Sarah Millican's New Comedy DVD

Sarah Millican's New Comedy DVD

Sarah Millican has become one of the UK’s most popular comedians over the last few years, with the South Shields girl completely selling out her last show and the host of her own chat show.

With her latest comedy DVD coming out and The Sarah Millican Television Programme coming back for a Christmas special, we chatted with the UK’s current reigning queen of comedy about her route into comedy, whether she’d ever try serious acting and her

This comedy tour has been getting rave reviews, what’s got to be a nice little ego boost for you.

Yeah, it is. It’s slightly ridiculous to be honest. It’s lovely, but you can’t let yourself believe every nice thing that people ever say. People always say that you shouldn’t read reviews at all, or if you do then believe both the good and the bad ones. I just choose to believe the ones that think I’m brilliant. The ones that don’t, well, I just don’t bother with them.

You involve the audience a lot in your live show, why’s that and what’s the weirdest thing that’s ever been shouted at you?

The reason I involve them is to make it more fun for me. Obviously when you do a tour show you might end up doing it 150 times, so those bits are the bits I get excited about because they change every night. I once asked the question, ‘What have you ever broken during sex’ and there was a woman in Derby who said “My husband’s head”. The room just went really uncomfortable and quiet and its pitch black, so that the audience feel freer and more comfortable shouting out. Apparently they’d been quite vigorous and her husband had had some sort of brain aneurism! So I asked whether he was alright and this deep voice next to her just went “Yep” so I was thinking ‘Thank God for that’! That went from being quite a horrific moment to one of relief. People are brave and shout out whatever they like, it’s great.

You’re quite a lot ruder live than you are on your show, how do you alter your humour between the two?

My natural way is when I’m live; I’m like that in natural conversation as well, a bit filthy. But for tele, even if you’re on at 10 o’clock like we are, you have to adapt it. So, you have rather interesting conversations with the BBC where you say you can have one ‘f**k’ and two ‘s**t’s. Everyone’s in suits and it’s the most ridiculous conversation that you’ll ever have. It’s swearing, but in the most business-like manner. I always think swearing is at its best when used in a definite way, rather than a casual way. So if you have two jokes that have f*** in, then they’re more likely to get in than if you just use the word casually. I think people are expecting it from me because of the way I look too.

So what got you into comedy?

Well, I’ve always written. I’ve written columns for a local newspaper and I’d started writing short plays and films and they always had a funny angle because that’s what I enjoyed. But when I got divorced, I felt like I had a new lease of life and I could do anything. So I signed up for a workshop for people who had written but never performed before. I went along and it was mainly poets and I read a monologue I’d written and the piece of paper I was reading was shaking like you’d never believe. But I got to the end of my two minute monologue and absolutely loved it, felt like a real sense of achievement. Then about six months later I went back to the girl who ran the course and said that I wanted to do stand up. She just “I know” like she’d been waiting for that time for me to ring her, it was very sweet.

Speaking of writing, you have a column for the Radio Times? How did that come about?

Well, I wanted to write, but I always need encouragement. I’m much better to a deadline, I think most writers are. If you don’t have you one, you just think ‘Well, I’m just going to watch the tele!’ It’s sort of a muscle I think, the more you write, the better that muscle is. So I was interested in writing a column, and then the Radio Times offered me the opportunity to write a weekly one. Also, it’s the added bonus that I have to watch television each week, so if I’ve had a busy week, I can say “I’m not going to be able to write my column if I don’t sit and watch TV for nine hours now.” It’s not only a way to force writing, but to force relaxation too, it’s a double whammy really.

What was it like then when the BBC gave you your own show?

It’s quite ridiculous and it’s a real honour, especially doing it for the BBC. When I was a kid, we weren’t allowed to watch ITV, we were only allowed the BBC. I missed out on a lot of years of Tiswas. So that the channel that you’ve always watched and your mum approves of asks if you want to make a program, it’s amazing. It was nice to work with So TV, because I’ve always liked what they’ve done with Graham Norton and I felt we could work together to create something that’s very me. That’s what you have to do, because if people who watched you on different things watch this, you want them to like it. You want it to be in keeping with your persona and your style of comedy, which I think we managed. It’s quite cheeky and we do get away with quite a lot because I look like a teacher! They think ‘She’s not going to swear and ask these celebrities rude questions’, but oh yes she is.

You’ve got a Christmas special coming up, can we expect any special South Shields touches?

A South Shields Christmas? Well, it’s just arguing, elbowing people out of the way to get the last Turkey, so it’s no different from anywhere else at Christmas in the respect. We’re filming the Christmas special the week after next, which is great because I’m actually getting quite Christmassy now as it is, whereas usually you film them way earlier. I filmed a panel show special in June and it was really hard to get into the spirit of it. You can see the audience as they’ve filtered in and your wearing bobbly hats with tinsel around your neck and they just think ‘Oh no, it’s the Christmas one!’. Whereas now, if you record a special in the next couple of weeks, people are starting to get excited about it, so I think it’ll be a really fun recording.

The first series had you getting master classes in flirting and baking, what other skills can we see you pick up in series two?

We’ve some really good stuff, but I don’t want to tell you. Is that terrible? Basically, we’ve done two episodes and I’ve been in pain on both of them, if that helps? Don’t worry though; it’s not a master class in withstanding pain or a new Saw film with me in it.

A lot of stand-ups have gone into serious acting recently, is that something you’d ever consider?

Not at the moment. Something might change, like I might get a bump to the head and change my mind but at the moment I’m awful at acting! All I can do is myself with slightly different mood to the one I’m in. In a show we recorded this week, they asked me to do a worried face and it took me four takes because I just couldn’t do it without being actually worried. So someone would have to ring me up and go ‘Your cat’s gone missing’ and only then could I do it. I’m in awe of actors, I think they’re amazing because, I don’t think I can even play me in anything. I’m really impressed when you see people like Chris Ramsey, John Bishop and Jason Cook. Just taking up comedy acting, let alone serious acting, terrifies me to the core.

Just finishing up, is the reason why your cat Chief Brody pops up so much in your online persona because we all know cats rule the internet?

Well, I have to say, I used to spend a lot of time looking at cat videos on the internet. It’s like YouTube have sent me an e-mail asking if I’m alright because I haven’t been on in ages. I just love him so much and I put one picture up and it got re-tweeted about 500 times and I was there saying ‘Oh my God, loads of my followers love cats too!’ Actually, I did a new material gig in London this week and, I wouldn’t call it a formal complaint, but two women asked “Why aren’t there as many pictures of Chief Brody as there used to be?” So I have to start putting them up again, I’ve been getting complaints over lack of cats (laughs).

 

Thoroughly Modern Millican is released on DVD Monday 12th November and The Sarah Millican Television Programme returns to BBC Two this Christmas.

FemaleFirst Cameron Smith

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