It had to happen. "Diana was incredible," gushed our First Lady, the former supermodel Carla Bruni. And now we have it: the Diana-isation of Carla. Our First Lady has taken a turn to the saintly. Last year she was discussing why men were her drug, embarrassing officials in the Elysée Palace. Someone clearly took her aside and gave her a gag order.

She has since knocked back on the hair dye, the Botox and the super-sexy clothes. Her wardrobe staple these days is a loose trouser suit. It's a far cry from the Carla who exposed her naked navel on a state trip to Egypt with her then new boyfriend, President Nicolas Sarkozy.

This new Carla walks her young son to school and cooks his lunch. This First Lady has shut up about her passionate love affairs. It is a relief for the staid French public who were somewhat shocked by the Italian seductress who replaced Bernadette "Helmet Hair" Chirac. Now Carla's popularity rating is soaring. She is certainly more loved than her chippy little husband. The only problem is that Carla Sarkozy as opposed to Carla Bruni does not seem sincere. I miss the old outspoken Carla.

A friend once spent a few days at a chic Moroccan hotel with her. She said Carla spent the whole trip talking about her sex life in great detail, when not having sex and being very loud about it. My friend loved her. She claimed Carla was the most hilarious, lovable, clever and sexy woman. But where is that woman now? Carla has lost her sense of humour and her sex appeal. It all started when she curtsied to the Queen in that frumpy knee-length purple coat. Now we have a rather pale imitation of the Queen of Hearts.

The only difference is that when Diana held the hands of dying Aids victims or children injured by mines in Angola, you believed her. The tears welling up in her big blue eyes seemed genuine.

The trouble with Carla is that she has seen too much of the high life to know what to say to the little people. Last week in Burkina Faso reporters noted that she was uneasy speaking to the poor, asking awkwardly: "Are things better here?"

For a woman who loved to strip off her clothes, and dumped one lover to have an affair - the same day - with his son, it is a rather strange twist.

Princess Diana may have turned manipulative later on, but remember, she started out a virgin.

Carla, on the other hand, was born naughty and it's way too soon to begin canonising her.

• 

  Lenny Henry: 'Maybe one day we can have a black Doctor Who'

  As he wins the outstanding newcomer prize at the Evening Standard theatre awards for his role as Othello, Lenny Henry has come a long way from black and white minstrels

  ---

• 

  Spread of the Jedhead

  Jedward, voted off the X-Factor this weekend, are the most obvious proponents of the sticky-uppy look - but the style crosses boundaries of age, gender, sexuality and taste, says Nick Curtis

  ---

Sky in plot to hire students on the cheap

Sky News is currently recruiting students as reporters for its coverage of next year's general election. However, the opportunity doesn't quite seem so appealing

All stories