A smile that says Tarrant's lady has got her millionaire

If the dark orange tan doesn't say it all, then the Cheshire Cat grin certainly does.

As Jane Bird sailed through Gatwick airport yesterday, it was little wonder she looked so pleased with herself.

The 44-year-old legal assistant has been plucked from obscurity and catapulted into the limelight as the new love interest of multimillionaire TV host Chris Tarrant.

The pair, who have just spent four days canoodling and strolling hand in hand through the cobbled streets of the Italian island of Capri, flew back to the UK yesterday tanned and glowing.

At the same time, Mrs Bird's devastated husband, Danny, has been trying to explain to their two children why their mother left them behind for a holiday in the sun with a celebrity.

Yesterday, her friends said it had just been a matter of time before she snared a high-profile lover.

One said: "This does not surprise me one iota. Jane has always been desperate to be famous.

"She used to spend every weekend going up to Birmingham because she was friends with the football club owners and wanted to hang out with footballers.

"She loved everything that lifestyle entailed and was always up at the local golf club with Danny too.

"This will devastate the children and Danny, who is a lovely man."

Yesterday, Mr Bird, a 46-year-old window cleaner, was caring for their children Francesca, 15, and William, 16, at the £250,000 semi-detached home he shared with his wife until earlier this year.

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He said: "My wife and I have been estranged since June 2006. She moved out of the family home in February and has been seeing Chris since late March. I have been fully aware of this.

"It was over between us long before Tarrant came along - although she was the one who left me.

"It was just one of those things when two people grow apart and the children grow up. I am not seeing anyone else. The divorce is going through at the moment."

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Mr Bird's mother Patricia, 68, was somewhat less forgiving of her daughter-in-law, however.

She said: "I am having to help look after the children while all this has been going on.

"It has been awful for them. Danny has been carrying on with his work to focus on other things."

Mr and Mrs Bird married 18 years ago and bought a new home in Upminster, East London, six years ago.

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But friends say she tired of suburban life and the daily grind of commuting into the capital as a temp for Eden Brown recruitment agency. Her most recent post was as a part-time legal assistant for Enfield Council.

She met the 60-year-old Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? presenter in a wine bar in London earlier this year, becoming the latest in a line of lovers since he split from his wife Ingrid, 52, last year.

Yesterday, sunburnt to a deep red as he landed at the airport, the TV host remained tight-lipped.

He and Mrs Bird came through the arrivals lounge 15 minutes apart.