Tony Cowell
BEST’S CELEB INSIDER TALKS TO RUTH MADOC
Ruth Madoc found fame as Gladys Pugh in the hit 80s TV comedy, Hi-DeHi! Here, the 74-yearold Welsh treasure, tells best about her
new ITV show, The Real Full Monty: Ladies’
Night (also starring Loose Woman Coleen Nolan, broadcaster Victoria Derbyshire and Emmerdale’s Sally Dexter). Ruth also tells us about taking dance lessons from Diversity star Ashley Banjo, and her brush with cancer...
Since Hi-De-Hi! finished, you’ve never stopped working, have you?
I’ve been very lucky with work, but it’s a good thing – I don’t think I want to retire, as I still love what I do so much. As long as I can remember the script and don’t bump into the furniture, I shall carry on.
You’re appearing in ITV’s The Real Full Monty: Ladies’ Night to raise awareness of breast cancer. Are you scared to bare your all?
Not really, I’ve done it before! But, you see, I haven’t had anything done to my breasts. The others in the show have, and it must be very difficult for them, because the issue of breast cancer is very close to their hearts. My cancer was in my bladder, so that’s very different. But I can’t stress this enough – everyone should have regular screening tests. That’s all it takes.
Dancing On Ice judge and Diversity star Ashley Banjo was roped in to help you learn to dance for the show – was that fun?
Blimey, poor old Ashley. He’s a lovely man, but he had his work cut out dealing with a geriatric like me. It’s been hard work. I’ve just had hotstone massage on my back!
You’re a grandmother of five and, as a child, you were brought up by your own grandmother, weren’t you?
Yes. My mum was a working woman in the health service. In those days, women weren’t supposed to have children if they had careers, but my mother was a feminist and she wanted it all. It was a very different time. So I actually lived with my grandmother until I was seven years old.
Do you remember it as a happy childhood?
Yes, because my grandmother inspired me. She played the piano, she sang and wrote poetry, so I was in very good company to start with. That was when, as a young girl, I realised what I wanted to do. It was the beginning of me going into showbusiness.
In 1972, you appeared in the film Under Milk Wood, based on a play by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas,
alongside Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Was that a huge moment?
It was. I was nude in that, too! So it seems I have been baring all for most of my life. But I remember that film very well because we were filming at 6am in Fishguard Harbour. My scene was with the actor David Jason, who I’ve remained best friends with ever since. So I was very lucky.
You’re soon to play Jessie in Gary Barlow’s musical The Girls. What attracted you to this project?
Well, I toured on stage with Calendar Girls [which Gary’s musical is based on] for years. So, as soon as I learned this was a musical, I wanted to do it. I love musicals and I still have my stage singing voice, so I said yes, right there on the spot. It’s going to be huge fun, and Gary Barlow has been very nice to me.
You played Gladys in the holiday camp comedy
Hi-De-Hi! for nine years – how do you reflect on those times now?
It was halcyon days – such a lovely show to work on, with brilliant scripts. It’s lovely to see the shows back on repeat.
Do you still keep in touch with any of your co-stars?
We’ve lost most of them, sadly. I still see Su Pollard and Jeffrey Holland. We keep in touch and, if anything’s happened to any of us, we would be there for each other. You’ve said you find it hard watching your own performance in Hi-De-Hi! Why is that? I used to be jolly frightened, to tell you the truth. From the word go, people knew who I was. They would stop me in the street or on a train and say ‘It’s you! You’re Gladys Pugh.’ There was so much interest in the show, and I thought, ‘I don’t want to watch it, just in case I don’t like what I see.’
Have your grandkids seen those shows?
Yes, they have. The eldest of my grandchildren is 11 years old, so he can now appreciate the shows better, I think. I also reckon that Hi-De-Hi! really stands the test of time, and that’s why they’ve brought it back. I was told the BBC was astonished by the viewing figures. It’s getting a whole new generation of viewers, which is lovely.
Would you ever consider being part of another TV comedy, or even a soap?
If the part was right for me, yes. I’ve never done a soap, so I think I would be interested. At least it would be easier than having to be put through my dancing paces by Ashley Banjo!
‘It seems I’ve been baring all for most of my life!’