers who’d lost a huge amount of weight by eating food that suited their metabolisms and, after discussing the science of insulin with Andy, the idea of my business was born.
Called Go Lower, it designs and sells food aimed at weight loss and diabetes management.
Andy had mixed feelings about me giving up City life. He was fed up with seeing me burnt out, but anxious about the loss of income, so he upped his GP hours to compensate, though he’s still only part-time.
My career switch meant that the financial dynamic of our relationship has shifted yet again.
When we married, Andy earned a lot more than I did and he supported me.
When I was a barrister, I supported him, but when I was setting up my company I spent a lot of our joint money and he never begrudged that.
We met in London at a party in the mid-Eighties when he was a junior doctor and I was still at law school.
He’d always been attracted to strong, confident women. He is an amazing man who is happy to stand back and let me take the limelight. He loves the fact that I am successful — there is certainly no jealousy.
Intrinsically, we are different: I thrive on pressure and challenge; he loves his job, but he also enjoys being at home.
I don’t believe you can have two alpha personalities in a marriage if it is to work.
A lot of men would find what I do emasculating, but Andy is comfortable in his own skin and has no desire to impress anyone else.
I put my drive down to my father, who was a self-made accountant and the son of Polish immigrants. He impressed on me that it was very important for a woman to have a career.
I am as driven today as I ever was and I simply can’t imagine ever slowing down.

ANDY SAYS:

The family joke is that we have to remind Hannah she’s a person, not a phenomenon.
I have never quite achieved New Man status. Even when Hannah was living in London, she’d sweep in at the weekend and do the cooking and cleaning.
I regard myself as very lucky. There was a time when she was earning an awful lot of money and we developed a luxurious lifestyle to match, with private schools and a lovely home.
With the flexibility of my GP practice, it made sense for me to be more at home with the children, especially when they were younger.
I’ve never felt emasculated because I am not that sort of man. I have a relaxed, laid-back approach to life. We bring our respective strengths to the marriage.
The bonus for me is that I have been able to spend far more time with the children than most men.

Botox, hairy moobs and why Britain's run out of talent. Sorry, Simon it's a 'NO' from me

V for victory? Simon Cowell arrives for the live Britain's Got Talent semi-final in London

On Monday night, Simon Cowell’s return to Britain’s Got Talent was marked with the kind of lavish triumphalism that is usually reserved for the head of a conquering army.
There were white and green lasers piercing through plumes of dry ice. Spotlights whirled and dazzled.
The theme from Superman thundered over the sound system, almost drowning out the roaring crowd. How very modest and unassuming.
Then on to the stage and into this fizzing cauldron of elation stepped a small, cuboid man in a grey suit.
Yes, our Simon was back at last! And suddenly, everything seemed very different — but not in an entirely positive way.
For the first time ever, the superhero of Planet Talent looked almost hesitant, even a little unsure of himself.
He wore a white silk shirt open to the waist, revealing a rolling swell of hairy moob. This was not an entirely successful look, even for one of the world’s most popular showbiz moguls, a man who is a heart-throb to millions.
Cowell smiled his megawatt smile at the audience, but his oddly deflated face looked a little weird; like a bruised and puckered apricot that had fallen from a great height.
It led to the suspicion that if you pierced his ears, geysers of old Botox would gush forth with the ferocity of water cannons. If we are being picky, I might as well add that his trousers were too long. Simon, it’s a no from me, I’m afraid.

 

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Honestly. What is going on? With all his millions you might think Simon Cowell could afford a proper tailor, or had a best friend who could tell him to leave the cleavage to Cheryl and Amanda.

Sulking: Cheryl Cole was dumped by the U.S. X Factor, a decision that has left Cowell 'bereft'

Yet perhaps this is all part of his master plan, a cunning bid to prove he is human, too.
For as he returns to our television screens to judge the live final heats of the fourth series of Britain’s Got Talent, it is clear that the man who brought us Susan Boyle, Robson & Jerome, Il Divo and other assorted horrors too numerous to mention has much more on his mind than any pesky wardrobe malfunctions.
For these are turbulent times for Simon Cowell.
First, it must be embarrassing that his favourite protegee Cheryl Cole has been dumped from the judging panel of the debut U.S. series of The X Factor.
I say dumped. The Yanks couldn’t have got rid of Cheryl quicker if they had strapped her to the nose of a Cape Canaveral rocket and slapped a ‘toxic waste’ sticker on her forehead. Return To Sender.
Now Cheryl is sulking in a London hideaway, refusing to speak to her one-time mentor Cowell.
Her career is in the hands of new manager Will.i.am, the ferociously fashionable and extravagantly bespectacled musician who performs with the Black Eyed Peas. Good luck with that, Cheryl.
Cowell says he feels bereft and upset, but he is used to making tough commercial decisions. He does not tread softly on anyone’s dreams, except his own. And the truth is that he has dreamed big and staked everything on the success of the U.S. X Factor, due to be broadcast later this year.
To have Cheryl Cole removed and his judgement called into question before the series even begins must be crushing. For over a decade, Cowell’s commercial instincts have been infallible.
The very fact that he has absolutely no taste in anything is the absolute key to his success. Everything he has touched, no matter how naff, has turned into gold-plated sales and global success. He is a genius, a living legend, with a personal fortune of around £200 million.
Yet is this Cheryl-in-peril scenario the first sign of tarnish; an indication that he has over-expanded and lost his Midas touch in the process?

