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Rachael Beck gets her scrumptious on

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Q+A with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's Rachael Beck

Rachael Beck

As the world’s most famous flying car prepares to touch down in a theatre near you, Aussie musicals star, Rachael Beck sits down for five minutes with The Women’s Weekly

1.What attracted you to the role in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

The name of my character of course! Truly Scrumptious!!

2. What is it about the story that has endured for as long as it has?

It is a magical tale. People can escape into another world in this story. Boys love the car, girls love the children and comical characters. The book is very clever. Jokes for adults and jokes for children.

3.. The child-catcher is the most terrifying character in children’s literature. Discuss.

I agree. Terrifying. Tyler Coppin will play this role brilliantly in this production. I was once told by a friend of mine who noticed my children were running away from me in the supermarket that if I told them the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang would catch them they would stop doing it. There’s a tip for you.

4. Is there a high-corset count in your wardrobe for this role? Is it tough to sing in a corset?

Yes there is. Luckily I sang in corsets when I played “Fantine” in Les Miserables. I am used to it. It also means I can eat more creme brulees and sticky date puddings and just pull it in.

5. The original book was penned by Ian ‘James Bond’ Fleming – does that make you a Bond girl?

Definitely! You wait for the sexy swimmers scene. Mmmmm might have to be in the sequel.

6. Belle, Sally Bowles, Fantine or Truly Scrumptious – besides the fact you have played them all, what do these characters have in common?

They are all searching for love.

7. Does the car fly? Or would that be giving too much away?

You will have to come and see it! All I can say is, whatever happens it is very magical.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang plays in Sydney from November 19 and in Melbourne from January 30. See the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang website for details

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Popular kids earn more money as adults

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Popular kids earn more money as adults

Kids who were popular in high school earn more money as adults, a new study has found.

US researchers from the National Bureau of Economic research found that teenagers from “cool groups” earned 10 percent more than “social rejects” and two percent more than classmates with the average number of friends.

Related: Does Facebook cause eating disorders?

The study used data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which surveyed more than 10,000 people who graduated from a Wisconsin high school in 1957.

It found that students who were popular earned more 35 years later than their less-social counterparts, and significantly more than “loners”.

Researchers said the extra income earned by popular students was as much as half of what would be earned by an extra year of tertiary study, proving the importance of good social skills.

A recent New Zealand study backed up this finding, concluding that popularity in high school is linked to happiness later in life.

The survey of 1000 adults found that “adolescent social connectedness” was more important than academic achievement when it came to predicting “adult wellbeing”.

Related: One in five kids overweight when they start school

Being unpopular at school is also linked to poor health. Researchers from Sweden’s Umea University found that children with fewer friends were more likely to suffer from obesity and high blood pressure in their 40s.

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Charles and Camilla’s Australian tour

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Scientists find formula for 'the perfect day'

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will arrive in Australia on November 5.

Clarence House has revealed details of Prince Charles and Camilla’s Australian tour, which will kick off at a cracking pace on November 5 as the royal couple begin their whirlwind tour visiting five states in just six days.

The Prince and Duchess’ whip around Australia is part of a three-country tour making up one of the last of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

They will spend two weeks visiting Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand on a tour themed “service to the community”.

The trip to Australia is a first for the Duchess of Cornwall, who is known to dislike travel, but is very much looking forward to the Pacific tour.

Key among the couple’s engagements will be the presentation of the Melbourne cup to the winner by Camilla, with Charles presenting a trophy to the winner of the Diamond Jubilee Plate.

After visiting Papua New Guinea, the couple will touch down in Longreach in far north Queensland where they will be welcomed by Indigenous custodians to inaugurate a new aircraft for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and the tour will end with wreath laying at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on November 10.

Other highlights include meeting NRL indigenous stars in Sydney and cricket stars at the MCG who help disadvantaged youth, a community BBQ in Queensland, an Adelaide school visit and supporting Australia’s armed forces with a number of formal ceremonies.

