A FITTING TRIBUTE

You may have seen over the weekend that Michelle Williams, the ex-fiancee of Heath Ledger, issued a short statement about the actor's tragic death and appealing for some privacy.

“Please respect our need to grieve privately. My heart is broken. I am the mother of the most tender-hearted, high-spirited, beautiful little girl who is the spitting image of her father. All that I can cling to is his presence inside her that reveals itself every day. His family and I watch Matilda as she whispers to trees, hugs animals, and takes steps two at a time and we know that he is with us still. She will be brought up with the best memories of him."

No attempt to cast her opinion on the grubby video that recently surfaced, no look-at-me histrionics and no attempt to earn money out of the death. Could we, hand on heart, honestly say that all British celebrities would act in such a classy, restrained yet heartfelt way? Remember Peter Andre's meningitis scare and the way Jordan resolutely refused to stop chattering and flashing her misery to the glossies? Thank heavens Peter survived his ordeal and is alive today. A sentence I never thought I'd type.