Alexander Armstrong says Dominic Cummings 'looked like Sharon Stone'

Alexander Armstrong says Dominic Cummings was ‘very self-contained’ and used to ‘blink a lot’ when they attended Durham School together – and had ‘a look of Sharon Stone’ thanks to his head of golden hair

• Comedian, 50, attended Durham School and is cousin of Cummings’ wife Mary
• Described PM’s aide, who was two years below him at school, as ‘rather brilliant’
• Said Cummings used to have golden hair that gave him ‘look of Sharon Stone’
• Added he was ‘very striking, a bit aloof, very self-contained’ and ‘blinked a lot’
• Married Alexander, who now lives in Oxfordshire with sons, was teased at school

Alexander Armstrong claims Dominic Cummings had ‘a look of Sharon Stone’ when they were at school together, thanks to his ‘head of golden hair’.

The comedian, 50, who lives in Oxfordshire with his wife and four sons, attended Durham School and was two years above the Prime Minister’s balding aide, 48.

The independent day and boarding school in the north east – which was an all-boys institution until 1985 – costs up to £32,565 a year to attend. 

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Alexander – who is also a cousin of Mr Cummings’ wife Mary – described him as a ‘rather brilliant person’ as a child.

‘Of course, he didn’t have that enormous bald head in those days,’ he recalled. 

Alexander Armstrong claims Dominic Cummings had ‘a look of Sharon Stone’ when they were at school together, thanks to his ‘head of golden hair’

Alexander – who is also a cousin of Mr Cummings’ wife Mary – described him as a ‘rather brilliant person’ as a child. Pictured: Dominic Cummings in 2001

‘He had golden hair and, if this doesn’t sound too Another Country, he had a look of Sharon Stone about him… Just very striking, a bit aloof, very self-contained. He used to blink a lot.’

Alexander told how he remembers Klute, the Durham nightclub owned by the political strategist’s parents – where he allegedly used to work on the door.

Describing it as the place where ‘every ne’er-do-well for miles around would get drunk until the early hours’, he added: ‘I found the fact that Dominic, this golden child, had anything to do with Klute hilarious.’

Asked if he could handle himself in a fight, Alexander replied: ‘Yes. I think he would probably have bamboozled any assailant.’

Alexander said Dominic Cummings (pictured left in 2001) had ‘golden hair and, if this doesn’t sound too Another Country, he had a look of Sharon Stone (pictured right in the Eighties) about him’

Mr Cummings has faced calls to resign following the crisis caused by his lockdown trip from London to Durham. Boris Johnson has reportedly issued a stern rebuke to his aide, warning that he ‘will not tolerate’ another media firestorm. 

Alexander, who presents Classic FM’s flagship weekday morning show from 9am today – having hosted the 1pm to 3pm slot on weekends previously – said he was teased at school for his love of classical music.

The Pointless host played the cello before dropping it for ‘the much more masculine oboe’ and was a choral star, which helped win him a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge. 

Mr Cummings (pictured today in London) has faced calls to resign following the crisis caused by his lockdown trip from London to Durham. Boris Johnson has reportedly issued a stern rebuke to his aide, warning that he ‘will not tolerate’ another media firestorm

He previously admitted he thinks modern classical music sounds like things ‘falling out of a cupboard’. 

Alexander said listeners will enjoy his new show because it ‘won’t be harrowingly contemporary’. 

He explained that the show, the radio station’s most popular, had helped revive interest in classical music due to its simplicity and lack of modern influence. 

Speaking in Oldie Magazine, the Cambridge graduate said: ‘What I loved about Radio 3 back in the olden days, when it didn’t give a toss about the youth, were the silences – socking great caesuras just left blank for quiet reflection.’

Alexander, who presents Classic FM’s flagship weekday morning show from 9am today – having hosted the 1pm to 3pm slot on weekends previously – said he was teased at school for his love of classical music. Pictured with fellow Pointless presenter Richard Osman

Armstrong insists classical music should not be ‘a hair shirt’ and it should embrace populism, commercialism and ‘relaxing’ tags in order to prosper.

He added: ‘The numbers just kept falling away [on Radio 3]. Partly because modern classical music sounded like things falling out of a cupboard.

‘And partly because the very things we classical music fans lapped up – the old fashioned reverence and scholarship of the broadcasters – had all the glamour and allure of an advanced-level chess lesson to those on the outside.

‘At Classic FM we’re not an exposed shoreline where anything might come in on the tide. We’re a lagoon; it’s safe. You can tune in late at night and know it won’t be contemporary.’ 

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