But Millie has vouched for Harper. And the truth is Stacey could use some of the younger woman’s lustre rubbing off on her.

The same day she discovered Felix might lose his job, and quite possibly all their money, Stacey learned she was being bumped from the Morning Express Show to the breakfast slot instead. The network wanted to go in a different direction, her agent said. They didn’t feel she and Brendan had the right chemistry.

She’s being replaced by the Friday guest presenter, Zee Tobin. Zee is eleven years younger than Stacey and doesn’t have a fraction of her experience. She fluffs her lines and asks interviewees if that makes you sad and she doesn’t poll nearly as well as Stacey with their loyal Morning Express viewers: Zee’s numbers for relatability and likeability are way below hers. But the girl’s TikTok and Instagram followers are ten times bigger and the network’s chasing a younger demographic these days.

Zee’s also sleeping with Brendan – that must be the chemistry the producers were talking about.

The network presented the move as a promotion to the ‘prestige’ morning slot, but it’s clear to everyone she’s being shunted sideways. As of September, she’ll be getting up at 3.30 a.m. five mornings a week while Zee sleeps in till seven and hoovers up all the lucrative sponsorships that come with hosting a mid-morning magazine show.

Stacey’s career isn’t over yet: there’s a Zoom meeting in the works with an agent in LA to discuss a possible move to one of the US networks. But when she tried to discuss it with Felix, he instantly shut her down. Are you insane? I’ll never get another job if I leave London!

Millie says she has to free herself from Felix. She says he’s an anchor weighing her down.

‘We’ve been lucky with the weather today,’ Harper comments now, as they walk past the croquet lawn to the open-air swimming pool. ‘The rain last night was insane. It took Kyle forever to get home after the Tube flooded again.’

‘That’s what happens when you pave over all the front gardens and dig iceberg basements so the water has nowhere to drain,’ Millie says.

Peter and Archie run on ahead with Harper’s two boys, Tyler and Lucas, and Millie quickens her pace to keep up with them. ‘Peter’s not a strong swimmer,’ she says, switching a straw shopper burdened with towels and sunscreen to the other hand. ‘I want to keep an eye on him. You guys can catch me up – I’ll grab us some sunloungers.’