EXCLUSIVE: Amanda Redman stars in Murder Before Evensong, a new ecclesiastical crime drama, and says she’s ‘become choosier about the parts I’ll accept’ as she opens up on her new role
Amanda Redman’s nickname is Wysiwyg – short for “what you see is what you get” – and her latest character has a personality to match. A far cry from New Tricks’ DS Sandra Pullman, Audrey Clement is a dispenser of tough love with a stiff upper lip honed in wartime.
She is the mother of Canon Daniel Clement, the protagonist of Murder Before Evensong, an adaptation of the Rev Richard Coles’ best-selling ecclesiastical crime novel. And she gets all the best lines. “She’s a wonderful character,” says Amanda, 68. “And such fun to play.
“Parts like that don’t come along very often. She’s a woman, not unlike myself, who speaks her mind. Women like her just had to shut up and put up, as they say. I think that’s a very healthy attitude. She doesn’t suffer fools gladly. She just gets on with it. There’s a line in the book I like: If she hadn’t been a housewife, she’d be running the United Nations.”
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To play the role, the eternally glamorous Amanda had to don a permed wig and somewhat matronly outfits. She adds: “I always enjoy playing non-glamorous parts, perhaps more than any others.
“It forces you to concentrate on the character, gives you something to get your teeth into. I’ve become choosier about the parts I’ll accept. But I can’t think of anything more soul-destroying than retiring.”
The Rev Coles’ Canon Clement series now runs to four books. And the second, A Death in the Parish, has already been optioned for screen.
“Oh, I do hope so,” she says when asked if there is more to come from Audrey. “I loved the whole job, a really lovely gig, although perhaps next time, it’ll be filmed later in the year. It was shot in January and it was freezing.”
Fortunately, there was something else – nothing to do with the day job – guaranteed to warm her heart. “On day three, my daughter, Emily, gave birth to my first grandchild – a little girl called Cora,” she says. “I knew I’d be thrilled when the baby arrived, but the moment I first saw her at the hospital in Emily’s arms, I was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of love. I was shocked. It almost knocked me off my feet.”
Emily’s father is actor Robert Glenister, brother of Life on Mars star Philip, while Amanda is married to second husband Damian Schnabel.
Unlike many actresses whose careers run out of momentum in their middle years, Amanda has enjoyed a seamless run: As Diana Dors in The Blonde Bombshell; as Deedee Dove opposite Ray Winstone in Sexy Beast; as lottery winner Alison in At Home With the Braithwaites and as Lydia Fonseca in The Good Karma Hospital.
The acting profession has smiled on her and she has been happy to repay that good fortune. The Artists Theatre School, which she ran near her home in Ealing, West London, closed this year and morphed into the ATS Foundation, dedicated to raising money to help actors looking for work.
Her objective is to persuade City institutions to donate money to bankroll productions involving these young performers. She is a keen follower of TV drama, in particular thriller series Slow Horses.
And she adds: “I’ve never been interested in reality television, but I did watch Celebrity Traitors because a lot of my friends told me to. I was immediately hooked. For the last five minutes, I was literally on the edge of my seat. Alan Carr was a revelation although I was rather hoping Nick Mohammed and Joe Marler would win. I’d love to be on it.”
