Kate Beckinsale has just been awarded £20,000 in libel damages, after the Daily Express wrongly claimed she'd been snubbed for her dream role as Barbarella in the upcoming movie remake. Apparently, the allegation caused "considerable embarrassment and harm", and only a cash sum could cure it. And she's not the first celeb to win a jackpot after taking a detractor to court...
Python alumnus John Cleese was awarded £13,500 after the Evening Standard printed a "manifestly vitriolic" piece about him in 2002. The article, which claimed that Cleese's career was dead as a doornail, was described by a judge as "beyond the normal bounds of news coverage or television criticism".
More recently, Sienna Miller received £35,000 in damages from The Sun and News of the World in an out-of-court settlement. The compensation was due to the papers publishing an array of articles and images that invaded her privacy.
Wayne Rooney was on the wrong end of a libel payout when his ex-boss, David Moyes, took him to court after his autobiography alleged that he'd leaked a confidential conversation to a newspaper. Rooney and his publishers accepted it was untrue, and coughed up £50,000 in damages plus five times that amount in legal bills.
Heather Mills accepted £50,000 in damages after the Sunday Mirror wrongly alleged that she was being investigated over some money she raised for victims of the 2001 Indian earthquake. Let's face it, she's no stranger to being awarded money by a judge!
More recently, EastEnders star Mohammed George was awarded £75,000 after an article in The Sun claimed that he'd acted like "a wild animal" and had "beaten up" the mother of his daughter, before leaving her sprawled in the street. The actor's QC claimed that his reputation had been "seriously and unfairly damaged".
Elton John had an extra £100,000 to donate to his Aids charities after he took the Daily Mail to court. An article claimed that the singer had ordered guests at his annual charity ball to not approach him, and the singer's lawyer claimed that the allegation made him "sound like some tinpot dictator, exhibiting self-important, arrogant and rude behaviour bordering on paranoia."
GMTV high priestess Kate Garraway won a fortune in April 2008 after the Mirror newspapers wrongly claimed that she'd been cheating on her husband with her Strictly dance partner, Anton Du Beke.. "The way my friendship with Anton was twisted into something sordid was terribly unfair and upsetting", said Kate, who pocketed a six-figure sum in compensation.
Robbie Williams, meanwhile, received "substantial damages" after an article in The People wrongly claimed that he had a secret boyfriend, and had performed "sex acts" with the unlucky chap in nightclub toilets.
Another victim of gay allegations is Jason Donovan, who successfully sued The Face magazine for £200,000 in damages and an extra £100,000 in costs. However, his actions alienated a large section of his fanbase, and he later claimed that suing was the greatest mistake of his career.