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Penelope interview continued........ BT: In North America we're watching you now in sitcoms that have got to be twenty years old at least. KEITH: That's the wonderful thing about television, the classic comedies seem to last longer than anything. If you're in the theatre it's gone that night, and all you've got to show for it is a programme. And I think films tend to date, apart from the great, great, great ones, but classic comedy seems to have a niche of its own. I now get letters from people, certainly about The Good Neigbours, who weren't born when I made it, who write things like"My mother used to watch you when she was little" (chuckles). BT: Now i'm sure I read somewhere that you married a police constable. Is that so? KEITH: Yes. I'm still married to him. He's not a policeman anymore, he's retired. BT: I bet that's a load off your mind. There was a time, Dixon of Dock Green and all that, but now.... KEITH: Yes, well, it's the same the world over, isn't it. He joined in the sixties, when policemen were still revered and looked up to. Now i'm afraid it's very dangerous. BT: Why did you decide to get into acting? KEITH:It was something I always wanted to do, apparently. I don't know why, because there was no history of theatre or anything in my family. I was taken to the theatre a lot as a child of course. It was mainly pantomime and things like that early on. BT: Did you see yourself initially as a comedic actress? KEITH: No, and I don't see myself as that now. I've been lucky enough to play a wide range of parts, both in the theatre and on television. I see myself as an actress really, with no adjective in front of it. I hope the only adjective is good! (laughs). BT: We're only just getting Next Of Kin over here now. Is that still in production? KEITH: No, we finished. We've done three series of that, and that's it. BT: Boy, already! KEITH: Yes, I know, it's extraodinary. It took I don't know how many years for The Good Life to cross the water. I started doing Next of Kin-- it must be two and a half years ago. I finished that just before Christmas. I suppose that's quite quick. BT: Now we're familiar with the premise of Next of Kin (a couple adopts their grandchildren when the parents are killed in a car accident), but where does the humour come in? KEITH: It was a bit jarring first of all because people are a bit shocked that you should start a so-called comedy series with a death, and also that there should be a woman who said she didn'tlike the idea of small children moving in on her. But as it's gone on, it's one of those things that everyone seems to relate to. I have letters from both ends of the age range. I remember having one from an accountant or lawyer of some sort with a PS at the bottom. It was something to do with buisness, and at the end of it said "P.S. - I've told my son and daughter to be very careful when they're driving their cars". The thing they always say about grand- children: it's so wonderful because you can send them home at the end of the day. I saw a sticker once on a car that said "If we knew grandchildren were going to be so wonderful, we would've had them first," and I think that's what a lot of people feel. I think a lot of great comedy comes out of sadness when I think of the parts I've played, comedic roles. I was thinking of Sarah in Norman Conquests. She was a fairly sad lady in many ways. And people seem to forget that To The Manor Born started with a funeral! |
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