We want that one on the West Pier again,
to get it built, or have the Hippodrome
as a theatre. It would be an amazing
location, just perfect. There’s a campaign
group but they don’t seem to be getting
very far. We certainly don’t need another
cinema that’s for sure.
So, back to teaching at City College,
was that something you enjoyed?
Yeah, I enjoyed teaching. It was about
me wanting to give something back
because of everything I had and learnt
and experienced and it was quite funny
because I started teaching just to do that
– to give something back at City College,
and they said, “Why don’t you do your
teaching degree?” So, I said, “Well, I
hadn’t really thought about it. There was
going to be this scheme saying you had
to have your teaching degree as well,
so I did my PGCE. I’ve got a post-grad
teaching degree as well. And that was
funny being a student there as well. We
were quite a diverse bunch and that was
quite noticeable but it was much more
academic in a sense. I found my MA
better, well, easier because it was more
what I was used to.
Then I taught at City College Brighton
and Hove and also taught at the film
school, I taught on screen and I taught
the film makers acting as well and how
to deal with actors and things. but one
of my colleagues, well, a couple of my
colleagues from Brighton and Hove
actually have taken over the film school
now as well and I teach there - I’m the
creative director so I’m part of that too.
And I love it, I really enjoy it. I love my
kids. They’re not kids. I mean, it is post16 but I love my students.
My evening classes have become really
quite popular and there’s lot of people
who have been to my evening classes,
and I teach in quite a multi-sensory
way because of my dyslexia, and also
because I’m not just a teacher, I’ve
experienced 40 years in the business…
So I come at it from a different angle and
I think the combination seems to really,
really work and I’ve had quite a few
students who have now gone on to do
their own MAs or write for TV bless them.
I still continue to do my screen writing
courses at the film school now, which is
being run brilliantly. It’s been voted one
of the ten best film schools in the country.
I want to teach acting a bit more as well
but it’s finding a venue to do that so I may
at some point start some classes about
acting and acting on screen because
really it’s extraordinary to think of it but a
lot of drama schools do hardly any acting
on screen. Most people’s work when they
come out of drama school is going to be
on telly. Yet they never learn about how to
act in front of a camera, which is different.
So your reality TV experiences, did
you enjoy those or not really? I often
wonder whether people do or don’t…
Some reality TV experiences I enjoyed
some I haven’t. I always think, “Oh, I’m
not going to do that” but of course, in the
end you go, “beat them or join them.”
In some ways it was sad that I became
more of a celebrity doing those things
than the acting work but then you get
to a certain age as a woman and there
are not so many parts that come in for
you so you’ve got to keep your face
out there and keep advertising things
that you’re doing. I loved doing Four
Weddings where we renewed our vows we did a mod wedding! That’s still being
shown and people love that. And, of
course, we had like scooters and we did
it in Rottingdean and then we had our
reception in the Honey Club and it was
60s themed. It was fabulous, and we had
the Brighton Beach Boys playing - it was
just absolutely brilliant. So, I loved that
experience and I loved going to the other
people’s weddings as well. I loved Coach
Trip - that was fab. I had such a laugh on
Celebrity Coach Trip. It was so funny. I
did it with my friend Ingrid… Ingrid Tarrant
and … and we just giggled all the way.
That was really good.
Did it get quite snipey?
Oh god, some of it did. I tell you when
it gets snipey, is with people who call
themselves reality stars but they’ve been
in only reality stuff – whereas the actors
had a laugh and it’s a different vibe really. I
suppose they’re starring in a movie of their
own life, aren’t they? I’ve enjoyed some of
it but really I just want to get back to doing
really good drama and really good work
and obviously doing my own show, All or
Nothing, which is going to London this
year, hopefully in autumn at the Charing
Cross Theatre. Then we’re hoping to
take it out on tour across the country and
then we want to take it to Europe as well
because there are fans in Europe and
hopefully even Australia.
Sadly, Ian McLagan died in December,
so he was another member and so it’s
even more important that we celebrate the
50th anniversary of the Small Faces and
the mod movement really, cause to me,
once a mod you’re always a mod. And so
I want to bring the theatre and the music
together. It’s the 60s that I love, especially
the fashion, and to put it all together in
the coolest musical ever. So, it’s not fluffy,
fluffy 60s as sometimes portrayed. It is
actual rock a