Getting To Know… Una Stubbs
The veteran actress has worked with some of the biggest names in entertainment – and has no intention of slowing down
◆ I took the role on Murder on the Blackpool Express so I could work with Johnny Vegas again. We did Benidorm together, and he’s so funny and kind. And spending three weeks in Blackpool seemed such a fun thing to do. I’d always been a bit snooty about it, but it has fantastic skies and huge promenades and lots of people enjoying themselves. The show is a murder mystery and I play the domineering Peggy, a member of a book group on tour to Blackpool.
◆ I’ve worked with some amazing people over the years. I was very young when I first worked with Cliff Richard, and he was a lovely leading man who looked after everybody. We have different lives – I’ve got children and grandchildren
and he’s very religious and I’m not, but we are fond of each other. It was sad when Tony Booth died last month – you can’t work with someone for 21 years [in Till DeathUsDoPart and In Sickness and In Health] and not think of them as family.
◆ My career has been a bit extraordinary when you come to think of it. I’ve been lucky enough to have been in some great shows. Sherlock, in which I played Mrs Hudson, was an absolute joy and the boys all looked after me – Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman and Mark Gatiss. They were gentlemen, always getting me a chair, and sometimes saucy, too. And I was sad at first to say goodbye to it, but you never know. I’m not saying anything more!