Emma Watson's life may soon be a cabaret

Moving story of Danny and Rosario

Danny Boyle's summer romance with Rosario Dawson is getting serious. A month ago, the 33-year-old Sin City star assured me that she had no plans to re-locate from New York to London. Now, there appears to have been a re-think.

I want to spend more time here, she informed me launch of Tara Smith haircare at Sketch in Soho. Flashy addresses, however, do not appeal. Id love to live in Kings Cross because it reminds me of New York.

In addition to putting her into closer proximity to the 55-year-old director of the Olympics opening ceremony, there is also theatreland. I hope to do some more West End soon, she says.

No Necker for Branson's boy

It is one of the most anticipated weddings of recent times and certainly the most written about but Sir Richard Bransons son Sam tells Mandrake that he has no intention of plighting his troth with Isabella Calthorpe at the obvious venue.

No, it wont be on Necker, he says of the general assumption that he will be holding it on his fathers paradise among the British Virgin Islands. It will, he says, be a very romantic and fun occasion, but he has no intention of trying to emulate the lavish four-day jamboree his sister Holly had on Necker when she married Fred Andrews, a shipbroker, last year.

I dont think ours will be like that. We havent totally decided where we are going to have it, but it will be sometime in early Spring next year. Holly has, however, offered to do what she can to help. I love organising events like these so Ive said if they need me to help with anything, I am more than willing, she adds as the family gathered for the Virgin Active London Triathlon.

They hate spreadsheets, which I love so I think I could be quite useful. I was very much like 'Ill help you with anything you want, she says.

Michael Palin takes a walk on the wild side

Unfazed by the problems that Joanna Lumley had obtaining ins! urance for a trip to Iran to make a documentary, Michael Palin is determined to take holiday programming into the parts of the world that Judith Chalmers and Gloria Hunniford were reluctant to reach in a series of one-off films for BBC One.

Everyone says to me that if you want to see an unspoilt country in the Middle East, go to Syria or Damascus, the former Monty Python tells me at the launch of Antonio Carluccios memoir, A Recipe for Life. Iran interests me, too, and so does Jordan and the Lebanon. Palin says that countries can often appear more dangerous than they are. Iran would be a fantastic place to go to. Sure, insurance can be a problem, but if you know people there or friends put you in touch with them, then it can be much safer than you think.

You panic if you see these places on news bulletins, but when you actually get there, youll see that people really want you to be there and they dont want to kill you. It is so sad that some of these countries dont have a fair chance to make contact with the rest of the world because they have a small handful of bad people in their midst. For all that, he starts off on relatively safe territory, with a programme on Brazil on BBC One on October 24.