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SOUL searching kate o’mara susan swarbrick
I was sent off to boarding school. I was put on the train with a label round my neck stating my name and destination like I was some sort of parcel. In my lap I had my lunch, which was fish paste sandwiches wrapped in greaseproof paper.
The first time my heart was broken ...
I was 18 and thought my life was settled. I absolutely adored him. One day he asked to meet me in St James's Park in London and told me it was over. I went home and wept. Nine years later he came back for another try saying what a fool he'd been – but then left again. Six years after that he came back again, said the same thing, then went again – by which time I'd been married a couple of times and so, I believe, had he, but I've lost track quite frankly. I suppose I have got over it, but with a first love the pain is indescribable.
The wisest thing my grandmother told me ...
I don't think she ever gave me any advice, but she did teach me how to do the can-can – she was 84 at the time.
The biggest adversity I have overcome ...
Bringing up my son, Dickon, on my own. I have a friend who is about to do it and I have told her: "If I can do it, you can do it. It will be tough, but the most rewarding experience you will ever have. You will be so consumed with love for this small bundle, that you won't have time to think about men or what s**** they are." I don't mind telling you, though, it was bloody tough, but what it did do was make me successful because I had to be.
My motto for life ...
"To thine own self be true" from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
My soul mate is ...
My son Dickon. He always knows instinctively when something is wrong with me – and vice versa.
Not many people know that ...
My first ambition was to be a concert pianist and I used to play very well. Now I can't play at all because I have terrible arthritis in my thumbs. It breaks my heart.
The most inspiring book I've read was ...
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. It had the most profound effect on me. It made me realise what a tough fight women have had down the ages.
If ever I feel lonely I ...
Listen to music and read. The other thing I do is read PG Wodehouse which I find reduces the great dramas of love to total idiocy and puts everything in perspective.
What I look for in a friend is ...
Loyalty. If I meet someone who is gossiping about a mutual friend I cease to trust them.
The person I ring first when I'm upset is ...
My friend Patricia who I have known since 1971 when we shared a dressing room at the Fortune Theatre in London.
I believe the secret to a strong relationship is ...
Trust. When I have been with a man who has betrayed me, as far as I'm concerned it is over. Once that trust is broken, I'm prepared to be friends with him, but I won't ever have a proper relationship with him.
My all-time favourite YouTube clip ...
It's not something I do regularly, although I have found YouTube useful for studying old footage of Marlene Dietrich for a role.
My childhood hero was ...
Robin Hood. I liked that he was a hero of the people and didn't keep his ill-gotten gains.
The place I most like to call home ...
The theatre. Whatever has happened in my life, when I get on stage, that is home.
Kate O'Mara will star in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Nile at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow, from June 25-30. For ticket information, visit www.atgtickets.com or call 0844 871 7647.
