Chris Hutchins

Christopher Neville Hutchins (23 June 1941 – 27 June 2024) was an English author, journalist and public relations practitioner.

Early life Hutchins was the younger of two sons and one daughter of Edward Victor Hutchins (d. 1944) and Kathleen Violet Ness (d 1995). He was educated at Torquay Boys' Grammar School. In 1956, he began a fan club for ventriloquist Terry Hall and Lenny the Lion. Hutchins lost interest when he discovered Elvis Presley and girls.

Public relations In 1966, Hutchins left the NME where he was news editor to form his own PR company. His first client (on 26 December 1966 for the sum of £25-a-week) was Tom Jones who he represented for the next ten years. It was Hutchins who persuaded Jones's manager Gordon Mills to change the singer's image. Under Hutchins's tutelage, Jones's marriage was played down, his sexuality played up and his availability to the press limited. Since Mills also managed Engelbert Humperdinck and Gilbert O'Sullivan, Hutchins became their PR as well. the first of a series of ten articles about The Family was published in the Daily Mirror. Hutchins wrote his first book Fergie Confidential. That was followed by Diana on the Edge, Elvis Meets the Beatles, Athina the Last Onassis, Goldsmith: Money, Women & Power and his autobiography Mr Confidential. Mark Bolland, the former deputy private secretary to The Prince of Wales, reviewed the book for British Journalism Review and wrote:

"Chris Hutchins seems to have seen and done it all. As a young reporter he was censured by the NUJ for failing to be deferential enough to Prince Philip. He was there when Elvis met the Beatles. He helped turn Tom Jones into a superstar. He got drunk with Harold Wilson. And he helped Richard Branson take on British Airways."

Hutchins was criticised by many in showbusiness for breaking confidences. Frank Sinatra was once quoted as saying, "Your secrets are safe with this guy Hutchins, it's the people he tells who are indiscreet."

Published works