Richard Arnold: The showbiz expert with all the celebrity gossip
Telly fave Sally Lindsay reveals why she’s looking to escape…
How’s the ‘new normal’ for you?
It’s something between being elated and wanting to go out with a million friends and then a bit like, I’m not quite over it yet. What are we allowed to do? It’s massively confusing. Have you seen anyone? We’ve had friends over to the garden, which was divine. There was a different towel for them in the downstairs toilet – it’s bizarre. Workwise, I’m starting filming for a documentary and doing voiceovers so I can get out from under my duvet. I started to wonder if anything would be normal again. Would I ever be on a film set again? I’d look at your show and This Morning and everyone’s so far apart and it looks dead weird.
How did you feel when lockdown started?
I was terrified about the kids [nine-year-old twins Victor and Louie]. I’m no good at teaching and Steve (Sally’s musician husband) is good at teaching the drums but that’s not going to sustain their careers! I’d pay the teachers double their current wages because they are phenomenal. All the rules about parenting have gone right out the window. It’s like John Lennon said – anything to get you through the night!
Did you tell the boys about the virus?
We just told them there was a virus and what that was and that we couldn’t hug anyone and we can’t see grandma and grandpa, and that was a big thing for them because we go to Manchester a lot. But we explained it wasn’t about them, because we didn’t want to scare them, we said it was about keeping other people safe. We were cautious as well because I have asthma.
How’s it been with Steve?
We’re used to working from home but then there’s the stuff that never bothered you before. I know it sounds stupid but when Steve packs the dishwasher, he puts plates on top of bowls and I’m like, ‘That’s the stacking of a psychopath. How can you do that? It’s illogical!’ And then we’ll have a little row about it and we literally never row. And it’s nonsense! We just end up laughing. He’s a lot more chilled about the house.
You and Suranne Jones are good pals. Have you seen her?
We’re doing it this month! She’s north London and I’m south so we’ll meet in the middle. We Facetime each other twice a week to bounce off each other so we don’t go completely crazy. We’ve been invaluable to each other.