RICHARD EDEN: The remarkable story of actor Rex Harrison's secret family

On stage or screen, Sir Rex Harrison was, observed one critic, ‘light, crisp, detached, cruel – and mesmerising’, never more so than in his Oscar-winning performance as Henry Higgins, opposite Audrey Hepburn, in the 1964 classic, My Fair Lady.

But the actor’s poise was less obvious in a private life during which he notched up six wives, various lovers, two legitimate sons – and, I can now disclose, another son whose existence has, until now, gone unrecorded.

Indeed, that is how things would have remained, had it not been for an extraordinary chance meeting in Mexico.

It was there that an old school friend of Carey Harrison, Rex’s second son and only child by his second marriage, encountered an elderly British woman. They talked long enough for the woman to feel able to mention a very private detail from the 1930s. It was then, she said, that she had given birth to a boy, Richard, whose father, she added, had been Rex Harrison, then a young, unknown actor.

Rex did not marry his lover. Instead, he married Ethel Colette-Thomas who, in 1934, gave birth to a boy, Noel, later an Olympic skier and singer, who has, until now, always been considered Rex’s first-born.

Carey’s friend reported what he’d been told. Carey, an avant-garde dramatist, was equally intrigued. He contacted the woman – and, through her, his half-brother Richard, whom he introduced to his other half-brother, Noel.

Sir Rex Harrison with Audrey Hepburn in the 1964 classic My Fair Lady

This would have remained unknown to the wider world had it not been for a former Downing Street press officer – Wayne Bontoft, a fan of Noel Harrison ever since hearing him sing Windmills Of Your Mind.

‘Noel got to meet Richard in the 1990s,’ Wayne, who’s just published an authorised biography, Noel Harrison: Windmills Of His Mind, tells me. ‘As soon as they met it was very obvious that [Richard] was a member of the family,’ adds Bontoft.

All three half brothers have since died: Noel in 2013, Carey last year and Richard, who lived in Surrey, in 2021.

‘He was an intensely private person,’ adds Bontoft, who spoke to him by phone. And a forgiving one. ‘He held no grudges against his father,’ Bontoft assures me.

TV chef Clodagh McKenna’s exacting food standards have rubbed off on her aristocratic husband, Harry Herbert. Clodagh, 51, admits she has transformed the eating habits of Harry, 67, son of the late Queen’s racing manager, the 7th Earl of Carnarvon, so much that he now turns his nose up at meals served by friends. ‘He eats very different now, and he loves it,’ she says. ‘Sometimes we’ll be at somebody’s house and food mightn’t be 100 per cent. I’ll still eat it... Harry will just take a little bit and he’ll leave it.’

Sir Mick Jagger is so keen to get back on stage at the age of 83 that he would perform solo if his fellow Rolling Stones refuse to get back on the tour bus.

‘I’d really like to do some shows, so that’s in my head,’ the singer says. ‘If not the Stones, then any show.’

In June, Jagger said he was getting itchy feet at the Stones’ prolonged absence from the stage. ‘I’m a performer,’ he said. ‘If you’re not performing, what are you going to do?’

Brought up by his mother on the ninth floor of a tower block in Kirkby, north of Liverpool, he struggled through his 20s and most of his 30s, living in a basement flat in Beckenham, south-east London, sustained by his wife Hannah’s work on the shop floor at Harvey Nichols. But those days are well and truly over. I can disclose that Adolescence creator Stephen Graham, 53 – ‘utterly terrifying’ as a serial killer in Apple TV’s Nocturne – and Hannah, 52, now an acclaimed producer, have paid £1.5million in cash for a two-bedroom bolthole in Belsize Park, the leafy north London enclave.

Iris's fiery and pricey spa retreat

Top model Iris Law recently underwent a Ya Pao treatment while staying in Thailand

Iris Law clearly has fire in her belly when it comes to alternative health practices.

While staying in Thailand, the 26-year-old top model has undergone Ya Pao, which involves a herbal paste on a towel being set alight on her stomach.

The daughter of Hollywood star Jude Law and film-maker Sadie Frost posted a video online of herself lying on a bed during the fiery ritual, which is said to ease abdominal discomfort, boost circulation and aid ‘detoxification’. She says of the RAKxa island retreat: ‘I’ve always wanted to visit here.’ Five-day ‘detox’ programmes start at a sizzling £5,100. Iris must have money to burn.

Iris says of her ‘wellness’ routine: ‘I like finding a ritualistic and calming side to every day. I have a beautiful diffuser that my auntie got me, which has different essential oils. It makes my room smell lovely before going to bed.’

While Kemi Badenoch is making slow but steady progress in the opinion polls, her husband, Hamish, has gone one better and won an election. I hear that the banker was elected to the Garrick club on Thursday evening. Perhaps the Conservative Party leader will try to follow in his footsteps: women have been allowed to apply to join since 2024 and members include Dames Judi Dench and Sian Phillips. 

Spencer's ex battles red tape

Earl Spencer's ex-wife Karen is spending her time focusing on altruistic projects

While Earl Spencer is making a fortune from his book about his late sister Princess Diana, his ex-wife Karen is focused on altruistic projects.

This week, Canadian-born Countess Spencer, 54, hosted an awards ceremony for her non-profit movement, Catalyst Now. Speaking at Canada House in London, she tells me: ‘The point is to shine a light on good practices [such as] less bureaucracy.’

Karen became the earl’s third wife in 2011. They divorced last year.