Wind in the Willows cast
What was your first pet?
My family lived in Monkseaton, Whitley Bay. Me and my younger sister Debbie, who was nine at the time, had always dreamed of having a horse and we came home one day after a picnic to see a great commotion outside our house. My first thought was that something awful had happened, so I ran to where the crowd was only to see my mum and dad and this beautiful horse – and it was ours! We named him Sam and he went on to win dressage competitions. I was 12 years old it was just a dream come true.
Do you have any pets now?
Our dog passed on last year and we were all very sad. We are all away so much it just wouldn’t be fair to take on another animal so we just take joy in our friend’s pets.
You have played in many pantos – which is your favorite character?
Many years ago, I played Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk. I contracted pleurisy but kept going – as a result I fell off the beanstalk and woke up in hospital muttering about getting up the beanstalk.
I drove to my friends late on Christmas Eve - the now sadly departed Daily Mail writer Lester Middlehurst and his partner Paul Cooper - and my car window broke. The snow was piling in and I had to call out a mechanic. All my wages went to him that Christmas!
This year I am playing Mother Nature in the same panto in Newcastle and I’m really looking forward to it.