| Since the age of seven,
when I saw the Sound of Music about six times in
a row, I just knew show business was the job for
me. Even now I still have a rebellious streak, I
don’t feel like I’m a conformist at
all. I think I’ve always bucked the trend. I
was one of the first people to be singing and
acting and have two completely separate careers.
Now that’s bog standard. When I started
thirty years ago celebrity didn’t exist the
way it does now, today it’s big business. I’m
not scared of celebrity but I never expected it
to become a worldwide industry. I like new
challenges, if something is difficult I
really like it. It means your breaking your own
habits. There are times when thing are difficult.
The hardest thing I have ever done is having to
film on a busy street like Oxford Street in
London. People always want to know what you’re
doing and you can’t be left alone to get on
with it. Every job has its own difficulties but I
enjoy that. I’m still striving to achieve,
for me once something is done its gone and
forgotten. It’s history. In many ways I’m
still trying to achieve the impossible dream.
I didn’t enjoy I’m
a celebrity get me out of here, it was
actually incredibly hard. They starve you, they
play psychological games with you and no-one ever
mentions that its freezing cold. You go out and
think you are going to have a lovely time in the
sunshine and the reality is horrible. Leeches are
prolific in the jungle and they are attracted to
body heat. When we were talking a clump of leaves
would move towards us and it would be leeches.
Really spooky. But despite being smelly and dirty
I realised this is the nature of the beast and
celebrity telly is part of what I do.
I believe firmly that
everybody has a right to work, regardless of
age. I came into the business never expecting to
retire and I still feel the same way. Pure
pigheadedness keeps me going, I think I’m
going to fight ageism all the way. I have worked
with brilliant people in their late seventies
like Catherine Hepburn, the legendary Hollywood
actress. It’s people like her that inspire
me to keep going. I’m still enjoying myself
and I feel I have a right to keep working until
that changes.
The most successful
things are the simplest things. If you told
me last year I would be doing a 44 date tour
wearing big teeth I would have gone mad! ‘Vampire’s
Rock’ has been around for a couple of years
and it’s building a huge following. The
audience come along wanting to be part of the
show, and it doesn’t disappoint. It has more
pyrotechnics than the Olympic games! Its got
humour, it’s fun and it has really great
music. I initially said yes because I wanted to
enjoy myself, but since then it’s taken on a
life of its own and I really respect the fact it’s
a high quality show. This is what theatre does,
it’s about enjoyment, and this is no
exception.
There is a lot of
people out there who really romanticise about
being vampires, and that’s what this is
about. The audience can expect a rocky
horror-esque atmosphere, and lots of comedy. The
story is slightly sexist but it’s all tongue
in cheek – or tooth in cheek! I think the
audience needs to come along and enjoy the
fetishism of being a vampire. I play the Devil
Queen and will I be using a lot of my potential
for wifely tantrums and seduction. I have
definitely been typecast for the role and I’m
not afraid to say it.
Interview by Tom
Tainton.
Venue Magazine
August 2008
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