Nigella Lawson assistant denies claim about Oprah Winfrey deal for TV cook
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Version 0 of 1. An assistant to Nigella Lawson has been asked in court whether the self-styled "domestic goddess" has signed an exclusive deal to speak to the US chatshow host Oprah Winfrey when the fraud trial of two former assistants has ended. Anzelle Wasserman denied the claim by Karina Arden, counsel for Francesca Grillo, who along with her sister Elisabetta Grillo is accused of defrauding the TV cook and her former husband of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Arden asked Wasserman: "You know, don't you, that Miss Lawson has signed an exclusive agreement with Oprah Winfrey in January?" "That's not correct," replied Wasserman. However, she did not give any further details as to which parts of Arden's claim were correct or incorrect. Wasserman, one of Lawson's current personal assistants, also denied that she had come to court in an attempt to save her employer's reputation. Last week, Lawson told Isleworth crown court that she had taken cocaine when her first husband was dying and again in 2010, arguing that on those occasions she did not have a drugs problem but "a life problem". Arden challenged Wasserman over her reasons for giving evidence, saying: "You, I suggest, have come to court partly to save – as you perceive it – Miss Lawson's reputation." Wasserman replied: "I'm here to give witness evidence about the trial of the Grillos because I worked for them for so long, and that is why I'm here." The aide also denied that she had told her co-workers that she had "greatly contributed" to Lawson's professional success – and that she had a motto to the effect that it was her job "to be the bitch" among Lawson's employees. "No, I've never heard that, no," said Wasserman. The Grillo sisters are accused of spending £685,000 on the family's accounts without authorisation. They have claimed the spending was authorised by Lawson as part of a tacit understanding that they would not tell her then husband, Charles Saatchi, about Lawson's alleged use of cocaine and cannabis. Prosecutors claim the sisters lived the "high life" by splashing out on designer clothes and handbags from Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Vivienne Westwood. Elisabetta Grillo, 41, and Francesca Grillo, 35, each deny a single count of fraud. The court heard on Wednesday that Francesca Grillo had accompanied Lawson's children and Saatchi's daughter on numerous foreign trips to cities including Paris, New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Amsterdam. Cross-examining Wasserman over the use of credit cards issued to employees by Saatchi, Arden referred to texts sent to her by Francesca Grillo while on a "super-expensive" trip to the south of France with one of the children and some of their friends. The message, sent while Grillo was in St Tropez, asked Wasserman to get in touch with Saatchi's finance director, Rahul Gajjar, as the costs of the trip were rapidly mounting. "Could you please ask Rahul to make sure my card is being paid off so I have enough credit over here?" asked Grillo. "I have to take cash out every day for cabs and clubs and I'm worried I won't have enough." Wasserman texted back: "I've just spoken to Rahul. He's going to speak to the bank to tell them you're in St Tropez but he says your card doesn't have a limit so it shouldn't be a problem." Asked why Francesca Grillo's credit card – which was tied to Saatchi's account with the private bank Coutts – had no limit on it when all the other personal assistants' cards did, Wasserman said she did not know. She told the court: "I don't know what the situation was between her and Rahul. It was nothing to do with me. I was merely being the middle man." The case continues. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |