Simon Doonan: From Barneys to the BBC

Simon Doonan, the creative director of Barneys (not to mention longtime boyfriend of American designer Jonathan Adler and talking head from countless VH-1 shows), is about to get a sitcom based on his early life, to debut this fall on the BBC.

Beautiful People is based on Nasty: My Family and Other Glamorous Varmints, his memoir of growing up in working class England. The producer is Jon Plowman, the man who helped bring Little Britain and Absolutely Fabulous to tv, so grab your "Tickets, Money, Passport!" as it's sure to be wonderfully over-the-top. Sparkle!

As to who should play the young Simon, the man himself has a creative pick:

"I keep thinking Linda Hunt - or somebody fabulous like that. Linda would be great - and she's about my size. I'm just 5-foot-41/2 on my passport, and, believe me, that half inch is very important.

I've seen Simon on all those I Love The --- shows on VH-1, and appreciated his insight and humour, and a young version of Simon should be fascinating television. To see him in his natural habitat, here's the trailer for Five Windows, the documentary about Simon and the window displays of Barneys in New York City.