That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Ruth Madeley

Episode Date: November 28, 2023

Dr Who star, Ruth Madeley, joins Gaby for a chat about all things joyful! They chat about her amazing career, including roles in Years & Years - and the new series of Dr. Who - and also start an official David Tennant and Russel T. Davies fan club. Ruth quashes the rumour that she'll be appearing in Strictly next year and tries to give us as much info as she can about the new series, without any spoilers. We think she manages it!?? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Both Maitley, on first meeting you, you have a little rant with a big smile on your face, but a rant. Just tell me what just happened with your cab. Oh, I can get out of my wheelchair and I can take it apart and it goes in. Goes in the car. Goes in the car. No problem. It fits in. It'll fit in my friend's Fiat 500.

It's fine. It fits in, trust me. But no, the driver was having none of it. It's like, you're going to, I don't want it to ruin my car. It's going to wreck my car. Your wheelchair was going to wreck his car. Oh, my gosh. How?

I don't know. It's just exhausted, isn't it? Do you get that all the time? Yeah, it can be tough with when you're getting cabs everywhere. But, yeah. Part and parcel. Yeah, I know you're used to it now, but I'm still, I'm disgusted on a, you know, for friends of mine and my friend's little boy, he's cerebral palsy, he has to have a big wheelchair to go everywhere. Yeah.

And the way he just, she says, what's he going to do in the future? How's he going to get around? Public transport. How do you cope with all of that? You just don't these days. I find it, as horrible as it, this is not bashing London because I love coming here, but the city is still really inaccessible. So, yeah, you know something.

It depends what kind of day I'm having. Most days, you're so used to it, you just kind of crack on. But then there's some days when. you're tired or you've got a really bad pain flare up and it just any little thing could like send you into a rage. But yeah, I just, I hope by the time your friend's little boy reaches adulthood, we will be in a better place, I pray, I hope. I mean, you've been doing a lot because you work with,

before we've got to talk about Doctor Who, which is so exciting. How exciting. How exciting. How exciting. I'm out now. But you've been working with WISKids kids for years. I mean, you actually physically worked with them. Yeah, they bought me my first wheelchair when I was five.

So they were in my life from day one. They were always in my life. And I feel very privileged to have been a beneficiary, then one of their young board members, because they have a board of... Yeah, but you were very young when you were. Yeah, so I was like 12 when that happened, and then volunteer throughout college and uni,

and then work for them for a very long time. Nearly 10 years, I worked for them. When I was acting as well, I just carried on. I carried on working for them because I just didn't think acting was sustainable to pay my mortgage. So I kept working with them, and then after years and years came out,

I was like, okay, I think I'm an actor now. Is it true? There's a story that, when I was doing my research on you, that said that it was them that said, okay, you can't work here anymore because you're an actor. It was my, they were so sweet. It was my boss at the time, Esther.

And she said, I just never saw a day when I wouldn't work for his kids. And I said to her, because they were very, very lovely. When I got the role on years and years, they gave me a sabbatical. So I said, don't get rid of my job. Don't pay me, just don't get rid of my job.

And I'll see you in six months. And then literally just as I finish years and years, I got a job on another show and I said, can I just extend my sabbatical? And it was my boss then. She was, they never, obviously, they would never have turned around and said,

oh, you can't work here anymore. She just said, I think, I think you're an actor now. And I'm going, no, no, no, no, no, jobs will, they will dry up. And, but by that point, I'd worked on so much that I'd developed, you know,

a good body of work and people just wanted to work with me more and it, It was the right time to say, okay, yeah, this is what I do for a living now. But I get the feeling with the way you're doing that with your eyes. You're sort of looking for, that you still can't quite believe. I was so terrified.

I still can't believe that this is my, what I do for a living. It's crazy. I feel very, very, very blessed, very privileged to do this and do what I love. It feels like I'm doing a massive hobby and getting paid for it. It's great. I get that. I completely understand that. But do you, so when you meet somebody and they say, if they don't know that you're an actor and you say, what do you do?

