MY TV LIFE Toyah Willcox
Birmingham-born Toyah, 65, is an actress, singer and former pop star whose eight Top Ten hits include
It’s A Mystery and I Want To Be Free.
What was your first TV memory?
It was a comedy called Bootsie & Snudge, starring Alfie Bass and Bill Fraser on black and white TV. I was put to bed before it started but I could hear the family laughing so I’d scream until they let me watch it. I made a movie with Bill when I was 19, which was wonderfully exciting.
Who was your first TV crush?
Ed Bishop in Space 1999. I loved the whole style of that show, it was very glamorous. I worked with Ed 20 years later and he didn’t let me down. Wonderful man.
What was your first TV appearance?
About 1975 on ITV News in Birmingham. I was a hair model modelling the new fringe.
What is your favourite current show?
True Detective. I watched the first one recently and was blown away by it, so I just watched the fourth season set in the Arctic with Jodie Foster. It’s very high quality.
Which TV show would you take to a desert island?
Probably Frasier. I’ve watched every episode at least ten times, I know every line that’s coming next. I know it inside out. It’s my go-to show, my comfort blanket. All those characters are fantastically loveable.
What TV show would you like to put out of its misery?
TV is in the most frightening state. I’d say 60 per cent of the industry is struggling and 60 per cent of the technicians are out of work, so I think any TV at the moment is good TV.
Guiltiest TV pleasure?
I really enjoy classic comedies like To
The Manor Born and The Good Life. I also loved Gimme Gimme Gimme, it was so politically incorrect. I used to dress the cast of Dad’s Army, I was their dresser on tour, and they were lovely.
What are you up to at the moment?
I’m touring live with Toyah and Robert, my husband Robert Fripp, and getting ready for the re-release of my 1984 album The Minx and my 1982 live album Warrior Rock.
Toyah is performing at the Vive Le Rock Awards in London on April 12.