“I always give 200% to acting”: 10 Questions for Local Hero star Jenny Seagrove

FOLLOWING minor TV and film roles, it was the movie Local Hero that announced the arrival of Jenny Seagrove as a star.

She has since appeared in many other films, stage shows, and TV dramas like Judge John Deed and Lewis.

She lives with theatre producer, and Everton chairman, Bill Kenwright.

Jenny runs a charity, The Mane Chance, which looks after abandoned horses.

Why did you start your Mane Chance charity?

In 2011, a woman I know told me she’d run out of money to feed some horses she was looking after. I said: “Let’s start a charity.” I had no idea what I was doing.

Would you give up acting for horses?

No. Looking after them fulfils me but I’m addicted to acting. I’ve just finished six months in the West End in The Exorcist. I’m taking summer off to devote to the animals.

How do you keep up the glam actress front?

I don’t. My beloved Bill fell in love with me as a glamorous woman on stage. I told him: “At heart I’m a bag lady. My life is animals and mud.” It took him a year to realise.

You’ve romanced a Doctor Who, haven’t you?

Oh, you mean the lovely Peter Capaldi? We did the film Local Hero together. He’s such a talented man. I have the utmost respect for Peter. He’s a funny man, and clever too.

What’s your attitude to getting older?

I’m not scared of dying whenever the time may come, but I can’t bear the idea of leaving people behind, because I love them so much.

Are you good at biting your tongue?

I always give 200% to acting, so when I work with people who just walk through it I have no respect for them. I can’t be doing with that at all.

Tell me when your acting made a difference to you?

On stage I played Annie Sullivan, the lifelong companion of Helen Keller. In the last performance, I swear to God, I was so in the zone that I saw Helen Keller on stage.

What’s the best thing about acting?

The best thing about being on stage is hearing wave after wave of laughter coming from the audience. The worst is wanting to act when there is no work. I’ve been very lucky there.

Do you have a favourite joke that cheers you up?

Yes. What’s brown and sticky? A stick! (laughs) It’s one of my favourites because it’s so silly.

You have 24 hours left to live. How do you spend it?

I wouldn’t go riding. I’d get my family down to the horse sanctuary and spend time there with them, with my team, and with the horses.