What do you say? I kind of, I go, oh, I'll work in TV. Or I'll kind of, not cringe when I say I'm an actor, but even now it still doesn't sound believable. Even now. But I like that, though. I really do. I like that response. it feels very grounded.

Yeah, and natural, completely natural. Yeah. So when, okay, so can we go back to getting your first wheelchair at 5? Yeah. Can you still remember that moment? That must have just been incredible. I remember. Life changing.

The thing with WISKids is they want to give children a childhood. And if you think, I mean, the wheelchairs they're providing now are even more incredible. So they provide them for like three-year-olds, two-year-olds who are starting to toddle around and they're like these little tiny, tiny wheelchairs where kids can just go and explore. Oh, fantastic. It's so great.

And you think when babies start walking and getting into things, like disabled kids often don't get that, they don't get that ability to just go and get into trouble and get into all the things that they shouldn't in the garden. Pull things out of places. cupboards and everything. So when I first started school, I was in a wheelchair I had from the NHS.

And the NHS had definitely got better with their mobility provision. But at the time, it was like they came in small, medium and large and I'm still at, I'm tiny. So small completely drowned me. It was too heavy. I couldn't push myself in it. And then my...

You were only little, course you couldn't. Tiny. So I had to rely on... I could never do. go somewhere that I wanted, like in the playground. So when you were three and four, before you got your whiskeys one? Yeah, so I was five when I got whiskeys one. Right.

I just couldn't just go where I wanted it. So you had to ask somebody to help you. Yeah. But yeah, I remember, it was my dad. They went to, it was a mobility road show where they have different equipment. They do them all every year and stuff all over the country. And my dad saw this particular wheelchair and it was bright Barbie pink. And he went, I'm going to go.

to the bank tomorrow and get a loan and I'm going to buy that chair or I'll sell my kidney on the black market whatever it takes and then my dad thought it was a sales ploy there was a whiz kids rep there and they went oh you can apply to us to get one and you won't have to pay and my dad was like okay

of course not you know clearly a scam and it wasn't and they I think they'd started in 1990 so I think I was and I got my wheelchair that year so it was very very very or 91 I got it or something so they'd been running about a year if that by the time I'd got my wheelchair

I see why they're so important to you yeah and so now to be able to but they don't just do the whole mobility provision thing they really help young people develop life skills because you know at 16 you're getting a Saturday job and that's not always possible for wheelchair users or kids with other disabilities

and so you kind of come to everything later and you develop those skills later in life and um and wiskies is all about helping you to develop those skills as early as possible and just do what you're meant to do and have fun as a kid and explore and live and um so yeah i feel very privileged to have been beneficiary volunteer employee and now how wonderful work with them a long may they do what they do then they're wonderful they will always have my heart i'm very very very proud to always be a WISKids family member. Also, it's really important,

and I'm saying this, so not you as it were. I think it's so important that I mean, my beautiful little boy that I was talking about, he wants to see other kids like him on telly. He wants to see adults like him on telly.

It's got to be more. And yet it's, there's not enough. There's not enough. Apart from the fact that you're not on telly enough, but other people, other wheelchair users, and other people with disabilities. It should be on telly more. It should.

And I'm an incurable optimist. Good. I am all about celebrating every little victory that happens. And we are in the industry much better than we were this time last year. And even better than we were the... You feel that. Yes. As well as being an incurable optimist, I am incredibly impatient.

and I want everything to change now. I would love to wake up tomorrow and see so many more disabled people on screen and behind the camera as well because inclusion and representation is everywhere. It should be everywhere. It should be a 360 approach. But yeah, this time next year will be even better than we were now. So I am very excited to see where the industry goes. As long as we keep pushing, we don't just rest and say,

Oh, great. Such a body's on TV. They're disabled. We've done it. No, it's not enough. No, it's not enough. We have to keep pushing and keep finding ways to make this industry more accessible for everyone to get into it for a start out. Because, you know, drama schools are still quite difficult.

