5 MINUTES WITH...
Stacey Dooley, 35, back spending 72 hours in the company of a range of extraordinary characters – including a terminally ill mum and a dominatrix…
What are you most excited about? That I get to hang out with someone who I wouldn’t ordinarily spend time with. I think it’s really important and healthy to surround yourself with people where there are differences.
I also never take it for granted that the families are going to let us in, so I’m really thrilled to be here with series three.
Tell us about Carla Bellucci… There were obvious differences, and it was always going to make for an interesting weekend.
What I took away from it was that you should always meet people with an open mind. While she does things I don’t always agree with or understand, I did really enjoy her company – and her children were a delight.
You meet a 70-year-old dominatrix in episode two? Sherry was a scream; she was really good fun. Though there’s always a surprise, and I can’t say I’d anticipated being in a conservatory at 10am in Swindon with a completely naked man – a stranger – with various different sex toys dangling from him. But you know what? If that’s what I have to document, then that’s what I document!
The final episode of the series is powerful…
It’s slightly different to anything we’ve ever done with Sleeps Over, as Jemma McGowan is terminally ill and the belief is that she’s only got months left. She’s a mum in her 20s and the whole thing feels massively unfair. Overall, though, it was really good fun and Jemma was keen that the episode feels celebratory. It goes without saying that her weekends are pretty precious, so having us over for one of them was pretty massive. She’s seen the episode and she’s really happy with it.