Art tycoon and former adman Charles Saatchi, married to celebrity cook Nigella Lawson, has lost his chubby mien by subsisting solely on a diet of eggs, three for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Saatchi, 65, has always been his own man when it comes to food, formerly preferring Weetabix and biscuits to Nigella’s delicious confections.
Proximity to Nigella seems to do this. Her father Lord Lawson, formerly Mrs Thatcher’s chancellor Nigel Lawson, was a plump old bird too before he went on a diet a few years ago and now looks positively gaunt.
Nigella is famous (or notorious) for producing rich puddings and the like, which she dips her fingers in to the delight of some of her many male admirers. Maybe this puts Charles and Nigel off a bit?
Charles has actually become a bit of a celeb himself since marrying Nigella. Famously reclusive as an adman (although convivial enough when bearded in his lair) and in his earlier years as an art collector, he now seems more than willing to play the genial old buffer in public (he’s 65).
But one does worry how the eggs-only diet is affecting him after four months on it (symptoms can include constipation and flatulence).
But maybe he’s been sneaking downstairs in the early hours for a nice bowl of cereal.