'It's time to turn my back on toxic famous frenemies - they're not worth my energy'

I know we haven’t arrived at Christmas yet, but my mind is already looking ahead to the new year and I’ve been thinking a lot about the changes I’d like to make with my life, moving forward. As you all know, I’ve downsized my house and my lifestyle, and made a decision to pretty much stay single while I recalculate and recalibrate who I am after the pandemic.

Those of you who’ve followed my writing career will know that my last book Ruthless Women was more successful than I could ever have dreamed of. This is a book that, firstly, my English teachers at school told me I could never write and, secondly, 39 publishers turned down, saying no one would read it.

And yet, instead of focusing on the sheer joy of seeing it translated into different languages across the world and selling nearly 200,000 copies, I’ve taken opportunity after opportunity to use the profile its success has given me to make digs at people who treated me horribly on the way up.

Elizabeth Taylor once famously said, “Success is a great deodorant” – and it’s true! When you find yourself in a situation where everybody wants a piece of you, you notice just how fake so many people are – doubly more so when it’s people that you know have never liked you and are suddenly trying to be your best friend. I can now see I’ve used it as an excuse to vent my anger against fair-weather friends who’d dropped me in the past and were suddenly everywhere I turned.

I’ve also realised that, were it not for some of the toxic experiences I had with some of the most famous women in this country during my years as a talent agent, I wouldn’t have had the inspiration to create the monstrous characters that people so love reading about. But it’s now reached a point where I think I need to give up on the assumption that some people will change, or at least recognise that they owe you an apology for their behaviour.

I can’t deny that I’ve taken great pleasure in giving “certain people” sleepless nights via this column – knowing they were reading it each week waiting to see whether I’d out them for their appalling behaviour towards me in the past. But I feel like I’ve played that game now.

I know they’re fully aware that people have started to work out who they are – and they’re terrified of their past behaviour undermining their fake public image. So I’ve decided to utilise another well-known phrase and believe that everyone is entitled to turn over a new leaf.

Still, karma has a long memory and if you’ve ever treated someone really badly and you’ve got any sort of conscience, somewhere along the line, on a sleepless night, that’s the kind of thing that will keep you awake. After all, I’ve dealt with so many more nice people than those selfish horrors. In fact, I’m actually starting to feel that I’m doing a disservice to all the wonderful women – on screen and off – who’ve stayed loyal to me and always had my back for decades by focusing on those bitches!

So, when my follow-up book Guilty Women is released next year, I’ve decided I’m going to shine a light on the positive parts of the entertainment world, not just the bad. Because for every rotten apple there’s a basketful of good ones.

It may sound shallow to be talking about “showbiz, showbiz”, but in reality a great portion of the world is interested in what goes on behind the velvet curtain and how the other half live. It’s part of why you’re reading this column now. So, while I may be promising to pull my claws in somewhat, I can guarantee you that the next round of revelations I spill certainly won’t be boring.

Oh, and did I mention I’d been asked to write my autobiography? You’ve got to tell the whole truth if you do one of those, haven’t you?

What are your resolutions for 2022? Email Melanie at notebook@reachplc.com and have your say in the comments below