Latest news with #BaronessMone
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone, review: a portrait of how far shamelessness will get you
Depending on your point of view, The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone (BBC Two) was either delicious schadenfreude or a vicious character assassination. Erica Jenkin's two-part documentary series was clear on where it fell on the lingerie entrepreneur turned Conservative peer – that Baroness Mone of Mayfair is a chancer, a Wonderbra Walter Mitty, a vainglorious cad whose success and morality is like the product that made her famous, all front. Yet Mone's supporters – and following the PPE scandal there can't be too many of those left – would suggest that the programme exaggerates its own assets. The first episode does a nice job of explaining where Mone came from – the girl from the unforgiving East End of Glasgow, forced to earn money for her family from the age of 10, who dropped out of school at 15 and was written off by her teachers. It is impossible not to be impressed by Mone, in her 20s and heavily pregnant with her third child, turning up at Selfridges in London and demanding that they stock her underwear. She'd convinced her husband to remortgage. 'I was either going to lose my house today or keep my house,' she said at the time. It was a shot at the moon. Nobody could fail to warm to this plain-speaking young woman from Glasgow, grasping the lads' mag/girl power energy of the 1990s and wedging herself into a male-dominated industry. A knack for PR – learnt from her days as a model and ring girl – helped to supply a steady stream of publicity for her company, Ultimo, and its enhancing bras. Yet the film dropped tantalising breadcrumbs – the brusque way she dealt with employees, the over-eagerness for publicity, the do-anything attitude. Perhaps too much was made of the Erin Brockovich lie – Mone repeatedly and falsely claimed that Julia Roberts's eye-catching cleavage in the Oscar-winning movie was thanks to Ultimo – but it showed Mone's devil's-bargain with the truth. Whatever it took, she'd succeed. Just watching Mone's physical appearance change as she grew more successful is fascinating – with every passing year, she appears more lacquered. By the second episode and Mone's PPE untruths – along with her husband Doug Barrowman, that she had nothing to do with Medpro PPE Ltd – it's clear the series has her pegged as a rogue. On this evidence, who could argue? Some of the accusations may not be slam-dunks, but they paint an unpleasant picture – the employment tribunals, the aggressive hounding of any journalist who asked questions, the obfuscation around PPE and the 'VIP lanes'. Others, however, feel mean-spirited. So what if she gilded her youthful admiration of Steve Wozniak when the Apple founder joined her cryptocurrency venture? The programme, smirking, points out that her autobiography never mentions Wozniak, but does mention Sylvester Stallone four times. Most damning, however, is the brouhaha that occurred when David Cameron made Mone a peer. 'She is a small-time businesswoman with a PR exposure far in excess of any actual success,' said businessman Douglas Anderson. Ultimo's accounts around 2011-2012, when Mone was constantly touted in the media as 'Britain's most successful female entrepreneur', back up Anderson's statement. Her success, if not a mirage, was vastly inflated. 'She is completely shameless,' said another contributor, 'and if you have no shame, you can get quite far.' The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone is available now on BBC iPlayer and airs on BBC Two at 9pm on Wednesday 28 May
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: the extraordinary story of the baroness and the Covid scandal
9pm, BBC Two'A cocktail of fame, lies, money, politics … and a national emergency.' In this two-part documentary, Laura Kuenssberg and other insiders tell the story of Baroness Mone of Mayfair – the lingerie entrepreneur who grew up in poverty in Glasgow, launched the Ultimo push-up bra, then went on to become a peer in the House of Lords and get embroiled in one of Covid's biggest and most expensive scandals. Hollie Richardson 8pm, BBC OneTo Ayrshire, where Tom, who has achondroplasia (a condition that affects bone growth), plans to restore a rare 1930s folding canoe so he can explore waterways with his daughter. Other items in need of care: a fragile glass pane inscribed by Robert Burns and handmade sporrans. Ali Catterall 8pm, Channel 4Married couple Lisa and Campbell have been living in New Zealand for 25 years but want to move back to the UK to be near family. Oxfordshire has too many options, apparently, as Lisa warms to every property they see. Time for some tough love from Kirstie and Phil. HR 8pm, BBC Three This week's main task involves helping grungy duo Nova Twins with their latest music video. But it is avant garde Canadian makeup influencer and guest judge Mei Pang who is greeted like a rock star by the remaining hopefuls. Graeme Virtue 9pm, BBC OneOn the sixth leg of this epic race across Asia, our remaining teams travel deep into western India – but also deep into the soul. Sisters Elizabeth and Letitia are inspired to connect by a prayer on the banks of Pushkar Lake, while Brian is pushed to contemplation by a case of the dreaded 'Delhi belly'. Ellen E Jones 9pm, Sky DocumentariesTony Blair and Bill Clinton contribute to the final instalment of this brilliant look at Frost's most famous and important interviews – concluding with his focus on the Middle East. It starts with the twentysomething Frost first meeting with the then Israeli defence minister Moshe Dayan in 1968 after the six-day war. HR Captain America: Brave New World (Julius Onah, 2025), Disney+ As the first big-screen outing for Anthony Mackie's Captain America, this Marvel instalment would benefit from some knowledge of previous superhero events. The plot also pivots round the Wolverine-tested metal adamantium, which is a source of conspiracy and conflict. But with actors of the calibre of the noble Mackie, plus Giancarlo Esposito and Tim Blake Nelson as the Cap's new foes, and Harrison Ford as dubious new US president Thaddeus Ross, the performances should more than compensate. Simon Wardell The Big Heat, 6.10am (Fritz Lang, 1953), Sky Cinema GreatsShe may only have a supporting role, but Gloria Grahame's sparky, witty turn as a gangster's girlfriend is the principal joy of Fritz Lang's propulsive 1953 crime drama. Headline name Glenn Ford is a solid presence as honest cop Dave Bannion, whose investigation into the suicide of a fellow officer leads him to a city mob boss. Bannion's persistent dog-with-a-bone riles the criminal's psychotic right-hand man Vince (Lee Marvin), with the latter's girl Debby (Grahame) among the collateral damage as the detective edges closer to the truth. SW
