FEELING GOOD on our feelgood tour!
‘As I write, I am halfway through my tour, Lunch & Laughs Live, that I’m doing with some old great mates, Zoe Tyler, Kate Thornton, Rustie Lee and Claire Sweeney. So far, we’ve been to Newcastle, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Brighton, Stoke and Lincoln and by the time you read this, we will have done Glasgow, Kilmarnock and Dunblane. Next weekend, it’s the finale of Belfast, Cardiff and Birmingham.
And I can tell you, I’m exhausted, I have never worked so hard in my life! But I will also tell you that it is by far and away one of the best things I have ever done.
It is truly life-affirming, in so many ways.
First, because of the feeling you get from seeing so many people – mostly women, it has to be said – in the same room having fun, dancing, eating, drinking and smiling. Some haven’t been out at all for 18 months and tell us the show has helped restore their confidence. It’s a lovely thing to hear.
Second, because I have never laughed so much and that is largely down to our Rustie – who is, to say the least, a bundle of joy. If you don’t know who she is, she cooks and bakes on TV, and she also has a very famous laugh! She never complains or moans, even though she’s older than all of us, even me!
She has the greatest showbiz stories, about Muhammad Ali, Princess Diana and other legends, but often can’t get through them for laughing and it’s so infectious, everyone joins in. And when she makes her ‘aphrodisiac cocktail’, audiences are in raptures. But she’s also a calming influence and when I’m nervous, she fixes my aura (‘my what?!’, I say) with her healing hands and I feel better. Everyone loves her. Dare I say it, but she should be officially awarded national treasure status.’