NEWS LITE : EX-MISTRESS TELLS OF AFFAIR WITH SPENCER.

Earl Spencer's former mistress says she realized her affair with Princess Diana's brother was over when he said he would never accept her two children.

Chantal Collopy, 37, told Sky News in an interview Sunday that her marriage ended after her husband taped her telephone calls and heard her say ``I love you'' to Spencer.

The former model and the 33-year-old earl were both married when they met at a 1994 birthday party in Northampton, 65 miles northwest of London. There was an instant attraction and their two-year affair flourished after he moved to South Africa, she said.

``After I separated from my husband, (Spencer) had said to me, `Will you promise to marry me?' He said that a few times. I just laughed,'' Collopy said in the interview.

But just before she became officially divorced, Collopy said Spencer had ``a panic attack'' and told her he couldn't offer her a future.

``We had an argument and he said `I must let you know that I will never accept your children,' and I said that was the end,'' Collopy said.

In an unusual twist, Collopy appeared in a Cape Town court last week supporting Lady Spencer, the earl's estranged wife, in her divorce battle against the earl.

Charles Spencer married Victoria Lockwood, a former model, in 1989.

Actress OK being larger than some

Kathy Najimy doesn't mind being surrounded by svelte fashion models on the sitcom ``Veronica's Closet.'' She's come to terms with being overweight.

``I was doing a lot of work with AIDS, and I saw friends dying and not having bodies anymore. I thought, `Maybe I don't have the legs I want, but I have legs,' '' Najimy says in the Dec. 6 TV Guide.

The actress sees herself as a feminist, but has no problem with the show's focus on lacy undergarments.

``No, I love lingerie,'' she said. ``I think being sexy, being sexual, the whole thing about feminism, is choice. I love Victoria's Secret. It's the main place I shop.''

`Ghostbusters' star sees blacks gaining

The way Ernie Hudson of ``Ghostbusters'' fame sees it, African-American actors have never had it better.

``It's a very exciting time for African-Americans in Hollywood,'' Hudson said, noting that more African-American producers and directors are finding work, too.

Hudson plays a CIA agent hunting for the bumbling, nearsighted star of ``Mr. Magoo'' in the comedy set to open Christmas Day. Other credits include ``Congo'' and the HBO prison drama, ``Oz.''

He hopes his Hollywood success will encourage others.

``As an African-American man, I have a great sense of responsibility to my community,'' he said. ``I see the doors opening up all the time. I see young African-American talent making it big where just 10 years ago it might not have been possible.''

Skater back on ice after illness layoff

Olympic gold medal skater Scott Hamilton is back with the ice skating troupe he founded, performing with it for the first time since recovering from cancer.

Hamilton, 39, got a standing ovation Saturday as he skated to Led Zeppelin's ``Heartbreaker'' in the ``Discover Stars On Ice'' tour, said Lynn Page, tour spokeswoman.

After a seven-month layoff for testicular cancer surgery and chemotherapy, Hamilton first returned to the ice in an October exhibition. Saturday's show was his first with the troupe he founded 12 years ago.

Princess pays visit to Colombian ward

Britain's Princess Anne toured a drug rehabilitation center in Cali, Colombia, on Sunday, the second-day of a visit to promote children's causes.

The sister of Prince Charles is scheduled to travel to the remote town of Leticia, in Colombia's Amazon jungle, today to visit a hospital and a housing project partially funded by Great Britain.

``The visit has been very positive and very rewarding,'' said British Ambassador Leycester Coltman on Saturday. Princess Anne declined to speak with reporters in Bogota.

Man names quadruplets after Arafat and family

Talk about hero worship. A Palestinian mechanic named not one, but all four of his new babies after Yasser Arafat and his family.

Atis Siksik's wife, Mona, gave birth Friday night to quadruplets - two boys and two girls - in Rafah, a town in the southern Gaza Strip, Siksik said Sunday.

The couple named the boys Yasser and Arafat, and the girls Soha - after Arafat's wife - and Zahwa - after Arafat's daughter.

``It's a small gift for President Arafat and his family,'' said Siksik, 31.

``This comes from my feeling that Arafat and his family are the family of all the Palestinian people. Arafat is my father.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Monkey see, monkey eat

In what might be their own version of our Thanksgiving, monkeys in Thailand mob the banquet table in the annual Monkey Feast, when locals believe the critters bring luck.

Associated Press

(2) HUDSON