I didn't go to drama school. So I'm hearing that they're still quite notoriously difficult to get into. if you're disabled. But also once you're in the industry, we want to make sure that it's accessible once you get in. So that we want everyone to have a great experience so that they just want to keep doing it. But also, what's very interesting is that it's people in the streets,

which we were saying just before we started recording, that extraordinary thing where people, because you're in a wheelchair, I mean, like I said, with my friends, and they're just, it's like they don't want to talk. Hello, does she want? A cup of tea. It's been incredibly slowly and loudly. Why is that?

I think, you know what, I still think there's a lot of fear surrounding disability. Fear. Fear. I think not so much frightened of disability. I think people are frightened to say the wrong thing and offend. Oh, right, okay. And I think people, and because it's a huge knockout, it's everything, isn't it? Because it's not seen on screen as much, people don't get to understand it as much.

So, you know, so many people say that they've never met a disabled person. I was like, well, you probably have. You just don't realize it because not all disabilities are visible. But people panic and think they have to act differently or act in a different way. So, and it is still, sadly, a lot of people just do see it as an absolute tragedy. And my life isn't a tragedy. Yeah, as a tragedy. Yeah, as, oh, poor you, I'm so sorry.

You get the head tilt. Yeah, I'm so sorry. But I think the more disabled people we have on screen, the more disabled stories we're telling as well. The more people will get a different understanding of it and a better understanding of it and a more realistic understanding of disability. So let's go to you.

Now, you've mentioned years and years. We are going to mention Doctor Who. You know, the minute I say it, I can't believe it's 60 years old. Well, we're going to come to that. Let's talk about years and years. Wonderful Russell T. Davis, who we'll fight over who loves him more. He's just, I think it is impossible to not love him. I think anyone would struggle to not love that man.

He is just the most generous, warm, welcoming, lovely man, both to work with, but also outside work. He's such a friend. And I think everybody needs a Russell in the life. I really do. He's such a supportive man. He really is. So many people, they all quietly say, oh, you know Russell, he did this.

Oh, Russell did. It's just lovely. Yes. But years and years was incredible. I love that. I just mention it. Every time I say years and years, you get the biggest smile on your face.

It was the best experience. I just loved the whole thing, the audition process. Oh, taught me through that. Well, Rosie, the character I played, she wasn't written as a wheelchair user. She wasn't written as someone who had Spiney Biffid her. She was a character and that was it. So I went for the audition and I was very thankful that the team wanted to see me again.

And after my second audition they asked me to come aboard which was just wonderful. And it was then that Russell rang my age. and said, can I have Roos number? I want to chat with her. I still, at that point, thought, oh, how nice. They've made a mistake. And he wants to let me down himself on the phone. Oh, no, no, no, no. And he was like, it wasn't that at all. It was just, no, darling. You know what he's like, darling, darling. I want to make this character authentic, so tell me what to do. It was very much a case of he knew that he'd never written a character with Spider-Bifter before. so it was a massive collaboration on how she would move.

She said just move whatever way you feel comfortable. And for anyone who watched years and years, there's a lot going on in that show. So I think my character being a wheelchair user was kind of low on the drama scale. So it was just really fun to play a character where... I don't think I don't... I don't understand what you mean.

So it didn't matter. Yes, it didn't matter. Oh, I'm with you. So there was so much going on that it was almost just an extra thing. Oh yeah, by the way, she's a wheelchair using. It was just an extra. And it wouldn't have made a difference to the overall story of the world burning around us. It wouldn't have made a difference if she'd been deaf, blind, had a limb difference.

It would not have made difference to the story at all. Or her character, because her character was, a bit of a mess. Yeah. She was a nightmare. She was funny. She was ballsy. She was all of these things.

She was mum. She was unlucky in love. And then just on the side of that, oh, and she's a wheelchair. I'm with you. I'm completely with me. So it was just, it was, the whole experience of creating that character authentically was, felt like a real benchmark for me. And then when, when we found out who the rest of the cast was going to be, that was just another. incredible, incredible experience.

