The French connections
Chattedto DawnFrench ON STEPHENS HANNAH with aboutherfriendship missing JenniferSaunders, newnovel hugsandher of ofblood bloodd aboutthebondse bonds instinct andmaternal aternal
I’ve worked for five weeks with a crew I’ve only met from the eyes upwards... On filming Christmas drama Roald & Beatrix
DESPITE lockdown, Dawn French, comedian, actress and novelist, has welcomed the chance to get together with her old mucker, Jennifer Saunders.
They’ve been reunited for a podcast, are appearing in Kenneth Branagh’s movie remake of the Agatha Christie thriller Death On The Nile, due out in December, and have kept in touch during the pandemic, she reveals.
“My first bit of ‘back to work’ was with Jennifer. As soon as we were allowed to meet up at a great distance from each other, with a wall of cake in-between, we met up and devised a series for Audible called French & Saunders: T*****g About.
“We see each other all the time anyway as friends. We’re not very good on Zoom. I’d rather be on the phone to her or we text each other a lot.
“If we don’t get to see each other much, we just pick up where we left off. There’s never a guilty gap. It’s not a friendship that you have to feed on a regular basis to keep it topped up. It’s very secure.”
During lockdown, Dawn, 63, finished writing her first novel in five years, Because Of You, a story of love, identity and belonging as two baby girls born on the millennium New Year’s Day change the paths of the women who give birth to them.
One is stillborn and, in her desperate grief, the bereaved mother steals the other healthy baby from the hospital.
Dawn explains: “I wanted to find a story where it was a challenge to empathise with the main character. She is somebody who is honourable and who we want to love, flaws and all, who does something huge and wrong. I wanted to write about someone you would still love when she makes a giant mistake... to morally wobble the centre line.”
The novel explores the nature nurture debate and whether a child’s personality would naturally follow that of his or her birth parents or adoptive parents. It’s a subject she admits she’s thought about a lot – she has an adopted daughter Billie with ex-husband Sir Lenny Henry – but
hasn’t come up with an answer.
“It’s dollops of both and it depends on the people. The problem is that if you have somebody who is brought up by a different family than their blood relative, you could forever be saying, ‘Oh, clearly this person is the result of the nurturing in the new family’, or ‘This person is the result of the nature of the old family’. But how would you ever know?”
Dawn spent lockdown at home in Cornwall with her husband, Mark Bignell, who runs a drugs rehabilitation charity, her daughter Billie and her stepdaughter, Lily. She dedicates the book to Billie, Lils, as she calls her, and Olly, her stepson.
“Lockdown was frightening. It’s frightening to have an invisible enemy out there but I’m quite resilient and resourceful and to hunker down with my family was a kind of a treat.
“My two daughters came to live with me for three months and we cooked for each other and talked a lot and gave each other space and
She recently went to Lo London to join fellow act actresses in campaigning to ope open theatres.
“I just wanted to join forces with some remarkable women I know who are just making quiet prote protests about opening the theatre theatres. I’m befuddled by it all because the discrepancies are hard to get your yo head around. I do not underst understand how you can get on a plane or o go to a pub but you can’t sit in a theatre.” t
Desp Despite the restrictions, Dawn rrecently recently returned from Wales where sshe she was filming the new Sky One Christm Christmas drama Roald & Beatrix, about th the day when Roald Dahl, aged six six, met Beatrix Potter, aged 60. Daw Dawn plays Potter and co-stars include Rob Brydon, Jessica Hynes, BBill Bill Bail Bailey and Alison Steadman.
“It was wa one of the first bits of filming that went back into product production, you have a Covid person on your crew... I’ve had nine tests in four weeks. Everyone who’s not going goin to be wearing a mask has to be tested, te everyone who is near yyou you is te tested. I’ve worked for five weeks with w a crew I’ve only met from the th eyes upwards.
“We sat s in our caravans away ffrom from ea each other, we ate lunch on our own own, our costumes were sanitise sanitised and quarantined. But every si single person on that job was so happy happ to be back at work.”
Mean Meanwhile, the release of KKenneth Kenneth Branagh’s remake of Death On O The Nile, which features Dawn aand and Jen Jennifer, has been put b back to December. But th they are not in a c comedic role, she st stresses.
“Ken has been quite brave to cast us in this because if we’re in a big had robust debates about movie, normally we’re things.” pa parodying it. But he
Being a key worker, Mark kn knows that we can not do has worked throughout the tha that. You wouldn’t tip up period. ag a giant budget film like
“When we get the chance tha that with two people to look back, a*** what we’ll a****g about.” notice H is all the little acts of Her tour may have been kindness and the moments pos postponed but she’s when people pulled clea clearly still busy. together. He came back with so many “M “My big work has fallen stories of that nature, so although it awa away and I’ve had to find it was difficult, it was rewarding in elsewhere and pray for things to many ways.” come back. But I don’t feel any less
While 18 months of her work creative. I will always write books schedule went up in smoke and her because it’s where my heart is.” tour was postponed, she’s missed Will she work on TV with Jennifer other things too, she reflects. again?
“I’ve missed cuddles with my “If we can think of the right thing mates and it proves to me how much and if we want to, I would never say that stuff matters. Now that restricno to anything. It’s just finding the tions are a bit more eased, I’ve got a time and the right job special waxed hugging coat with and getting on with it.” plastic on the outside and a huge hood. I put gloves on and put it on back to front with the hood over my face and get my hugs that way.”
She describes the Government’s
handling of the crisis as ‘shambolic’.
“But then a pandemic throws you into a crisis,” she continues. “Nobody’s experienced at this. It’s no secret that I’m a ‘leftie’ and would have preferred Keir Starmer to be guiding us through this.”
It may be no coincidence that her novel features a self-absorbed, pompous MP.
“Well, we are surrounded by men like that at the moment,” she says wryly. “I didn’t base his character on a particular MP but on many people I see and listen to on TV and people I come across in my life. He’s a composite. I’m not naming names!”
Because Of You by Dawn French is published by Michael Joseph, priced £20.