[Red Moon]

READY, TEDDY GONE FOR DANI

Carole Malone

SO WHERE was the big sporting hero then? Where was the man we're forever being told is the clever, wise, mature man of football?

Well, while Teddy Sheringham was in London's trendy Funky Buddha Club last week shaking his booty and trying to force his phone number on some pretty brunette who wasn't remotely interested, his terrified girlfriend Danielle - whose life is presently in tatters - was facing a wall of paparazzi, not to mention taunts of "racist", all on her own a couple of miles down the road.

This was the same Teddy Sheringham who'd left texts on Danielle Lloyd's phone while she was inside the Celebrity Big Brother house telling her how wonderful she was and how awful it all must be for her, the same Teddy who was quite happy to have Danielle share his life, his house and his bed since last February, yet who the minute SHE'S in trouble, he's off like a rat up a drain. He's been happy to parade Danielle as a trophy girlfriend but he's now refusing to say whether they are on or off until he sees how the public (and his team mates) react.

You see Teddy's been getting a bit of flak from his team mates because of his girlfriend's bad behaviour. And rather than tell them (like any decent person would) that he'd rather reserve judgment until he hears what Danielle has to say, he's all but abandoned her and started playing Jack The Lad in London's clubs, forgetting that whatever flak he's getting doesn't begin to compare to what's being heaped on her - deserved or not.

So much for being a grown-up.

I was at Channel 4's "wrap" party on Wednesday and spent some time with Danielle - who turned up with mum Jackie, dad Arthur and the security guard she now needs to protect her - and the girl was in bits. She was scared and shaking and tearful because the man she adored, the man she even hoped she might marry one day had left her to be devoured by wolves.

Could this be the same Teddy Sheringham who'd spent a cosy Christmas with Danielle and her family - yet who at the height of this race crisis wouldn't return her mum's calls. The same Teddy who Danielle's virtually lived with since last February, the man she told me time and again in that house was the nicest, kindest man she'd ever met.

But Danielle's misery didn't end there. The morning after the wrap party Teddy's naked torso - as well as his smug grin - was plastered all over one of the tabloids. He'd brought a tray of tea out to photographers wearing only his Calvin Klein boxers (he obviously thought his sixpack would detract attention from his face, which looks like my old grandad's) and when asked if he was still with Danielle he stuck the knife in again and said: "I'm not with her and who's to say if I'll ever be with her again."

But then he hasn't had the guts to tell Danielle that. She still thinks they're together. She still thinks that all she has to do is wait till the dust settles (or until Teddy's team mates tell him it's OK) and everything will be like it was before.

And how can a man who - according to Danielle - repeatedly told her he loved her abandon her in this callous way because what she's done might harm HIS reputation.

A REAL man would have escorted her into that party last week with his head held high. A REAL man would have been at her side when her character and her morals were being torn to shreds. Because even if Danielle's behaviour had shown him she was too young or too immature for anything more permanent, it would have been nice for him to show her a bit of loyalty at a time she desperately needed it.

Teddy, of course, knows Danielle isn't a racist, just young and daft, but still he won't be seen with her. And why? Maybe because he thinks it will damage him, make him look like he was condoning her behaviour. God forbid it might even affect his earning power.

Teddy Sheringham might be a hero to football fans, but he's a bit of a limp willy when it comes to loyalty, love and doing what's right.

Because if Danielle ever needed him - it's now. And he isn't there. And even if he never had any intention of marrying her, even if he doesn't love her as much as she loves him, surely he owes her that?

Source: The People