Why haven’t you done more comedy? You were effortlessly hilarious in Austin Powers. Haigin88
Why, thank you! I learned from the best playing opposite Mike Myers, whom I adored. I used to get terrible giggling fits when we were shooting and had to play lots of scenes without actually looking Mike in the eye, for fear of corpsing. There’s one scene where Austin attacks Basil Exposition’s mother, bellowing to Michael York: “She’s a man, baby!” while trying to yank her wig off to show she’s a spy. But it isn’t a wig as she’s a perfectly ordinary old lady. I ruined every take by laughing and I’m ashamed to say that in the actual movie, you can see I’m glassy-eyed and smirking.
Would you prefer to be a Bond girl or a Powers girl? MarkWatson1
Well, I like a catsuit – which, in this day and age, would mean a Powers girl. But my dream is to be a Bond villain – with or without a catsuit. I loved the Daniel Craig Bond films, but all the villains were men.
Did you help Mike Myers get his English quotes right? Kellysahero1970
Both Mike’s parents were from Liverpool, so even though he was born in Canada, he’s actually as English as me and didn’t need any help at all. He used to tour the UK with Neil Mullarkey, an English comedian, who was also brilliant in Austin Powers as the guard who gives Austin back his Swedish penis pump.
Have you ever met anybody who was unwittingly the embodiment of Vanessa Kensington, either style or personality wise? llamalpaca
A lot of people still dress up as Vanessa for Halloween. If I could shoehorn myself into my costumes, all of which are residing in my dusty attic, I could go as her myself next year. It would be tricky to find a real-life Vanessa. She had a childlike innocence and no side. I had to dig deep for that one.
How much fun did you have making Bedazzled? arashikage
I had a blast on Bedazzled and got on brilliantly with Brendan Fraser, who is such a gifted comedian. Sometimes, whatever relationship your characters have in a movie tends to be the one you sort of slide into with your co-star, which means I tormented Brendan for months. He’s quite shy in real life, so it was easy. And fun.
What was it like working with Dennis Potter on the 80s BBC drama, Christabel? badrobot2
I was obsessed with The Singing Detective and was thrilled when Dennis chose me for Christabel. The shows were very different, Christabel being pretty much his only straight-up drama. His fans were disappointed as they were hoping for something more weird and wonderful. Dennis was lovely to me. I was only 22 and he knew that a lot of people would be giving me advice on how to play the part. He made me promise to play it exactly as I had in the screen test and ignore everyone.
There are photos of you as a punk in your teens. What are your memories of that period and has any of the punk ethos stayed with you? retepcooper
I grew up in the suburbs and finding an identity, a group to belong to was important. I loved punk music and started hanging around with the local punks. We didn’t have any money, so wearing ripped-up clothes and home-dying our hair was all we could afford anyway. When I moved to London for drama school, I felt pretty cool with my pink hair and nose ring. On my first day, my tutor looked me up and down and sarcastically said: “Very castable!” The stuffing was knocked right out of me and the girl from the suburbs had to sharpen up. That tutor, now nearly 90, remains one of my best friends and lives near me in the country. He still helps me if I’m stuck on a part.
You appeared on the Strictly final in 2020. Would you return as a contestant, and if so, which dance would you be most excited to learn? VerulamiumParkRanger
Sadly, I have too many injuries – sustained when filming various roles. I have a prolapsed disc, ripped ligaments in my ankle and a dodgy shoulder. If I were fighting fit, I would love to learn the achingly sensual rumba. My favourite contestant ever was Abbey Clancy, who’d never danced before and was brilliant in the final.
What was it like working with your son on Strictly Confidential? Having seen him develop as a film-maker, what skills and qualities in him are you most proud of or impressed by? Iokanaan
Damian has an excellent work ethic and a laser-focused attention to detail. He started making mini-movies when he was 10, and I was in all of them. So in effect, he’d been directing me for years; making a real movie seemed like a natural progression. His film was made on a very small budget and he only had 18 days to shoot it. He had an amazing rapport with the cast who all, like me, worked for minimum pay. I didn’t audition for my part – initially, it was tiny and the part of my husband was significant. Then Damian decided to swap the sexes of the husband and wife and suddenly I had the good part and the husband didn’t. It was extraordinary the difference it made to the movie. Instead of a middle-aged man having an affair with his daughter’s friend – which we’ve all seen way too many times – it was a woman. That changed everything.
If you were made queen for the day like your character in The Royals, what laws would you pass to make our country a happier (or unhappier) place? TopTramp
My favourite part of playing the Queen in The Royals was saying “walk away” when anyone annoyed me and watching them dutifully scurry off. I’d like to make that a house law at home. If I were the real Queen, I’d outlaw air fresheners in cars – they’re all disgusting. I’d pass a law obliging food manufacturers to put large UPF stickers on ultra-processed foods, so we wouldn’t have to spend hours squinting at ingredient lists. I’d ban prison sentences for white-collar criminals and make them give back to the community instead – imagine if Lester Piggott had had to spend years teaching inner-city kids to ride horses. And I’d lock up violent criminals for longer.
When you look back at your career, what’s your most precious achievement? AmongstTheWaves
Probably just keeping going and staying happy. I get knocked, hated, criticised and bullied every time I stick my head above the parapet. It would have been much easier to give up but I’m not made that way. I love film crews and I love being on a set. I’ve always found work more fun than play.
You front this year’s Debenhams Christmas campaign. If you were a department store called Hurley’s, what would you sell? MrSOBaldrick
Vintage clothes. All my family and quite a few friends come to me for Christmas, which I love, and we all dress up. I wear mostly my old vintage stuff, like a black cashmere jumper with snowflakes on it that I’ve had for over 20 years. I have a red and gold Christmas tree in the hall, a silver and hot pink one in the drawing room and a silver and gold one in the dining room, and I’m a monster decorating them. I scream and shout, fall off ladders, tangle the lights and drop ornaments. I’m already dreading it. But they do look pretty when they’re finished. I loved being part of the Debenhams Christmas campaign, especially as I am lazy and do most of my shopping online. I never need much persuading to shimmy around in a sequined dress while spraying glorious perfume on myself. Plus, I stole the faux sheepskin rug I’m draped over in the ad, so I’ll be lounging on that a lot this year.