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Big, bold and very beautiful

Dianne Bourne
20/ 6/2008

IT'S that time of year when only the boldest of headwear will suffice as celebrities, VIPS and fashionistas head to Royal Ascot.

Yesterday was Ladies Day, and fashionable fillies made the most of sun-soaked Berkshire in bright colours and striking headwear - including Cilla Black in a green suit and daring red flower hat and entertainer Bruce Forsyth with wife Wilnelia in striking yellow.

And special mention has to go to Manchester PR girl Kate Greville - who gamely spent Ladies Day with a huge chunk of stilton cheese on her head.

Kate, whose Brazen PR firm represent the blue-veined cheese, agreed to wear the hat to give her client that extra bit of promotion.

But at least she didn't have to smell of the whiffy cheese all day - it was only a lifelike model on her hat!

Prestigious

The race meeting was drawing bigger crowds than ever, with thousands of revellers heading down from Manchester over the course of the five-day event this week.

Among the VIPs in the most prestigious part of the course, the Royal Enclosure, was Manchester City legend Francis Lee, wife Gillian and their sons Nicky and Jonathan. Franny, who used to own and train a stable of horses, told me these days he's happier on the sidelines.

He said: "I'm semi-retired as a horse trainer now but I've always loved the races. Royal Ascot has to be the best - it's an unbelievable occasion."

Luxury

Later, The Diary bumped into glamorous Emmerdale star Roxanne Pallett, who had the luxurious transport of a private jet down to Ascot with the soap's producer Tim Fee.

Roxanne laughed: "We work so hard with all the animals on Emmerdale we needed a little bit of luxury. I think this is my treat for having to film the mud fight on the show!"

She went for an elegant black and white ensemble and said: "I was going for the Eliza Dolittle look."

YOU can see a gallery from the day above.