To be honest, not so glorious. In my 40 plus years as an actress I appeared in just two films. Which, let’s face it, is two more than most people. The first, It Could Happen To You was made in 1977 . I got a part in it the old fashioned way, my best mate was playing the lead. We filmed my scenes in the director’s flashy penthouse in St John’s Wood, a real glimpse of high life. When I say my scenes, I mean me and about twenty other young actors as this was a party scene that was supposed to degenerate into an orgy. By today’s standards it was like an orgy organised by Blue Peter.  I think one girl flashed her boobs and that was it. I never saw the finished product but I strongly suspect I ended on the cutting room floor, which is probably what I deserved.

I am, however, very proud of my one other appearance on film. In 2009 I was approaching retirement and, although I didn’t know it at the time, in very bad health. But I was offered the part of Ethel in a short film, Taylor’s Trophy, and as I thought the script was very clever and it would be nice to be on a film set again, I was delighted to accept. My husband, also an actor was around that time flown to Croatia for  a week’s filming. I took the train to glamorous Streatham. As usual everyone was called for the crack of dawn and nothing happened for hours and hours. I was in make-up for a couple of hours being turned into a mad old bat and then spent the rest of the day sitting around eating junk food and gossiping with the cast and crew. My character, Ethel, was in a wheelchair, and since there was a shortage of chairs, and the wheelchair was quite comfortable, I sat in it all day. It is amazing the unconscious power of suggestion that wheelchair had. Although they had all seen me walk in briskly on my own two legs, the entire company began to treat me as though I were incapacitated. People wheeled me out of the way when the cameras had to be moved, brought me cups of coffee I could easily have got for myself and were deferential to my, entirely apocryphal, grey hairs (I was actually a blonde at the time.)

After I wrapped my scenes I got a round of applause from the crew, always heartwarming as they are the great unimpressionables.  And I had the great pleasure of attending the screening at BAFTA and seeing myself up there on the screen. The film went on to win awards at various film festivals around the world, which it deserves quite apart from my performance.  It’s funny, wicked, full of great performances and inventive direction. I recommend it, but then I would, wouldn’t I?

Ethel

Amazon.co.uk:  TAYLORS TROPHY

Amazon.com: Taylors Trophy