Flowers and body hair — the perils of celebrity court battles

MAX MOSLEY is not the first celebrity whose court battles have forced him to reveal embarrassing personal details.

When Sir Elton John tried to sue his former management in a dispute over contracts in 2000, he was forced to tell the High Court he had spent £40 million (€50m), including £293,000 on flowers, during a 20-month period.

“I like spending my money,” he told the court, before adding: “I like flowers.”

The star claimed he had paid £14 million in tour expenses which should have been borne by his ex-management company John Reid Enterprises (JREL).

He accused JREL’s former managing director Andrew Haydon along with PricewaterhouseCoopers of negligence.

His claims were rejected by the court and an appeal failed, leaving him with a legal bill of more than £8 million.

In 2006, former Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan told the Court of Session in Edinburgh he had “an ape-like appearance on the beach” due to excessive body hair. He took action against the News of the World over allegations he cheated on his wife and took part in orgies.

His wife Gail told the jury her husband looked “like a gorilla” and Sheridan later offered to strip to prove it.

He said the distinguishing feature had not been mentioned by any of the women who said they had slept with him.

He won the case and £200,000 but Sheridan and his wife were later charged with perjury during the defamation action. They appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in March.

Lord Archer was given a four-year prison sentence for perjury and perverting the course of justice during a successful 1987 libel case against the Daily Star.

A High Court jury awarded Archer £500,000 over claims that he slept with prostitute Monica Coghlan but it was later revealed that he had lied to the court and he was jailed.

The Duchess of Argyll was also embarrassed when sexually explicit photos were shown during her 1963 divorce from the Duke.

The pictures, which showed the Duchess performing a sex act on a man whose face was not shown, were a key piece of evidence in the case.

In 2000 the secret findings of a Government inquiry were made public which named actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr as the figure shown in the Polaroid pictures.