I LOVE CRIME... I THINK I’D BE A GOOD SLEUTH
As Patsy Kensit takes on a guest role in crime drama McDonald & Dodds, Marion McMullen investigates what made her sign up for the starry whodunnit
CRIME drama McDonald & Dodds returns to ITV with Jason Watkins and Tala Gouveia as the chalk and cheese detective duo with murders to solve.
Patsy Kensit joins the line-up of guest stars who are appearing in the new whoddunit specials.
Here, the 52-year-old tells us about joining the show.
Are you a fan of the detective drama genre?
I love crime. I love the Crime and Investigation channel! I’ll be watching some documentary about kids that kill their mother and my sons are like, ‘Why are you watching that stuff? It’s not normal!’
But I am not empathetic to the murderers on these things, I just love the detective work and how they solve the crimes.
I think I would make quite a good sleuth, because I don’t miss a thing. Sometimes people don’t think that about me, but then they come unstuck. I’m very on the ball!
What attracted you to the new series of McDonald & Dodds?
I loved the script. It’s a great story about five friends from the 80s, four of whom have stayed really close and have this unique friendship. They all live in the same block of flats together in Bath, and Mick, played by Martin Kemp, is the ringleader of the group.
He organises a day out for himself, my character Barbara, Jackie (Cathy Tyson) and Gordon (Rupert Graves) in a hot air balloon, but then this fifth member of the group turns up, someone my character Barbara can’t stand.
We get into the balloon and it all turns to chaos. Five of us go up in the air, but only four come down alive…
Describe your character
She was a presenter in the 80s and a bit of a trendy girl about town. In the present day, she is doing commercials and she has built a nice life for herself.
She often doesn’t think before she speaks, and that can get her in trouble. She is quite lonely and relies deeply on the contact with her other three friends,
Did you know Martin Kemp before working on the show?
I have known Martin for years. I met him when I was 14. I think I was doing a drama at the BBC when Spandau Ballet used to do Top Of The Pops there. I would be there in period costume, running into various pop stars in the corridors.
Martin and I have wanted to work together for ages, he is a great guy and hopefully we will get to do something together again in the future.
You also share scenes with another guest star, Rob Brydon. What was he like to work with?
I have known Rob for years. Again, one of the funniest men on the planet and he is just brilliant in the scenes that I did with him.
What was it like filming the hot air balloon scenes?
We didn’t get to go up in the sky, but we did do a take-off on a crane, which swooped us up about 12ft in the air. It felt really exciting, but we weren’t allowed to go any higher. I have never been in a hot air balloon in real life, I’ve wanted to go in one since I was a kid.
■ McDonald & Dodds starts on ITV tonight at 8pm.