It's a bit like a party atmosphere and definitely not like going

"It's a bit like a party atmosphere and definitely not like going to the hairdressers. The only time I went in was to use the phone and I ended up sitting in Earl Spencer's lap."Of course, it is an unwritten rule that neither staff nor clients tell tales out of school "You can't be too careful," says Rasser. "I have had journalists coming in here undercover and trying to grill me for royal gossip. But you get wise and never kiss and tell."Nicky Clarke's plush VIP room at his Mayfair salon is a second home to the likes of David Bowie and Gwyneth Paltrow. With its own separate entrance, inside it looks like the royal box at the Palladium.

"The relationship between hairdresser and client is always an intimate one," says Clarke "With high-profile clients, an element of privacy is vital. Also, having a separate entrance to a VIP room allows for added exclusivity and security."In Rasser's office at Michaeljohn are countless signed portraits of Princess Anne, the Duchess of Kent and the Duchess of Gloucester. "When I first styled a royal," says Rasser, "I was bobbing and bowing like crazy But you build up a relationship over the years. Princess Anne is one of the wittiest women I have ever met."In 30 years as a VIP hairdresser, Rasser has only been fazed once.

"When I was doing Liz Taylor's hair, she threw the Krupp Diamond at me and told me to polish it. Now that's what I call a VIP."Modern Times: Shampoo, BBC2, 9pm, Wednesday 30 April.. "Who are we meeting?" Tallulah asks, as we grind over Corsica's crag "A poet with a special name - Angel," I explain "Will he have wings?" "I expect so. But they're usually invisible." Anghjulu Orati, to give him his full name, is something rare; a poet who writes in Corsican I find his books in Bastia.