Gigs in showbiz are not regular, so there’s always time to look at other options, one of which was stunt work, so I joined a stunt agency and was cast for a few jobs, mainly driving cars really fast!
One of my first stunt jobs was a sword fight on the Golden Hind, moored on the river Thames (no, not the original, that would make me 237 years old!).
My next job was a police chase, driving a police car chasing villains in the middle of the night. The car was an exact replica of a squad car and I was in a police uniform. We finished filming the car chase about 4 a.m, so I decided to stay at my mother’s flat in Stanmore. I was really tired, so I parked outside her ground floor flat and went to bed. I didn’t feel like removing the police sign or other ‘incriminating’ evidence.
When the police saw the abandoned ‘police’ car, they assumed it had been involved in a bank robbery and were very concerned to say the least.
I was sleeping in the front bedroom when a bunch of detectives crept up to the window and peered in. I was fast asleep and had left my uniform draped over a chair. They banged on the front door and woke me. I dragged myself to the door and blearily looked into their angry faces while they pushed past me to inspect the evidence.
After much explanation, and a couple of phone calls to the BBC, we sat in the kitchen with a cuppa and toast and marmalade. I’m lucky I didn’t get nicked!
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