PAs in the news

PAs who look after celebrities – both past and present – have been in the papers recently, with X Factor winner James Arthur resorting to dismissing his personal assistant after his phone was allegedly used to send abusive text messages to a model.

25-year-old James denies sending lewd texts to glamour model Teddy Edwardes after she posted screen grabs of a What’s App conversation on Twitter. James later claimed that it was actually his PA who had shared the exchange and went on to say that they had been sacked. Whether the assistant in question had indeed overstepped the mark, or was simply made a scapegoat, is open to interpretation.

Meanwhile, the loveandknuckles.com blog has posted a hilarious job description purporting to be an ad for a personal assistant to Grammy award winner Mariah Carey. In it, the ideal candidate is required to have an “appreciation of R&B music and be skilled in the art of Spanx adjustment and removal”. He or she must also be “fairly unattractive to prevent issues concerning insecurity or bitterness”. In addition, they need to possess a good imagination, as they have to be able “to pretend their employer is a size 2”.

Tasks that this very accommodating PA might be asked to undertake include “ensuring hot tub water is not scorching, jamming swollen feet into stilettos and holding up a hand fan”. Also essential is the ability to “prop up the employer on elbows during radio and TV interviews and hide food containing carbohydrates.”

Even celebrities who are no longer with us are still generating column inches. For 12 years, Peter Freestone was the personal assistant to legendary rock star and Queen front man Freddy Mercury, who died in 1991. Peter was interviewed recently by Radio Prague about the release of three ‘lost’ tracks that Freddie recorded 30 years ago with Michael Jackson.

In the course of the interview, Peter describes working with Freddie as “amazing”, saying that “it was work… because there was money going into the bank every month… but I was basically living Freddie’s life. I had the easy part: I could spend what he worked really hard to earn. I did the shopping and went to auctions for him… that was the easy part of the job.”

Peter added that, like many famous people, Freddie was a different person behind closed doors and someone who intensely valued his privacy. Read the full interview at tinyurl.com/ohg8h7j.