That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Harriet Thorpe

Episode Date: May 27, 2025

Harriet Thorpe joins Gaby Roslin for a special episode, recorded live at The Podcast Show in London. Harriet is known and loved by fans of Eastenders, Wicked, Ab Fab - and The Brittas Empire (anyone remember that!?) She chats to Gaby about her amazing career, her love of Eastenders, the mischief she gets up to on set - and what makes her smile! Remember you can watch all our episodes (and see our extra nuggets of joy - our Show n Tell episodes) on our YouTube channel! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reasons to Be Joyful Live at the podcast show 2025. I'm going to set the scene. It's an enormous building. It's in the design centre here in London. There are about 2 million people looking at my guest, Harriet Thorpe. Harriet Thorpe. Oh, my word. Elaine and EastEnders.

Yes. Ab-Fab. Yes. Children's still in the draw. Always does. Stend superstar. Goodness gracious me, welcome. Thank you so much for doing this live show.

Honoured to be here, darling. It's so lovely that you're here. So podcasting world, we've just wandered around. And I have to say that everybody does that. It's Elaine. It's Elaine. Honestly, around the podcast show, where if we go, there's Elaine. Do you mind that you are Dame Harrett Thorpe, of course,

but now people call you Elaine from Duff, Doof, Doof, Dove, Dove, Dove, Dove. I'm absolutely honoured. And if she were here now, darling, which she is, obviously, she'd be thrilled. And, yeah, I'm always Elaine, always here, drinks are on the house. Do you know, the wonderful thing is when you entered the square, and there's somebody who, I don't know if I've ever mentioned, I've never missed to that.

But when you entered the square, you came in with such a plomb, and she was Hurricane Elaine, and you've now a real, it feels like you've always been, there and I mean that as a compliment. Does it feel like that to you? I absolutely feel sort of bedded in and that the history, the family, the endless moving on dramas are the sort of challenge and excitement on a daily basis. You never say the same thing twice. You're always moving on. And in a day, your life changes in the storyline and then it's a different day in the next day. But it has been quite life changing as well for you, hasn't it? it, that suddenly everybody stops you.

And I mean, it's not, it's not Ab-Fab, although it still is. It's not Ab-Fab as much as it was. It's now Elaine. Does it feel like a life change? It does, and I think what's so important about EastEnders, is that whether you're nine or 90, there is a story for you. And they deal with issues that matter today in everybody's lives. And that is really important.

And throughout time, our world has reflected. the world back at people. That's the arts. And it matters hugely. So can you give us an idea of your working week? Because how on earth do you do it? I think you get show fit in whatever show you do. And if we're in by seven, I'm up at 5.15.

And I'm always early. I'm obsessively early for everything. And I love that. And it's costume, makeup. And then the character arrives. And then you're on set. How do you learn your lines? You don't learn them, you remember them.

What? Because you do learn them, but not in a sense that if you were doing a musical or a play, you never say them again. So it's actually kind of something that grows in you, an ability to be this character. So when those words come along, you kind of just know them because it's storyline. It's extraordinary. And it is that you remember them and then you move on.

And do you know much about your storyline? So obviously I want to know and I don't want to know, but I really want to know, but please don't tell me what's happening. How much do you know before we, because you film a few weeks in advance, I know, but how much do you know of what's going to happen over the next six months or year or something? If it's a big drama issue, then you get told ahead of time. but there's always an ongoing storyline anyway and you are kept up to date generally. Do you watch the show? Of course, because as an athlete,

they have to watch themselves all the time to see where they can get better. Oh, so that's why... And I look to think, is that, am I doing the right thing there? Could I have done that better? What else can I change? How can that sound be?

The biggest compliment that... You were paid was from lovely Scott Mitchell, the late Barbara Windsor's husband. He said, you've taken, I mean, I know you get overwhelmed when this is said to you, but he said you've so beautifully taken the mantle of what Peggy did. You've got the same sort of character. I think you could be there forever and ever and ever and ever. Does that feel like a bit of a load? Being an older woman, a more mature woman, coming into a show and then just going,

I'm here. Does it feel a bit of a load, a good load, a scary load? It feels all of those things, but most of all, it honours women today of, I'm going to use the word maturity. Maturity. Not old, thank you. But the shoulders that we stand on today, to even do what we're doing today, is because of what they did for us. And to honour women today and all the women coming behind us, it's so important to create. and move us on and give us a voice with all the issues that come up in our everyday lives and there's no shame in any of it and that to me matters. Oh, how fantastic. So I can tell by your face, it's a crazy question, but you love being on the square?

