Fame, Blame And Shame
Mandy Smith began a relationship with Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones at the age of just 13. Born into an Irish Catholic family in North London, Mandy was educated at a convent school and, as a child, had a deep love of God. But she was caught up in the excitement of a celebrity lifestyle when she began dating Bill and forging her own career as a singer and model.
Their wedding in 1989 brought the paparazzi out in force – she was just 18, he was 52. But within weeks they had separated, and were divorced two years later. Nearly 30 years after it all began, Mandy talks to Michael Ford about the emotional fallout of having entered into a sexual relationship at such a young age.
She reflects on what it was like to become a tabloid commodity, the years of ill health that followed her failed marriage to Bill - and how she returned to the faith of her childhood. We also hear from Max Clifford, PR specialist to the famous, on why the media often builds celebrities up only to knock them down. (Part 1 of 3, BBC)