LIFE LESSONS with Nanette Newman
Actress and author Nanette Newman was married for 58 years to film director Bryan Forbes. Now she is adjusting to life without him. She talks to GH about starting over – and the truth about those Fairy Liquid adverts…
I was lucky to be married to such a lovely man for such a long time. I met Bryan when I was 17. He died three years ago, and there isn’t a day when I don’t miss him. I have a wonderful family and they’ve helped me through the difficult patches. You wake up some mornings and think to yourself, ‘This is a pig of a day,’ but on other days the sun is shining, you’ve got the family coming over and you think, ‘This is a great day.’
Leaving the home I’d lived in for 50 years was traumatic, but it’s been the best decision. I felt I was becoming like Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, wandering from room to room with everything reminding me of Bryan. It was hard to part with treasured possessions, but I had to be ruthless because I couldn’t fit everything into my new house.
I try to have a purpose every day. I don’t believe in doing nothing, because then you can sink into a mist of sadness. Keeping busy makes me happy. I paint and I’ve also been learning how to sculpt. I’d never say never to returning to the stage or screen, but the truth is, I haven’t been offered anything. But you never know what’s around the corner and something might come along to tempt me.
These days there are so many distractions. Some children have screen time rather than a bedtime story. When my own children were young, I loved reading to them. I’ve written 30 books now, mostly for children. I test new stories on my grandchildren and groups of school children. I look around the class and if the children look bored, I know it’s not going to work and it’s back to the drawing board!
Family is the thing that makes my life vital. I’m lucky enough to have the two best daughters in the whole world – TV presenter Emma Forbes and journalist Sarah Standing. They’re both very
talented and I’m enormously proud of them. I have five grandchildren and a great-grandson called Huckleberry. He was born shortly after Bryan died, so he was the most wonderful gift, and he’s the apple of all our eyes.
The Fairy Liquid adverts were a big part of my life – and paid a lot of bills! I would sometimes think how nice it would be to be known for some of my film roles rather than washing-up, but I have no regrets. A couple of years ago, a woman approached me in my village shop asking if I remembered her. She was the hand model for the Fairy adverts. She was always there on set, and when the actual washing-up scenes were filmed, the camera would cut away to her hands, which were much lovelier than mine!
I don’t believe you become wiser with age, just more experienced. I trained as a ballet dancer, but I don’t have any exercise regime now. I just do stretches two or three times a day. I cook up a storm when I have friends or family over, but when I’m alone, I’ll open the fridge and think, ‘What shall I have for supper?’ Often I’ll just have granola and yogurt, and then sit down and watch the news.
It would be nice to be known for my film roles rather than washing-up, but I have no regrets