I love it. I absolutely love it. Okay, so let's, can we venture back? Do do do do do do do. Ab-Fab, which is, you know, a lot of people, we're going to come to the children in the draw. Obviously. We have to, British and all of that. But Ab-Fab was also meant a lot to you because best friends.

You were working with your best friends. What time about Ab-Fab? Jennifer Dawn and I were all at drama school together. And I was lucky enough to do the first series that they wrote Girls on Top. And then a lot of French and Saunders. And then Jen and I, the two families, we were away on holiday. And she said, she was talking about this idea. And she said, it was a mother and daughter.

And I said, well, I could be your daughter. And she went, she would have loved that. And I don't know if I'm allowed to say the word tits. You can't not with those tits, no. And I said, I'd strap them down. I could be your daughter. She was like, no, no. So I was like, okay.

But I was lucky enough to play Fleur, which, you know, again, was such fun. And again, a character whose voice is nothing really like mine. Oh, my God. Oh, that's so weird. I know. She's weird. I know.

And she had rather a re-car, so she gave me lots of words with R in them. So I couldn't pronounce them properly, which was wonderful. And again, it was the most... It was written for you. It was a joyous, it evolved and developed, and it was a joyous thing to play with these, wonderful women and we all had such a laugh. Oh, that's such a good time. And I heard, which I didn't know, she was doing an interview with Claire Boulding and she said

that she'd based the character of Patsy on me, which she'd never actually told me. Oh, you're kidding. No. And it actually was about friendship and friends who were always there for you and that kind of support. So you two, I know you're super close friends and you started doing the moon, walk with her when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Before, before that. Yes. Yeah.

And she walked with you. But also friendship, if we may, it just feels fitting because it's only recently that you and I were talking about her, but Victoria Wood as well, still so raw to a lot of people. God, she was an extraordinary talent. She was one of your best friends on the planet. Yeah. And we used to have cups of tea all the time. We spent Christmas afternoons together with the kids.

and yeah we again our kids went to the same school and it was who was going to do the tombollah that was primary importance in our world at the school and fate every year. Real life, real life. Yeah. And again, they were the most amazing friend and we had just the most fantastic friendship and time.

Did she ever test any of the songs or characters out with you? No, no, no, no. She was an iconic, extraordinary, brilliant superstar who never needed to test anything out. She was always right. Isn't that a lovely thing to say? We were doing the moonwalk, actually, and we were walking up in Kenwood,

and she picked up an acorn, and that was what inspired her. We were talking about her doing acorn antiques as a musical, and then she saw this acorn and picked it up, and then she wrote the musical. And I was lucky enough to do it. the workshop for that. Oh my word. It was amazing. We were doing the moonwalk training for it because we trained very consistently. How did you meet her? Because she wasn't at drama school. No, no, no. I think just

socially we met and we just always had a laugh and yeah. My kids are at the same school and I was lucky enough to work with her too. You and your friends are the funny bones. I mean there's a lot of funny bones. Lots of funny bones. So we have to go to Mr. Brittus. Yes. But I want to do the impression of you because does everybody, do people sort of do that to you? Yes, Mrs. Oh! Do it again?

Yes, miss, psh. How can I help you? Yes, Miss Pris. And that was because I remember my, I remember going to read the audition. And it said she cries all the time, this character, Carol, cries all the time. And I talked to myself,

crying all the time is boring. Trying not to cry is more interesting. Which kind of developed her speaking voice because sometimes when you're crying, you're very, very quick, and then you're really, really slow. And also I remembered adoring my very glamorous teacher

in primary school and Mrs. Branton and that moment when she say, okay class, who can tell me and you just go, puss, and that's how Mr. Britters came out, that she, Carol loved Mr. Brutus so much, she couldn't say his name fast enough. It's one of those shows, there's,

it's, every so often you read, they're going to bring it back. Will they bring it back? I know, or a special or something. And there was a while, a few, of us from British were doing a bring back British sort of storyline. Do you think it will happen again? Who knows? It would be wonderful if it did because we're still all here. There's such a, you know, sitcoms, I think there should be sitcoms back again.

