“It’s a funny sensation when you meet someone and everyone else just fades away into the background,” says actress Victoria Summer. But that’s what happened when she saw Italian Michelin star chef Fabrizio Vaccaro for the first time.
“We met by chance in a coffee shop in East Grinstead,” reveals Victoria, who played Julie Andrews in Saving Mr Banks opposite Tom Hanks. “I was meeting a girlfriend for a coffee when we bumped into Fabrizio. He gave her a big hug, she introduced me and I just knew he was special.”
Fabrizio was on the way back to Rome from a holiday in Florida and his flight was cancelled so he’d made an unscheduled UK stopover – a trip that changed both their lives forever.
“I knew I would see him again that weekend, and we went on a few dates. Fabrizio had been working in London, but he hadn’t seen a lot of England, so I suggested I show him around Berkshire,” says Victoria. “After being in Los Angeles for 10 years, I was back home.”
At the end of last year, Victoria’s father became sick, so she had returned to Berkshire, where she was born in Reading and grew up in Wokingham. She had then extended her stay to refurbish her father’s house.
“I was born in the Royal Berkshire Hospital, just like Kate Middleton and Kate Winslet, two of my role models,” she says. “Berkshire is a massive part of who I am and it’s one of the best places to be in the world. I grew up surrounded by countryside, with Ascot Racecouse on my doorstep and all the style and elegance that came with it.
Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Berkshire Life.
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Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Berkshire Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
A Home For Keeps - Reader At Home
Alex and James Fielden were looking for a forever home. Their search ended as soon as they pulled up outside this Georgian property in Berkshire
Duke & Duchess Of Berkshire?
They are the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge but should they really be the Duke and Duchess of Berkshire, which is, of course, a Royal county?
A national hero
He started out like many other children born in Reading, but mention Justin Fletcher to any kid in the land these days and their eyes will light up
Fruitful thinking
Ryan Simpson believes the world is our orchard. A project that began over a pint in his local is making the county more fruity
THE BERKSHIRE BOMBSHELL
Berkshire has had more than its fair share of famous inhabitants. However, few had such an explosive reputation as Diana Dors
“I'll always be a Berkshire girl”
Despite her international acclaim as the star of TV’s Tracy Beaker, Dani Harmer has never strayed far from her roots
Remembering the fallen
The most destructive war in human history lasted for six years and cost 60 million lives, the majority non-combatants. It is easy to understand why those who had survived wanted to celebrate the end of that conflict
HIDDEN WONDERS
Berkshire photographer Matt Emmett has made it his mission to explore the forgotten architecture and heritage many people miss in their home towns
EXPLORING BERKSHIRE - Majestic Maidenhead
Rejuvenation and revival; two buzz words surrounding the biggest town in the Royal borough. With riverside views and a vibrant arts and dining out scene, this high-class town is well worth a look
A good grounding
Berkshire has some of the best homes in the land, so perhaps it is no coincidence that the nation’s favourite property guru went to school in Wokingham
