I HAVE MY FATHER’S TEMPER – HE WAS A THROWER AND SO AM I

Felicity Kendal (right) spoke to Lynda in both 2002 and 2003.

It’s the final day of shooting on Rosemary And Thyme and Felicity’s co-star Pam Ferris has brought a celebratory bottle of champagne. She and I share it while Felicity, of course, drinks water. At 56 she looks about 37 due to the rigid discipline that rules her life without making her a killjoy. I’ve known her for years because I’ve interviewed her so many times (‘Well here we are again Lynda,’ she says on one occasion), but never seen her eat so much as a crisp or drink anything stronger than mint tea. However, she always gives the impression that the abstinence is transitory and that most of the time she’s knocking back the wine by the bottle. It’s part of the smokescreen she’s erected to hide her iron resolve.

‘If something needs to be done I’d rather do it myself because I know it will be done properly, I’ve got my father’s temper, his pig-headedness,’ she says. ‘I’m very opinionated about things. When I was young my nature was outwardly sweet, which masked a will of iron and a selfish determination to succeed at all costs.

‘My father was a great thrower and so am I. I don’t throw things any more but it is a very good way of getting rid of pent-up emotion.’

The first time I interviewed her was when she was a single mother juggling her life, career and young son Charley. Her first marriage, to actor Drewe Henley, was over.