Time Out at 40

See all Time Out London’s 40th birthday heroes

Who are your London heroes?
'Crikey, what a terrible question. I don’t know any Londoners – I live in Surrey. I admired Sir John Gielgud, and Edith Evans. But they didn’t come from London. You’d be surprised how many "Londoners" don’t.'

And what about the biggest thing to happen in ‘Eastenders’ – which for many people, especially outside of the city, is all they know of London?
'I suppose the biggest moment was when Den handed Angie the divorce papers on Christmas Day. They had been wonderful together.'

Do you have a favourite place or in London?
'Belgravia. I do like to see the lovely houses and I do like the beautiful cream paint and they all have to be the same colour. Stucco? But I have heard from a painter that they used to buy another colour and put it in the tin with the right name on it. It was a bit cheaper but it looked the same. They were very naughty weren’t they?' Feature continues

What is your favourite personal moment in London? Where were you and what were you doing?
'These are such difficult questions. Especially if you’ve had such a long life. If you try to remember it all, you’ll be dead before you get to the end of it. I suppose when they told me straight away at the Old Vic Theatre, when I did an audition for the theatre school, that I had got in. I just burst into tears. Now I can’t cry at all. I wept myself out when I was young.'

What is the future of your field in London – your hopes, what needs to happen?
'I rather wish that all those little theatres would only use actors who were trying to get on in their careers. When the smaller theatres use big stars to bring people in, there’s no chance really for people to learn their craft and make a living the old-fashioned way. There was always competition but there wasn’t half as many actors, of course. Nowadays, it’s all to do with fame. Like the musicals – I mean, people might be trained in singing and dancing, but does being in a soap mean you should get the lead in "Chicago"?'

What does Time Out mean to you?
'Time Out always meant a lot. I directed a play once in one of the little theatres and we got a very good notice. We were always thrilled.'

See all Time Out London’s 40th birthday heroes