Inside HELLO!'s Second Act Power List 2026 party: Tess Daly & Natalie Imbruglia lead celebrations at star-studded event

There aren’t many occasions when TV and music royalty get the chance to mingle with Olympic champions, supermodels and fashion designers. But that was the beauty of HELLO!’s annual Power List party, in partnership with L’Oréal Paris, which took over an exclusive restaurant in Mayfair, London, to honour inspirational women.

Tess Daly and Davina McCall were joined by other big names including Natalie Imbruglia, Katherine Ryan, Carol Vorderman and Kate Garraway at Mazarine in Hanover Square for the joyful party, which celebrated women living fulfilled and happy lives in their second act.

"It’s amazing to be here tonight – I love HELLO!,” said Tess, dressed in a velvet Nadine Merabi suit and a gold Topshop vest. "It's wonderfully inspiring to be in a room full of women who are here to support each other. They’re here to lift each other up and there’s no greater power than that. Everywhere I look in here tonight, I see a woman I respect and admire."

That included her glamorous friend Davina, who brought along her husband, the celebrity hairdresser Michael Douglas, to enjoy the event with her. Wearing a leopard-print dress from Queens of Archive, she said: "I love coming here. What a room of women! I love what you do, looking around at all these women who’ve all been through so many calamities."

Davina also flashed her matching leopard-print knickers and bra, saying: "Everyone should wear fabulous underwear!"

"There's no greater power than women lifting each other up"

HELLO!’s Power List champions independent women in their second act who are thriving in midlife and providing inspiration for the next generation. This year’s honourees included TV host Tess, 57, the comedienne Katherine Ryan, 43, the singer Natalie Imbruglia, 51, the broadcaster Emily Maitlis, 56, and the presenters Carol Vorderman, 65, Andrea McLean, 57, and Kate Garraway, 59. 

Others who were named on the prestigious list included Emma Thynn, the Marchioness of Bath, 40, the activist Katie Piper, 43, the Loose Women panellist Judi Love, 46, the model Mia Maugé, 61, the former Olympian Jennifer Stoute, 61, the chef Lorraine Pascale, 53, the radio DJ Jo Good, 71, the Strictly Come Dancing contestant and actress Jaime Winstone, 41, and the former All Saints star Melanie Blatt, 51.

Katherine Ryan flew from Dubai especially to attend the party, arriving at Mazarine straight from the airport, and left guests howling with laughter when she delivered a not-suitable-for-work speech that skewered the opposite sex.

Wearing a dress by Mary Katrantzou with thigh-high gold boots, the mother of four told us: "I've always said that middle-aged women grow in value and that ageing just means you didn't die. We're blessed to be thriving and growing in wisdom and wit, and to be recognised on the Power List, with so many amazing women supporting each other, is really cool."

Also thrilled to be included was Emma Thynn, who is also HELLO!’s society editor-at-large. She wore a scarlet By Keara dress with a matching Prada long-sleeved top. "It’s an honour to be invited; I am part of the HELLO! family," she told us. "Anything where women feel strong and capable is great, as we always want to have our eyes on an even brighter future.

"As women, we have to balance being mothers and working with so many things, and this is a really vibrant celebration. It proves that women supporting women is really important. It’s brilliant to be in a room full of fantastically successful, diverse women, and it’s wonderful to know that the future is really bright."

"The most important thing of all is to open the door behind you, let other women see that you’re doing things that change the conversation, change the tone, change the whole vibe of power and bring them all in."

To that end, Emily, whose interview with the former Prince Andrew helped to bring about his downfall, added: "I’m doing a film for Channel 4, which is out in December, and I’m doing a narrative podcast for Global Studios about Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Britain, which will be out in January.

"That is a big adventure into the abuse of power, and the things I’ve learnt from doing this is that it’s not just the person at the centre, it’s the whole network and system that enables and facilitates. 

"Sometimes we look for easy villains – and Epstein is, let’s be frank, an easy villain – but there were so many people around him who enabled him to stay in his position of power."

Others who made a dazzling effort to adhere to our dress code – elegant cocktail attire with a touch of gold – included the entrepreneur Frida Redknapp, 45, the former Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes, 56, the authors Kathy Lette, 67, and Jane Fallon, 65, the comedienne Shazia Mirza, 54, the presenter Angellica Bell, 50, and the nutritionist Gabriela Peacock, 46.

Also present were the Dempsey and Makepeace stars – and real-life husband and wife – Michael Brandon and Glynis Barber; the actress is also one of HELLO!’s Second Act columnists. 

Many of the guests arrived in cars provided by jump taxis, arriving at Mazarine in style before being offered drinks including basil gimlets featuring Cygnet gin, skinny Cygnet fizz made up of gin, lemon and soda, Gusbourne English sparkling rosé and blanc de blancs, non-alcoholic sparkling wine from Wild Idol and Clubmera bitter blood-orange aperitivo 0.2%.

"We always want to have our eyes on an even brighter future"

Waiters circulated with canapes including tartelette a la Provençale and truffled croque royal as well as king prawns on skewers with aioli dressing, French oysters, aubergine Caviar, saffron risotto, confit cherry tomatoes and classic fish goujons with tartar sauce. 

Everyone was offered the chance to have their hair and make-up refreshed by a special L’Oréal artist at a unique touch-up station in the corner of the room. Screams of delight could be heard as old friends were reunited and new relationships were formed. Tess Daly and Davina McCall cuddled up for a photo as Emma Thynn caught up with her good friend, the fashion designer Jade Holland Cooper. 

Meanwhile, Frida Redknapp and Gabriela Peacock engaged in a chat about their new puppies – Frida has a black Staffordshire bull terrier, "for my 13-year-old son", and Gabriela has a labrador. Kathy Lette and Jane Fallon were spotted deep in conversation as Dame Kelly Holmes and Jennifer Stoute chatted on the dance floor.

