Richard Reid's Hollywood hot spots

Gossip guru Richard Reid shows Lucy Chesterton the celebrity hangouts where the big stars mingle in Tinseltown.

Before the sun rises over the Hollywood Hills, Today show presenter Richard Reid is already out and about, downing a shot of caffeine before taking Woman’s Day on a top-speed spin around Tinseltown’s best celebrity hotspots.

The man who brings a sprinkling of star power into our homes every morning with his inimitable energy is no less enthusiastic in real life. Forget Robert De Niro and Susan Sarandon, autograph hunters are vying for Richard’s scribble the moment we set foot on the street.

“First stop: Urth Caffe,” Richard declares as we skid into a parking lot in LA, where the problem of looking for a spot is solved by valets who come running to take the wheel.

The cafe is low-key outside, but inside the tables are packed with people slurping coffee from bowls larger than their heads. “Isabel Lucas loves this place,” Richard says. “She stopped in here for lunch after her LA car crash, and the paparazzi crowded around outside. This was the scene of her first statement – ‘I’m fine!’ She brought Entourage star Adrian Grenier along to prove their relationship hadn’t hit the skids!”