Alison Steadman interview
Alison Steadman's television CV includes lots of comedies. Her latest role is playing Joyce in Boomers...
Hi Alison. Have you enjoyed filming Boomers?
It's lots of fun, a nice group of people, and we all get on really well - although our characters are all getting on great one minute, then the next they're snippy with each other. The perils of knowing each other for decades and spending so much time together! There is so much to play with in the set up and so much that can - and does - happen.
How would you describe your character Joyce?
She's a bit of an organiser who hen-pecks her husband. Poor man, he seemingly can't do anything right - and that's great fun to play! She is dreading retirement as she's a real busybody.
She's got a son who's married and lives a long way away in Cornwall - I wonder why! She's always going on about Lee and Suze not coming to visit and having to go all that way to see them. She doesn't get on very well with her daughter-in-law, but is thrilled when she learns she is expecting her first grandchild. Try keeping her away!
Do you see anything of yourself in Joyce?
I suppose so, but I hope I'm not a bully. She doesn't mean to, but Alan does get on her nerves. One nice thing that the writer Richard Pinto has done is the tone of her voice when she uses his name 'Allllan'. He immediately wonders what he has done wrong. I was out at a dinner party a few weeks ago and the hostess kept shooting her eyes up even as she was smiling 'Why can't he do anything right?' and I was watching her and thought 'There's a lot of Joyce in that!' She does like to rule the roost, but she's not nasty.
What has Joyce been doing for a living?
She's on the admin team at an NHS health centre. It's a low-key job but busy and she is surrounded by people. Lots of people go to work for the companionship of their workmates, not necessarily because they like the job. If they were doing it totally alone, they would probably hate it. Joyce enjoys the daily banter.
You are in fact coming up to 68. Would you ever consider retirement?
Actors, of course, lead very different lives as many of them never actually retire. We're really lucky in many ways. Sometimes the acting business retires us, which is a bit sad for some people. But look at June Whitfield. She's 88 and amazing, sharp as anything, a real example of what you can do if you've got your health and your mind - a true inspiration to us all! So no, I don't think about retiring. And I wouldn't want to be isolated in some little town where everyone is doing the same thing.
How do you fill your time when you're not working?
I like to keep active. I walk as much as I can, I go to the cinema, the theatre. I don't ever want to be cut off from the younger generation and London life. I have two sons, Toby and Leo, who are in their 30s, and they keep you young with their banter and what they're up to. I also have a niece who lives in London and works in wardrobe and make-up and she's always telling me about her tours. One hopes to be able to offer a bit of advice if ever they need it.
I feel lucky because I have never been out of work, touch wood, and I feel sorry for young actors now because it's harder and harder with fewer and fewer jobs - and so many people going into the profession.
So as Joyce nears retirement, Alan offers to host a party at home?
He does, and no matter how much you prepare these things in advance you're always exhausted at the end of the night, running around, serving drinks, mopping up spills, making sure everyone's having a good time. She never wanted the party in her house. She wanted a surprise party in the Marriott Hotel. It's a nightmare for her. Her dippy friend Carol has agreed to do Vietnamese food but it all goes horribly wrong.
Any parallels with Beverly, dispenser of 'cheesy pineapple bits' in the play Abigail's Party which caused a TV sensation and made you a household name in 1977?
I still have a soft spot for Beverly and it was terrific fun playing her, but I've spent more than thirty years working hard not to repeat the role. No idea why I'm cast in these roles. I'm such a shrinking violet!
Boomers is all about long-standing friendships. Who is your longest standing friend?
My friend Hilary lives in Maine, America. I grew up with her on the same street in Liverpool and we have known each other since we were born.
How does it feel growing older?
Most people have a problem with zero numbers because they seem a real marker in your life. Turning 50 wasn't a big thing for me. I sailed through it. Being 60, knowing I had a pension coming soon, was a bit more difficult!
Are you forgetful?
Don't! I'm so forgetful. I recently lost my glasses and hunted high and low for them for about an hour. I then went to the fridge to get some water, and there they were, sitting on the shelf, all frosted up. I couldn't believe it. It was ridiculous.
