Petronella Wyatt

Infobox Person
name = Petronella Wyatt


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birth_date = birth year and age|1969
birth_place = London, England
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residence = St John's Wood, North London
nationality = flagicon|UK British
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education = St Paul's Girls' School
University College, London.
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occupation = Journalist, writer
home_town = London
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parents = Woodrow Wyatt
Verushka Banszky Von Ambroz
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The Honorable Petronella Wyatt (born 1969 in London), is a British journalist and author. She is the daughter of the former journalist and Labour politician, the late Lord (Woodrow) Wyatt, and his fourth wife, the Hungarian Baroness Veronica (Verushka) Banszky Von Ambroz.

Biography

Born in London, Wyatt attended St Paul's Girls' School in London before reading History at Worcester College, Oxford for a week, and then transferring and later graduating from University College, London.

She has been a weekly columnist for the "Sunday Telegraph" and "The Spectator," of which she was deputy editor. She currently writes political interviews and main feature articles for the "Daily Mail." Her interviewees have included John Major, [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_199712/ai_n8765751 "I've been vindicated"] , "The Spectator", December 20-27 1997] David Blunkett, [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2004/12/19/bopol219.xml "The Home Secretary's home truths"] , "The Daily Telegraph", 20 December 2004] and Piers Morgan. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_200207/ai_n9103937 "Main in the mirror"] , "The Spectator", 20 July 2002] Known for her direct and playful interview style, Wyatt got proposed Labour Minister for Women Janet Anderson to say that under a Labour Government women would be more promiscuous; and Denis Healey to regret that as the interview had gone on for so long, there was now no time for some "Rumpy Pumpy." [citeweb|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml;?html=/archive/1996/10/05/tlpet05.html|title=Women Like Seeing Men as Sex Objects"|publisher=Daily Telegraph|date=1996-10-05|accessdate=2007-05-28]

Wyatt's television appearances include "Question Time" and "Newsnight".

Wikipedia article

In May 2007, "Private Eye" reported that Wyatt had been instructed by Paul Dacre, the editor of the "Daily Mail", to pen an attack on Wikipedia over the content of her entry on the site. [Citation|title=Street of Shame|magazine=Private Eye|pages=p4|date=25 May 2007|issue=1185] This was published on 22 April 2007 when Wyatt admitted to writing her initial entry and then threatening to sue over vandalism to the page. [ [http://blog.dave.org.uk/2007/04/petronella-wyat.html Petronella Wyatt on Wikipedia] , David Cross, 24 April 2007.] She concluded the article by saying:

:"Education Secretary Alan Johnson may claim that Wikipedia is educational history and "a force for good". But if Wikipedia is "history", then history is indeed bunk. I suspect that Mr Johnson, perhaps, just wanted to read more about my embonpoint. Wicked-pedia!" [cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=450045&in_page_id=1770|title=Wicked-pedia: 'Why the online encyclopedia makes me want to scream'|publisher=Daily Mail|date=2007-04-22|accessdate=2007-05-28]

Personal life

Wyatt, known to her friends as "Petsy," lives with her mother in St John's Wood, North London.

After living in the United States for the later half of 2003 with Charles Bruce Berry at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia; in 2004 British newspapers reported that she had had a four year affair with the then Conservative MP Boris Johnson.cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article391143.ece|title=Boris Johnson sacked for lying over affair|publisher="The Times"|date=2004-11-14|accessdate=2007-05-29] The affair, which had been well hinted at in UK newspaper gossip columns, included passionate London taxi cab rides around St John's Wood during which they would ask the cab driver to insert cassette tapes of Wyatt singing Puccini. [citeweb|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/10/08/bogim208.xml|title=The only dumb blond in Westminster village|publisher=The Telegraph|date=2006-10-15|accessdate=2008-08-26] Although Johnson had promised to leave his wife,cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article21133.ece|title= Woodrow, Verushka, Pericles and Petronella: welcome to the world of the Wyatts|publisher=The Independent|date=2004-11-20|accessdate=2007-05-30] after a break-up, they had rekindled their relationship during which Wyatt had become pregnant and then had an abortion; resulting in her mother discovering the affair and reporting it to the press. Johnson was sacked from his shadow cabinet post by Michael Howard, not because of the affair but because he lied about it.

Wyatt, whose hobby is singing and lyric-writing, loves to sing Cole Porter and her party trick, which she performed for Norman Lamont’s birthday, is singing "Lili Marlene" in the husky tones of Marlene Dietrich. [citeweb|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article380228.ece|title=David, Kimberly, Boris and Petsy: it's showtime|publisher=The Times|date=2005-04-13|accessdate=2008-08-26] Wyatt devised and wrote a cabaret act called "Kiss and Tell" with the pianist and composer Jeremy Limb, the poet Lloyd Evans and opera singer Melinda Hughes. [ [http://www.kissandtellcabaret.com/ Kiss and Tell | ] ] It debuted at London club Volstead in November 2007. [citeweb|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-491687/Shes-voice-training-dance-lessons-brand-new-dress-Could-Petronella-Wyatt-new-Liza-Minnelli.html|title=She's had voice training, dance lessons and a brand new dress|publisher=Daily Mail|date=2007-11-05|accessdate=2008-08-26]

Publications

*"Father, dear Father: Life with Woodrow Wyatt", Hutchinson, London, 1999. ISBN 0-09-929760-4

References