EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Peter Capaldi's dilemma over Siegfried Sassoon role

EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi’s ‘woke’ dilemma over Siegfried Sassoon role

He played a gender-fluid Time Lord whose character changes every few years, but Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi has questioned whether he should have accepted the role of poet Siegfried Sassoon, because they have different sexual preferences.

‘Understandably, people will ask whether I, a heterosexual man, should be playing a homosexual — perhaps not,’ muses Capaldi, who performs the role of Sassoon in the film Benediction, to be released next month.

‘A gay person would have insights into that world that I don’t have. And it’s absolutely right that we should be asking these questions.

‘For far too long, there have been certain groups that have been excluded from the acting industry because of their sexuality, the colour of their skin or where they went to school. If our goal is to be in a better place, there needs to be some sort of… rebalance.’

Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi has questioned whether he should have accepted the role of poet Siegfried Sassoon, because they have different sexual preferences

Capaldi, 64, explains: ‘I play the war poet Siegfried Sassoon as an older man trying to make sense of the horrors he saw in World War I.

‘At the same time, he’s also coming to terms with his homosexuality.’

Sassoon was not openly gay as homosexual acts were illegal until 1967 — the year of his death.

Capaldi starred in Doctor Who for three years from 2014, after making his name as foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in political comedy The Thick Of It.

He accepted the role of Sassoon because he was so desperate to work with celebrated screenwriter Terence Davies, 76, whose films include Distant Voices, Still Lives.

Peter Capaldi in Benediction – the story of English poet, writer and soldier Siegfried Sassoon

‘I suppose the truth is that I wasn’t brave enough or gracious enough to step aside, because I wanted to work with my idol,’ he says. ‘And that was rather selfish of me.’ Capaldi is not the first actor to voice such ‘woke’ doubts about accepting a role.

Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne said it was a ‘mistake’ to have taken the part of Lili Elbe, one of the first people in the world to have gender reassignment surgery, in 2015’s The Danish Girl.

And Benedict Cumberbatch expressed regret at playing a non-binary model in 2016 comedy Zoolander 2, saying the part would ‘never be performed by anybody other than a trans actor’ today.

Clarkson’s girl takes the bus for her hen do 

Petrol head Jeremy Clarkson’s daughter Emily hired an unusual set of wheels for her hen do — a party bus.

The blogger and author, 27, clutched two bottles of fizz on board the pink BJazzled Party Bus, wearing a hired bridal gown. She stayed with pals at Thornemead Castle in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, where they ended up somewhat worse for wear. Emily was pictured sleeping on the kitchen floor.

Petrol head Jeremy Clarkson’s daughter Emily hired an unusual set of wheels for her hen do — a party bus. The blogger and author, 27, clutched two bottles of fizz on board the pink BJazzled Party Bus, wearing a hired bridal gown

She stayed with pals at Thornemead Castle in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, where they ended up somewhat worse for wear

‘It was the most fun I’ve ever had,’ says Emily, whose mother is Jeremy’s estranged second wife and former manager, Frances Cain.

Emily’s fiance is Alex Andrew, 29, a Dublin-born publicist she met at Glastonbury festival.

Eugenie signs up Theresa May for anti-slavery charity 

As Prince Andrew seeks a route to redemption, he might want to consult his daughter, Princess Eugenie.

I hear the Queen’s granddaughter has just managed to persuade former prime minister Theresa May to join the new advisory board of the Anti-Slavery Collective, a charity she co-founded which campaigns to eradicate modern slavery. Andrew pledged to support victims of sex trafficking when he agreed to make a ‘substantial donation’ to Victoria Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights after the pair reached a settlement in February, said to be £7.5 million.

He strenuously denied her claims of sexual assault.

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason is bemused to be performing at the age of 78, long after his pals in ‘regular’ professions put their feet up. ‘Fifty years ago, it was the rebellion, it was something that was solely for young people,’ he says of rock music. ‘Most of us assumed we’d be lucky to get two years of it and then have to go back and carry on doing something else. It was absolutely assumed that this was ephemeral.

‘And now all my friends who went into banking or whatever have retired.’

Kate Moss helps pal Emin draw a crowd 

One is a supermodel known for her hard-partying, the other a former enfant terrible of the art world.

And Kate Moss, 48, was happy to lend her support to Tracey Emin, as the 58-year-old artist opened her latest exhibition in her hometown of Margate, Kent.

Kate Moss, 48, was happy to lend her support to Tracey Emin, as the 58-year-old artist opened her latest exhibition in her hometown of Margate, Kent

The ‘raw, emotionally powerful’ show, A Journey To Death, documents Emin’s road to recovery after being diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2020.

Moss, who was painted by Lucian Freud, once posed naked for a sketch by Emin which was donated to a charity raffle in 2009, with tickets costing just £1 each.

Hirst’s pampered pets in a pickle at the gym

It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘walking the dog’ . . . Damien Hirst’s girlfriend has revealed she exercises their pampered pooches at the gym.

‘Get off my treadmill,’ jokes ex-ballerina Sophie Cannell, 28, who is 28 years younger than Hirst, the world’s richest artist.

‘Get off my treadmill,’ jokes ex-ballerina Sophie Cannell, 28, who is 28 years younger than Hirst, the world’s richest artist

Damien Hirst and his girlfriend Sophie Cannell have three French bulldogs, Pablo, Chapo and Blanco, who enjoy a luxurious lifestyle at their 14-bedroom home in Regent’s Park, London

The couple have three French bulldogs, Pablo, Chapo and Blanco, who enjoy a luxurious lifestyle at their 14-bedroom home in Regent’s Park, London.

The mutts have travelled with their own seats on a private jet and been served platters of food.

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