‘I’m still in the acting game, so i must be a success’
Actress Lesley Nicol, 65, shares her passions and memories. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband Da’aboth Te’He’ling
Actress lesley Nicol shares her passions and memories
What is your earliest acting memory?
I read a comedy poem, Matilda, by Hilaire belloc at school when I was 11. as a child I was cripplingly shy and I would hide behind my dad, so he was in the audience thinking, ‘Why are they doing this to her?’. and then I got laughs. then more. that was a total light bulb moment of my life. I suddenly felt I had a tiny bit of power, people praised me, and they had never done that before. It was amazing, and I couldn’t get enough of it. my dad was pretty blown away too. over the years, he always supported me in whatever production I was in. When I was in the stage musical Mamma Mia! [in 2002], he came to see the show 35 times and became known as Grandpa abba by the company. sadly he never saw me in Downton Abbey. It started a year after he died, but he would have loved it.
did you have a plan B?
I didn’t! acting was the only thing I was good at, and that’s the truth. I wasn’t thick at school but I wasn’t really interested in studying. I was telling jokes and eating sweets most of the time. as a child I briefly had a flirtation with being a nurse and then, after my first plane trip to malta when I was 13, I wanted to be an air hostess. It seemed so glamorous. but I realised that in both jobs, it was only because of the uniform and the dressing up. and also you had to be about 5ft 10in to be an air hostess, and I am only 5ft 1½in. my dad was a GP in the town of Irlam, lancashire. the best gig I ever had was working at his surgery one summer on reception, and I wore a white coat. I loved it. that’s all I was there for!
When are you happiest?
In our garden in la on a summer day with [lesley’s husband] darbs and our rescue dogs bertie and Freddie. Just sitting with a glass of wine watching the hummingbirds. there is nothing more beautiful. I was over 50 before I met darbs and it wasn’t love at first sight because it was low-key and then he crept up on me. He is my sweetheart and soulmate. I had long periods away from him last year, which made me miss him terribly. and my dogs. that was even worse.
What was it like working on ITV’s new period drama in India?
extraordinary. Beecham House follows the story of John beecham, and what unfolds within his family and staff as they move into a new home in delhi, during the turn of the 19th century. I play John’s mother Henrietta. my role in Beecham House was very unexpected, as the show’s creator and director Gurinder Chadha thinks out of the box when casting. I have always played northern, workingclass women, and in this I’m playing a middle-class matriarch in 1795 in a grey wig! Henrietta is a very funny, forthright character and loves her two boys. but although she has lived a very sheltered life and is a Christian, she’s also addicted to laudanum. so while she looks like she’s the one who is gluing the family together, in reality, she is all over the shop, which is fabulous to play as an actress. It was full throttle last year, flying backwards and forwards, filming in
India, and the Downton Abbey movie in england. I had to get in shape to keep my stamina up. but it was glorious to be in mrs Patmore’s old costume again and to be back with the gang. I loved it.
What is the best thing about being married?
Having a best friend. I was single for a very long time and then I had some awful relationships. It made me value something special when it came along. I feel like I knew darbs in another life. He is a martial artist, nothing to do with my business, but he has fitted into it very nicely, and when he came over to India when I was filming, he had a ball.
What do you do to relax?
I love to walk on the beach in malibu with the dogs. We have a friend who very kindly lets us visit his house there occasionally. I can’t get enough of the sea, and it’s a very unspoilt part of the beach and really magical.
What is your biggest pet hate?
negativity. I’m not saying we don’t all have bad days and moan sometimes, but some people only ever see the dark side of things. I am sensitive and bad energy drains me. I am a glass-half-full person and I look for the good in things.
What is your greatest achievement?
steady employment! the fact that I am still working after 45 years in the industry. a lot of people don’t go beyond their first year. and I’m female. In the early days I did cleaning work between jobs, but I am proud that I’ve made a living as an actress on my own since I left the Guildhall school of music and drama and no one has helped me. If you are still in the acting game at this age, that’s a success. and I still love it.
I am a good listener and I have a warmth that people seem to respond to. I try to make use of that to make a difference. maybe it can just be for a tiny moment in an acting job where I make someone laugh. However small, that’s good enough for me.
What’s your favourite fashion item?
a moonstone necklace that belonged to my scottish grandma betty mcmillan. she was a fabulous woman, ahead of her time. I remember playing with it around her neck while she read me stories in bed. It has a personal memory and I will pass it onto my niece, who loves it. to visit animals asia, an animal sanctuary I support, based in Vietnam. I’ve been to their sanctuary in China several times and I have a bear named after me. the charity rescues horribly abused moon bears and is an amazing place to go. these poor creatures have had an awful time and suddenly they’ve got everything – they are happy, cared for and not in pain.
Lesley Nicol appears in beecham House on ITV this summer w &h
‘I’m happiest in the garden with our rescue dogs. Just sitting with a glass of wine watching the hummingbirds’