When Sir John Gielgud saw me on stage in Singapore he said, `I don’t usually like men who dress up as women, but you’re amusing and make me laugh’.This is what I enjoy most about pantomime. I’ve always played glamorous characters, and I was the first person to make people laugh while being glamorous at the same time. My audiences probably don’t realise how difficult that can beFor me the art of pantomime is as important as a Gilbert and Sullivan opera. It is peculiarly British and to define the secret of its success is almost impossible. Noel Coward once told me that you should never try to define anything because in doing so you lose its essence.My belief however is that pantomime is a timeless art. It appeals to people of all ages as it sweeps them away to a world of fantasy.
Panto is usually a child’s first experience of the theatre, and if it is done splendidly, it encourages that child to return.The Spice Girls are very amusing, but their clothes don’t really look like costumes. In panto the sets and clothes are the same as in grand operas I love the glitz and glamour of being a dame. Unlike most men, I am not at all frightened by bright clothes.I’ve been lucky in that even after all these years, people still ask me to do this. I suppose I’m like a loaf of bread in someone’s house – always there and instantly recognisable Every generation has seen me as a dame in Panto. It looks completely wrong because a man’s head is a different shape from a woman’s.Throughout my entire career I have never been seen out in costume.
I also think it’s obscene for a man to wear make-up without a wig. I did, of course, write them nice letters of apology.What I adore about my profession is that I can joke with people at every level in society and get away with it. My humour is risque but I know where to draw the line.My other rule is that I never let anyone photograph me putting on my make-up. She told me she always buys her knickers here, so I said, `I didn’t know they had a hardware department,’ which made her laugh. I bumped into Maggie Thatcher in M&S the other day and asked her what she was doing there.
Having said that, two of my elderly fans once fainted because they were shocked by the four-letter words when I was in the play Privates on Parade. I give 120 per cent to my performance, and have a code of conduct which I always keep.My style of humour is cheeky but clean. I’m a great believer in wit without vulgarity – only inarticulate people swear because they can’t find the right words. I’ve played eight Mother Gooses, appeared in 12 Aladdins and several Cinderellas. I also often have parts written especially for me.Pantomime season is my favourite time of year and I travel from the other side of the world to take part.
