Widowed a decade ago and now aged 83, he might now reasonably hope to be spending time with his grandchildren and indulging in other gentle pleasures.
But I fear that that’s now little more than a pipe-dream for the urbane Lord Hindlip, former chairman of Christie’s auctioneers and father of unstoppable Location, Location, Location presenter, Kirstie Allsopp.
He has, I can reveal, steeled himself for a gruelling courtroom battle after undergoing what he alleges was ‘negligently’ performed heart surgery.
In a blistering attack against private healthcare company HCA International – which, as I recently disclosed, accuses him of leaving a £321,000 bill unpaid – Hindlip states that he was ‘induced to sign’ an agreement, after being told, at ‘very short notice’, that ‘a time slot had become available for [his] operation’.
In newly submitted court documents, Hindlip claims that HCA’s employees told him that his insurer had approved the operation – and ‘post operative care’ – and would meet all costs.
Lord Hindlip’s daughter, Location, Location, Location presenter, Kirstie Allsopp (pictured)
He has, I can reveal, steeled himself for a gruelling courtroom battle after undergoing what he alleges was ‘negligently’ performed heart surgery. Pictured: Lord Hindlip and Dame Vivien Duffield in 2015
That was why, claims Hindlip, he signed the agreement while ‘very ill’ and ‘subject to [HCA]’s and [his] surgeon’s influence over him’.
Worse followed – according to Hindlip. His operation, which included the replacement of his aortic valve and the repair of two other valves, was ‘performed negligently’ – it is alleged – with the result that he was ‘subjected to an extended post-operative recovery period as an in-patient in [HCA]’s hospital’.
The documents indicate that Hindlip also intends to take action against his insurer and his surgeon.
HCA has submitted a detailed response to Hindlip’s attack. Denying that its employees said that the peer’s insurer had approved the operation – and post operative care – it alleges that it was Hindlip ‘or his family’ who said the insurer ‘had authorised treatment’.
It also alleges that Kirstie informed staff that her father’s insurer would be ‘responsible for 60 per cent [of costs]’ and her father for 40 per cent.
Kirstie – alleges HCA – told staff, by telephone, that her father ‘had a dispute with [his insurer] and not with [HCA]’.
The company adds that Lord Hindlip had ‘plenty of time to read and understand’ its terms and conditions.
Am I alone in thinking that the bewigged ladies and gentlemen of the legal profession must be rubbing their hands in glee?
Hello boy! Eva has night out with her son
There can’t be many teenage boys who enjoy partying with their mothers — but Eva Herzigova’s son appears to be an exception.
George, 16, put on a dinner suit and joined the Czech-born model and actress, 51, at an event in Milan.
Eva shared a bathroom selfie of her getting ready with her eldest son for the Dolce & Gabbana 40th Anniversary celebration.
‘Party with mum,’ she wrote next to the snap of her and George — one of her three children with Italian fiance, Gregorio Marsiaj.
She adds: ‘It made me smile seeing George and I getting ready together.’
Eva is best known for bringing traffic to a standstill when she appeared on billboards in a push-up Wonderbra next to the words, ‘Hello Boys’.
George (right), 16, put on a dinner suit and joined Eva Herzigova (left), 51, at an event in Milan
Eva shared a bathroom selfie of her getting ready with her eldest son for the Dolce & Gabbana 40th Anniversary celebration
I wonder what Princess Diana would have made of this: seated at her favourite table this week at Le Caprice, or Arlington as it is now known, was Queen Camilla.
‘She was in the corner spot where Princess Diana always used to dine,’ says a fellow patron at the restaurant around the corner from The Ritz in London.
Arlington’s owner, Jeremy King, who used to run The Wolseley, seems to reserve Table 9 for royalty.
Last time I visited, the Earl of Snowdon, Princess Margaret’s son, was given the prime spot.
Lucy proves she is dotty about her quirky dress sense
Bohemian Rhapsody star Lucy Boynton’s new film, The Greatest Hits, sees her travelling through time — and in real life she appears to be drawing her style inspiration from the Swinging Sixties.
While promoting the television film in New York, the actress, 30, wore a monochrome, polka-dot shift dress, which she paired with some quirky, matching tights.
Lucy has previously said of her fashion sense: ‘I do like to be more adventurous — for some reason, I feel safer in that.’
While promoting the television film in New York, the actress, 30, wore a monochrome, polka-dot shift dress, which she paired with some quirky, matching tights
Kiss off for young Spencer
Earl Spencer has written a memoir, A Very Private School, about the physical and sexual abuse he suffered at Maidwell Hall, where he was sent aged eight.
Yet two of his seven children attended other boarding schools when they were teenagers.
‘One of them found it hard to start with, but battled through,’ Princess Diana’s younger brother tells me at The Oldie Literary Lunch at the National Liberal Club in Whitehall. ‘I kept saying to her, ‘You can leave straight away — you don’t have to do this.’ ‘
Charles Spencer’s father, the 8th Earl, did not offer the same advice to him when he was dropped off at the Northamptonshire school.
He says: ‘I remember my father kissing me on the head and rushing out the door to get away while I was distracted.’
Earl Spencer has written a memoir, A Very Private School, about the physical and sexual abuse he suffered at Maidwell Hall, where he was sent aged eight
Mamma Mia! producer Judy Craymer, 66, wasn’t shy about sharing the secrets of her youthful looks at an anniversary celebration for the ABBA-themed musical in London.
The production’s writer, Catherine Johnson, joked: ‘The show launched 25 years ago and Judy doesn’t look a day older. How does she do it?’
Craymer gamely said: ‘It’s all that plastic surgery.’
Michael Douglas plays Benjamin Franklin, one of the USA’s founding fathers, in Apple TV+ series Franklin.
And the Fatal Attraction star, 79, gets to show off his legs in a pair of fetching tights.
‘That’s why this is my first period show,’ he says. ‘My legs are so skinny.’
Douglas says of his historical outfit: ‘I kept everything at calf length. I didn’t want to scare anybody away.’
Writers of Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black had to rethink the role of her mother, Janis. ‘They had to rewrite her part because she’s not simple and is very intelligent,’ Juliet Cowan, who plays her, tells me at the world premiere. ‘No one knows she has three science degrees and was a chemist.’