RICHARD KAY: You're not Strictly VIPs, dancers

As stars of Strictly Come Dancing, they have become two of the show’s most recognised figures.
But husband and wife hoofers James and Ola Jordan have waltzed into a bizarre dispute over their celebrity status. 
Are they A-listers, B-list  or a merely humiliating C? The row began after James, 35, decided to give Ola, 30, a treat — a brand-new open-top Mercedes SLK roadster.
The car costs around £40,000, but it can be leased by celebrity figures for as little as £130 a month. 
At least it can if you are, in their opinion, a bona fide celebrity.
According to James, he was originally told he was an A-lister by Manchester-based VIP Auto Sales, which specialises in discounted rates on top-of-the-range cars to well-known figures.
But they later downgraded him to a ‘B’, which meant he would have to pay more.
The firm grades celebrities in three categories. In the end, says Jordan, the car was never delivered and only part of his £2,000 deposit was refunded.
‘I got back £1,000, but they refuse to give me the rest. I am beyond furious,’ says James who came  across the company when they began ‘following’ Ola on Twitter. 
‘I thought it sounded a great deal, but it has ended in disaster.
Initially they said I would have to pay only £130 a month, but by the end of the process they had raised the cost to £490, saying they had changed their categories.’
Now James, who last year took his Strictly partner Denise Van Outen to the final, and Polish-born Ola — who won the series in 2009  partnering BBC presenter Chris Hollins — have contacted police.

Husband and wife hoofers James and Ola Jordan have waltzed into a bizarre dispute over their celebrity status

The row began after James, 35, decided to give Ola, 30, a treat - a brand-new open--top Mercedes SLK roadster

He says: ‘It has been incredibly frustrating. All I want is my deposit back.’ 
VIP Auto Sales tells me: ‘We give different leasing rates depending on a customer’s celebrity status. 
‘For example, Adele would be a level one. One Direction would get a great deal, too. 
‘The next level would be top people on TV or soap stars. And the last group are minor TV personalities or Division One footballers.  
‘James was level one in April, but by June he was no longer eligible for a level one discount. We refunded half of his non-refundable deposit out of goodwill.’

Fine tribute to a vintage star

Dora Bryan, actress pictured at Buckingham palace after receiving her OBE from the Queen

Plans are under way for veteran actress and comedienne Dora Bryan to make her first appearance in public for five years. 
The former Last Of The Summer Wine star has lived in a Hove nursing home since the death of her husband, cricketer and hotelier Bill Lawton, in 2008. 
But next month a lavish tribute to her is being staged at nearby Rottingdean Museum in East Sussex.  
Among the exhibits  will be the Bafta she won as best actress for the 1961 screen classic, A Taste Of Honey, her Olivier Award for Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party at the National Theatre in 1994, and the OBE conferred upon her by the Queen in 1996.
The museum’s curator Marcus Bagshaw says: ‘We are inviting Sir Cliff Richard, who co-starred with her in the 1967 film Two A Penny, and also Rita Tushingham and Murray Melvin, who appeared with her in A Taste Of Honey, to attend the opening on September 13.’ 
Dora’s younger son, William Lawton, 51, says: ‘My mother is 90, rather frail and confined to a wheelchair, but I am determined to try to get her  to the exhibition, even if all she does is to cut a ribbon to declare it open. 
‘It would mean so much to her to know she is still loved and remembered.’

BBC’s Ben pops the question

Chancellor George Osbornes former special adviser Poppy Mitchell-Rose

They are as professionally discreet as each other, but I have some happy news of Chancellor George Osborne’s former special adviser Poppy Mitchell-Rose and her beau, BBC political correspondent Ben Wright — they are to marry.
‘Yes, we are engaged, but I can’t really believe anyone is interested in me!’ Poppy modestly tells me.
After working at the BBC and Reuters, Scottish-born Poppy, 33, distinguished herself as a ‘spad’ at the Treasury where the Chancellor likes to surround himself with pretty — and brainy — young women.
Indeed, she was present  last year when Osborne found himself in a first-class train compartment with a second-class ticket.
She has been dating  Ben, 30, the Oxford-educated son of former Labour MP Tony Wright, for some years.
Poppy, who went to Fettes, Tony Blair’s school, now works at PR outfit Freud Communications.
I understand they are planning a winter wedding. ‘I can’t discuss that without asking Ben,’ says Poppy carefully.

Mystery surrounds Ofcom probe into Lord McAlpine scandal

Mystery surrounds an Ofcom probe into the Lord McAlpine scandal.
In November, the watchdog agreed to examine alleged breaches of its code by ITV and the BBC in relation to the peer after he was falsely linked to a paedophile ring, but almost ten months on no report has been published.
A source tells me the delay is down to the BBC putting up a ‘robust defence’ of its position.
‘Privately, ITV has admitted its mistakes,’ says the source. ‘But the BBC has a different position.
This makes a striking contrast to its public contrition over the story. It’s ironic, since it was the BBC that libelled McAlpine in the first place.’
Ofcom says inquiries are ‘ongoing’.

Princess Alexandra to return to royal duties after battling arthritis

Princess Alexandra is set to return to royal duties after battling an acute form of arthritis.
The Queen’s cousin is on the road to recovery and will carry out her first official engagement next month.
I told in May how Alexandra, 76, sister of the Duke of Kent and Prince Michael, had been forced to rest after contracting the agonising condition polymyalgia rheumatica.

Princess Alexandra is set to return to royal duties after battling an acute form of arthritis. The Queen's cousin is on the road to recovery and will carry out her first official engagement next month

As I revealed, Alexandra was reluctant to give up her duties as she is devoted to the Queen, but she was absent from the celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the Coronation.
But I’m pleased to report that the Princess — whose husband, Sir Angus Ogilvy, died nine years ago — will carry out her first engagement on September 21, when she attends a charity concert at Much Marcle, near Ledbury, Herefordshire.
A royal insider revealed: ‘The Princess is feeling a lot better, but she will be easing back into duties slowly. She is not retiring.