A. A. Gill

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A. A. Gill : biography

28 June 1954 –

This sparked off a minor diplomatic incident, the review being attacked in Tynwald with House of Keys member David Cannan demanding an apology for this "unacceptable and scurrilous attack", whilst Tourism Minister David Cretney said it would harm the island’s tourism.

Gill made more comments regarding the Isle of Man continued in his Sunday Times column on 23 May 2010, when he described its citizens as falling into two types: "hopeless, inbred mouth-breathers known as Bennies" and "retired, small arms dealers and accountants who deal in rainforest futures". His comments were made in the aftermath of Mick Jagger’s suggestion that drugs should be legalised in the Isle of Man. Gill added that "If… they become a hopelessly addicted, criminal cesspit, who’d care? Indeed, who could tell the difference?"

Individuals

In September 2010, the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) made a formal judgement against Gill for referring to the sexuality of the BBC Sport presenter Clare Balding in "a demeaning and gratuitous way".. Retrieved 17 September 2010.

Reviewing Mary Beard’s BBC television series Meet the Romans in April 2012, Gill wrote that the academic "should be kept away from cameras altogether."John-Paul Ford Rojas , Daily Telegraph;, 24 April 2012 Beard in response accused him of being "frightened of smart women".Mary Beard , Daily Mail, 23 April 2012

He was once ejected from one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants, along with his dining partner Joan Collins. Ramsay stated that "personal attacks and insulting my staff is something I’m not putting up with [from Gill] … I have made it quite clear that he is not welcome at my restaurant." Gill in turn described Ramsay as "a wonderful chef, just a really second-rate human being".

In a November 2012 interview with the New Zealand Weekend Herald, comic/writer/presenter Michael Palin made his apparent great dislike for Gill clear when asked if he read any of the journalist’s work, Palin frowning at the mention of Gill’s name and saying "I would not go out of my way to do so" in an atypically curt manner., New Zealand Herald, NovEMBER 3, 2012

Personal life

Gill’s first wife was the author Cressida Connolly, daughter of the writer Cyril Connolly. They later divorced. His second wife, whom he married in 1990, was Amber Rudd, a financial journalist and Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye, who appeared in his column as "The Silver-spoon". They have two children, Flora and Alasdair.

He now has a long-term relationship with Nicola Formby, editor-at-large of the Tatler, for whom he left Rudd in 1995, and who appears in his column as "The Blonde". They have twins, Edith and Isaac, born in March 2007.

He is a recovered alcoholic who drank until the age of 30.