The BV magazine, July ‘22 Interview by Laura Hitchcock
Maggie Ollerenshaw, the acclaimed British actress, takes on the Random 19 questions Maggie Ollerenshaw, a proud Mancunian now resident in Stalbridge, is perhaps most famous for playing comedic Northerners, particularly in the sitcoms Last of the Summer Wine and Open All Hours (and Still Open All Hours). She has also appeared in various other television roles such as Holby City, Doctors, Heartbeat and Midsomer Murders, but off-screen has demonstrated a versatile ability, playing intense American leads in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and A Streetcar Named Desire, as well as Shakespearean roles in The Merry Wives and King John. In addition, she has toured internationally in her own show Sincerely Yours, a tribute to singing legend Vera Lynn. 1. What’s your relationship with the Blackmore Vale (the North Dorset area, not us!)? It all began with my husband (actor Geoff Leesley) and his son, Sam, who is autistic. When we got together in the early 2000s, Sam was at the Forum School in Shillingstone. Geoff lived in Sussex, I was in London, and we were looking for a home together. We instinctively headed west and first of all we came across Frome. We bought a house there in 2002, but we couldn’t find the house we really wanted. In 2016 we finally found the house of our dreams – and moved to lovely April Cottage in Stalbridge, opposite the church. It’s so quintessentially English! 2. What was the last song you sang out loud in your car? It was (Make me an) Angel from Montgomery – it’s a country song. Bonny Raitt is the singer most associated with it – she didn’t write it but was a great friend of John Prine, who did. My musical taste is quite eclectic – I certainly wouldn’t call myself a Country and Western girl. But the lyrics to this are just fantastic. It’s like a play. The character is a middle-aged woman who feels older than she is, and she wants to get away from her life and where she lives, which is Montgomery, Alabama. It’s wonderful. I discovered it when BBC4 ran a repeat of an old concert from the 80s when Bonny Raitt was over here doing a tour. It was at the 24
Actress Maggie Ollerenshaw takes on the Random 19
Shepherd’s Bush Empire, I think. This was one of the songs she played, and I just thought ‘that’s amazing!’ 3. What was the last movie you watched? Would you recommend it? It was a film called Cyrano, based on Cyrano de Bergerac. It stars Peter Dinklage, the small actor people will know from Game of Thrones. The original story is that Cyrano has this enormous nose – he’s in love
with a beautiful woman but it’s all hopeless, and instead she falls in love with a very handsome man. Cyrano has a wonderful way with words, however, and he ends up writing the handsome man’s love letters to Roxanne. Brilliantly, instead of using Cyrano’s enormous ugly nose, the film uses Peter’s height. So clever! It’s sumptuous to look at, too. It’s a musical, but I would hesitate to describe it as one because the song interludes are so integrated into the narrative