The couple will then go on to New Zealand for the tour’s final leg where the Prince of Wales will celebrate his 64th birthday, celebrated with an event at Government House on November 14 accompanied by other New Zealanders also celebrating their birthdays on the same day.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s Australian schedule

  • A Welcome to Country by Indigenous custodians

  • The Prince of Wales, as Patron, officially naming a new aircraft for the Royal Flying Doctor Service at the QANTAS Museum, Longreach;

  • visiting the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame;

  • joining hundreds of families at the Diamond Jubilee Community BBQ in Longreach;

  • The Prince of Wales meeting tapestry makers demonstrating traditional weaving skills during a visit to the Australian Tapestry Workshop;

  • The Prince of Wales viewing cricket skills clinics and meeting young participants in Cricket Victoria’s ‘Harmony’ programme for migrant and Indigenous communities at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), including players from men’s and women’s representative teams;

  • attending the Melbourne Cup;

  • The Prince of Wales attending the Housing Melbourne Symposium on sustainable urbanism at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne;

  • The Duchess of Cornwall attending a reception for Osteoporosis Australia at Government House, Melbourne;

  • attending a youth performing arts showcase; gardening and cooking with the children of the Kilkenny Primary School, Adelaide, together with chef Stephanie Alexander;

  • participating in a showcase of South Australia’s Food and Wine Industry at Penfolds Vineyard, Adelaide;

  • The Prince of Wales attending an event to promote South Australia’s economic innovation at the Adelaide Convention Centre;

  • meeting a wide range of people attending Diamond Jubilee functions in Adelaide, Hobart, Sydney and Canberra;

  • meeting local residents, shopkeepers, volunteers and heritage workers during a walk through Richmond, Tasmania;

  • The Duchess of Cornwall attending a reception with Tasmanian Rural Women in Richmond, Tasmania;

  • The Prince of Wales seeing sheep shearing and wool classing during a visit to a sheep stud in Sorrell, Tasmania;

  • The Prince of Wales seeing demonstrations and displays from a range of Antarctic and Marine Research programmes, Hobart;

  • meeting members of the Australian Defence Force recently returned from active service, and their families, at Garden Island, Sydney, including a Royal Salute and inspection of Royal Guard and Band;

  • promoting the Australian Wool industry at the Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney;

  • The Prince of Wales highlighting the work of the New South Wales’ lifesavers and other emergency workers and volunteers at a reception at Icebergs Club, Bondi Beach;

  • The Prince of Wales joining NRL football stars for a discussion with high school students participating in the National Rugby League’s “Dream Believe Achieve” programme for Indigenous young people at the Bondi Surf Bathers’ Lifesaving Club;

  • The Duchess of Cornwall accepting Colonel in Chief of the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police, Victoria Barracks Sydney, including Royal Salute and inspection of Royal and Band;

  • The Duchess of Cornwall attending a reception for leading women in the community at Government House;

  • Their Royal Highnesses officially naming Queen Elizabeth Terrace, Canberra;

  • official meetings with the Governor-General, Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition;

  • wreath-laying at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra on the eve of Remembrance Day, at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra

Video: Camilla: A new Queen?

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Sexism debate continues with Abbott’s baby comments

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Sexism debate continues with Abbott's baby comments

Tony Abbott has apologised for accusing the government of not understanding families.

Comments from Tony Abbott accusing the Gillard Government of being “inexperienced” when it comes to having babies are the latest in a series of assumed sexist slurs and personal attacks that have clouded Canberra these past two weeks.

The Opposition Leader has apologised over comments he made in response to the government’s plans to cut the baby bonus as part of its budget delivery update on Monday.

Related: Misogyny tirade inspired dictionary rethink

When announcing the change which will see the bonus cut from $5000 to $3000 for second and subsequent children, Treasurer Wayne Swan justified the change arguing “after the first child you’ve already bought the cot, the pram and the other items that you can use again”.