Failing to impress: Simon Cowell appears to have lost a little of his Midas touch

I do hope not, but one only has to look at the absolute mess that is this season’s Britain’s Got Talent to have deep misgivings about the future.
Abandoned by Cowell — busy working on The X Factor in America, of course — the heats were judged in his absence by Amanda Holden, aided by comedian Michael McIntyre and actor David Hasselhoff.
To be frank, it has not been a success. The Hoff seems to operate in a different time zone from the rest of humanity, appearing only to have the remotest grasp of what is going on. The ga-ga old waxwork seems barely qualified to choose what cereal to eat for his breakfast, let alone opine on the showbiz future of others.
McIntyre, meanwhile, seems like a nice enough person, but he hasn’t got a clue how to be a talent judge, and his natural ebullience is constrained by the show’s format.
The aptly named Holden somehow holds it together, but it is simply not the same without the evil ringmaster, the man she calls Darth Vader.

Bottom of the barrel: This year's contestants on BGT, including Britney impersonator Lorna Bliss, have reached a new low

For the only judge ever worth listening to was the blunt and brilliant Cowell. And it was Simon, not any of the largely forgettable winning acts on either The X Factor or BGT, who was the real star turn.
Yes, we were all there for the journey, but it was Cowell’s acidic put-downs we really craved.
‘You’ve just invented a new form of torture,’ was one of my favourites.
‘It’s a beautiful song — when you’re not singing it,’ was another.
Cowell is now semi-detached from his shows and they suffer greatly from his absence.
His bobbing in and out of judging panels is unsettling; it makes the shows look unbalanced — and his input meaningless. These days, he is like an indifferent teacher checking to see if his pet pupils have done their homework.
And on Monday night alongside the Hoff, McIntyre and Amanda on the Britain’s Got Botox panel, he looked bored and embarrassed. As well he might. Not only have the BGT shows been empty and hollow without Cowell, this year’s acts have been abysmal, too.
It seems obvious to talent show devotees like me that the one thing that has become embarrassingly clear is that Britain Hasn’t Got Talent. There are at least half a dozen acts in this year’s live finals that wouldn’t have made it through even the first heat of the original BGT.
A builder on a bike doing wheelies, a troupe of flame-throwing lap dancers, a bloke doing karaoke dressed (badly) as The Terminator, not to mention the utter horror of Ted & Grace, a double act made up of a 92-year-old and his granddaughter.
When it gets to the point when an old man’s senility and deafness are the most important part of the act, then BGT is scraping the barrel scrapings.
In the meantime, all is not well in the court of King Simon. As Princess Cheryl plays the victim and blubs in her ivory tower, her only consolation is being able to borrow a pair of Will.i.am’s venetian blind specs to hide her crying eyes.
The Cowell-appointed court jesters have failed to make anyone laugh and subsequently this series has fallen rather flat.
Simon Cowell knows he is the kind of Marmite personality whom viewers have either loved or hated for years. The question now must be: is he spreading himself too thin?

My, don't you look pleased! Renée Zellweger is all smiles with a man on her arm

With a wide smile on her face, Renée Zellweger looked more than happy to be photographed with her male friend today.
Perhaps she her ex-boyfriend Bradley Cooper in mind.
Last week, barely two months after they ended their relationship, he was photographed draped all over young actress Olivia Wilde.

Don't you look pleased with yourself! Renee Zellweger gets coffee with a male friend at Starbucks in Santa Monica

So if Renée was feeling pleased with herself she had every excuse as she dropped into Starbucks in Santa Monica with her friend.
Cooper, 36, was seen putting on a touchy-feely display with 27-year-old Olivia at the after-party for the screening of The Hangover Part II in New York on Monday.
The Tron actress is 15 years younger than Renée.

Dressed down: Renée's ex-boyfriend Bradley Cooper has been seen flirting with young actress Olivia Wilde

Renée and Cooper split in March after nearly two years together, apparently because he wanted to concentrate on his career rather than a relationship.
A friend said at the time: 'If I had to pick any possible mistress it would be Brad's career. He worked really hard to get into leading man status.'
But other reports suggested Cooper's constant stalling on their marriage plans may have been behind their split.