How do you cope with learning lines?
It's still difficult and requires a lot of hard work. I do sometimes throw the script to the floor and think I can't learn it but then I have a cup of tea, take a deep breath and go for a walk.
What else do you do to unwind at the end of a long day's filming?
I love Scrabble and entertaining. I probably have an extra glass of wine at night, when I shouldn't. A wardrobe mistress once told me she's never seen anyone as quick as me as opening a bottle of wine when I come off stage. To wind down I do a quick crossword and I love karaoke. I have my own machine and if I get really stressed I think 'Fingers crossed the neighbours enjoy it', put it on and I just SING. All sorts: Adele, Susan Boyle, Nina Simone. I pick songs my voice can cope with. Last time my sons came to visit I sang the Lily Allen song Smile and they all sat there with cushions over their faces.
Did your parents - an electrical engineer and a housewife - encourage you to become an actress?
My parents taught me to be brave and gave me the courage to follow my dreams. My dad was a very gentle, quiet man and he loved to paint and draw and he encouraged me to do the same. I really enjoyed it.
How do you feel now that your own children are grown up and have lives of their own?
The happiest period in my life was when they were growing up. We had such fun. I made new friends with women who had kids of a similar age and we'd go on holiday together. Although I still see them, there is a little bit of emptiness there.
Do you embrace modern technology?
I do all the basics. I email, text, download things, I can buy stuff online, share pictures. I think texting and emails are wonderful ways to keep in touch, and I do both every day, but I find that when I check my emails, an hour has gone in the blink of an eye. Twitter and Facebook would intrude too much on my day. I love being able to access my emails on the go, and I love YouTube with cats playing the piano and all its silly little films. They're fun to share with friends.
I also love wildlife and bird watching with my binoculars. If I spot a warbler, I enjoy being able to search online for it. In the past you had to go to libraries, leaf through big encyclopaedias. I love how fast and accessible things are now, although there are downsides too of course. I like to escape to nature reserves and I am really lucky because I live in Highgate which is full of green spaces. If I hadn't been an actress I'd have loved to work with wildlife.
Would you ever consider cosmetic surgery?
I'm terrified of anaesthetic and surgery so why would I possibly put myself through something I didn't have to? I hate hospitals.
I think it's really sad that women feel they've got to have all this treatment. I would hate to look in the mirror and not see me but this woman who looked a bit like me. Nowadays, when I stand in front of a mirror, I can see my mother Marjorie looking back at me. It's quite uncanny. Make the best of what you've got, that's what I say. Look after yourself, eat well and put on a bit of moisturiser!
You grew up in Liverpool during the '60s - it must have been a very exciting place to be?
I do have some nostalgia for the '60s, which is when I went to drama school. I adored the Beatles and I grew my hair long. I met John Lennon and Paul McCartney when I was 16 and I got their autographs. My friends and I went to see them at a lunchtime session at the Cavern Club. We came out very giggly and followed them down the street. I asked Paul for his autograph and he was really sweet. They weren't famous outside Liverpool yet as it was before Love Me Do, their first hit single, in 1962. Paul signed my book 'To Alison, love from Paul' and handed it back to me before saying 'Hang on a minute, I'd better put The Beatles because in the future, somebody's bound to look at this and say 'Who the bloody hell is Paul?'
Baby boomers are often accused of ruining the planet?
We should never take nature for granted. I would like to do more with wildlife and conservation. The programme I would really like to make is not sexy, but about plastics and the over-use of packaging and creatures choking. I haven't accepted a plastic bag in years. My mum never went out without her shopping bag. The huge use of plastic bags, which aren't biodegradable, makes me very depressed.
Who will Boomers appeal to?
The majority of people watching Friday night BBC One are over 50. The 20-somethings are all out and watching on catch-up. They want to relate to what they watch. That's the fun - we all do that and it's so like real life.
What would be your epitaph?
'She was kind'. I think kindness is so important. We all have spells when life is wonderful and then all of a sudden we can be thrown into terrible difficulties. None of us escape these things, so I think we have to be kind to each other.