After Shep died he couldn’t hold it in
I’VE lost a very close friend. We worked together for 10-and-a-half years and I became almost telepathic with Johnny.
But he was unpredictable. The performance he gave as John Noakes on television was a bit removed from the John Noakes off screen.
He invented a character for himself to play because he was an actor, like I was.
I found it easier just to be me – he liked to have something to get his teeth into as a character he could play.
He was very consistent – but just a little bit more unpredictable, a little bit sharper, a little bit funnier, much more confident, much more open and upfront.
All the things he did during the elephant moment made it such a funny sequence.
It didn’t stand on his foot, but he pretended it did.
He didn’t get peed on by the elephant, he pretended he did.
He didn’t stand in the elephant poo, he pretended. He knew what was funny. I was in stitches. He was also very emotional – after Shep died, he couldn’t hold it in.
It wasn’t pretend – that was absolute deep, soul-searching sadness. He loved that dog, it adored John.
After Blue Peter, we did pantomimes together for several years. He was great to work with on stage.
The most recent thing was an episode of Pointless in 2013. He was struggling – the Alzheimer’s was beginning.
I have extraordinarily happy memories of him – a great, happy period of my life.
I shall miss him.