My lessons life from
Actress DIANE KEEN, 73, who is returning for a landmark 20th anniversary episode of the BBC1 daytime drama Doctors, tells why she’s a romantic at heart
■ I was sad to leave Doctors
It was emotional when I left Doctors in 2012. Playing Julia Parsons, the practice manager for nine years, was such a big part of my life. I did feel quite bereft afterwards as you get to know everyone so well and everything about their lives. They are like a family and so when they asked me to return for the 20th anniversary, I was delighted!
■ A career highlight
Acting with my granddaughter was one of my best-ever career moments (for some of the storylines in Doctors, Julia Parsons had some scenes with her granddaughter). My own granddaughter, Siena, played the role! She played her on and off for two years. It was so lovely as we obviously already had our relationship and it felt so natural and comfortable to be with her. She was six back then and she is 16 now! She was a real little champ. I’m not sure if she will pursue acting as a career when she leaves school, but I was bursting with pride when she was in Doctors.
■ You’re never too old to fulfil an ambition
I climbed Kilimanjaro at the age of 69 for charity. I had always wanted to do it and I took a year out to get fit for it. I had two broken bones when I climbed it and so I was very slow going up, but when I reached the top
I burst into tears. It was such an emotional moment to see the landscape below me. I had grown up in Africa and it was such a special moment to go back.
■ I love having my daughter back
I am incredibly close to my daughter, Melissa. About a year ago, she split up with her husband. She was renting and so I told her to move back in with me, as it was dead money. My house is big and so it seemed the perfect idea, as we are not on top of each other. A year on, she’s still here!
■ Exercise is so important
I still go to the gym three to four times a week and I do Pilates and yoga. But it is a laugh and I don’t see it as a chore at all. I often go with a friend and we will have lunch or go shopping afterwards.
■ Never rule out romance
I have been married twice but I will never rule out romance again. It’s just the three of us in my
And finally…
house now – me, my daughter and my granddaughter – and I don’t have a partner. But never say never! And yes, I guess I am a romantic at heart.
■ I love working
I’ve loved every bit of my working life and I don’t want to retire. I have been an actress for so long now that I don’t consider it a job. It is a vocation. I’m always waiting for the next thing and I definitely don’t want to retire.
■ What advice would you give to your 18-year-old self?
I would tell my younger self not to give up! I can remember growing up in Africa and wanting to pursue acting but I didn’t see how it could happen. We didn’t even have a cinema but, in the end, it did happen. It’s so important to be fearless and not to give up. At the same time, don’t have a kneejerk reaction to things and make the wrong decision!
■ Doctors airs on BBC1 every weekday at 1.45pm. The 20th anniversary special will be screened on March 26
■ Diane was speaking to Christine Smith