Actress Julie Peasgood reveals an unexpected talent
Gillian Thornton chats to busy actress, writer and presenter Julie Peasgood about how she combines crafting and cruising.
WITH her striking blonde hair, distinctive voice and winning smile, actress Julie Peasgood is one of the most recognisable British actresses on stage and screen.
She has starred in “Hollyoaks” and “Emmerdale”, “Brookside”, “Loose Women” and last year’s futuristic drama series “Years And Years”, as well as appearing in
West End theatre and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
So it was quite a surprise to fall into step with her last autumn on a tour of an Italian coastal village famed for its ceramics. But there’s another aspect to the multi-talented actress that many of her admirers don’t know of.
Julie has loved crafts since she was a little girl, and now she has also been well and truly bitten by the cruise bug, recently completing her 83rd voyage. And she has found a way to combine her two passions.
We met during a Mediterranean cruise on board Saga’s new boutique ship, Spirit Of Discovery, where Julie was leading a team of Supercrafters to provide a wide range of workshops for guests.
A few weeks later, back in England, I met up with Julie again to find out more.
“I grew up surrounded by craft activities,” she explains from the Surrey home she shares with her husband, actor Patrick Pearson.
“My dear mum Pearl, who was a tightrope walker and juggler with Bertram
Mills’ Circus, was a dedicated recycler.
“She’d use old tights to string up sweet peas, and cut up outgrown coats to make rag rugs.
“And she always encouraged me – and my younger brother, David – to be as creative as possible without any kind of judgement on what we produced. My two older sisters were totally into art, too.
“My bible as a child was the Ladybird book which was simply called ‘Things To Make’. I’m sure lots of ‘The People’s Friend’ readers will remember the cover picture of a girl and boy making a cotton-reel snake!”
Julie has always loved experimenting with crafts, but admits to a particular soft spot for collage.
She also loves beading and découpage, which involves cutting out paper flowers and using them to embellish decorative items and furniture.
The finished patterns are sealed with layers of varnish and the whole process combines perfectly with her passion for upcycling old furniture.
“Our house is full of my upcycled items, but every so often I sell some of them through craft markets,” she says.
“My favourite room at home is my den, which I use for writing, crafting and chanting. I’m a Buddhist and my den is my sanctuary!”
Despite a lifelong passion for making things, it was only five years ago that Julie decided to launch a craft business with fellow crafter and TV presenter Wendy Turner-Webster.
Together they produced
eight series of “Crafty Beggars” before going their separate ways, but by then Julie had an idea for a new venture.
“When I was forty, nearly twenty-four years ago, I took my first-ever cruise and fell instantly in love with life on board.
“It was a soap-themed cruise and a friend had asked me to go and talk about my experiences on ‘Brookside’.
“I did some more cruises and began writing about them for magazines before presenting a cruise show on television.
“I also started travelling on board as a speaker.
“I collect teddy bears and rocking-horses, so I had plenty of topics to talk about!”
In 2019, Julie decided to combine her experiences in cruising and crafting by launching Supercrafters, an eclectic team of professionals whom she had worked with and admired across the years.
This is how I came to meet her on that Mediterranean journey, her second stint with a band of Supercrafters on board a Saga ship.
“Our first Supercrafters voyage included a large contingent of WI members, who loved having a choice of eight daily workshops for the six consecutive days they were en route to Canada.
“The crafts we offer can be as varied as paper marbling and vintage embroidery, stained glass, ribbon wreaths, mosaics, and block printing.
“Crafts are really therapeutic and so good for our mental health.
“So I’m on a mission to show people that everyone can make something! There’s such a sense of achievement in creating something unique.”
Despite notching up 83 cruises, Julie still has Machu Picchu and the Galapagos on her bucket list. In the meantime, she is on the lookout for craft inspiration wherever she goes.
Only recently she spotted a beautiful coaster in Bergen, made from flat Norwegian pebbles but with a steep price tag.
“So I found my own pebbles on an English beach and stuck them on to a piece of thick felt, all for the cost of the glue.” She laughs.
Pearl, one feels, would have been very proud of her creative daughter!