And then to top everything off, we filmed in Manchester. I was at home for six months. That never happens to me, ever. That was at the top of you. Yes, okay, Russell, I'll take it. I'm around the corner from home. Everyone, every job I'm on,

I'm always the one going home at weekend, going, I have to rush for this train. Friday when we finished, everyone was rushing to get the train back to London. I'm like, I'm going home. I'll be home in 20 minutes. Smuck face. I celebrated that much that I got a puppet.

That was how excited I was. You got a puppy because of that? Because I was home. Tell me about your puppy. He's a British bulldog and he's beautiful. What's his name? Buford. Buford?

Buford. Where's Buford? My boyfriend used to watch Smoky and the Bandit with his parents as a kid. There's a sheriff that looks like a bulldog T-Wisb and he was called Buford T-Justice. So you give him his full name though, your dog. He's Buford Puppie Puppie Lawrence. That is his full name. All right.

Yeah, and he has, yeah, he came with me for my costume fittings, the work, see, he, oh, everyone loved him. And you got him because of years and years. I just got so excited. I was like, right, well, I'm home. We can get a puppy. I love that show. You know what, though?

I found it so frightening. I remember talking to Russell about it then and interviewing him about it, but just saying, I wonder what it's going to be in a few years. Oh, hello. A few months. Not a few years, it was months. I mean, it was just ridiculous. I said you cannot write anything else until I'm over this

because my nerves can't take it. It was crazy. It went out in the March of 2019 and a year later we were in our own. It's just extraordinary. How did he know? I don't know. He's a very terrifying man.

Mind. Let's take it back. Let's not say all those nice things that we've said. It's all his fault. It's his. We're blaming him for everything. So everything that happens in Doctor Who in the future, just watch out.

Aliens, the lot. the whole thing. Aliens everywhere. David Tennant always popping up all over. Actually, I'm very happy for that. Me too. I'd be very happy with that. David Tennant can pop up anywhere. Anywhere. Yeah, we're happy for that. Okay, we have to, years and years, people come, it's on streamers, so people can still watch

it. And if anybody hasn't seen it, just watch it, because it's more terrifying now after the events than it was before the events, because we thought, will that ever happen? Yeah, when we were filming it, we're like, oh, this, this is. He's mad, isn't it? Oh, can you imagine? And then literally it got closer and closer to, because it was still out and people were still talking about it. And then we were getting closer to like this new really nasty virus called COVID.

And we were like, oh my gosh, it's terrifying. It's bizarre. Also, the other thing I found that I was really stuck with me is the filter, walking around with the filter on. I know. And we're so close to that now. So close. That of everything is what frightens me the most.

Me too. It was not weird. That was me too. I don't like it. For young, I've got teenage daughters. One of them isn't a teenager anymore. But the teenager, I just sit and worry. That does concern me. Because it's such a wonderful tool, you know, all of these things. But it also has another side to it where it's just absolutely terrifying.

And, yeah, if I think about it too much, it just sends me a bit loopy. Well, I mean, obviously, because all the actors and the writers and musicians talking about AI as well. Oh, my God, I know. Exactly. That is just, we always go too far, don't we, with things, humans. I always think we go too far. Do you?

Yeah, with certain things. Yeah. Yeah, just, just have a minute. Have a minute. Take a breath. I love that. Yeah, I'm all for that. Have a minute.

Take a breath. Yeah. But we can't wait to come to Doctor Who. No. Oh, my word. So it's been out. Last weekend, everybody saw it. Everybody is buzzing about it beforehand.

As I said, 60th anniversary. So we can talk a little bit about it now because there were no spoiler alerts everywhere. And I was doing interviews with all sorts of people. We had lovely Lenny on this. I love him so much. What an absolute genius. And his mum and dad and brother.

