Woot-ton: Dan Wootton's Coldplay time machine

I know Dan Wootton has only recently taken over from Rav Singh, but he seems to have some problems understanding a few of the concepts of journalism. Like what "exclusive" means. To top up today's XS body spray gossip column, Dan splashes a big exclusive:

Exclusive

Coldplay split as Chris goes sol

By Dan Wootton, 22/11/2008

COLDPLAY superstar CHRIS MARTIN is preparing to ditch his band and launch a solo career, I can reveal.

[...]

Last night Chris said: “I’m 31 now—and I don’t think that bands should keep going past 33, so we’re trying to pack in as much as possible. We’ll go for it until the end of next year.” Chris, who is married to actress GWYNETH PALTROW, will then concentrate on a solo career.

Hang about... he said that last night, and the News Of The World exclusively heard it, you say, Dan? Only, somewhat surprisingly, exactly the same quote appeared on the Daily Express website last Tuesday.

Now, it's possible that Chris Martin is such a trooper, he does just wander around giving the same interview to everybody; the other possibility would be that Wootton hopes he can pass off something he read in the Daily Express last week as an exclusive on the basis that nobody reads the Express. Or perhaps that's what the XS means in his column title? Short for eXpresS?

It's worth noting: NME.com ran a story based on the original Express piece - they were generous enough to mention the source - but have since taken it down. Perhaps they were waiting for the News Of The World to confirm the story?