Caroline Stanbury, a reality television figure who rose to public attention on Ladies of London, said she will never return to live in London because of what she described as an "epidemic of street crime." Speaking about visits to the capital, Stanbury said friends who travelled to see her had been victims of muggings and that she no longer felt safe wearing a handbag or jewellery on the street.
Stanbury, 49, told reporters she had moved to the United Arab Emirates some years ago and found everyday life there markedly different. "If I fill this most-wanted handbag up and put it in the mall here, it will be there when I get back," she said, contrasting that with behaviour she said would be impossible in London. She added that the fear of theft had shaped her decision: "I don’t want to live like that. Who wants to live like that?"
A veteran of reality television, Stanbury first became widely known through Ladies of London in 2014. She left the capital in the years that followed and lived in Dubai with her then-husband, Turkish financier Cem Habib; they later divorced. Stanbury married former Spanish footballer Sergio Carrallo in 2021 and is among the cast of The Real Housewives of Dubai, which premiered in 2022.
Stanbury’s comments come amid broader public debate about crime and safety in several British cities. She framed her remarks in personal terms, recounting incidents involving acquaintances rather than presenting statistical analyses.
In New York theatre news, investor James Lorenzo Walker Jr. filed a lawsuit this month against the producers of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, alleging that despite box-office receipts exceeding $90 million since the show's April 2024 opening, investors have not been paid. Walker's complaint accuses producers of "wholesale misappropriation of investor funds" and the use of "multi-layered structures designed to conceal revenues [and] divert payments." The producers responded that the claim "lacks any merit." The production is reportedly preparing to close.
The dispute has drawn attention in theatrical circles because of Cabaret's commercial success. The case remains in its early stages, and the filing has not resulted in any judicial determination of wrongdoing.
Also in London social life, Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon and his wife, model Yasmin Le Bon, said this month that their family home in London now houses three generations. The couple said their daughters Amber and Saffron have returned to live with partners and children, and that youngest daughter Tallulah also remains at home. Simon Le Bon said the arrangement relieves the couple of some decision-making, adding: "We just play with the kids and then hand them back to their parents."
At a recent product launch in Bayswater, David, Earl of Snowdon, performed "Happy Birthday" for his girlfriend Isabelle de la Bruyere and was presented with a chocolate cake. The event marked a public appearance for the aristocrat, who divorced in 2020, and highlighted the continuing public interest in extended royal family members.
The fashion world this week noted the death of Tony Porter, the founder of London Fashion Week, who died at age 90. Porter helped establish Britain’s major fashion showcase in the 1960s and recounted selling designs to Twiggy, Marianne Faithfull and Mia Farrow. Reflecting on icons of the era, he once said that Brigitte Bardot had made him "weak at the knees."
In other entertainment notes, singer Rick Astley, 59, said he had stopped flying and recently drove 28 hours from Italy to Britain. Astley cited a desire for more control over his travel and personal life and recounted past incidents, including being struck by lightning in Japan during a flight. Separately, the West End revival Sunset Boulevard closed in July after a ten-month run that producers said left it with a multimillion-pound loss.
Taken together, the week’s items reflect a range of developments in culture and entertainment: personal decisions by public figures about where to live and work, legal disputes emerging from successful theatrical productions, and the ongoing churn of celebrity, fashion and music news. Several of the stories involve matters—legal claims, personal safety perceptions and commercial results—that will develop further and may produce additional public comment or formal proceedings.