It’s usually the mother of the bride who finds herself in the spotlight at a wedding.
But on Saturday, as comedian Jack Whitehall married his model girlfriend Roxy Horner at the celebrity nuptials of the year, it was his mum Hilary who stunned with an extraordinary transformation.
She went from a floral blouse and mumsy blue cardigan to a glitzy red sequinned halterneck dress, befitting the glamorous black-tie ‘fizz and frolics’ theme.
Hardly a shy and retiring type, the former London’s Burning actress beamed with happiness after she changed to watch her eldest son walk down the aisle at the 17th-century Euridge Manor in the Cotswolds during the £250,000 bash.
Earlier in the day, Hilary, 64, arrived at the venue in her daughter Molly’s Land Rover Defender clutching a My Little Pony magazine for one of her granddaughters – and with eye revival patches under her reading glasses.
Her far more glamorous outfit was one she nearly didn’t wear.
Last week Hilary, who was accompanied by theatre agent husband Michael, 86, confessed that Jack gave her a dress code ‘several weeks ago’ only for her to learn his instructions were totally wrong and she had to hurriedly find another frock.
She said: ‘When I asked Jack what the dress code was several weeks ago, he gave me the wrong one. I got the wrong dress, [then] the wedding invitation arrived with a completely different dress code on it. He said: ‘Sorry about that, Mumsy.’
One source said of her stunning outfit: ‘It was very in keeping with the theme of fizz and frolics. She looked amazing. She certainly knew how to pull off the right look for the celebrity wedding of the year.’
But Hilary wasn’t the only one who looked fantastic – her new daughter-in-law made doubly sure she caught the eye.
Sources at the wedding say that she wore not one but two bridal gowns made by Belarusian wedding dress designer Galia Lahav, which are thought to have cost up to £16,000 each.
One was more formal for the official part of the wedding, while she was understood to have later changed into another that was ‘easier to dance in.’
Roxy, 34, who has been dating Jack, 37, since lockdown in 2020, had spent ‘a long, long time’ trying to find the perfect dress in which to say ‘I do’.
The security team at the venue, owned by Jigsaw founder John Robinson, went to great lengths by shielding her with umbrellas so she couldn’t be seen by the public.
Adding to the glamour were the Essex-born beauty’s bridesmaids, fellow models Sophie Longford and Milly Slinger, who wore ankle-length champagne-peach dresses.
Jack wore a traditional black tie suit, flower buttonhole and a pair of £800 Christian Louboutin shoes for the big day, which began at 4pm and was due to go on to at least 2am.
He was seen arriving at the venue clutching what was thought to be his groom’s speech, with friends revealing he was ‘extremely nervous’ about delivering it.
Jack’s best man was thought to be his younger brother, television producer Barney, while he was joined by his A-list friends, who went to great lengths not to be seen, with many arriving in a blacked-out people-carrier.
James Corden, Jamie Redknapp, Freddie Flintoff and David Beckham’s best friend David Gardner were all expected to be there.
Corden, Redknapp and Gardner went on Jack’s stag do in London’s Soho three weeks ago during which the groom-to-be appeared worse for wear with a blow-up crown on his head.
They went to the London nightclub called The Box, then mini-golf hotspot Swingers before ending the night with drinks at the Soho Hotel bar, where Jack reportedly slept off his hangover.
After the wedding formalities, guests sat down to dinner before an evening disco.
The wedding party was understood to have been warned to ‘keep it down’ because in 2023 the venue found itself in trouble with the council for being too noisy.
Jack, who shares a two-year-old daughter, Elsie, with Roxy, has enjoyed a colourful love life.
He split from actress Gemma Chan in 2017 after they met six years earlier on the set of his comedy-drama series Fresh Meat. He has also been linked to British actress Kate Beckinsale, who he was seen kissing in a corner of Craig’s restaurant in West Hollywood in 2018.
Jack was also reported to have enjoyed flirtations with American socialite Paris Hilton and spent much time at her Beverly Hills mansion in 2019 after he met her while hosting the BRIT awards that year.
Today though, say friends, Jack is only interested in one woman: his new wife. ‘Jack was so giddy in the run-up to the wedding,’ said one.
‘He is besotted with Roxy.’
