Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2014 | Page 11

INTERVIEW

Laugh-a-minute Melvyn!
First of an exclusive two-part
interview by Peter White

T

he walls of Melvyn Hayes’ study
at his family home in Ryde are
covered with reminders of a truly
remarkable career in show business.
There are photographs of Melvyn with
Cliff Richard and the cast of ‘Summer
Holiday’, a smash hit film of more than
50 years ago. There are Radio Times front
covers, and even a model of the film
set depicting the time when he played
Gunner ‘Gloria’ Beaumont in the hilarious
TV series ‘It Ain’t Half Hot Mum’.
There are billboard posters of plays that
he has featured in, and there is even the
famous red book from the time he was
caught by Eamonn Andrews for ‘This Is
Your Life’. And for every picture, every
front cover and every poster, Melvyn has
a tale to tell. No wonder he says: “So far I

have been writing my autobiography 30
years and I have got up to 1958. So I am
going to be 172 before I even get halfway.”
The most amazing thing I found when
I chatted to him was that for a man who
has just passed his 79th birthday, and
has had a triple heart by-pass and new
valve, Melvyn still has remarkable energy
and enthusiasm for an acting profession
he has been engaged in for more than
60 years. Every story he tells has a
funny twist; and the true pro can break
effortlessly into the voice of the character
he is talking about.
A Cockney, born within the sound of
Bow Bells, Melvyn was a youngster in the
Second World War and was evacuated
from London. He said: “First I was sent
to Devon, only 80 miles from Cherbourg

which was being b