Prime Minister Boris Johnson is hoping his £100bn ‘moonshot’ tests for coronavirus could save the nation.
They could also provide a timely career boost for his younger half-brother, Max, who is brazenly getting in on the action. I can reveal the financier son of Boris’s father, Stanley, has joined the advisory board of health company REVIV, which has branched out into coronavirus testing.
Describing itself as the ‘global leader of wellness’, the Manchester-based firm recruited former investment banker Max in June.
Max, 35, has first-hand experience of Covid — Boris contracted the virus earlier this year as did Max’s Brazilian wife, Gabriela Maia, right, who was then pregnant with their first child.
Boris Johnson’s younger half-brother, Max (pictured with his wife), is brazenly getting in on the action of £100bn ‘moonshot’ tests for coronavirus
‘The global pandemic has made everyone stop and assess their priorities in life,’ says Max. ‘Health is top of the list.’
And there is a lot of money at stake, too. REVIV will be first in the queue to try to secure a Government contract for national testing.
Max, whose wife gave birth to their daughter, Ayla, in July, relocated to Britain from Hong Kong, where he was working for Goldman Sachs.
Max, 35, has first-hand experience of Covid — Boris contracted the virus earlier this year as did Max’s Brazilian wife, Gabriela Maia, right, who was then pregnant with their first child
An Old Etonian and Oxford graduate, he is a health fanatic who once started a fitness club and he also ran the North Korean half-marathon in Pyongyang. Like his thrusting older siblings, he likes to make a splash.
When he worked in the Far East, Hong Kong Tatler named him as one of the island’s most eligible bachelors.
Max is close to Boris, however there probably won’t be a Johnson mass gathering this Christmas if the rule of six is still in force. REVIV’s medical director, Dr Michael Barnish, tells me: ‘PCR [swab] testing should be routinely done by everyone at regular intervals and not just in response to symptoms.’
Of course, but that’s not half as punchy as one of the PM’s latest slogans: ‘Hands. Face. Space.’
BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty knows how to make a style statement.
Just days after being reprimanded by the Beeb for moonlighting with a series of NatWest ads, the 45-year-old was spotted outside its Salford office wearing a top with the slogan ‘I’m Not For Everyone’.
Naga, who earns £195,000, was said to have irked new boss Tim Davie after being caught shooting a series of ‘business interviews’ for the banking giant.
It came a month after she had her wrist slapped for appearing in a video for Aston Martin.
BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty knows how to make a style statement
Hairdresser to the stars Nicky Clarke knows how to let his own hair down.
During lockdown, he admits he developed a secret love of caviar paired with ice-cold Black Cow vodka. ‘Lockdown indulgence.
The caviar expiry date was coming up and I had no one to share it with,’ he says.
‘Tough times.’
They may have split up last year after more than 20 years of marriage when she revealed she’d had an affair with an Italian journalist, but that has not stopped Livia Firth posting an affectionate 60th birthday message to her estranged husband Colin Firth yesterday.
Livia, 51, posted this picture of the Oscar winner clowning around dressed as Elton John.
They may have split up last year after more than 20 years of marriage when she revealed she’d had an affair with an Italian journalist, but that has not stopped Livia Firth posting an affectionate 60th birthday message to her estranged husband Colin Firth yesterday
Livia says: ’60th and not feeling it. Happy birthday to the best partner in crime ever (for the last 25 years and counting). This is when Colin stole the Elton John costume on the Kingsman set.’
When Firth announced his split from Livia he said they remain ‘united in their love for their children’. The pair have two sons, Luca and Matteo.
When Firth announced his split from Livia he said they remain ‘united in their love for their children’
When will the fiendishly tricky Only Connect rejoin University Challenge on BBC2’s Monday night quiz hour?
‘There’s a small dispute about exactly when,’ discloses host Victoria Coren Mitchell.
‘I fear the BBC is not as excited by the existence of a new series as we hoped they’d be, so it might be another of those randomly scheduled ones, but we have made some. Watch this space.’
Victoria has succeeded in reigniting excitement at Broadcasting House, I’m pleased to say — the latest schedule has Only Connect back on air at 8pm a week on Monday.
Food writer Gizzi Erskine, 41, is starring in the new Agent Provocateur lingerie campaign
Food writer Gizzi Erskine once pulled out of the GQ Awards because she couldn’t fit into her designer dresses and tearfully stayed at home.
So it’s good to see she has recovered her confidence to star in the new Agent Provocateur lingerie campaign.
Gizzi, 41-year-old daughter of the late Lord Erskine of Rerrick, says: ‘We are all capable of all our dreams and ambitions.
‘You just need to tap into the right frequency and learn to bash away those insecurities and people who may try to step on you.’