Former Strictly Come Dancing winner and pop favourite Alesha Dixon today brushed off reports that she is being lined up to replace Arlene Phillips as a judge on the show.

Meg Mathews took her daughter Anais Gallagher and Jude Law's daughter Iris to the Capital 95.8 FM Summertime Ball at London's Emirates Stadium, where they were seen dancing and eating candyfloss. The snazzy VIP hospitality area, for 1,200 invitation-only guests, had its own private entrance, designed like a giant radio with speakers. It was reached through a hall of fame tunnel, with moving images of all the performers, including Katy Perry and Dizzee Rascal, who were taking part in the mini pop festival.

Four days after declaring himself fit, Kevin Pietersen was forced to miss England’s opening match in the World Twenty20 last night. His dramatic withdrawal only an hour before the toss left the team in disarray and provoked immediate speculation about his presence in the Ashes, which are now only 31 days away.

Funny how the Government continually talks of safeguarding families and looking after workers, but the group it seems reluctant to protect is pensioners. Who was hit the hardest last week by the historic, or desperate, cut in interest rates? That increasingly rare species, savers. And who worked hard to stockpile their wages over the years and now depend on their savings to supplement their meagre standard of living? Pensioners.

It's beyond dispute, I'd have thought, that good parents don't try to produce clones of themselves. We desire, above all, for our children to be happy and fulfilled in whatever way suits them. I don't particularly want mine to end up as journalists (God forbid, some might say); I'd grin and bear it, albeit through gritted teeth, if they developed an EastEnders habit; they could even support Arsenal if they really, really wanted to. So why is it so important that they like the same music as me? Am I a muso-fascist?

John Prescott may be raking in the cash on the after-dinner speaking circuit, but elsewhere the credit crunch is taking its toll on the lucrative sideline.