THIS was a clear case of mistaken identity in as much as it was a divorce battle masquerading as a fraud trial.
While the setting was red-brick Isleworth Crown Court and the accused were two mousy Italian sisters, the proceedings were pure box office gold. The court calls Nigella Lawson, the Marie Antoinette of Belgravia, and Charles Saatchi, the art-collecting Sun King of Shoreditch. Come all ye peasants and marvel at their lavish lifestyles!
For it is not the spending of the Grillo sisters for which this case will be remembered, but the glimpse into the spending habits of the rich and famous. The bulk buying of cashmere jumpers. The monthly credit card bill the size of some annual salaries. The teams of little helpers for mother and father. Secret stashes. Fields of fresh flowers. The VIP trips to Glasto for the children. Age of austerity? Not on your Nigella.
How different it had seemed when the couple separated after that now infamous spat in a restaurant.
Following a civilised parting of the financial ways, all appeared calm. The reality was anything but. The grilling of the Grillos was an opportunity for marital war by other means, and Lawson and Saatchi grabbed it like shoppers in a January sale.
As professional image makers, both went into court determined to leave a favourable impression. This time, however, the touches were clumsy, the soundbites too slick.
He, the author of the "Higella" email, was the heartbroken, misunderstood spouse who adored his ex still. Really?
She was the miserable, downtrodden wife, out of love with love. Is that so?
Raven of hair and pale of professionally made-up face, she swept into court like Snow White in kitten heels. "I did not have a drug problem, I had a life problem," she said, a line sure to go down in the annals of wronged womanhood alongside, "There were three of us in this marriage". There are a lot more now.
The cleared Grillos were only ever minor players in this designer drama and will soon be forgotten.
Talk now turns to the impact of the case on Nigella's career. Having admitted cocaine use, the prospects for the domestic goddess Stateside do not appear rosy. Still, the now divorced couple could always reconcile to write a book about the trial - Charles and Nigella: How We Cooked Our Own Goose.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article