After denying marriage trouble rumours for the last six months, Reese Witherspoon and husband Ryan Phillippe have announced they formally separated yesterday morning.

Their spokesperson issued a statement through the TMZ website, saying: “We are saddened to announce that Reese and Ryan have decided to formally separate. They remain committed to their family and we ask that you please respect their privacy and the safety of their children at this time.”

Reese and Ryan met at Reese’s 21st birthday party nine years ago and married two years later. They have two children together; a seven year old daughter, Ava and a three year old son, Deacon.

Reese is believed to be working with celebrity divorce lawyer Robert Kaufman - who has previously represented Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Marie Presley in their respective divorces.

A close source said the formal separation at this point was not triggered by one event but “cumulative”.

The formal divorce papers are expected to be filed before the end of the year.

Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie has confirmed that his close friend Kate Moss is definitely planning to marry her boyfriend, Pete Doherty and that she is the “happiest I’ve ever seen her”.

Speaking at the Q Awards in London last night, Bobby said: “I am so happy for Kate. She is definitely getting married. I saw the engagement ring for the first time the other day and, oh my God, it’s huge.”

Kate and daughter Lila attended Bobby’s wedding earlier this year and Bobby is keen to return the gesture, maybe even taking a role in the reception: “I’d love to DJ at the wedding, but I haven’t received my invite yet. This is the happiest I’ve ever seen her. She is really in love, so people should just leave her alone to get on with things.”

Angelina Jolie is reportedly jealous that Brad Pitt is set to make a film with ex-fiancee Gwyneth Paltrow.

Gwyneth recently signed up to make Dirty Tricks with Brad next year, after Brad specifically suggested her for the role, and according to In Touch Weekly, Angelina is worried that working so closely together again might fan old flames between the pair.

A source told the magazine: “Angelina isn’t happy about this. She’s secretly intimidated by Gwyneth.”

“The end of their relationship was painful for both Brad and Gwyneth and Angie feels that he has never gotten over splitting with her.”

Brad and Gwyneth were together for three years in the mid-1990s and Gwyneth, who is now married to Chris Martin, later said she regretted breaking up with Brad.

Victoria Beckham has said it would be “fabulous” if the rumours that husband David Beckham is to be knighted are true.

David became “Sir David”, Victoria would be given the title “Lady Victoria” and she told Jo Whiley on Radio 1: “Ooh I’d love that. Can you imagine? That would be quite fabulous.”

“It’s just so camp, it’s wonderful, isn’t it - Lady Victoria. Something like that goes in the paper and you think, ‘That would be quite amazing’.”

She added: “I think David’s done a lot for charity, he was heavily involved with the Olympic bid and he’s given a lot to his country with the football too, and I think he deserves it - but we’ll see.”

• Jonathan Ross has accused Heather Mills of being a “f****** liar” regarding her claims of abuse during her marriage to Paul McCartney. While presenting the Q Awards in London last night, Jonathan told the audience: “What a f****** liar! I wouldn’t be surprised if we found out she’s actually got two legs.”
• Pirates of the Caribbean co-stars Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom were spotted shopping together at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market at the weekend. Hopefully the two were picking up some nice, healthy fruits and vegetables as an onlooker described them as looking “grey, gaunt and pale”.
• Gavin Henson has been banned for driving for a month after being found guilty of speeding. The rugby star was caught travelling at 110mph along the M4 towards London and would have received a longer ban if his solicitor had not argued that Gavin would be unable to carry out “charitable commitments” without a car. Gavin told the police officers at the time of his arrest that he was “very sorry. I am very disappointed in myself.”
• Nicole Richie has revealed that’s she planning to have a large family: “I’m going to have five kids. I’m going to have three girls and twin boys. I love twin boys. I think they are so cute. I’ve had twin dogs before. They were cute. I just love twins.”

Yohane Banda, the father of the Malawian boy adopted by Madonna, is worried that he will never live down the stigma after Madonna claimed his other children and wife died of AIDS.

In an interview last week, Madonna told the Oprah Winfrey show that when she met baby David for the first time at his orphanage, she was told that his mother and siblings had died of AIDS and the whereabouts of his father were unknown.

Yohane has hit back, saying: “[David’s mother] never went for an HIV test and she died in Zambia at her parents’ house, so how could anyone know if that is what she died of?”

His two other children (not three, as Madonna said) were not HIV positive as far as he knew, with one dying from malaria and the other dying suddenly at 18 months old.

Madonna also said she was told that none of David’s extended family had visited during the child’s time in the orphanage but Yohane insists this was “a lie”: “I visited David many times, too many to count.”

He added that David’s grandmother also visited and Yohane’s brother, Profera, “saw him almost every day, sometimes twice a day”.

However, Yohane doesn’t blame Madonna for making the claims - he blames the Home of Hope Orphan Care Centre orphanage for giving her “false information”. A spokesperson for the orphanage denies that Madonna was told those details, suggesting that the Malawian government’s Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare was responsible for the stories.