I’m looking for some dirt here.
Oh, you want some dirt.
That’s something I can get passionate about and leaving was far more exciting than staying and that was it. The prospect of leaving and being in front of people and saying, “I’m available” that’s when you get results, that’s when you get the offers. Lots of people used to say “Oh, we wanted to use you for this but you’re working at CBeebies.” Well, I’m free now, I’m available. I do other things but, of course, people don’t see that. It’s just a big machine the BBC, you’re accepted as part of that crew and they think that you just work for them. I’ve obviously been doing it for so long that it’s pretty clear why people might think that. And, actually, to be totally honest with you, I wanted to leave sooner. So, it’s a really exciting time for me, to have my wings spread and just to jump.
Yes, dish some, or make some up.
Andy and Cerrie, they never used to get on but I think more dirt comes from the people who work behind the scenes, the producers and assistant producers, those types of individuals because you get all sorts of characters coming through all time. As presenters, we learn to work with each other because that’s the team and it stays that way for a couple of years. Cerrie and Andy definitely didn’t get on, they just didn’t get on. The reason why is because Cerrie’s a bit crazy. Cerrie’s like someone who’s got Tourette’s. She will say what’s on her mind but it will be like the most random thing at the most random time and she will get all squeally and you’re like, “What are you doing? Just calm down.” And Andy is very similar but… he’ll tell you to your face what he thinks you just have to forgive him. Anything Andy says you just have to forgive him because he is that type of personality. He’s not rude, he’s a lovely guy, he’s the nicest person in the world but he says stuff that comes to his mind. And so they just kind of… they clash because of that energy. Andy is a sort of high energy presenter, we got on straightaway. So, we have a show together now. We’re doing Andy and Sid’s Summer Party throughout the summer because we get on so well and he’s a really great guy, he’s a family man.
You did a stint on BBC Southern Counties radio…
That’s right, Saturday lunchtime slot, a big show, which was brilliant for me, I loved it. I had so much fun. I learnt to drive the desk, and not only that, I learnt from the master, Neil Pringle, the godfather of radio. But, I’ll tell you, I’ve never left a job and felt so bad because I really was enjoying the experience. I just love radio. I mean, I do voiceovers and Radio 4 dramas as well and I just love the whole medium of listening and how it can be worked in a radio sense. It was just a really good experience doing the show, loved it. And I definitely will go back into radio but I’ve got years before I have to worry about that.
well and she’s just designed for that type of performance and that type of jobbing acting. She had her little dalliances and she’s been in and out, that’s kind of okay, I can see how that might keep it fresh creativity. I don’t know if I could do a hard long stint like that, and it is a hard long stint. I’ve got quite a few acting friends and they make films and they do lots of work but you don’t know who they are, yet they make a really good living out of it. And I think for me, it’s not about being famous or making lots of money, it’s just about being comfortable enough so that I can do what I want creatively. I like a challenge. While I was at CBeebies I did have opportunities. I played Aslan in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the Opera House in Cork. I was resident there for a couple of months. So, I’m really comfortable on a big stage performing to thousands of people. The skill of working with the camera is completely different as an actor than it is as a presenter because presenter look directly down the lens, the actor doesn’t look at it at all. When I’m in character I’m trying to convey the emotion and the feeling. I look at actors like Idris Elba who’s playing Luther at the moment. I think he’s great but I think he’s learning. I can see that he’s learning his craft and there are some scenes he’s playing and I think “you are not playing that part emotionally well at all. You’re completely disconnected. You’re physical but I can’t see you feeling at all.” He was definitely amazing in The Wire, I think he’s a brilliant actor and there are lots of black British actors, David Hill is another brilliant actor, Adrian Lester, another brilliant black British actor. Quite a few of them, who don’t get enough air time I think. I’d like to get to that level and I want to work in the sort of work that they’re doing.
You left CBeebies earlier this year, was the BBC’s move to Salford part of your reason for leaving?
No, no, I just thought it was time to spread my wings and fly. I’d had all the challenges and I think that was pretty much it. I’d sort of felt like, “Yes, let’s get on and do the theatre thing.” I can still do my live performance and I can actually set up a company and I can promote myself through my shows and continue to work in the children’s area producing some projects that I really want to get off the ground, empowering children to develop their own creativity and using performance and poetry as a medium to engage with them and get them to produce their own shows. Let’s try and help some of these kids to have that self-confidence that maybe I lacked as a child. And maybe lots of kids who grew up in the same sort of environment as me and children who are in poorer area. That’s what I want to do.
Have the Radio 4 dramas given you a taste of wanting to do drama on television? Is that something you’d do now?
I’m an out of work actor. All of the time that I’ve been working as a presenter I’ve considered myself an out of work actor because that is really my love. I can’t believe I still haven’t fulfilled my dream in acting. I’ve still got all of that to do and I’m really very seriously considering going back into the plan that really had when I left drama school and making short films and just doing low budget films and trying to get a career developed through doing that.
Are you still on good terms with the BBC if they said, “Right, we need someone like you in EastEnders,” would you do that?
Maybe. I know a couple of them, I know Patsy Palmer really well and Patsy’s great because she works the work really
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