Strictly unconfidential
Tabloid gossip , Issue 1659

WHEN former Apprentice contestant – and JD Vance fan – Thomas Skinner was recruited for this year's Strictly Come Dancing, his value as a tabloid target suddenly rocketed, and a delighted Sun promptly invested in his former mistress.

Beautician Amy-Lucy O'Rourke was bought up by the paper and posed for a series of exclusive photos while telling the tale of their torrid relationship, which she claims lasted for three months and began shortly after he got married three years ago.

The paper duly contacted Skinner himself and gave him the traditional offer of a "hard or soft landing" for the story. To O'Rourke's disappointment, he offered for the soft treatment, and the Sun on Sunday splashed on 14 September with "My affair shame", a tearful Skinner pictured confessing his guilt and regret over what he said was a fling that lasted a mere two weeks.

All that was included from O'Rourke's side of the story was a brief statement from "a spokeswoman" saying: "She did not have a fling with Mr Skinner, she had a relationship with him."

Outing Thomas
This, of course, meant her own kiss 'n' tell was up for grabs again – and it was pounced upon by the Mail, whose showbusiness editor Katie Hind conducted her own interview with O'Rourke in which she declared: "Thomas told me I was the love of his life and sold me an absolute dream. He told me he was in a loveless relationship of convenience."

In a sign of quite how low-rent the Daily Mail has become since it was obliged to fill its pages with the sloppy seconds of the artist formerly known as MailOnline, this tawdriness was run over pages four and five of that Monday's paper (just a day later) and hyped up on the front page beneath the banner "SHOWBIZ EXCLUSIVE".

This was, however, far from the end of the story.

Hind games
Hind squeezed out a second and third instalment of the story for the Mail, based on the text messages, photos and Ring doorbell footage O'Rourke had provided her with – but the Friday brought a fourth, which brought H-i-i-ind where she likes to be, right at the centre of the story (see Hackwatch, Eye 1652).

Headlined "How Thomas Skinner's mistress turned on ME. She was desperate to sell her story. Then she went wild. Now I'm sharing her vile voicenotes... I don't know HOW he put up with her, says KATIE HIND", it contained full details of the "foul-mouth tirades" O'Rourke had launched at the journalist since their meeting.

Insta-wham-bam
Anyone whose appetite was whetted could head straight to the beautician's Instagram account, where she hit back later that day with another one.

"Katie Hind has been awful... She's telling everyone I was desperate to sell my story – are you joking?" ranted the woman who is now on the payment system of two separate newspapers. She then addressed Hind directly: "You got called a cunt and a bitch because you behaved like one. You're vile. You're obsessed with me."

Hind's attempt to disprove this consisted of an 1,800-word piece for the Mail the next Saturday which ran under the headline "Thomas Skinner's mistress is an ‘absolute NIGHTMARE': As scandal plunges Strictly into chaos, his friends call up KATIE HIND to have their savage say."

O'Rourke, for her part, claims to have consulted solicitors and has put a complaint into press regulator Ipso. Hell hath no fury...

More top stories in the latest issue:

MARCH MADNESS
Hopes and prayers to Telegraph editor Chris Evans over columnist Allison Pearson's eccentric dispatch on the "Unite the Kingdom" march.

BARAK & RUIN
News of Sarah Ferguson's emails to Jeffrey Epstein arrived under the byline of Daphne Barak, a US journalist and sometime friend to… Ghislaine Maxwell.

LIFE HACK
Astonishment for one PR professional at a piece in the Daily Mail claiming she took drugs at kids' parties, supposedly written by, er, herself.

EVERYMAN JACK
An exciting new columnist for the Mail with the arrival of 24-year-old Jack Anderton, aka "political consultant" to Reform UK and controversial blogger.

LOSS LEADERS
Champagne corks are popping at the Guardian following the news that the audited annual report confirms the paper lost a mere £24m last year.

TOXIC SHLOCK
A glowing write-up for misogynist businessmen Andrew and Tristan Tate from deputy editor Freddy Gray suggests plus ça change at the Spectator.

IF LUXE COULD KILL
Is a curse operating at FT magazine How to Spend It? First it featured designer Giorgio Armani days before he died; now it has killed off Robert Redford.

PAPER CUTS
With DMGT profits up a mere 87 percent to £66m, allowing owner Lord Rothermere to extract just £21m by way of dividends, belts are being tightened.