Like poor Ms Beckham, I too suffer from the ‘liking gap’

The new trailer for the Victoria Beckham documentary on Netflix, out next month, begins with the former Spice Girl turned fashion designer admitting: “People thought I was that miserable cow that never smiled.

- CHARLOTTE CRIPPS

But I do [smile],” she continues. “Don’t be shocked.” Hang on, Victoria! Get a grip! I must confess, it's not a subject that keeps me up at night. She has every right to feel judged, amplified by living in the goldfish bowl of celebrity and navigating misogynistic commentary from the media and the WAG label, stuck on her the minute she and David got together 28 years ago.

But the brutal truth is it's her, not us, who has spent hours and hours of her life consumed with what the world thinks of her and her perceived failings.

It is a chronic case of excruciating self-obsession fuelled by insecurity, and most of us suffer from it to a degree, including myself.

Beckham seems tortured by it, as I once was. In an interview in Elle, published this week, she reveals: "When I was younger, I was so self-conscious because of my skin. I didn't even want to look people in the eye. It really affected my confidence. It can make you quite depressed."