Forget J.K. Rowling, Sally Rooney and David Walliams, there is a new publishing phenomenon in town.
Alice Oseman, 27, has sold nearly a million pounds worth of books every month — and is on course to pocket _60 million globally — in 2022 alone.
The secret to the author's staggering success?

The Heartstopper series, which started life as a crowd-funded, self-published graphic novel for teens, about a shy 15-year-old boy called Charlie who falls in love with a rugby- playing lad in his class called Nick.
The books were already a big hit with young adults but, after being adapted for TV by Netflix, have gone from cult status to global brand.





The Netflix show, simply called Heartstopper, launched in April, and stars a clutch of teenagers, most of whom are in their first acting jobs

Critics rave about the wholesome and emotional impact of the uplifting books, which tell the story of sweet, awkward first love and are set in a school modelled on Rochester Grammar, which the author attended.
Oseman wrote the first of the series in 2016, though its heroes Charlie and Nick appeared in an earlier book, Solitaire (which earned her a publishing deal at 17 and drew comparisons with The Catcher In The Rye).
Charlie has already come out as gay, but is enduring homophobia.
Oseman said: 'I do believe things have improved, even since I started writing Heartstopper; but definitely since I was in school myself.

There's still a lot of homophobia, transphobia, and bullying out there, though; so I'm sure some people will relate.'





Lesley Manville says it was easier playing Ada, a cleaning woman, than portraying Princess Margaret in The Crown

The fairy tale is complete when she moves to Paris and starts making some changes — for the better — at the fashion house.
Manville reflects: 'I didn't know the book at all.

It came to me as an offer, so it was nice to read it, knowing it was mine if I wanted it.'
Manville got on so well with co-star Isabelle Huppert that the pair are now thinking about doing a play together. Manville said: 'She's got such style, which appeals to me, because we both love clothes.'
She admitted she ad-libbed various lines in the film, including exclaiming 'Gordon Bennett!' and observing that things had gone 't**s up' — both of which may prove slightly puzzling for international audiences.


 



An intriguing dinner in Mayfair, London, last week with Tom Cruise joining Jeff Bezos, Amazon's former CEO, and his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez.

Cruise, famously, is on a mission to save films from the threat streaming poses to the cinema experience. 
Bezos, meanwhile, remains a major shareholder in Amazon, which offers exactly that, via Prime Video.
Might Bezos be softening Cruise up for a project with its film division? He'd need a lot of charm to pull that one off.
More likely is the two men have a connection via personal trainer Wesley Okerson, tasked with making Bezos buff — and who used to work with Cruise.


 



Dame Maureen Lipman thinks the Queen should be nominated for an acting gong, after her star turn opposite Paddington Bear, complete with marmalade sandwich, in a short film shot for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. 
'I'm going to put forward to BAFTA that the Queen should get the best newcomer prize, for best appearance in a short film,' Lipman joked.

Though she conceded that giving her a best newcomer award was like 'giving Dolly Parton a trainer bra'.


 




Kylie keeps schtum...
Kylie Minogue's return to Ramsay Street for the last ever episode of Neighbours — sporting a throwback denim boiler suit and retro curls — is one of the great TV moments of the year.





Is George Clooney planning to make a film about notorious London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray?

The book was published two years before Ronnie died and, in it, he talks at length about his bisexuality and mental health issues, as well as his faith (he found God while in Broadmoor), and how he engaged in telepathic communication with brother Reggie, who was incarcerated in Lewes.
Since 2006, Heslov and Clooney have run Smokehouse Pictures which has made films including Good Night, And Good Luck, Argo and Ocean's 8.
The Krays have made it to the big screen before.

Tom Hardy played both twins in the film Legend in 2015; and мультфильмы [zfilm-hd.org] Gary and Martin Kemp were in the 1990 film The Krays.
Dinenage, now 80, tells me that the rights to the book have not yet been bought by Clooney, but he would be delighted if it came to pass.
He adds: 'I'd be happy to make a cameo appearance.'


 




Maigret may make a return — put that in your pipe and smoke it!
Rowan Atkinson has been reflecting on TV drama Maigret, a rare disappointment in an otherwise glittering career.

The show was dumped by ITV after just four episodes.
'It wasn't my decision to pull the plug,' Atkinson said of the demise of the pipe-smoking detective. 
'That was down to ITV, who made some kind of judgment about what kind of shows they wanted to make and I guess how well — or not — our show was going down. It was their prerogative; and it's not for me to raise any defence against that decision. But never say never.

I wouldn't rule out filming more.'
Atkinson played Chief Inspector Jules Maigret in the whodunnit set in mid-1950s France. It was launched over Christmas 2016, but disappeared from our screens less than a year later. 
The show was based on the books by Georges Simenon, published between 1931 and 1972.




ALISON BOSHOFF: Judi Dench names growly teddy bear after...
Harry Styles is a handsome and debonair leading man in the film Don't Worry Darling.

However, it took an enormous amount of work to prepare him for the frank love scenes with screen wife Florence Pugh (both pictured, above) — because he has so many tattoos