Pandora: Presidential race of a rather wackier kind

A phone call from mid-Wales. "I'm back in business," announces Lembit Opik. "I'm definitely going to stand for president of the Liberal Democrats. It's the one job I've always wanted."

The news will no doubt prove heartening for his fans; Opik has been unusually quiet since splitting with his Cheeky Girl fiancée.

With the campaign set to begin at the party conference, the Montgomeryshire MP's only current rival for the post, which Simon Hughes vacates in November, is Baroness Ros Scott. And Opik is sure he can win.

"I've got to be regarded as the odds-on favourite," he insists. "I came runner-up last time."

There have, however, been rumblings that party officials are cool about the idea of Opik landing the role, owing to his "overly comic image." Meanwhile, some MPs have privately been suggesting that he was ready to abandon his bid, having lost interest after his romantic break-up.

"Who are these people saying I'm not going to stand?" he retorts. "People used to say I was standing for Mayor of London when I wasn't, and now they're trying to say I'm not standing for the presidency when I definitely am.

"I have already got a couple of slogans ready: "Epik Opik" and "Take It... You'll Lembit!"

Regular service, it's safe to say, is resumed.

Studies before stardom

At only 19, Narnia star Anna Popplewell has found fame early. But the young actress, who is midway through reading English at Oxford, tells me she is determined not to let stardom tempt her away from her studies.

"I'm forcing myself to finish my degree," she said at the premiere of The Duchess. "All this glamour is all right, and hopefully I can fit it in, but at the moment I'm concentrating on other things."

Perhaps she has been taking advice from the film's star Keira Knightly, who has often claimed to regret skipping univer-sity. "It's left me with a chip on my shoulder," she said recently.

"I need to prove that I'm not stupid."

Shadowy support

Meanwhile, George Osborne was the epitome of red carpet restraint, refusing to be drawn in to comparisons between Knightley's character and Princess Diana. "I think it's best that I avoid that controversy," he said. Far from a showbiz regular, the Shadow Chancellor said he was there to support Amanda Foreman, who wrote the book on which the film is based. "I never dreamed that it would make film. That's why I chose politics, not publishing."

Coogan mystery solved

Pictures of Steve Coogan leaving the GQ awards with a mystery blonde raised a few eyebrows, not least because Coogan is dating the actress China Chow. The young lady's identity was kept under wraps – until now. Yesterday, I discovered she is one Rosie O'Brian, of the PR firm Smith & Monger. From the sound of things, she wasn't too thrilledto be caught out. "Who told you?" she snapped when I called.

Mixed messages

Not long ago Pandora noted the Labour MP Tom Watson promoting Tony Blair's Faith Foundation on his website – this was, after all, the same Watson who led an attempted coup against the former PM in 2006.

Now, another endorsement: the Margaret Thatcher Foundation.

Watson has made a heartfelt appeal for an expert to help them translate parts of Lord Hailsham's diaries. Talk about shifting loyalties.

Corden flies the flag for Americans

Fans of the popular BBC sitcom Gavin And Stacey may want to think twice before ordering their DVD copy of the US adaptation.

I only mention it because James Corden, the charming actor who plays Smithy in the British version, assures me that the show will be quite different when made for American audiences.

"The only way for it to be successful is if they're allowed to make it their own," he argued at a recent cocktail party. "It was the same when they did The Office. It was great but there were all sorts of changes. If nothing else, it will be interesting."

Corden's co-star Matthew Horne has previously suggested that his character, Gavin, could be from New Jersey, while Stacey should come from the Deep South – in which c ase it would be very different indeed.

pandora@independent.co.uk

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