Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
The actress, 87, reveals five secrets from the set of the fantasy drama
1 I play Goody Alsop, the leader of a coven of witches. The story is set partly now and also in Elizabethan times and revolves around Diana Bishop – a historian in the present day – who I’m teaching to be a witch. We were told there would be special effects coming from our fingers, as Goody casts spells, but of course we couldn’t see them. Sowejusthadtobe quite meticulous as to where our fingers went. There were technical people watching who would say, ‘No, that’s going to be too high’, or ‘Imagine you’re weaving this, and it’s going there’. It was quite tricky and technical.
2 Elizabethan London, in particular Blackfriars, was re-created in the middle of a field in South Wales, and I got upset when I learnt they were going to pull down such a ravishingly beautiful set after filming.
3 My heavy dresses and cloak were a challenge to wear – but at least I didn’t have to put on a corset! They’re so uncomfortable and I managed to persuade the producers that a witch of my age wouldn’t wear one!
4 It was great chatting to the younger cast and crew and finding out who’s saying what on social media. I wasn’t necessarily keen to impart my own views. It’s a fallacy that old people are wise – it’s just something we put about!
5 I had one terrible day when I couldn’t remember my lines, and Matthew Goode was very kind to me as I groped for the words. He plays Matthew Clairmont [inset], a vampire who is Diana Bishop’s love interest, and he’s lovely, funny and very attractive. When I was younger he’d have been exactly who I’d have gone for!