Mr Abbott told the Seven Network this did not reflect the reality of family living.

“If the government was a bit more experienced in this area they wouldn’t come out with glib lines like that,” he said.

The Prime Minister responded insisting that Mr Abbott explain what he meant by “that line”.

The Opposition leader specified that he was referring to his own experience of needing a double pram after having his first daughter when the second was born 15 months later.

He said that he meant the Prime Minister no offence, but was happy to apologise.

“If she (Ms Gillard) wants to take offence of course I’m sorry about that. And if she wants to take offence of course I’m sorry about that. And if she would like me to say sorry, I’m sorry,” Mr Abbott said.

The Opposition Leader — who was the subject of a scathing speech delivered by the Prime Minister in which she attacked him for sexism and misogyny — went on to say he thought people read too much into his comments.

“This was as innocent as a comment can be,” he told Fairfax Radio.

Mr Abbott’s suggestion that the debate “move on” from sexism and personal attacks has been echoed by shadow treasurer Joe Hockey, who described Labor’s reaction to Mr Abbott’s comments as “just pathetic”.

Related: Was the PM’s tirade at Abbott justified?

“If they had more experience in a range of different areas they would understand the pressures,” he said.

Mr Hockey said that Abbott’s comments referred to the whole government, not just the Prime Minister, and supported the Opposition Leader’s remarks, saying that he, as a father of three children under five understood the pressures.

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Scientists find formula for ‘the perfect day’

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Scientists find formula for 'the perfect day'

A new study breaks down what women want from their day. Does it sound like your perfect day?

Men are constantly grappling with the mystery of what women want. A new study could help them get to the bottom of it, and they might be pleasantly surprised.

Aside from eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, a German and US survey of 900 women suggests that a woman’s top priority is a bit of romance, saying their perfect daily routine would include an average of 106 minutes enjoying ‘intimate relations’ with their partner.

Related: Can looking your age kill your career?

Favourite activities also included computer time, with the fairer sex opting for an average of 98 minutes on their favourite websites and checking emails.

The more predictable pastimes also got a look-in, with socialising coming in a third favourite way for women to spend their time preferring to spend 82 minutes a day on honing their social skills.

Fifty-seven minutes on the phone and 56 minutes at the shops were found to be part of a woman’s perfect day, but neither of them could trump relaxing, which the women surveyed wanted devote 78 minutes each day to.

Exercise, preparing food, commuting and some work (only 36 minutes!) were also considered in data collected to find the ‘perfect day’ which was found to include 16 different activities, each taking between 33 and 106 minutes.

“Our research asks what a perfect day would look like if we take into account the crucial fact that even the most pleasurable activities are usually less enjoyable the longer they last and the more often we do them,” said the study’s researchers.

Related: Older women have more one night stands

The researchers also analysed data from the US Time Use Survey which measures the amount of time men and women spend on activities and used it to work out the perfect routine, combining this with the survey of 900 women with an average age of 38.

The study found it was better to divide the day up into smaller packages of things you like and a variety of activities, partly to avoid boredom.

Your say: How would you divide up your perfect day?

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Pippa Middleton on being famous for her ‘brother-in-law and bottom’

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Pippa Middleton on being famous for her 'brother-in-law and bottom'

Pippa Middleton reveals her struggles with 'startling' sudden fame in her new book

Pippa Middleton has revealed her struggles over coming to terms with fame brought on by her family and figure.

In her debut book, Celebrate: A Year of British Festivities for Families and Friends, the usually private princess of party planning talks about being suddenly thrust in to the limelight thanks to her sister Kate marrying the second in line to the throne, admitting she is still coming to terms with fame.

Private Pippa’s publishing debut

“It is a bit startling to achieve global recognition (if that’s the right words) before the age of 30, on account of your sister, your brother-in-law and your bottom,” she writes.

“One day I might be able to make sense of this.”

Earlier this month, it was reported that Pippa was all set to tour the US promoting her party-planning book, but had to cancel the many television appearances she had scheduled following the publication of topless photos of her sister and the scandal that ensued.

