The power of an iron fist in a velvet glove was shown to perfection by Newsnight's Emily Maitlis in her interview with Prince Andrew, writes AMANDA PLATELL.

AMANDA PLATELL Those brave souls who risked their lives running towards the assassin were good, selfless people interested in only saving the lives of others.

AMANDA PLATELL: More attention is now given to Cowell's scowl, Amanda Holden's nipples and Alesha Dixon's barely clad thighs than to the real stars - the ordinary folk following their dreams

AMANDA PLATELL: Standing defiant and alone on a rocky outcrop on the cover of Time Magazine, she looks out over a world in peril that she is seeking to save.

AMANDA PLATELL Was J.K. Rowling channelling her fearless hero Harry Potter when she took on the trans rights lobby?

AMANDA PLATELL: Of all the pictures published in this tumultuous week for the Royal Family, one stood out for me.

AMANDA PLATELL: Ant has treated you appallingly. But every tweet you post keeps you nailed to the cross of this broken marriage. You have to break away.

AMANDA PLATELL: It was a bracing moment when I read that the Church of England, my Church, declared that loving, long-term couples in civil partnerships should not have sex.

AMANDA PLATELL: Jennifer Aniston appears on a magazine cover wearing tiny Yves Saint Laurent leather hotpants a supermodel might struggle to get away with - and we gape in awe.

AMANDA PLATELL: I was struck by one thought after Carrie's Instagram announcement: I cannot imagine how Marina, his loyal wife of 27 years, must have been feeling, nor their four adult children.

PLATELL'S PEOPLE: Students had cancelled the event because of Ms Rudd's links to the Windrush scandal, in which Britons of Caribbean heritage were wrongly deported.

AMANDA PLATELL: One week ago, Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, 13, was at home with his mum, six brothers and sisters, doing what we're all doing, watching TV, isolating at home.

AMANDA PLATELL: Can it be only a few months ago that the Monarchy was facing down Megxit, in what appeared to be one of its worst existential crises since the abdication?

PLATELL'S PEOPLE: What a shining example of selflessness we have been given this week from a woman who is among the most vulnerable to the coronavirus plague.

AMANDA PLATELL: We have always been a nation of curtain twitchers. But, who'd have thought nearly 200,000 people would report their neighbours for breaking lockdown rules?

AMANDA PLATELL: We learned that they have chosen as their LA hideaway, a Tuscan-style mansion amid 14 acres in a gated community in one of the most sought-after areas of Hollywood....

Alesha Dixon took to Instagram Live with Kelly Hoppen on Wednesday night, so that the interior designer could critique the Britain's Got Talent judge's living room.

In a video conference call, the Premier League told of the potential losses to clubs, as they look to convince players to take a 30 per cent mix of cuts and deferrals on their wages.

Premier League and EFL players have been told by their clubs to prepare for a mid-May return to training, with a view to the season resuming before the end of June.

President Trump made himself the star of the 'lockdown rebellion' by tweeting 'LIBERATE Minnesota' and then adding Michigan and Virginia to the list.

Left back Alex Telles is out of contract at Porto in the summer of 2021 and has attracted interest from Ligue 1 giants PSG, as well as both Chelsea and Barcelona.

The France playmaker had an impressive season in LaLiga prior to the suspension of football due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Gunners and AC Milan have been linked with a move for him.

Always in the market for a bargain, Spurs are reportedly hopeful of securing a cut-price deal with Bournemouth before Fraser becomes a free agent when his contract expires in June.

Martinez, who has scored 16 times in 31 games this season, has informed Inter he will reject any new deal offered to him as he has his heart set on moving to Barcelona.

The Armenian playmaker has underwhelmed since moving to north London as part of the Alexis Sanchez swap deal with Manchester United in January 2018.

Rich, sonorous, fruity, hypnotic... many adjectives have been deployed to describe the voice of Alan Rickman, writes BRIAN VINER.

On Monday morning Roxy Jacenko looked fresh and stylish as she arrived at the KIIS FM radio studios in Sydney dressed in leather trousers after her tell-all 60 Minutes interview went to air.

When Sydney journalist Elle Halliwell found out she had cancer, she feared she would die. Just two days later she found out she was pregnant and feared the disease would also kill her baby.

More than five months after being arrested in a Colombian airport, Cassie Sainsbury will be afforded a public platform to tell her side of the story, with an interview with 60 Minutes expected to air next week.

Appearing emotional and flushed, South Australian Cassie Sainsbury reveals explosive new details of her alleged crimes from behind bars in Colombia.

JANE FRYER: Exactly four years ago, a brand new, specially- designed post office opened in the back of the Dandelion gift shop on the gorgeous honey-stoned high street of this Cotswolds town.

Retired engineer Richard Keedwell, 71, has spent nearly three years, attended seven court hearings and spent £30,000 of his sons' inheritance disputing a £100 speeding fine.

Reese Witherspoon was as stylish as ever when she swung by The Ellen DeGeneres Show this week. The 43-year-old slipped into a bias cut floral dress cut off above the knee.

Twitter user Yasmin Amirah, from Kent, posted an exchange in which a woman called Sally told her to 'get a grip' for calling out her boyfriend for painting his face black for a family Zoom quiz.

AMANDA PLATELL: I, too, have this week joined the wonderfully woke world of 'carbon neutral' fashionistas.

ALISON BOSHOFF: While some contemporaries such as Adele went on to enormous global successes, Duffy simply disappeared. Her second album, Endlessly, flopped in 2010 and that was that.

Newly-released records on the advice given to the government as the coronavirus crisis erupted show Boris Johnson seemingly flouted the recommendations from his own experts.

Customers wanting a full refund will be put in a queue until the pandemic passes. Ryanair has recommended customers use a refund voucher which are 'readily available.'

Balotelli has not been called up by Mancini in more than a year but Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina said last week that naming him in the squad would send a strong message.

'Trump seems hell-bent on pursuing a very self-destructive course when it comes to handling the biggest test of his presidency, and it could see him get kicked out of the White House.'

Daniel Duckett - who is now campaigning for small firms to get payouts - was also told by Hiscox that criticism of the insurance industry by politicians was irrelevant.

He's newly single following his split with PR girl Emily Hallinan in February.

AMANDA PLATELL: The most reliable, and dare I say wooden, member of the younger royals stole the show with a comic turn on the BBC's fundraiser The Big Night In.

PAUL BRACCHI: Antonia Staats, the girlfriend of Professor Neil Ferguson, was telling the general public to 'Stay at home' during lockdown, while she visited the Prof's flat twice.

Spain has been without football since March 12, two days before the nation went into a strict lockdown to battle its coronavirus outbreak that has claimed more than 22,000 lives.

It appears the former glamour model, 41, is keen to grab Coleen's attention as she urged her to check her Instagram over the weekend, after speaking out in support of her amid her WAG war.

Oliver Dale was making a tea of chicken, chips and salad for his family at their York home when he found the whopping crinkle cut inside a bag of McCain oven chips from Asda, measuring seven inches.

The former state monopoly decided to cancel its final payout to investors last month, to help bolster the balance sheet.

Insurers have come under fire for refusing to pay out claims to companies which have been devastated by the lockdown. The Financial Conduct Authority plans to resolve this as quickly as possible.

David Haye has told Anthony Joshua to ditch his newfound caution because he will be expected to emulate Tyson Fury's spectacular knockout of Deontay Wilder this summer.