You Ask: Perry Fenwick
Billy rarely gets to have his say on matters within the Mitchell family. However, in answer to your questions, star Perry has some wonderful stories to tell…
“Who are your best mates in the cast?”
EastEnders
Jamie Borthwick [Jay] and Emma Barton [Honey]. How ironic is that, given our current story! Hopefully that shows what good actors we are! [Laughs] Jamie, can turn his hand to anything. He can impersonate anybody in the world, and he plays his guitar like Eric Clapton. And then, of course, Barton who reached the Strictly final, she has a few tricks up her sleeve as well!
“Where is the most random place you’ve ever been recognised?”
Ooh, there is this most beautiful sacred lake [Ganga
Talao] in Mauritius. It’s right in the middle of a jungle with a massive statue that’s 100ft high, and you can throw petals into the lake and pay your respects. So I’m standing there, being respectful, when this bloke starts chatting to me and goes, “Excuse me, mate, are you Billy Mitchell from EastEnders?” It turned out that he was from Wapping!
“As a West Ham fan, was it essential for you that Billy supported the Hammers, too?”
Haha, no! Nick Berry [who played Simon Wicks in EastEnders] is a great mate of mine, and was in the show long before
I was. You’d see him in the odd scene with a claretand-blue sweatshirt on, so I started sneaking in little bits like that, and it just escalated. EastEnders asked me to come in early once, to film a little scene that we dropped into the same evening’s episode, about West Ham winning a match the night before. It was with John Bardon, who played
Jim Branning, holding that day’s paper, and was only supposed to take 10 seconds – but I think I’d celebrated a bit too much the night before, as I’d completely lost my voice!
“Have you ever been star-struck?”
Yeah, totally! I was at the National Television Awards once, and back in those heady days I was up for Best Actor at the same time as Alex Ferns [who played Trevor Morgan in EastEnders], Steve McFadden [aka Phil] and David Jason. You can guess who won the award! Anyway, we were in the bar afterwards when all this paparazzi surrounded Stephen Fry. He looked a
“Which other soap character would you play?”
little uncomfortable with all the flashbulbs in his face, and then he looked over in my direction and just went, “Billy Mitchell, as I live and breathe!” So I went, “Do you watch EastEnders?” and he said, “Do I watch it? I love it!” and that was it, he was gone!
“What was your favourite scene to play with Barbara Windsor?”
There are were many. There was a lovely scene with all of us Mitchells at the time – Phil, Sam, Ronnie and Roxy – when Peggy first left the show [in 2010]. She went round saying goodbye to everybody, before stopping at Billy and going, “You’re a good boy, I’ve always loved you,” and he was crying his eyes out. Barbara played it beautifully.
“If you won the lottery, what would you do with the cash?”
I’d buy my own island. Not a big one, just a nice one where it’s sunny all year round. I like Ed Sheeran’s style. He bought that estate, and he keeps building houses on it for all his family. I’d build a big pub in the middle of it, and the houses of everyone dear to me would be walkable.
“If an acting hero of yours could join who would it be?”
EastEnders,
“What was your favourite scene with Barbara Windsor?”
It nearly happened once! Ray Winstone almost came in to play Billy’s brother! It was mine and his wife Elaine’s idea that he’d come in and give Billy a load of money, but none of the regular characters would see him. So the next day, after Billy’s brother had gone, everyone would see him with a load of money and think he’d nicked it! Ray was thinking about it, and then he got a role in Indiana Jones! If it was a choice between Hollywood or Borehamwood [where EastEnders is filmed], I know which way I’d go!
“If you could play any other soap character, who would it be?”
Phil in EastEnders, so I could slap Steve! He can be Billy for a day – and I can get him back for the past 23 years!
“Have you ever been attacked by an animal?”
Yeah I have, and you ain’t going to believe this, but it happened at the sacred lake I mentioned earlier. There were loads of little monkeys that you could buy bananas for, and of course I thought I was Doctor Dolittle, as though I had some sort of affinity with them. This one little monkey was following me everywhere, like my little mate, so I gave him a bit of banana, and he bit my finger! I had to go and have a tetanus jab!