Pandora: Oh, Frank: Mike Reid's daughter wants to fight for the BNP

Fresh from the shocking recent revelation that the brother of former England footballer Stuart Pearce is an active member of the British National Party, there is worrying news that the party can now boast another relative of a national treasure within its unseemly ranks.

To the noise of collective jaw-dropping among EastEnders fans everywhere, it transpires Angela Reid, the youngest daughter of the late but much-loved stand-up Mike Reid, was due to stand on behalf of the BNP as a candidate at next month's council by-election in Braintree, Essex. The election has come up after the Conservative councillor Bill Rose recently decided to stand down.

Reid was apparently all set to contest the seat until the weekend, when I'm told she decided to withdraw from the race for "personal reasons".

"She would have been an excellent candidate for us and it's a terrible shame that she won't be running this time but we've got plenty of candidates for the future elsewhere," says a BNP spokesman, hastily adding that her U-turn had nothing to do with any political misgivings she may be feeling.

"Not at all, she is 100 per cent behind the party," he insisted. "Her withdrawal is purely personal.

"In fact, she is one of our loyalist members and strongest supporters."

For all their words of support, party activists must secretly be seething.

Since Reid's withdrawal has occurred after the deadline for candidate applications, the party will now not be able to run a replacement.

Estelle's Mercury mystery

The singer Estelle's performance at Tuesday night's Mercury Prize event was delayed by an embarrassing glitch. The 28-year-old soulstress – who was nominated for the award – failed to appear on stage for some time, which, the audience was told, was because of "a technical problem".

"She'd actually lost her guitar," says an organiser. "She and her entourage were on the spectator balcony scrambling around for it. Even host Jools Holland joined the hunt before they found it."

Capaldi and Gandolfini are luvvies at first sight

The casting of Peter Capaldi and Sopranos star James Gandolfini in Armando Iannucci's movie, In The Loop, brings together two of television's most glorious sociopaths.

For all the pair's manic on-screen personas, Capaldi (who will be reprising his role in the film as frothing spin doctor Malcolm Tucker) says they both got on like a house on fire.

"James is a hero of mine, meeting him was exhilarating," he told Pandora at the Dulwich Picture Gallery.

"But I wasn't nervous, he's just so normal. But seeing him in New York and people recognising him was fantastic, he's so loved over there."

Tony's Faith challenged

After being once sucked in by the con man Peter Foster, Tony Blair has fallen victim to another unpleasant scam.

His organisation, the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, has been forced to call in the lawyers after discovering a group of individuals have been falsely representing them in a devious attempt to steal cash.

The shady group of imposters have apparently been advertising a series of non-existent conferences under the Foundation's banner, seeking a variety of fees and "registration costs". How deeply unchristian.

Bags fly off the shelves

Anya Hindmarch urgently needs to buttonhole her chum David Cameron about London's growing crimewave which is affecting her livelihood.

On Tuesday night, one of the popular handbag designer's stores was yet again hit by ram-raiders, making off with around £20,000 worth of stock.

It's the sixth time that Hindmarch, who organised the Tories' Black and White Ball this year, has been hit by burglars in the space of just a few months.

"It is deeply upsetting," she says, "and saddens me to see so many pieces from the new collection taken so quickly after they arrived in store."

No Rushdie bhuna over Booker

The failure of Sir Salman Rushdie's novel, The Enchantress of Florence, to make the shortlist for this year's Booker Prize isn't just a smack in the chops for him and his publishers, it also puts paid to the mystic powers of Financial Times critic, John Sutherland.

Whilst reviewing the book in April, so convinced was Sutherland that the book would scoop the much-coveted prize, he boldly declared: "If The Enchantress of Florence doesn't win this year's Man Booker I'll curry my proof copy and eat it."

But to the sound of chicken noises clcuking up and down Fleet Street, Sutherland has decided to renege on his promise.

He writes: "I vowed – publicly – to curry and eat my proof copy of The Enchantress of Florence if it didn't win. It won't. And I won't. So there."

pandora@independent.co.uk