Devastated Anthea Turner won't speak to Grant Bovey after his alleged fling - Scottish Daily Record

Jul 30 2012 By Simon Boyle

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GRANT BOVEY has pleaded with wife Anthea Turner for a second chance – after he allegedly had a fling with an interior designer less than half her age.

He is desperate to sit down and talk to the devastated TV presenter, who has kicked him out of their £5million home.

But Anthea was yesterday said to be digging in her heels and refusing to be rushed by her husband.

An insider said: "Grant is doing everything he possibly can to win back Anthea's trust – but just getting her to speak to him at the moment is proving incredibly difficult.

"She feels humiliated and let down by him and doesn't know what to believe any more.

"The trust that has taken more than a decade to build has been totally shattered."

Anthea, 52, yesterday broke her silence on her marriage crisis.

In a statement, she said she was "heartbroken and devastated".

She threw Grant, 50, out of their house in Esher, Surrey, on Friday after being told he had been seen with millionaire's daughter Zoe de Mallet Morgan, 24, at a bar in London.

Anthea told him to leave after apparently gaining the support of her three stepdaughters, Lily, 20, Amelia, 19, and Claudia, 16.

Lily yesterday posted a cryptic message on her Twitter page, quoting Disney film The Lion King.

She wrote: "Hakuna Matata, it's a wonderful phrase, it means no worries for the rest of your days – it's a problem-free philosophy."

Our source added: "The girls are very close to Anthea and have promised to support her through this crisis, whatever she decides to do."

The young woman who allegedly had a secret tryst with Grant is believed to be the daughter of a longtime family friend.

Her dad Tommy de Mallet Morgan is a millionaire property magnate whose career portfolio includes the sale of The Dorchester hotel in London. Grant built the UK's biggest buy-to-let property company before going bankrupt with £50million of debts.

De Mallet Morgan's wife Louise is a health consultant, who was featured on the cover of Country Life magazine in 1976 when the couple's engagement was announced.

Their daughter has worked for interior design firm Roozels, where she has helped to fit out luxury properties in London's Mayfair and Kensington since 2008.

Anthea, who found fame on Blue Peter before presenting breakfast programme GMTV, was once married to former Radio 1 DJ Peter Powell.

But her golden girl image was shattered when it was disclosed she was having an affair with Grant, who was a family friend.

Their wedding in 2000 further damaged her image when it emerged she had been paid £450,000 to eat a Cadbury's chocolate bar in her wedding photos – an incident now jokingly referred to as "Flakegate".

Once the second best paid star on British TV, Anthea's career struggled to recover from the negative publicity.

She has since taken work on Canadian television in order to keep going.

Her last appearance of note on British screens was a surprise appearance on Celebrity Big Brother two years ago.