The Max Factor with Max Clifford
Above: Jeremy Beadle and Max’s daughter, Louise, at a Children with Leukaemia charity event
Every month, Weybridge resident MAX CLIFFORD gives us an insight into
his life in the county and beyond. In the latest instalment, he meets a
talented Russian designer, mourns the passing of a good friend and
helps out a very courageous young woman
More than just game for a laughJeremy Beadle was a man whose public image – like so many others – was completely different from that of the real person. He was portrayed by the media as a cruel prankster who cared only about making successful TV programmes by embarrassing his victims. The real Jeremy was a kind and loving man who certainly made the nation laugh, but who also dedicated himself for many years to benefiting others with huge success.
Jeremy worked creatively and tirelessly in helping Eddie O’Gorman to raise over £100 million for his ‘Children with Leukaemia’ (CWL) charity. In addition, he supported many other children’s causes.
The vast sums of money he raised have played a real part in the hugely successful advances made into the research and treatment of children’s leukaemia. When 35 years ago, I first got involved with The Royal Marsden Cancer Unit at Sutton, most children died of leukaemia; now, thankfully, the vast majority survive.
He gave us many years of laughter with Game for a Laugh and Beadle’s About, two hugely popular TV shows. But he gave so much more to countless parents and children all over Britain, many of whom will probably never realise this. Jeremy Beadle was a lovely man who I was very fortunate to know as a good friend for over 30 years.
The Russian InvasionOVER the last decade, Weybridge, Cobham and Walton seem to have held an increasingly irresistible appeal to the Russians. Now the so called ‘Russian Invasion’ is being extended to the world of fashion, with the help of two stunning Surrey girls.
Jessica Huie from Kingston and Michele Melliger from Shepperton, both PR consultants at my company Max Clifford Associates, helped stage a star-studded fashion show in London recently to introduce the designs of former Wentworth resident, Russian born Oksana Mukha.
From an early age, Oksana lived in the Ukraine, attending the prestigious L’viv Academy of Arts, and she is now recognised as one of Eastern Europe’s brightest rising fashion designers of bridal and evening gowns.
Superior craftsmanship is combined with the highest quality French laces, natural silks, organzas, taffetas, hand-beaded pearls, rhinestones, Swarovski crystals and handmade flowers.
Today, a talented design team works in a factory-workshop-studio with over a hundred employees producing high-quality couture creations.
Already increasingly popular in the USA and Eastern Europe, there is now much excitement about the imminent UK launch, as witnessed at the recent charity show where Oksana’s designs received a tremendous reaction.
A very brave individualI first met Shy Keenan eight years ago, a striking 36-year-old, Dawn French look-a-like with a horrendous past.
As a child, her mother beat her so severely that she was partially deaf and blind by the time she started primary school. Her step-father Stanley Claridge regularly raped her from a tender age and at just 10-years-old she was attacked and left for dead by a gang of paedophiles he had introduced her to.
Although she had long since escaped from the clutches of Claridge and his associates, Shy knew he was still active in the North East where he lived.
Shy had tried, unsuccessfully, to expose him to both the local police and social services, and many years later asked if I would help her. Naturally, I was both anxious and delighted to assist her mission, and introduced Shy to contacts on BBC TV’s Newsnight programme.
With a hidden camera and microphones in place, Shy went back to her step-father’s house and in no time he was boasting to her about things he and his mates had done to her and countless others since.
Newsnight came out backed up with national press interviews I arranged for Shy to coincide with the TV programme.
In 2002, as a direct result of Shy’s courageous actions, Stanley Claridge and all his associates received long prison sentences for a catalogue of crimes against children.
Today, Shy is known and admired as chief advocate for Phoenix Survivors, which she founded with Hersham’s own Sara Payne, a campaigning group seeking justice for victims of child sexual abuse. She has also just published Broken, a hard-hitting memoir of her ordeal and how she turned her own personal tragedy into a triumph for herself and many others.
Congratulations, Shy, it’s a gripping read and does you proud.
Max Clifford has kindly donated his fee for this month’s column to Oasis in Cobham – a charity that works with vulnerable children and their families throughout the Elmbridge area. For more information, visit
www.oasischildcare.demon.co.uk
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