LILY'S MISSED ON BOOK PANEL

Lily's a reading role model for young people

Friday June 6,2008

ORANGE Prize chair Kirsty Lang wants to see Lily Allen return to the judges panel in the future after giving up her place this year.

Smile singer Lily, 22, left by “mutual consent” after suffering a miscarriage and splitting from her Chemical Brothers boyfriend Ed Simons.

“There’s never a good time to leave but Lily’s input was vital,” broadcaster and former Newsnight presenter Lang, 45, told us at the Orange bash at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

“She read all 30 books on her list and I’d like to see her come back. The first thing my 16-year-old step-daughter asked was which books Lily Allen recommended.”

Other guests at the glamorous event included GMTV’s Penny Smith, actor Tony Slattery, novelist Kathy Lette and Ian Hislop.

Mischievous Kathy told us she was hosting a dinner party later and planned to set up the Have I Got News For You team captain Hislop – happily married to novelist Victoria, above – with her fellow Aussie Dannii Minogue.

She joked: “They’re both great friends of mine and Dannii has admitted she fancied Ian but they’ve never met. Dannii’s going to bring along a toyboy for us to fight over but I’ve made sure everyone else coming is gay so Ian won’t have any competition.”

Ian laughed off Kathy’s match-making skills, saying: “She never gives up, does she?”