They're the best, aren't they? What a lovely family. Gorgeous family. Just brilliant. And he was more excited about the fact that he was going to be in Doctor Who than anything else. Please tell me you slightly feel the same

because Doctor Who? It's Doctor Who? To be part of something with such a legacy, such huge reach and impact and such a massive part of history for our industry, I just feel so, it is a bit of a pinch me moment to think that that is one of the, the roles I've been blessed with completely. I feel so,

so, a bit overwhelmed with it, actually, but in a wonderful way. Yeah, good. Yeah, overwhelmed. It can be good. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, definitely just a lot of pinch me moments. So, okay, let's take you back to secretly getting it and filming it. Taunt me through all of that.

Did you tell, and did you tell Joe, is it Joe? Yeah, yeah, Joe, yeah. So did you tell Joe, or did you just not, because everyone? I had, because I, well, This was like the biggest thing that I'd had to stay quiet about in my career. So I was like, can I tell Joe where I'm going? I'm going to go and film, but I can't tell you what I'm feeling. Joe knew, obviously.

But he was... Did he know any of the story? Did you tell him? No, no, no, no. You didn't? No, well, he's not really, he's never been like a massive hoovian. So he wasn't, he wasn't, like, badgering me for, for details. He was just, he was really excited.

He knew, like, tiny tip bits of things. that I was just overly excited about. But, you know, he didn't know the plot at all. You just know I was going to do it. And we, yeah, we knew it was such a privilege, really exciting time. I've got a friend who's in it. I don't want to be showbiz.

I mention her, but she's in it. And she never, she didn't tell me. And then suddenly there it was. You didn't tell me who it is now. Bonnie. Oh, lovely Bonnie. I adore her. The feeling is mutual, I must say.

But it's so lovely. And it's just, she just said it's just been the most wonderful experience. Because everybody is so thrilled to be there. And it's, and I personally, I have to say, I'm so pleased that David is back. And I'm really looking forward to shooty. I really am. I mean, I think he's a fantastic actor. And I love the way they're taking Doctor Who.

But I'm really pleased that David's back. It sort of felt, I'm, no, it's. didn't feel unfinished. I just think we wanted more. I don't think we'll ever get to a point where we don't want more of David Tennant, will we? Is this the David Tennant Appreciation podcast? I think it might be. I can feel the tide is turning. I can feel that's where we're going. But yeah, I think that for me was such a massive moment.

Did you know, so did you know, when you came on board, did you know anything about your storyline? Did you know about David Tennant and Catherine? You knew about shooty? No, no, no, didn't know. That's that long ago you got the part? Yeah. Oh! We filmed it last last last year.

It was honestly, there was such, even when you got the job, you couldn't know anything. So it was... What do you mean? You didn't know where you were going? So we didn't know... Did they give you a script? They give them you later, you know, they give them you when they can. They don't give you anything before you...

You're kidding. I was joking. You're... Really? So I, um, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I was the I was going to be brilliant, have the best time. He was like, are you coming, darling. I said, I will make the tea if you want me to. And, um, he said, and he was, he was, he was the sweetest man. You know what he's like?

He was like, just give me, give me a year to get my feet back under the table and figure out what I'm doing. Three weeks later, he was like, so I've written you into it. Oh, I've just got goosebumps. You're kidding me. Oh my goodness. And it was really important for Russell. We spoke a lot about it for him to give Doctor Who the disability representation that it deserved and that the fans deserve. And the fact that he wanted me to do that was very, I think I cried, buckets when he called me.

But yeah, when he said that, I didn't know that David was going back. I didn't know anything. So you were one of the first signings then? Because I mean, you were announced very early on. I wasn't. You? No, I, well, yes. But Christmas Day last year I was announced.

Yes, when my little face. Yeah, that's nearly a year ago. And I keep forgetting what time of year it is. And it's that and the other. But we'd filmed it like months before that. Oh, right. So it was, the process is very, very long. And then when we'd finished it, we filmed it last summer.

and then I was like, oh, it's coming out. They were like, oh, it's coming out in November. I was like, oh, that's exciting. Not long to wait. No, November 23, I went, oh, I have to stay quiet for that long. So how does it feel now it's gone out? Oh, I'm just so happy. I'm so relieved I can speak about it.

