Is Jay Jopling dating Lily Allen?

Lily Allen, the mouthy pop star, recently talked of her new-found maturity, declaring that she was eschewing her usual round of West End nightclubs in favour of "dinners at posh places" where she mixed with "much older people" and talked about art. Who could have brought about such a dramatic volte face?

According to the Sunday Telegraph, it is Jay Jopling (left), the owner of the White Cube gallery, who has formed a close friendship with the 23-year-old singer (right).

Jopling, 45, who helped forge the careers of many of the so-called YBAs (Young British Artists), among them Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, certainly seems to fit the bill. He is posh (he went to Eton and is the son of a Tory peer), and at 45 he is old (at least in comparison with Lily), and that he is knowledgeable about art is beyond question. He is also single, having separated from his wife of 11 years, the artist Sam Taylor-Wood, in September.

"Jay has taken Lily under his wing," says The First Post's art source. "No one knows if they are actually going out with each other in that sense. But she certainly makes him laugh."

Meanwhile, Allen's spokesman confirmed to the Sunday Telegraph that the pair had become friends, but said it was too early to use the word "relationship".