The canning of Pippa’s publicity tour is another disadvantage of being a royal-in-law, as is the sudden fame and loss of privacy she discusses in the book.

Despite all this, Pippa says in her celebration bible, that she tends to “concentrate on the advantages.”

Related: Pippa Middleton ‘devastated’ by ugly face taunts

“In the meantime I think it’s fair to say that it has its upside and downside. I certainly have opportunities many can only dream of — but in most ways I’m a typical girl in her 20s trying to forge a career and represent herself in what can sometimes seem rather strange circumstances.”

The book Celebrate: A Year of British Festivities for Families and Friends is the result of a publishing deal reported to be valued at more than $600,000.

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Jodi and Braith’s amazing wedding!

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Jodi and Braith's amazing wedding!

There were tears of joy, lots of laughter and a whole lot of love when gorgeous actress Jodi Gordon married big-hearted rugby league champion Braith Anasta.

“Yes, I cried,” smiles a beaming Jodi Gordon, who was overcome with emotion when she tied the knot with her “Mr Handsome”, Braith Anasta, on a clifftop in Bali last week, in front of her family and closest friends. For the beautiful bride, resplendent in J’Aton couture, the tears began as Braith vowed “I promise to love you always,” and continued as he leant in to tenderly brush a tear from his bride’s cheek, pledging to share his life with Jodi.

It was the culmination of three years of joy since they fell in love after Braith’s team mate Brett Finch set them up on a blind date. “From day one we just clicked and got on like a house on fire,” an emotional Braith told the 120 guests who travelled from Australia and New Zealand to Bali for the couple’s modern take on a classic white wedding.

“From very early on I knew I’d found the one – and Jodi really is amazing. She is my best friend and I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together and start a family together.” Braith held hands with Jodi like he never wanted to let go after his radiant bride walked down a white rose petal-strewn aisle, dazed with happiness and beaming an infectious smile.

“I was also crying my eyes out there,” admits the Sydney Roosters and State of Origin hero, who will play with the Tigers next season. “The emotions are running so high because it means so much to both of us.” Jodi, 27, and 30-year-old Braith spent 12 months planning their dream wedding, booking the sumptuous villa Istana at Uluwatu and meticulously planning a spectacular white wedding above the dramatic white cliffs of Bali’s famous surf break.

See all of the beautiful photos from Jodi and Braith’s special day, plus find out all the details of the dress and reception in in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday October 22, 2012.

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Angela Lansbury: I’m Malcolm Turnbull’s cousin!

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Angela Lansbury: I'm Malcolm Turnbull's cousin!

When the stage icon soon hits our shores, she’ll be catching up with an important Aussie pollie.

On the eve of her first visit here in 55 years, beloved showbiz legend Angela Lansbury says top of her to-do list is savouring our ice-cold beer – and catching up with her cousin, federal politician Malcolm Turnbull, who she hasn’t seen since he was a tot!

“It’s ridiculous that this will be my first trip to Australia since 1958.Back then, I was in Sydney making [movie] Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll. You know, that’s when I fell madly in love with Aussie beer!” she laughs, as she chats exclusively to Woman’s Day from her New York home. “Considering my British heritage, it’s amazing I’d never had so much as a sip of beer until then. I became an instant fan and only ever drink Australian beer,” confides Angela, 87, in her famously rounded tones.

“I adored my time in Australia,” says Angela. “What I recall so vividly was the beautiful summer by Bondi Beach. We went for glorious picnics, and my children, Anthony and Deirdre, had great fun playing with Malcolm Turnbull who, back then, was about four.”

Angela says she and Malcolm are related via Malcolm’s mother, Coral Lansbury, who’s a cousin. “I haven’t seen him in all these years, but we keep in touch by phone and email. I am looking forward to a long-overdue reunion.” Angela, whose 70-year acting career has seen her become Hollywood royalty, a Broadway sensation and a television institution, says she’s excited to be starring on the Australian stage with her dear friend, Star Wars great James Earl Jones (right), in Driving Miss Daisy, which will tour nationally from February.