I think that's the most exciting thing because she is such a wonderful character and there's just so many wonderful things that Russell's written in there that I know so many wheelchair users will be so excited about. that I've wanted to scream about it from the rooftops for over 18 months. So it's really exciting to now have Shirley Ann Bingham out in the world and be able to tell everyone a little bit more about it.

So the first episode is out there. We've all seen it, but what we want to do is we don't want any spoilers because people might be watching it on IPlayer and on Disney, on catch-up. So we can't do that. We can just get a little insight. So give us that little nugget that doesn't give too much away. So being able to do scenes with David was one of my biggest joys. And having Shirley introduced into the Hooniverse, that's the first scene, just her and David.

So that for me felt really, really special. and what a glorious way to be introduced into the Hooniverse was just having that scene with me and David. Yeah, but I won't give away. There's some really good stuff, but I'm not going to say too much because if you've not watched it yet, you'll really enjoy some of the exciting things that Shirley has up her sleeve.

And you're in it for a long while. I don't know whether I can say Well, you gave it away a little bit by saying that you started filming the year before and then you finished in the summer and then so I think you're in it for a... That's not just the first... That's not it, is it?

No. It's not just... That's not just the first... Everyone's looking at me in the screen going, what can I say? What can I not? No, so... It's not over after one episode. Okay.

You will not be left wanted. There you go. Isn't it funny? It's really weird. There are certain things that you, as, as, I know everybody says it about Doctor Who, but when I was a child, my dad was obsessed with Doctor Who.

So we always watched it every Saturday. And, but I did have my hands over my face. I mean, I was terrified. Never the Daleks. I was not scared, never scared to Daleks. Isn't it funny that? Because I was talking to, so my other half Joe,

his dad, said he was absolutely terrified as a child he would never watch it because he wouldn't be able to sleep I was like really? There were a few, my younger daughter there was the weeping angels terrified of them I mean it is when you look back and see some of them

like oh my goodness me I mean kids watch this but as I was saying I don't want to know there are certain things you don't want to know I don't want to know what's happening next I didn't want to know before the first episode what was happening

I don't want to know who's out of Strictly it's things like that I just don't want to know Just want the surprise There was a rumour that you were going to Strictly Wasn't there? So yeah I mean there was a lot of talk on online

about how there'd never been a wheelchair user on Strictly Was it true? Did they ask you? No no no I mean Would you do it? I don't know know whether I'd do it. I mean, I feel, I'd feel very, uh, that's, that's, I mean, keeping quiet about Doctor Who is pressure, strictly, is like, oh, so maybe you are doing it next year.

Again, who knows? No, it's, um, I mean, yes, I mean, it's a wonderful show. I mean, there were rumours. There were, it was a whole thing that it was you or Sophie. Sophie, yeah, I mean, Sophie would be just so much so glorious. Sorry, Sophie now out and by the white, in the white house. I know, Sophie Morgan. I'm sorry. Sophie Morgan. I'm sorry. I mean, I mean, I'm sorry. I I'm actually quite surprised that she still speaks to me. I was like, please don't ever get bored of me and too big that you don't return my calls. But I know I'm a big fan of hers.

And she should, if it's something that is asked and somebody wants to do it, then there should be someone who's a wheelchair user on. Why not? My lovely friend Simon, he's his favourite thing, he's in a wheelchair all the time, his favourite thing is dancing. Loves it.

Amazing. He loves to swing me around. Oh, it's great, in it? It's just great. I mean, I don't think my dance. is ballroom. I think you've been asking, you're just not telling us. Okay.

You want a complete and nice of joy. Thank you for being on reasons to be joyful. So is you. I'm so happy. I'm so happy to be here. I'm just, oh, I'm calling Russell. She's fantastic. Thank you very much.

Thank you.