EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Prince Harry’s injured war pal is new trustee of Invictus Games Foundation

TV Presenter JJ Chalmers, who was severely injured in a bomb blast in Afghanistan, credited the Duke of Sussex with providing ‘one of the key catalysts’ in his recovery. Now, Prince Harry’s charity has appointed him to its board.

Chalmers, 36, has been made a trustee of Invictus Games Foundation, which organises a sporting event for injured and sick service personnel.

Ex-Royal Marine Chalmers is an Invictus Games gold medallist whose minister father, John, was one of Queen Elizabeth’s chaplains.

Chalmers became friends with the Prince after meeting him during a rehabilitation triathlon in 2014, and was even invited to his royal wedding four years later.

He has said he’ll ‘be forever grateful’ to Harry for encouraging him to take part in the Invictus Games. He went on to reach the quarter-finals of Strictly Come Dancing in 2020 with dance partner Amy Dowden.

Former Olympic champion triple-jumper Jonathan Edwards has also been made a trustee of the foundation, having been involved with it since presenting the inaugural Invictus Games for the BBC in 2014.

Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood admits that his own footwork wouldn’t earn a top score nowadays. The star, who is touring as child-hating orphanage boss Miss Hannigan in musical Annie, says he does a bit of dancing in the show, but it wouldn’t win any awards.

‘I wouldn’t give my dancing a ten,’ he says. ‘Miss Hannigan is drunk throughout, so it’s quite wild dancing. She’s all over the shop.’

Naomi calls out Vogue shadeism

Naomi Campbell feels so strongly about prejudice against darker-skinned women that she agreed to appear on this month’s cover of Vogue India only if it artificially darkened her complexion in the photos.

The supermodel, 52, had previously turned down an offer from the magazine because she felt as though it was guilty of ‘colourism’

The supermodel, 52, had previously turned down an offer from the magazine because she felt as though it was guilty of ‘colourism’.

She tells me: ‘I saw from that country and continent they had women of dark colour, and the women they were using were women of only light colour, so I didn’t do the cover at that time.’

Speaking at the Visionary Arts Awards at the Ham Yard hotel in London’s Soho, where she won the Legacy Honour, Campbell says: ‘When I got to be on the cover, I actually wanted to be darkened and I am happy with it.’

Invited to take part in DNA Journey, Alan Carr sought advice from his mother, Christine, who said he’d be foolish to turn down an appearance on the ITV genealogy show as he might uncover a regal connection. 

‘I said to my mum: ‘Should I do it?’ the chat show host revealed at the Teenage Cancer Trust comedy night at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

‘She said: ‘Do it, do it — you might be related to royalty.’

Carr added: ‘Knowing my luck, it would be Prince Andrew’.