‘I’m not a political animal’ – Patricia Hodge feels liberated to talk out

You can’t fault Patricia Hodge for her versatility or selection. From dramas like Rumpole Of The Bailey to Hotel du Lac to comedies like The Lives And Loves of a She-Devil to Miranda (who can neglect her cry of “Such fun!” as Miranda’s over-the-top mom, Penny); and acclaimed stage performances as Miss Jean Brodie, to her Olivier Award-winning flip in Money; from Jeremy Thorpe’s mom in A Very English Scandal to Mrs Pumphrey in All Creatures Great and Small, Patricia Hodge boasts a wonderful CV stretching again over 50 years.

Now she’s about to open in London’s West End in a brand new manufacturing of Noel Coward’s Private Lives reverse Nigel Havers.

“Well, not new exactly,” she explains. “I agreed to appear in the play over four years ago, pre-Covid. It got halted twice but eventually, we toured it for six months, finishing 18 months ago. We were keen to take it round the country, not least because Nigel and I love touring. If you’ve got the freedom, it’s a really lovely thing to do.”

When one other model of Private Lives, starring Stephen Mangan and Rachael Stirling, got here to a unique West End theatre on the finish of final 12 months, there appeared little prospect of seeing Patricia and Nigel’s model.

But now it’s embarking on a 12-week season on the refurbished Ambassadors, beginning on the finish of this month.

“The producers obviously feel we’ve got something new to offer,” Patricia laughs. “Our maturity. We’re both in our 70s.”

He’ll be 72 in November; whereas she’ll be 77 subsequent month (though she may simply cross for a decade youthful).

The shock about Private Lives is simply how properly it stands up nearly a century after Coward wrote it. Not solely does the dialogue nonetheless sizzle, however what it has to say about grownup relationships continues to be related – all from a person who by no means married and who was solely 31 when he penned it in 1930.

“What really endures is his insight into human behaviour and the stupid things married couples argue about,” Patricia says.

She and Nigel are outdated pals. They’ve appeared collectively earlier than in TV productions together with The Death Of The Heart in 1987 and an episode of Rumpole.

“We rub along well,” Patricia provides. “But then I think that’s a prerequisite for playing Amanda and Elyot in Private Lives. It would fall flat if there weren’t a shorthand between us.” Away from the boards, Patricia just lately labored on a movie referred to as Arthur’s Whisky, due out later this 12 months.

It has a less-than-likely line-up of actresses, as she co-stars with Diane Keaton and Lulu. The premise of the story is that
the just lately widowed Patricia discovers a particular bottle of whisky in her husband’s backyard shed which, when drunk by the
three ladies, turns them again into their youthful selves.

“I haven’t yet seen it but it was huge fun to do,” she says. “The three of us got on very well.”

It was straight from that to the fourth sequence and what can be a Christmas particular of Channel 5’s hit re-tread of All Creatures Great And Small.

The function of Mrs Pumphrey grew to become Patricia’s when Diana Rigg sadly died after the primary sequence. “I had to take a deep breath. Did they want me to go in and play it as Diana did? Happily, they decided they wanted me to play it the way I saw it.”

Diana had portrayed Mrs P “more exotically”, in Patricia’s estimation. “I’ve made her one of those eccentric Englishwomen who are out there in the countryside. Her closest companion is her dog, Tricki Woo. I defy anybody not to fall in love with Derek, as he’s called in real life. He’s a large Pekingese but so docile and laidback. The love flows in both directions.”

With a little bit of luck there can be a fifth sequence which can begin taking pictures subsequent March. Although she is clearly versatile, Patricia says one format she shouldn’t be comfy with is actuality TV.

“I won’t do any celebrity stuff. I’m really quite shy,” she admits. “I find it much more difficult to appear as myself. I want to do what I think I can do best. I’m much happier with other people’s words.”

Patricia explains how her work is an integral part of her life. “If you retain your interest in something, you want to carry on doing it,” she adds. “What I do is tell stories and, if I can balance that with having a family life, then I’ll carry on as now.”

Patricia has two adult sons by her late music publisher husband, Peter Owen. Alexander is 34 and one half of the comedy duo – as performers and writers – The Pin. They both have roles in Jemima Khan’s recent film, What’s Love Got To Do
With It?

Alexander can also be the daddy of Patricia’s 18-month-old grandson. “He’s now beginning to string words together. It’s such a special relationship,” she says.

Younger son, Edward, 31, has simply married his Portuguese girlfriend. After a spell residing within the Cambodian jungle taking care of elephants and bears, he now teaches English as a international language.

Patricia’s calm class is matched by a palpable happiness. But she has observed a change in herself just lately.

“Older age gets different people in different ways,” she explains. “I’m not angry. I do find myself getting increasingly rattled, though, by inconsiderate behaviour.

“And when you get older, I think you have an obligation to speak out when things aren’t right. I won’t let things go anymore.
It worries me that manners are going out the window.”

She affords a latest instance whereas she was strolling in central London. “I was waiting on the central reservation for the lights to turn green. As I stepped off, a cyclist, a man in his 30s, went through the red lights and almost collided with me. But instead of apologising, he flicked me a rude sign.

“I just pointed at the green light for pedestrians and he called me the worst word in the English language. Unforgivably rude but also dangerous.”

In truth, cyclists are the bane of Patricia’s life. The actress lives in west London, close to Hammersmith Bridge – a fragile Thames crossing which now not helps vehicles, however does permit pedestrians to cross, in addition to cyclists, offered they dismount.

“I can’t tell you how many continue to ride their bikes at speed with mothers having to swiftly move their buggies out of the way,” Patricia complains. “These people see themselves as the centre of the universe and I think that’s very bad for society. I feel I have the right to say something.

“But, when I do, I’m invariably screamed at. I always make sure, though, to point out that the only reason they’re angry is because they know I’m right. And have you ever seen a policeman pulling a cyclist over because he doesn’t have any lights or because he’s jumped the traffic lights?”

Point made. For all of that, Patricia says she’s not a political animal.

“My trouble is that I tend to see things from too many points of view,” she continues. “And, to tell the truth, I feel a little uncomfortable about actors platforming. People must do what’s best for them. It’s just not for me.”

Patricia’s husband died in 2016. “For the last three years of his life, I had to put him in a care home because he was suffering from dementia,” she says. “So, I’ve had 10 years to get used to being on my own. Also, my younger son was living with me for quite a lot of that time. I’ve adjusted as much as one ever can. It’s another chapter.”

She now lives in a transformed warehouse. “I feel safe there. Living on my own in the large family house, I felt very vulnerable. Now I’m in a gated community with CCTV cameras everywhere. My default position is contentment. I have my family and I’m so lucky still to be working.”

Time to take my braveness in each fingers.Perhaps someday, I recommend, she would possibly grow to be Dame Patricia? She snorts on the suggestion.

“Oh heavens, they won’t do that! Honestly, I don’t think about things like that. And anyway, why should I be rewarded for simply doing my job?”