& BUCKS
Sights playing chancer out to make a mint
humidity. We had to pretend it was Christmas time. We were in top coats and double breasted suits…there were a lot of electrical fans. Q: In All In All you describe your arrest as the lowest point in your life...
A: If it were not for my family and my friends I don’t know if I would have survived. But I must say when I was at Reading I was treated fairly. I was the librarian. The governor had lost a son to drugs in his early twenties and he was very sympathetic.
I had the responsibility for young offenders on remand. Many were illiterate so I had to read letters from their families and write letters back, so I felt like I was doing something constructive. That helped an awful lot. Q: You also write about being bullied because of your appearance (Stacy was born with a cleft lip and partial cleft of the hard palate). but I had great parents. One time these kids had tied me up in a glasshouse. I found a way to get out and I came home with tears streaming down my face. My mother said, “Where have you been?” I told her and she knew one of the boys.
She took me down the street and rang the doorbell of the kid’s house. He answered the door and my mum said: “Get him, Stacy!” I grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground. She thought it was important for her son to take action.
It gave me strength. As the years went by, my scar became a badge of honour. I became very proud that I was different to other people. Q: Do you use the scar for roles?
A: Sure, I just did. With Neil Dellacroce, instead of hiding behind the moustache I let it hang out there.