Former model-turned-chef Lorraine was one of many who turned heads during the night, after she arrived in a Livy bra top, a Zara suit and Gucci loafers, holding an ASOS bag. "I feel really honoured and excited to be on the Power List. I feel very special and it’s great to be here with these incredible, inspiring, aspirational women," she said. "What I love about getting older is the freedom to be me, the confidence to be me. I love studying and I’m just finishing a doctorate; when you’re older, it’s so empowering to be studying something you want to study."

Andrea McLean, who flew in from Spain to attend the event, said: "What an honour to be here with all these amazing women." Katie Piper, in a Heira leather dress and Yves Saint Laurent shoes, said that it felt "really special" to be named on the Power List.

"Whenever you come to things like this with HELLO!, you know you're going to be in good company, because it's a magazine that champions women and it's a room where you can trust people," Katie said. "There’s a really nice feeling of solidarity.

"I was thinking on the way here: 'What does power mean to me?' I turned 43 yesterday, and I was thinking that if you’d asked the younger me, 'what is power?', I used to think that it was money, status, success. Now that I'm a bit older and I'm in a better position in my life, I’ve realised that it's the freedom to decide who you want to be."

After some mingling and portrait shoots inside the gold-adorned photo studio, short speeches were delivered, with HELLO!’s chief content officer, Sophie Vokes-Dudgeon, welcoming the guests.

"This really is one of the highlights in HELLO!’s calendar, and nothing gives me greater pleasure than shining a light on so many inspirational women, who are proving that ageing is a privilege and that you’re never too old for new adventures," she said. 

"We are passionate about championing women in their second act and we’ll continue to campaign for, celebrate and inspire our audience through your extraordinary stories of success, your brave and honest conversations around the challenges of life at this age and your representations and advocacy for us all in parliament and healthcare."

Davina then took the microphone and – in between hugging and kissing her husband, Michael – said: "Thank you, HELLO! magazine, for recognising us. We are so unbelievably grateful. I once heard ageing called the second spring and I love that, because it’s how I feel. I do feel like a bouncy lamb, getting more annoying as I get older. I also feel as though, by doing that, it’s liberating other people. 

"When I see other women behaving exactly how they want, I think: 'Oh, I could do that.' I can’t believe how lucky I am. Life is for living and you are all brilliant examples of women who are doing just that. Coming here, I get so over-excited because you infect me with your joy, your wisdom, your courage and your life. Life throws us challenges at this age, but life also gives you the tools to deal with it."

Katherine Ryan then addressed the crowd in her trademark droll style. "Davina’s a bouncy lamb in her second spring, and I’m deep into the winter of my life. I think: ‘How does she do it?’ And on the subject of your wonderful husband, Michael, congratulations. I'm glad that you found a nice man."

She added: “I think that women grow in value with every passing day, not the other way around.”

As she finished, Melanie Blatt and Jaime Winstone took to the decks for a DJ set, spinning tunes by female artists including Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan and Madonna. It has become a Power List tradition for everyone to hit the dance floor for Candy by Cameo, and this year, it was Judi Love leading the charge. Jennifer Stoute grabbed Carol Vorderman by her hands and taught her the moves so that she could keep up.

Carol showed off some impressive moves in her Self-Portrait dress as she spoke to us about being named on the Power List. "I'm absolutely thrilled, and I think it's great because women have some role models. We also see retrospectively how far and how hard we had to fight for what we have now, which is fantastic."

Judi Love was also busy on the dance floor. "I don’t define my life by ages, so I don’t even feel as though I’m in midlife," she said. "I just feel as though I’m in a stage of my life where I know who I am and what I want. I’m focused on purpose more than anything else, and on being of service to the audience to make them laugh, and enjoyment."

Kate Garraway was conscious of her early-morning studio call-time while marvelling over her inclusion on the list. "It’s so amazing. It’s a real honour, and it’s fantastic to be here tonight in a room full of inspiring people who happen to be women. It’s been lovely to see everyone. I’ve loved catching up with Davina, Katherine Ryan and Dempsey and Makepeace, of course. 

"I’ve got to be up early tomorrow for Good Morning Britain, but I can still enjoy a good party – that’s my superpower!"

Power and friendship shone through our partygoers, with Tess – who split from her husband of 22 years, Vernon Kay, in May – paying tribute to her female friends. "We’re there for each other; me and my girlfriends, we’re like a gang. And tonight’s gang is super-inspirational. They are women who have achieved a lot in their lives and have refused to settle, and I admire so many of them."

Natalie Imbruglia, who arrived with her friend Tara, echoed Tess’s words when she said: "I don’t know what I’d do without my friends. My girlfriends have outlasted any relationship with a man, so I protect them at all costs. I love hard, which has been good and bad for me because I have high expectations of other people, but I return it tenfold. Women in my life like Tara, I would take a bullet for them. There’s nothing like the bond of an old best friend."

As the party wound down, guests departed with goodie bags packed to the brim with L’Oréal Paris products including the Extraordinary Oil, Age Perfect Collagen Expert Day Cream SPF 30, Infallible Setting Spray, Lumi Glotion, Serum Le Duo, Telescopic Mascara and Blurfiller Lip Contour.

Jennifer Stoute was one of the last on the dance floor as she kept the good vibes going. "I just love the idea of all women getting together – powerful women, women who would never normally see each other on a regular basis – and having a few moments to talk to one another… it’s fantastic," she said.

"We don’t do it enough. I’m 61 years old and my life is changing. I’m now honouring who I am and getting so excited for life. When I turned 60, I panicked a bit, as I was so scared of dying that I forgot to live. And then when it clicked, I thought: 'I’m going for it.'"

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