Caroline Stanbury, a reality television personality who rose to prominence on Ladies of London, said she will not return to living in London, citing what she called an "epidemic of street crime" that has made everyday life unsafe for her and her friends.
Stanbury, 49, told reporters she has stopped bringing jewellery and even worries about carrying a handbag during visits to the British capital. "I actually have not had one girlfriend that’s visited lately that hasn’t been mugged," she said. "Every time I come — and I don’t wear tons of jewellery, but I don’t bring anything. I can’t even wear my handbag. I’m worried to wear my handbag. I don’t want to live like that. Who wants to live like that? What's the point of having all this stuff if I can’t use it?"
Stanbury left London several years ago and moved to the United Arab Emirates with her then-husband, financier Cem Habib, and their three children. She later divorced and married Spanish former footballer Sergio Carrallo in 2021; the couple are cast members on The Real Housewives of Dubai, which debuted in 2022. Stanbury first came to public attention with Ladies of London in 2014.
She contrasted life in Dubai with conditions she describes in London, saying everyday possessions such as high-end handbags are left unattended without fear of theft. "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.
In other culture and entertainment developments, an investor has filed a lawsuit in New York alleging that producers of the Broadway revival Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club misappropriated funds and concealed revenues after the show accumulated more than $90 million in gross receipts since opening in April 2024. James Lorenzo Walker Jr. alleges that he and other investors were not paid and describes "multi-layered structures designed to conceal revenues [and] divert payments." Producers responded that the claim "lacks any merit." The production’s impending closure has prompted scrutiny from investors and industry observers.
Separately, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of Sunset Boulevard, in which Nicole Scherzinger has previously performed in other Webber shows, closed in July after a ten-month run that the composer’s team said resulted in a multimillion-pound loss.
Simon Le Bon, lead singer of Duran Duran, and his wife Yasmin Le Bon described multigenerational living at their London property while attending an event in Bayswater. The couple said their daughters and grandchildren are living on the estate, with one daughter occupying a cottage in the garden. Simon Le Bon, 66, said the arrangement allows the parents more time to enjoy their grandchildren and less day-to-day decision-making responsibility.
At the same London launch event where the Le Bons appeared, David, Earl of Snowdon, was photographed serenading his girlfriend, Isabelle de la Bruyere, as she celebrated her birthday. Snowdon, 63, who divorced in 2020, sang “Happy Birthday” and joined guests in the presentation of a cake.
The fashion community marked the death of Tony Porter, who founded London Fashion Week and helped promote British designers in the 1960s and beyond. Porter, who died at age 90, was remembered for his role in showcasing British design talent and for dressing high-profile figures of the era.
Pop singer Rick Astley said he has given up flying and recently undertook a 28-hour drive from Italy to Britain. Astley, 59, described the trip as arduous and said changes in his life and concerns about safety influenced his decision to stop flying.
These items reflect a mix of personal decisions by public figures and legal and commercial disputes affecting stage productions, underscoring ongoing tensions between public life, safety concerns and the business realities of entertainment.
(Reporting compiled from public statements and event coverage.)