J’AIME JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

More documents

Recommendations

Info

F E AT U R E The nation’s favourite happy camper NATIONAL TREASURE SU POLLARD HAS BEEN A FIXTURE OF BRITISH TV, THEATRE AND PANTO FOR NEARLY FIVE DECADES. KATY EDGINGTON LEARNS MORE ABOUT HER NEW TOUR SU HAS BEEN SEEN ON TELEVISION RECENTLY AS A CONTESTANT ON CELEBRITY MASTERCHEF The ever bright and effervescent Su Pollard first made her television debut on Opportunity Knocks in 1974, where she came second to a singing Jack Russell terrier. Best known for her role as Peggy in the BAFTA-winning sitcom BBC One sitcom Hi-De-Hi, Su most recently graced our screens as a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef last summer, and in the Christmas Cook-off. Putting her somewhat controversial ham hock, broccoli, apricot and kimchi sandwich behind her, Su is about to embark on her ‘An evening with…’ tour, which is sure to be filled with laughter and a few tears. The tour, which has been in the making for several years, starts February 2 and runs until the end of March, stopping off in Tamworth at the Assembly Rooms on February 4. Fortunately, Su has never minded travelling and enjoys the camaraderie of being on the road. This is the first tour of its kind she is doing, so I wondered why now and what can audiences expect? “I did a show about 30 years ago with a 10-piece orchestra, so when I was offered this I thought ‘that might be rather nice’. In these uncertain times you’re just trying to offer people lighthearted entertainment. It’s a mixture of everything, a few songs, anecdotes and chats, with a meet and greet beforehand,” she says. As well as talking about her exceptional 45-plus year career, Su will also be opening up the floor for audience Q&A. But is there any question she wouldn’t answer? “Probably not,” she ponders. “It just depends how it was asked and how I could formulate an answer. If there was a question I thought might 6 www.jaimemagazine.com
e a bit personal, I’d have to think on my feet because these things can be misinterpreted. You have to be a bit careful, but I wouldn’t want to be totally censored. I’d like to be as honest as I can.” Born in Nottingham in 1949, Su embraced the freedom of growing up in the Midlands in the 50s and 60s. The tour will visit intimate venues of around 400 seats including The Palace Theatre in nearby Newark, but won’t quite take her back to Nottingham, where she discovered a lifelong love of the entertainment business. “I’d go three times a week to the local amateur theatre group and it was terrific,” she says. “I started when I was 11. I love Nottingham; it’s a great, vibrant city in my view, but equally I wouldn’t want to leave London because I really love it here.” Despite a staggering list of TV, film, West End, theatre and pantomime appearances (not to mention a hit single) many people still know Su best as Peggy, the chalet maid and eventual Yellowcoat, from Hi-De-Hi. The show aired between 1980 and 1988 and made Su a household name. She believes there is a simple reason for its enduring popularity. “I think it was because it had a lot of heart to it - it was real,” she says. “I mean, I know it was high comedy but it was all about people that wanted to better themselves. Look at poor Yvonne and Barry - terrible snobs, but they were trying to get on in life - and so was poor old Ted Bovis. All Gladys wanted to do was love and be loved in return. “And because it was silly kind of stuff, anyone could love it - eight-year-olds could love it and so could 80-year-olds. The characters were probably like your friends in real life. We’ve all known a Gladys, and we’ve all known a Miss Cathcart.” From acting to singing to writing, Su has done it all over the course of her career. For her, the medium is secondary as long as the topic is interesting. The acclaimed one-woman hit play Harpy has been a particular highlight, in which she explores her character’s struggles with mental health and loneliness, as manifested through extreme hoarding. “Harpy is an old-fashioned word for somebody, like SU POLLARD BRING HER ‘AN AUDIENCE WITH...’ TOUR TO TAMWORTH THIS MONTH a bird, that swoops down and grabs everything and takes it back to its nest - so a hoarder, basically,” she explains. “The writer, Philip Meeks, did ever such a lot of research. There are millions and millions of hoarders around the world, so it’s always going to be relevant. It’s usually to do with something the person has lost years and years before. It goes much deeper than just keeping stuff. I loved doing that play.” Su counts Les Dennis and her Hi-De-Hi colleagues as some of those she has most enjoyed working with, feeling very fortunate to have worked with so many like-minded people who take their work seriously, but have fun as well: “Every day, if you can, you make life as pleasurable as you can for yourself and other people, I think. If you’re working together you have a duty to do that.” The energetic, bubbly and colourful Su you see on screen is very much what you get in real life: “I do like to be on the go, as it were. Even when I walk, I walk fast. But equally, when I do get some downtime www.jaimemagazine.com 7
Page 1 and 2: J’AIME Y O U R L O C A L L U X U
Page 3 and 4: Welcome to J’AIME It’s the star
Page 5: LUXURY KITCHENS & INTERIORS BUILT I
Page 9 and 10: will be exhibiting a collection of
Page 11 and 12: singing. We sing in parts so we hav
Page 14 and 15: P R O P E RTY Property of the Month
Page 16 and 17: P R O P E RTY A different approach
Page 18 and 19: I N T E R I O R S Peri nice THE col
Page 20 and 21: WISTFUL RECOLLECTIONS CANVAS CUSHIO
Page 22 and 23: I N T E R I O R S Time to get organ
Page 24 and 25: £329 INDUSTRIAL KIDS LOCKER STORAG
Page 26 and 27: I N T E R I O R S Feline fierce AS
Page 28 and 29: £25 £82 £26 SET OF FOUR SAFARI C
Page 30 and 31: G I F T G U I D E To the one I love
Page 32 and 33: £16.50 £2,655 £45 PLATINUM HEART
Page 34 and 35: F E AT U R E In search of liquid go
Page 36 and 37: F O O D & D R I N K A new dawn for
Page 38 and 39: F O O D & D R I N K A foray into th
Page 40 and 41: wide-ranging Asian influences in fo
Page 42 and 43: F O O D & D R I N K The power of pl
Page 44 and 45: everyone in the UK made the simple
Page 46 and 47: F O O D & D R I N K The taste of vi
Page 48 and 49: H E A LT H Move to the beat PRIMARY
Page 50 and 51: family in Shropshire, and John, who
Page 52 and 53: T R AV E L New year, new opportunit
Page 54 and 55: EXPERIENCE GOLDEN AGE ITALIAN GLAMO
Page 56 and 57:
W H AT ’ S O N What’s on this m
Page 58 and 59:
WHAT: VAMOS THEATRE: DEAD GOOD WHER
Page 60 and 61:
I N T H E N E W S Original art show
Page 62 and 63:
FA S H I O N Best foot forward A ST
Page 64 and 65:
B E AU T Y Beauty resolutions for h
Page 66 and 67:
H E A LT H Looking after your skin
show all

J’AIME JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?