INTERROGATION: ANGELA GRIFFIN - 'I could have lost my job for being

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Jan 9, 2005 | by Words: Tim Oglethorpe

So, you put on a lot of weight when you were pregnant, then? Angela Griffin: Absolutely. I was up to 15 stone, instead of my normal 11 stone, through eating fatty food like cakes, buns, pasta and chocolate. I didn't realise how big I was getting. I'd look in the mirror and just see my normal self. But my clothes told me I'd piled on the pounds, even if I couldn't see it.

How did you lose the weight? AG: I started dancing, and I lost more than 2 stone. That, plus the 2 stone I lost having my daughter, Tallulah Jae, in June, has got me down to 10st 7lbs. I had to get back to the weight and shape of my character, Darcey, in Cutting It, otherwise the BBC might have recast my role for the new series.

Are you strict about what you eat as well? AG: Up to a point, but I still have treats - number one being Starbucks' carrot cake. I'm going to get it iced and made into my wedding cake.

When's the big day? AG: Next August. It's still at the planning stage, but my fiance, Jason, and I want to have magicians, a cocktail waiter, a gospel choir and fireworks. And lots of guests, of course.

Tell us more about Jason. AG: He's 34, his surname is Milligan and I love him dearly. He works as a continuity announcer on the Bravo and Challenge TV channels, where he writes his own scripts. He's the bloke who says, 'Coming up next, we've got the world's scariest car chases!'

Jason's your leading man in real life - who would it be in a movie? AG: Denzel Washington. He's stunningly gorgeous. He has the most beautiful mouth in the entire world, as well as the most gorgeous chocolate eyes. He also happens to be a brilliant actor.

Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with? AG: Jim Davidson. He's never very funny, and if we were stuck in a lift together, he would doubtless try to crack jokes and still not be very funny. Either that, or he'd be plain offensive.

What piece of music is guaranteed to get you dancing? AG: Anything by Beyonce or Destiny's Child. Their songs are like good fast food - they give you instant gratification.

Would you like your daughter, Tallulah, to be an actor? AG: No way! If it was to do with talent, then fine. But acting is more about luck and being in the right place at the right time than talent. I know there are worse actresses doing better than me and better ones who are out of work. And being out of work is horrendous - two months out turns us all into psychos. Unemployed actors are the worst people on the entire planet.

So what would you like Tallulah to do instead? AG: Be an architect. She can work her own hours, make loads of money and design us a really beautiful house.

Have you had any strange experiences with fans? AG: When I played Fiona, the hairdresser in Coronation Street, there used to be a guy whose letters would start off perfectly normally - and then he'd start talking about his experiences as a bedwetter. He went into way too much detail.

What's your most embarrassing moment as an actress? AG: I had to simulate sex for a scene in Cutting It with my co-star, Jason Merrells. I find it intensely embarrassing putting on a face which implies you're having sex. Or, in this case, being pleasured - Jason had to work his way down my body.

Have you ever stolen anything? AG: No.

When did you last lie? AG: Answering that last question! I was sacked for stealing cakes from the shop I worked in, as a 15-year- old in Leeds. Although I still maintain I was treated unfairly.

How come? AG: The buns I stole were going to be chucked in the bin, so I was only liberating them. My boss, Mrs Walker, didn't see it that way and sacked me. However, she took me back on because the wages were poor - pounds 7 for an entire Saturday - and nobody else would do it.

Have you ever said, 'Don't you know who I am?' AG: Yes, when my car got towed away in London. I was informed it was in a pound miles away, and they suggested I took the Tube to go and get it back. I said, 'I can't go by Tube, I'm famous.' I shouldn't have said it and it was hardly likely to make them bring back my car, was it?

What's the daftest thing that's ever been written about you? AG: That my friend, Lisa Faulkner, had been with me at the birth of Tallulah. She wasn't.

When did you last lose your temper? AG: I don't really lose it. The last time I got frustrated with someone and my blood boiled was on holiday in Cyprus with Jason and Tallulah last year. We were discussing somebody and I couldn't believe Jason had such a completely unfounded opinion of this person. I had to take a very deep breath to stop myself losing it and I just told him he was speaking out of his bottom.

Would you ever go back to Coronation Street? AG: Absolutely - if the scripts were right. I don't rule it out at all.

When were you first recognised from the TV? AG: When I was working in Burger King in Leeds. I'd started in Corrie, but I didn't have a long enough contract with them to give up the day job. This bloke said to me, 'Are you that bird off the telly?' I thought it was brilliant.

Do you worry about your future as an actress? AG: Only all the time! I worry the work won't be there and we'll end up having to make huge savings to make ends meet. My nightmare would be Tallulah standing outside some economy store in 10 years' time, saying, 'My mum and dad used to be really rich and now we have to shop here.'