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LOCK 'N' ROLL

Megan Barton-Hanson and ex James Lock rub shoulders at star-studded celeb bash

MEGAN Barton-Hanson and her ex-boyfriend James Lock rubbed shoulders at a star-studded event last night.

They attended the Welcome to Chippendales launch at The Windmill, London, a new series about the man behind the infamous US male strip troupe.

Megan Barton-Hanson dazzled at the Welcome to Chippendales launch last night
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Megan Barton-Hanson dazzled at the Welcome to Chippendales launch last nightCredit: Getty
Ex-boyfriend James Lock joined her in central London
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Ex-boyfriend James Lock joined her in central LondonCredit: Getty

Former Love Islander Megan and Towie man James split last summer after a.

But last night things were amicable at the event, which saw Megan looking incredible in a plunging metallic dress.

Buff James showed off his guns in a tight-fitting white T-shirt as he posed by the bar.

Other famous faces at the event included AJ and Curtis Pritchard, Gogglebox's Tom Malone Jr, Strictly's Neil Jones and the series' leading man Kumail Nanjiani.

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The Big Sick actor plays Somen 'Steve' Banerjee - the power-hungry businessman behind the Chippendales.

The eight-part Disney+ series documents his extraordinary downfall featuring murder plots and millions of dollars.

In the first episode Brooklyn Beckham’s wife Nicola Peltz portrays tragic Playboy model Dorothy Stratten, as she appears to spark the business venture by suggesting to her husband Paul Snider and Banerjee that they launch a male strip night because “women get horny”.

Here a tragedy collides with the violent Chippendales story, as Dorothy is later murdered aged 20.

Show star Kumail, said of the series: “I knew it was cuffs, collars and bow ties but I had no idea of the backstory, that it was so wild and full of crime.”

Banerjee, born in Bombay, India, was a Mobil petrol station owner in Los Angeles until he hustled his way into the nightclub business.

He bought failing club Destiny II in the city, turning it into a backgammon establishment and then a female mud-wrestling and exotic dance venue.

His fortunes changed in 1979, when he advertised a “male exotic dance night for ladies only” — the first of its kind in America — selling tickets for the equivalent of £16.

While the Disney+ series depicts Banerjee as a reasonably honest entrepreneur during his early days, the truth is more sinister.

Within five years of founding Chippendales he tried twice to burn down competitors’ venues fearing they stood in the way of him expanding his £7million-a-year empire. The arson only caused minor damage.

A power struggle with his business partner Nick De Noia also turned deadly.

The Emmy-winning choreographer — best known for his children’s TV series Unicorn Tales — had been tasked with creating Vegas-worthy routines for the muscled, G-string- wearing dancers.

The slick shows became so popular that the club had to close briefly due to overcrowding, with wild audience members demanding “we want meat”.

De Noia gave up his share of both clubs in return for 50 per cent of the profits of the highly-lucrative Chippendales tours.
In the following years, Banerjee had to fight off legal cases from men who said it was wrong to exclude them from attending the performances and allegations that the club discriminated against black people.

Meanwhile, the mogul boosted his wealth with Chippendales merchandise, most notably calendars.

But he resented sharing his fortune with his former associate and planned his first kill.

On April 7, 1987, De Noia, 45, who was divorced from Hollywood actress Jennifer O’Neill, was sitting at his desk in his 15th floor office in New York when a man posing as a messenger shot him in the face.

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For six years the murder remained unsolved, despite De Noia’s relatives suspecting Banerjee.

The club owner might have got away with it if his greed had not led him to plot more assassinations of former employees.

Kumail Nanjiani is the leading man in the new Disney+ series
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Kumail Nanjiani is the leading man in the new Disney+ seriesCredit: Getty
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