Read more about Angela and Malcolm’s ties in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday October 22, 2012.

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Russell begs Danielle: Please take me back

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Russell begs Danielle: Please take me back

The Gladiator star is ready to do anything to win his wife back.

When Russell Crowe married Danielle Spencer in 2003, he was adamant they would be together forever. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time so I don’t have any second thoughts,” he said. “The thought [of marrying her] crossed my mind the first time I met her.” Nine years on, a devastated Russell is desperately trying to save their union.

“He is begging Danielle for a second chance, even promising her a lump sum payout of $25 million if she agrees to hold off the divorce filing for three months while they try to work out their differences,” a US-based colleague of Russell’s reveals exclusively to Woman’s Day. The 48-year-old actor is leaning heavily on friends and colleagues on the set of Noah, the latest in a series of back-to-back movie roles including Les Miserables, The Man With The Iron Fists, Broken City and Man Of Steel that have kept him away from Danielle and his beloved sons Charlie, 8, and Tennyson, 6, in Sydney.

“It’s hit Russell like a ton of bricks,” a source close to Danielle reveals. “I think he thought Dani would never really leave him or the lifestyle of being a movie-star wife. But Dani couldn’t care less about all that.” The news came as no surprise to the couple’s inner circle. Close friends Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-lee Furness felt “something was very wrong” in the Crowe marriage when they attended a fundraiser brunch Danielle threw in the couple’s $10 million Rose Bay home recently.

“When they returned home, they [Hugh and Deborra-lee] were worried, sort of astonished that there was no sign of Russell living in that house,” a source close to the Jackmans reveals. “The decor was immaculate but nothing manly. Not even a den with a large screen TV or his rugby gear. No photos of him or anything. Deborra-lee was really concerned. They attended his wedding and thought he’d stick through with this one.” Clearly, Deborra-lee’s instincts were spot on.

Read more about the split, plus find out what Danielle’s dance partner has to say in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday October 22, 2012.

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SJP’s split heartbreak

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SJP's split heartbreak

Parenting stress, rumours of infidelity and career mismatch have taken a toll. Now friends fear their long love story is at risk.

Sarah Jessica Parker became an icon to a generation of women playing unlucky-in-love Carrie Bradshaw – but in real life, she seemed to have the marriage thing down pat. Now friends of the Sex And The City star reveal her 15-year union – a lifetime in Hollywood terms – with 1980s heart-throb Matthew Broderick has been under strain for years.

Those close to the two say Sarah and Matt have been living apart for months as they prepare their children, nine-year-old James and twins Marion and Tabitha, 3, for the inevitable. And it’s all Sarah can do to keep it together for them. “Sarah’s terrified of being alone with three kids,” a source close to the couple tells Woman’s Day. “She knows her marriage hasn’t been right for a long time. But at the same time she feels like she’ll never meet anyone else, and she’s chain smoking and crying a lot. She doesn’t know how to cope. She is devastated.”

Dealing with a marriage in crisis is sadly nothing new for Sarah, 47. Back in July 2008, a US magazine reported that Matthew had been having an affair with a 25-year-old redhead while Sarah was filming the first Sex And The City movie. Despite her angst, the marriage survived – but not long after the twins were born via a surrogate in 2009, the relationship began to splinter again.

“Sarah is the first to admit she was a career woman who took her time to get into family mode. And although they coped with the arrival of their oldest child James, having the girls put a massive strain on their relationship,” our insider says. “She has a cleaner and nannies, but she gets frazzled trying to combine work, kids and making her marriage work. Matthew is a great dad and he’s very supportive – he used to cook almost every meal – but even so, they ended up fighting a lot and Sarah doesn’t have much patience for that.”

Read more about Sarah and Matthew’s marriage in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday October 22, 2012.

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