One last thing: I had no idea quite so much décolletage was on display; mortified. On top of everything else
— Nigella Lawson (@Nigella_Lawson) December 5, 2014Nigella Lawson’s hopes of finally making it big in American TV may have been thwarted by drug allegations.More at that top link, especially this:
As she shimmied on to the brightly lit Hollywood set, newly svelte in a tight red “wiggle dress” and wearing a smile primed to dazzle millions of American television viewers, Nigella Lawson might have been forgiven for thinking that – finally – her time had come.
After years of false starts and mixed critical receptions in the US, the self-styled Domestic Goddess had, in The Taste, at last found a major prime-time vehicle for the talents that had made her a national treasure – and a multimillionairess – on the other side of the Atlantic.
“Her dream has always been to conquer America, and she is now well on her way,” said a beaming Chris Coelen, the chief executive of Kinetic Productions, which made the programme and paid Lawson an estimated £250,000. “I am sure 2013 will be the Year of Nigella in America.”
The premiere of the show – a cross between Masterchef and The Voice that Lawson co-hosts and executive-produces – won six million viewers for the channel ABC. “Overall, it’s a good mix,” said the tough-to-impress Hollywood Reporter, which declared it was “hungry for more”. A second series was commissioned.
But Lawson’s newfound American profile and the series’ glossy, family-friendly image have now been jeopardised by shocking allegations by her former husband, Charles Saatchi, that she is a “habitual criminal” and hardcore recreational drug user. In one extraordinary email read out in court this week he dubbed her “Higella”.
These claims, made during the trial of two Italian sisters accused of fraudulent use of Mr Saatchi’s credit cards to the tune of at least £685,000, threw Lawson’s US operation into panic on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday. Executives at Kinetic refused to say whether they would stand by her, while a spokesman for ABC said coolly: “I’m not in a position to comment about or on behalf of Nigella.” The second series of The Taste had “already wrapped,” and would go out as planned from January 2, she said, but had nothing else to add.
The allegations, a shock to the millions of British fans who have Lawson’s books on their kitchen shelves, have the potential to wreak even greater damage in a country that remains more socially conservative, and which has for more than 40 years been fighting a tide of hard drugs being trafficked across its southern border.
And, ironically, Anthony Bourdain, Lawson’s superstar co-host and co‑producer on The Taste, is himself a reformed drug addict who once sold his record collection to buy heroin. “We were high all the time, sneaking off to the walk-in refrigerator at every opportunity,” he said in his memoir of his days as a chef in Manhattan in the Nineties. “Hardly a decision was made without drugs.”
Bourdain, 57, who is married with a young daughter, was reported to be giving Lawson, 52, “emotional support”, having “taken her under his wing” in the aftermath of the traumatic publication in June of photographs showing Saatchi grabbing his then wife by the throat during a meal at Scott’s restaurant in Mayfair. (This week Bourdain signalled his backing of Lawson in a tweet that identified him as “#TeamNigella”.)
Season 2 @TheTasteABC starts 2nd Jan 8pm
@AmPowerBlog: .@Nigella_Lawson When you coming back on 'The Taste' in the states, Nigella?!!”
— Nigella Lawson (@Nigella_Lawson) November 23, 2013If I had the opportunity to squeeze Nigella Lawson, her throat wouldn't be my first choice.
— Nick Griffin MEP (@nickgriffinmep) June 17, 2013
Family feast: roast beef, buttery mash, red wine gravy, peas and broccoli; contentment a casa twitter.com/Nigella_Lawson…
— Nigella Lawson (@Nigella_Lawson) January 31, 2013
Watching @nigella_lawson on @thetasteabc right now. Oh là là!! #Food @rsmccain
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 23, 2013
With her culinary wizadry, melt-in-your mouth voice and Rubenesque figure, Nigella Lawson has made a career out of turning heads.
But while many husbands might resent such flirtatious behaviour, Charles Saatchi yesterday revealed his pleasure at his television chef wife's appeal - declaring "who would want to be married to someone who nobody coveted?"Well, perhaps Ms. Lawson will be doing a book tour stateside. She's the Christina Hendricks of the British culinary scene. And come to think of it, if I'm going to scoop Robert Stacy McCain for some newsworthy Rule 5, it'd be hard to find a better subject!
In extracts from his new book, the outspoken adman turned art collector also described the Ten Commandments as an "overrated lifestyle guide" which only succeed in "making people confused and guilty".
Mr Saatchi, who has been married three times, insisted that the tenth commandment in particular was "obviously a no-hoper" because "coveting is all everyone does, all the time, every day."
He added: "It's what drives the world economy, pushes people to make a go of their lives, so that they can afford the executive model of their Ford Mondeo to park next to their neighbour's standard model. And who would want to be married to someone who nobody coveted?"