No longer together: While Renée was in Santa Monica, Bradley Cooper was watching the French Open yesterday

It was even reported that the couple were set to elope in July last year and Renee had bought a $15,000 Carolina Herrera bridal gown.
A source close to the 41-year-old actress said: 'Her and Bradley were going to elope last July which is why she had the dress, but he kept pushing it back as his dad was ill'.
Cooper's father Charles, 71, died in January and Renee pulled out of her presenting duties at the Golden Globes at the last minute to support her partner.
The insider added: 'Things were OK until she raised the subject of the wedding. 'They got into a huge row and Bradley started bringing up issues in the relationship, like her apparent obsession with exercise.'

'Brad's a real man,' says a blushing Angelina Jolie

Proof of their on-screen sexual chemistry was apparent in their 2005 film Mr & Mrs Smith.
But just in case anyone was in any doubt, Angelina Jolie has opened up about partner Brad Pitt, gushing about how he ticks all the right boxes.
Angie, 35, who has six children with 47-year-old Pitt, praised his parenting abilities, as well as describing him as a 'real man'.

Hollywood hot couple: Angelina has speaks warmly of partner Brad Pitt in a new interiew, pictured here together last week at The Tree of Life premiere in LA

'I am very lucky with Brad,' she said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
'He is a real gentleman, but he is also a real man’s man.
'He’s got the wonderful balance of being an extraordinary, great, loving father, a very, very intelligent man.'

'He's a real man': Seen here together in  their iconic movie Mr & Mrs Smith

The blushing actress continued: 'And physically he’s a real man,' adding: 'In all things that it means.'
In a recent interview, Brad said he and Angelina, who have been together six years are considering whether to tie the knot.
He told USA Weekend: 'The kids ask about marriage. It's meaning more and more to them. So it's something we've got to look at.'

A taste for wedding cake: Angelina has been married twice before - to Johnny Lee Miller (left) and to Billy Bob Thornton (right)

But when asked about a trip down the aisle, Jolie was a little more vague.

First marriage: Brad was married to Jennifer Aniston for five years before divorcing in 2005

Angelina has been married twice before. At the age of 20 she wed British actor Jonny Lee Miller before divorcing two years later.
Soon after she married Billy Bob Thornton - but things broke down after a couple of years.
In 2004 Jolie met Pitt on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith, while he was still married to Jennifer Aniston.
By 2005 Brad and Jen and had divorced and it wasn't too long before he went public with Jolie.
In the interview, Jolie only hinted marriage could be on the cards, saying: 'We are obviously extremely committed to the children and as parents together.'
She added: 'I love my job and I love my family. But I’m not 20 anymore and I’m going to want to do a lot of other things with my life. At some point I will slow down.'

Can I be the next Mia Farrow? Teenage bellydancer at heart of Berlusconi sex allegations asked Woody Allen if she could appear in film

A teenage belly dancer, who Silvio Berlusconi is said to have paid for underage sex, wrote to Woody Allen asking to be in his next film.
The letter emerged on the latest day of the Italian prime minister’s sex trial.
Karima El Mahroug, 19, who was allegedly given cash and jewellery in return for sleeping with Berlusconi, wrote to the famous director saying she said she would like to meet Allen at the 'earliest opportunity' so they could 'have tea together'.

Aspirations: Dancer Karima El Mahroug of Morocco, who was allegedly paid by Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi for sex, has contacted Woody Allen about starring in one of his films

She wanted to discuss a possible film role and be his new ‘Mia Farrow or Diane Keaton’.
Allen's next film will begin shooting in Rome later this year and star Penelope Cruz and Alec Baldwin. Allen will also play a character in the comedy but he has not revealed any other details.

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Miss El Mahroug, also known by her stage name Ruby The Heartbreaker, said his 1972 comedy Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask was her favourite film.

Talent-spotter: Woody Allen directs French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in his latest film Midnight In Paris

She wrote to him after the director apparently told reporters at the Cannes Film Festival that the Moroccan-born dancer ‘fascinated and intrigued' him.
He also wondered if she could act - prompting her to say in the letter that she hoped she would 'not disappoint'.
In reference to his latest film Midnight In Paris, in which the wife of French president Carla Bruni-Sarkozy appears, she wrote: 'You don’t know how envious I was of Carla Bruni.

Friends in high places: Woody Allen reportedly said he was intrigued by Karima El Mahroug who is at the centre of a prostitution investigation into Berlusconi (L)

‘I would have loved to be in her place. What does the First Lady of France have that I don’t have?
'She is just a luckier lady than me. She was born rich and slim. I’ve had to fight to achieve everything.'
Berlusconi and Miss El Mahroug both deny any wrongdoing. At his trial today his legal team presented 16 objections to the case which resumed after his humiliating local election defeat.

Inspirations: Karima El Mahroug wrote to Woody Allen saying she wanted to be the next Mia Farrow (R) or Diane Keaton

Besides the sex allegations, Berlusconi is also said to have abused his position as prime minister by falsely claiming Miss El Mahroug was related to former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, to secure her release from custody after she was arrested for a 3000-euro theft.The age of consent in Italy is 14 but paying for sex with a girl under 18 is seen as underage prostitution and punishable by up to three years in jail. Abuse of office carries a maximum 12-year sentence.