Fiona Duff: Shame on dedicated followers of passion

Antonio Horta Osorio, Group Chief Executive of the Lloyds Banking Group. Picture; Getty

This Portuguese banker became CEO of Lloyds Bank in January 2011, no doubt in the hope that he could do his bit in helping to sort out the crisis in that bank following the financial meltdown a few years previously.

He is paid over £10 million a year, which is quite a chunk of any company’s profits. About ten months after his appointment he had to take leave due to exhaustion, as I imagine wondering what to do with all that money must be somewhat wearing.

He is back in the news and any exhaustion he may be suffering is due to something else completely. It appears that in June he had a “fling” with a former adviser to Tony Blair while they were at a conference.

His wife is still by his side and it may be that it is more continental to brush off this sort of spousal behaviour. However I can’t believe it is easy to hold your head up high when her husband’s bed-hopping has been national news.

I was once married to a man who had an affair. It wasn’t a quick fling in a foreign city, but a fully fledged relationship which required a great deal of lying and deception. Of course, in the end I found out, slapped him about the head and chucked him out of our flat.

Married people having affairs is hardly something that happens rarely. Because of my experience, people in similar situations sometimes want to talk to me. They don’t know whether to forgive and try and carry on or phone a lawyer and start divorce proceedings.

The latter course is actually a worse experience, in most cases, than finding out about the infidelity.

For those who do want to try to continue in their marriage I only have one piece of advice and that is to ask if they can keep the guilt out of the relationship.

If they were to be having a row, could they manage not to fling that bit of history into the face of their other half? If the answer is no, then the marriage is doomed and it is best to move on before they go off and find someone else who doesn’t call them a cheating toe rag on a regular basis.

It seems that Mrs Horto Osorio can button her lip and good for her as I know that I would have nagged for Britain. In fact, I know I did.

The best thing would be if people who were married or in long-term committed relationships just didn’t play around with other people. But that’s just pie-in-the-sky idealism and sure as night follows day there will always be some couple booking into a hotel during the afternoon, signing the register as Mr & Mrs Smith.

The promise of passion always overrides the prospect of pain.

Festival’s over but at least telly’s better

One of the best things about September is that the TV programmes start getting better.

Instead of repeats and a load of dross that we are offered in the summer months, we can settle down on a Saturday night for Strictly, Sunday nights see a new drama about Queen Victoria which looks lavish as well as interesting and informative as you may have noticed if you tuned in last night.

It’s not that I am completely against some dross – I’m A Celebrity is a guilty pleasure – it’s just that so often TV commissioners decide that shows should be directed at the lowest common denominator, insulting our intelligence and changing history to suit themselves.

Years ago a comedian who specialised in children’s shows told me that he would aim his material at the eldest in the room; while some of his stories might go over the heads of the younger ones in the audience they wouldn’t be bored.

It seems a darn good principle for any sort of entertainment and just wish that some television company bosses read this. Unfortunately, the TV Festival is now over so they’ve all naffed off back to London.