I don't think there are enough. I mean, the most recent one, I suppose, was Motherland, which was genius, absolutely. How important do you think comedies were to you and are for you? I think they're very important socially and also, things that families used to sit down and watch together because you identified with one of the, many characters in all of the shows. You had friends like them or bosses like them or whatever.

And I think, again, it just reflected our world. And I think that's why they're important. And to laugh at the madness of life. We, goodness me, don't we need it? Just in case people, oh, hopefully people are listening, but in case they're wondering what's going on. We're live at the podcast show in London. and that's what you can hear in the background.

Talking of things that people watch together, here's something I'm going to put out there, okay? So there aren't many shows that people do watch together. I think one of the few is strictly come dancing. Yes. Yeah? You might wonder why I'm saying this. I have, well, I have it on good authority

that many people think that you should do strictly come dancing. No, I'm being serious. Would you do it? Oh, in a heartbeat. No, you would do it. Of course, yeah. Absolutely. Oh, come on everybody.

We should get the whole of the podcast show in London. Get her on Strickland. That sort of television. It's funny. EastEnders is now, it's hugely watched by young people as well. And it's watched on Eye Player. And I was doing a talk with some young people in their early 20s, and I asked them what they watched on television.

And all these young people, sorry to go back to EastEnders, but I feel like we should do, all these young people saying EastEnders, does that surprise you how many young people watch it? Well, watching it myself and staying with the extraordinary, impactful storylines, no, it doesn't surprise me, because who else is telling their story in that way, daily. Great answer, thank you. Can we just talk about your mum? Yes.

So you lived in the States when you were a child. Because your mum was involved in film. She was. She wrote a book in the 1960s about working class biker boys who fell in love when it was still illegal to be gay. It was called The Leather Boys, which is now a gay classic. And she wrote the novel, and then she wrote the movie. And I remember going on set, and I must have been about four or five. And it was at the Ace Cafe, down the North Circular, where all the bikers go. And I remember coming home from school, and she said to me,

darling, we're going to L.A. next week. I said, okay. Didn't know what she was talking about. I was just, okay. And from going to a North London State Primary School, suddenly I was in Beverly Hill. at my school, El Rodeo, and I pledged allegiance to the flag every morning. No, you're kidding? No.

And we had, like, pizza and chocolate milk and fried chicken for lunch. It was so crazy. Because all the food we had at our state primary school was gray. Habbage. And she'd say to me things like, well, darling, we're going to Jack's for brunch on someday. I was like, okay. And that was Jack Lemon. Of course it was.

I didn't know. It was just Jack. You went to Jack Lemmon's house? Yeah. And also extraordinary, Auntie Jean was drying my hair because we've been at her pool and we've been swimming in the pool. Auntie Jean.

Anti-jean. And we got out the pool and she was drying our hair and this guy walked in and she said, oh, girls, this is my husband Howard. I was that, hello, it's Howard Hughes. It was Jean Peters who was married to Howard Hughes. I know. But what was that? Eight or nine.

So how the hell do I know? I mean, I did put in a claim, obviously, when he died that I had met him. But again, she worked with Robert Altman and Bob, just Bob. Who's Bob? Bob. Bob, Albert Altman. Oh, we see. Okay, yeah.

But again, my sister and I, Matilda, we grew up playing on the backlots while Mommy was writing, you know, 20th century fox. We were in Harmonia Gardens. How long were you there for? We did two consecutive years at school, and then we went back and forth for the next 25-something years all the time. How incredible. It was amazing. What was Jack Lemmon's house like? So I'm still on Jack Leibb.

It was a house. I was a kid. I don't remember. But my cousin had been musical director of Columbia Pictures and had three Oscars. And we lived with them first in Bel Air before we moved to Beverly Hills. But again, as a kid, you don't know. I want to go back now. Did you hold with the Oscar? Yeah, I think we did. Oh.

He had three. That again. Growing up in that world, which I know you can identify with, where everyone is accepted, whoever you are, who you love, where you're from, what religion you are, we're together. And that was everything. And only when you go into the real world, do you realize... Did you get a round of applause?

It wasn't that, but yes. I'll take it. Let's take it. It's a different world. Does it... And I presume you take it as a huge compliment that you're a gay icon now. I'm very honoured, yeah. Yeah.

And on pride... Because I grew up, it's all normal. Everything's normal. Everything is okay. As it should be. And that's the arts. No. Harriet Thorpe.

Dame. I wish. Not yet. Dame Harriet Thorpe. Thank you very much. You're welcome.