Gary Goldsmith on Celebrity Big Brother proves that every family has a black sheep, even the Middletons

myEvery family has one: that relative with habits best described as “eccentric” and a history – personal, professional, legal – that can only be summarized as “complicated.” The one referred to, in euphemistic terms, as “an acquired taste.” However, for most of us, this character remains the exclusive realm of whispered conversations and the occasional holiday dinner. The chances of them, for example, making a much-hyped appearance on an ITV reality show alongside Sharon Osbourne and Nikita. Strictly They are relatively thin.

So think about the Middleton family. This week, as they fend off increasingly wild conspiracy theories about Kate's retreat from the public spotlight to recover from abdominal surgery, the royal-adjacent clan has to deal with another potential public relations nightmare. That unwanted publicity time bomb has a name: Gary Goldsmith.

“Uncle G” is the 58-year-old brother of Carole Middleton (who, in case you're not familiar with the Middleton family tree, is Kate's mother, Prince William's mother-in-law, and the grandmother of Prince William's heirs.) the throne). He is also the ultimate incarnation of the phrase “a little bit of character,” the black sheep of the family par excellence, and last night he crossed the doors of the Celebrity Big Brother home. Over the next few days or even weeks, you will be living with people like He X Factor Judge Louis Walsh, Ekin-Su of love island and Fern Britton, formerly of This morningliving in a house equipped with cameras 24/7.

Royal hangers-on are a reality TV mainstay: just look at the post-palace career of former butler Paul Burrell, who has supplemented his main career (talking about Princess Diana on daytime TV) with no less than three TV appearances . I'm a celebrity… Get me out of here! – although in different country versions of the program. Mike Tindall, the rugby-playing husband of Princess Anne's daughter Zara, also spent time in the jungle, eating bugs alongside Matt Hancock. But with Gary, proud owner of a villa in Ibiza that was once called “Maison de Bang Bang”, the canada drill bit Producers have a real wild card on their hands.

Goldsmith, who made his fortune in IT contracting, has the words “Nouveau Riche” tattooed on his shoulders (other inks include the initials “GG,” which reportedly also adorn the walls of Maison de Bang Bang, and the phrase “spend and God will send.” His favorite drink is vodka with pink lemonade (he ordered it so many times at the Bob Bob Ricard restaurant in Soho that they named this kind of cocktail with his initials). He calls himself “the king of fun.” , while his former colleagues often referred to him as “the Grand Duke of Slough.” And since the Middleton family was catapulted into the spotlight by virtue of Kate's relationship with a prince, Goldsmith has been embroiled in scandal after scandal.

In 2009, he was caught in a World News Sting, allegedly offering drugs to undercover journalists. His family were reportedly furious, but two years later, he scored an invitation to Kate and Wills' royal wedding, and showed up to the occasion in his trademark understated style, arriving at Westminster Abbey in a convertible Rolls-Royce. bright blue. . Then in 2017 she was fined £5,000 and given a community order after admitting assaulting his fourth wife, Julie-Ann, during a drunken argument; the judge described him as a “nasty drunk.” This incident has led the charity Women's Aid to criticize his inclusion in the canada drill bit alignment, which, they argued in Meter“demonstrates the lack of awareness that the [show’s] the production team has when it comes to survivors of domestic abuse.”

Black sheep: Gary Goldsmith has been dogged by scandal for the last decade and a half

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Rather than retreat from the spotlight after these misfortunes, Goldsmith is always happy to chat to the press about his niece and his regal in-laws. He has called Camilla “absolutely adorable” after she brushed off his red drama (“Don't think twice,” he allegedly told her. “The same thing happens to me”) and last year he got into the media storm surrounding Prince Harry's autobiography Replacement, taking offense to Harry's claim that Kate made Meghan Markle cry in a pre-wedding fight over bridesmaid dresses. “I am particularly appalled by her vile confection of half-truths and outright lies because Kate is my beloved niece,” he wrote in the daily mail.

Celebrity Big BrotherProducers surely hope the loose-lipped “Uncle G” unleashes a host of more family secrets when the cameras are trained on him. Harry and Meghan seem to be their most obvious targets, but viewers will almost certainly be more interested in any unfiltered information about how Kate and William actually react behind the scenes (at this point, the Sussexes have revealed virtually everything they must be revealed about themselves). through their own media companies). Of course, the “King of Fun” dropping chaotic bombs is the last thing the royals need right now, with a handful of high-ranking members currently beset by illness. Carole and her husband Michael have apparently read Goldsmith's card (although they can't have been particularly threatening, given that old GG went ahead and signed up anyway); The couple is “not happy” and finds the whole thing “infuriating,” according to a source.

Will Kate be watching as she convalesces at Adelaide Cottage, struggling through countless ITVX ad breaks to catch up? Probably not; her stress surely wouldn't do him much good. But whatever Uncle Gary ends up spilling into the air, he's unlikely to be excommunicated. After all, his family seems to have forgiven him for worse things. Perhaps over time, they have come to subscribe to the mantra she plastered on the walls of his Ibiza apartment: “It's Gary's world, just live in it.”