THEGAYUK APRIL/MAY ISSUE 3
2014
INTERVIEW
How would you describe
Dorien, the man-eating
neighbour in Birds of a
Feather?
She’s a comic creation born
with high heels and long
nails. Laurence [Marks] and
Maurice [Gran] based her on
someone they knew who
used to go and put petrol in
her car wearing the white
mink coat. She used to get a
nice young man to do it for
her, and then she would
disappear with him for the
afternoon. The high heels
gave her that distinctive trot,
and the nails meant that
everyone else had to do
everything for her. She
had a very vacuous life,
but there was still a huge
vulnerability about
Dorien. I think that’s why
people related to her.
Why else do audiences
identify with Dorien?
People simply love her.
Yes, she’s a nasty piece of
work, but people really
like her because she is also
vulnerable. There’s a real
pathos to her. She can
never be too successful. We
would never make her a big
fish in a big pond. She has to
be still stuck in Chigwell.
She makes people laugh, but
she also makes them cry
because you see her
vulnerability. She’s the
wrong side of forty and
refuses to grow old
gracefully. She takes life by
the balls and just goes for it.
She’s a true life force.
Dorien is an identifiable
human being, isn’t she?
18
Definitely. It would have
been very, very easy to play
her as a cliche. She’s
glamorous and loves power
dressing. She’s got big hair
and short skirts. She’s a very
iconic TV character and I’m
really proud of her. It would
have been very simple to
come on, get some corking
laughs and go off again. But
we never did that. We
wanted to make Dorien a
more rounded character.
Do you feel you have
been typecast as Dorien?
I’m a very good
knitter. I
recently knitted
myself a dress,
and it was only
meant to be a
jumper!
I suppose to an extent I have
been, but I don’t mind at all
because she’s opened so
many doors for me. Thanks
to her, I have been able to
really diversify. I did a BBC
Radio London show for two
and a half years interviewing
everyone from comedians to
Cabinet Ministers. I’ve also
travelled the world
presenting
Wish You
Were Here. I’ve always
thought outside the box.
That’s given me longevity. A
lot of people say the older
you get, the harder work
gets, but touch wood, it’s
been very good for me
because I have ducked and
dived. If you only do one
thing, it’s more difficult. But
I love that diversity – it
means I never get bored. If
someone asked me, “What
role put you on the map?”,
of course I’d say Dorien. I’m
very proud of her. But my
career has never just been
about Dorien.
In real life, are you more
like like Dorien or
Myra?
I’m not like either. I haven’t
got any thing in common
with them – apart from
my age!
You are also a regular
in Panto aren’t you….?
Yes, I love doing panto. All
comedy timing is about
hearing the rhythm in
your head, and that’s
crucial in panto. Ian
Hislop wrote an article
saying, “I always thought
panto was for performers
at the tail end of their
careers. But having seen
Dick Whittington in
Wimbledon, I now realise
it’s something you should do
at the peak of your career.”
When I read that, I thought,
“Thank you.” Some people
don’t get panto, but it’s great
because you learn the skill of
working with an audience. I
hate it when people put
panto down. It’s so
important to get panto right.
If children don’t have a good
time at panto, they won’t go
again and theatre will die.