Thorny Rose

This week’s hot-off-the-press Hebug is Derek Rose, formerly known as Jonathan Ketterman. He is not a musician nor has he entered the witness protection programme under an assumed name. Mr. Rose’s claim to fame, or possibly ‘desired’ claim to fame, is through the 33 year old’s past association with Ms. Tamara Ecclestone.

The socialite, model and presenter’s father is none other than the billionaire Formula One boss, Bernie Ecclestone. His financial resources and Facebook friends surpass Mr. Rose’s. Bernie’s connections know people who know people who know people, and so on…But Mr. Rose isn’t looking over his shoulder. After all, the desired fee in question only amounts to £200,000 a mere speck of dust in the bottomless Eccclestone coffers.

Derek and Tamara dated when she was 17; some accounts claim the couple were engaged. But when Ms. Ecclestone cheated on him, he returned fire by selling the story in 2002 for £10,000.

It is alleged that Rose has teamed up with his 20-year-old media student friend, Jakir Uddin, to threaten Ms. Ecclestone with exposing intimate details of their time together twelve years ago.

Tamara’s agent testified in court that both men emailed her claiming that one of the biggest UK tabloids had made ex-lover Rose a ‘life-changing offer’ in exchange for his kiss-and-tell account.

Though Rose agreed to do a short film with Mr. Uddin about his relationship with the socialite, he asserts that he did not want it to come out into the public domain.  He also claims that he was shocked when Uddin later contacted him to say he wanted to sell the exposé to the press.

Meanwhile, the police found a box labeled ‘Tamara’ bursting with press clippings and holiday photographs of the pair at his London home. Rose says he keeps the box so that he can tell his future grandchildren he dated the heiress.

Between court hearings, tough cookie Tamara has become engaged to Jay Rutland, who last year was banned by the Financial Services Authority, which found he used inside information to boost sales of shares, and ‘watered down’ warnings about the risks to investors. Seven months earlier, the 29 year-old broke up with a 41 year-old businessman when he got caught on a sex tape.

Between the allegations, the dirty laundry and the price break down of Ms Ecclestone’s court outfits the press is having a field day.