Could you tell us about your early life
and childhood – where you were born
and grew up?
I was born in Northampton and my mum
and dad moved down to Dunstable,
Bedfordshire, when I was six months
old. It’s a small town on the A5, 30 miles
north of London. Dad travelled with
work and it’s a great place to commute
from. We had everything we needed
around us. We had our dog Sadie who
was a Saluki and we’d walk her on the
Dunstable Downs which over looked the
Glider Club. Sometimes mum would put
our cereal in Tupperware bowls and we’d
go and eat our breakfast whilst sitting on
a fallen tree in the woods in Asheridge.
That seems quite quirky looking back
on it!
My sister Clare and I went to Sunday
school and then Bible class at the The
Priory Church Hall and dance classes at
The Priory Church Hall. We used to earn
our pocket money by helping Mum with
the cleaning and picking the dandelions
so they wouldn’t spread in the garden in
the summer. Mum and dad are still in the
same house. I love going home to visit.
What sort of a school pupil were you
(primary and secondary)?
I grew up in a three-tier school system lower school which was five-nine years
old, middle school from nine-13, upper
10
school and 6th form 13-18. So, here’s a
weird story - I started school a year early
and it seems that nobody noticed until
I got to the age of eight! All my friends
moved on to the next school and I had
to stay behind. I had to re-sit the year
and make new friends I got bored and
naughty and saw the head teacher a
few times. It was compulsory to play
the descant recorder at Icknield Lower
in those days and I was chosen for the
recorder group. I’ve still got mine and its
battered old case with a red ribbon to
wear round my neck. Middle school was
good - I loved English, Art, Music and
Sports. I was on the netball and hockey
teams and in the Chamber Choir.
My school reports regularly stated that
I was doing well but I was a chatterbox
with my new best friend. Mum told the
teachers to move us apart but they never
did. When it was time to move onto
upper school things changed for me. We
chose Northfields Upper School because
it had the best Drama department in the
county and my sister was already there.
But my friends moved onto different
schools at the other end of town and so I
felt a bit lost and had to figure out where
and with whom I would fit in. It ended up
being quite traumatic to be honest.
I experienced a few years of bullying by
a group of girls in the year above. I was
vulnerable and an easy target I think. I
was never boastful, I wouldn’t dare to
be, but it probably didn’t help that I was
the lead in most school productions and
sang and played alto sax with the school
Big Band.
I was challenged to a fight at the gates
for looking at someone’s boyfriend which
was horrendous and gathered a large
audience and I was followed home from
school by a large group of girls. To top
it off a girl I sat next to in my English
Literature class decided I was fair game
too. But I survived! And she got her
comeuppance.
When did you realise you wanted to
sing and dance and how did your
career very first start?
I started dancing at three and competing
at six. I did my first paid job that year
too - which was a Pantomime with Davy
Jones from ‘The Monkees’. I remember
he had his 40th birthday on that job.
He gave all of the young dancers a
Christmas goody bag with bubble bath,
a picture of a kitten and a card saying
‘Thank you and well done!’
I went to music school on Saturday
mornings. Mum would bundle me and
my sis and four other friends into the
back of her Robin Reliant and we’d
tumble over each other as she drove