Hugh Grant is the quintessential English movie star. He is also a man of opposites; his easy charm belies a malicious wit and as heart throb star of Four Weddings and a Funeral he shocked the world when police found him enjoying the services of a Sunset Boulevard prostitute.

Jody Tresidder, who has written this first, hugely revealing biography of Britain's most famous film star, was a teenage love of Hugh Grant's. She has uncovered all facets of the man - his boyish appeal, his glamorous relationship with Liz Hurley and the darker side that he can longer conceal.