The Max Factor with Max Clifford

Dancing feet

Wonderful dancing in a superb setting and a stunning young Surrey ballerina all for good measure. I was back in Dubai recently on business, but fortunately managed to find time to enjoy what turned out to be a spectacular performance of The Nutcracker by the much acclaimed Russian company, Ballet Russe, featuring 21-year-old ballerina Jessica Westwood from Bentley in Surrey.

Not that all the dancing wasn’t anything but wonderful, but as Jessica is the daughter of my partner Jo, I can hopefully be forgiven for singling her out for special praise.
Years of dedication and sheer hard work started for Jessica at the tender age of three, as a pupil at the Joan Bond dancing school, Guildford. It was then on to the Susan Robinson School of Ballet in West Byfleet, before graduating to the English National Ballet.

In the two years since leaving the English National Ballet, Jess’s feet have literally hardly touched the ground. She has toured with the Cork City Ballet and for the last year has appeared with the Ballet Russe where she is the only English ballerina. Her performance at the Madinat Theatre, Dubai, deservedly earned her a standing ovation, something that her very proud mum, in the audience, will never forget.

Westlife visit CHASE

It was an absolute joy to see one of the country’s most successful boy bands, Westlife, give a very special performance at the CHASE children’s hospice in Guildford.
They came, they saw and they conquered the hearts of all the children, as well as the mums, dads, brothers and sisters who were there for their visit.

The lads spent several hours meeting, greeting and embracing everyone, and even sung happy birthday to one delighted young lady, 13-year-old Beth Carter, joined by everyone else.

In an age when most pop stars have very little time for anyone but themselves, it was a delight for me to be with the boys on this very special visit. I’ve known them for many years and they continue to remain four of the nicest guys who so deserve the huge success that they have enjoyed for the past decade.

It was a very moving, emotional and, in fact, wonderfully uplifting day that the children and their families and loved ones will never forget.

The Weybridge connection

The past few months have been a dream come true for Paul Potts who won ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent with his staggering rendition of Nessun Dorma last June. The former mobile phone salesman from Port Talbot, Wales, then stormed the No.1 spot in July with his debut album One Chance, which outsold the entire Top 10 collectively. Internationally, that album has made the No.1 spot in no less than 14 countries, rapidly selling over one million copies in the process. I saw Paul perform recently in front of Her Majesty the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool. 

No doubt many of you will realise the vital role that Simon Cowell played in Paul’s discovery and worldwide success. But few of you will realise the part played in this amazing success story by Weybridge cosmetic dentist Johann Styger. In recent months, like many stars before him, Paul has visited Johann’s Portmore Dental Clinic in Balfour Road, Weybridge, for much needed dental work. The results were clearly visible and justifiably admired by many that I spoke to at the Royal Performance and I’m sure by the many millions who subsequently watched the show on ITV.

Congratulations to Johann, master of his craft. Thanks to you, Paul has now got a mouth that his amazing voice so deserves to have.

• Max Clifford has kindly donated his fee for this month’s column to the CHASE (Christopher’s) children’s hospice in Guildford. www.chasecare.org.uk

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