FCE Interview 9

Fail

Today, in our series about celebrity families, the TV presenter Tanya Edwards talks about her first job and also about her daughter, Maddy, a pop star and model. Tanya, your first job was in children’s television, wasn’t it?

When I was asked to audition for a job presenting on children’s television, I didn’t want to do the job at all. I’d always wanted to be an actress, and had done a lot of acting at college. In fact, it was the closest thing to acting that I could possibly have chosen, because it was presenting a live programme – so having been on stage in college productions came in handy. In those days, we didn’t have talkback – you know, that’s where you have a little gadget stuck in your ear, and you can hear the producer talking to you – so we had to rely on signals from the floor manager… which worked fine.

You had an extraordinary boss, didn’t you?

Yes. Paul Broadly. He was a very well-respected programme editor. He taught me so much. He seemed quite old to me when I started – he was a grandfather – but he had this way of understanding what children could enjoy watching. He was absolutely determined to produce the best children’s television – whether it was something about wildlife on safari, or how to make a chocolate cake. He was devoted to the programme, completely single- minded about it, and expected us to feel exactly the same.

But you enjoyed it?

Oh yes, and there was always something different. I even did parachuting for the programme. There I was, leaping out of this aeroplane, with the cameras on me – trying to smile, although it was pretty scary! The stupid thing was that the jump went fine, but I fell over running back to the car, carrying the parachute – and broke my ankle. I thought my boss would be furious, but in fact he was okay about it, and I was amazed that lots of the children who watched the programme sent me cards – one even sent me a cake. And your daughter is Maddy, the singer and model.

Did she always want to be famous?

Well, we always had a lot of music in the house, when she was young. I wouldn’t say that I knew that she would do something special – I had to persuade her to learn an instrument – but I do remember one day, she was supposed to be doing her homework, and my husband came down the road and there was Maddy leaning out of the window, playing her flute for all she was worth. It was a nice sunny day, and people were stopping and listening, and Maddy was bowing and really enjoying the attention!

And she still does?

Well, these days, years later, when I watch my daughter singing in front of a big crowd, there’s always this curious thing – I suddenly realise that practically everyone is thinking that she’s brilliant – it’s not just me thinking, That’s my little girl’ – it’s the whole room sharing the experience. It’s not all roses, though. When Maddy had a bad patch with her singing career, she was taken on by a modelling agency. Another glamorous job. Well, I don’t think that modelling’s at all easy. And I know she finds it hard when people back at the agency don’t think she looks right for a particular job – you know she’s too tall or something, or not young enough. It can be hard – even if, like Maddy, you know you’re beautiful.

Mm, and how do you both deal with your fame?

Well, we’ve talked about it – there is a certain look that people get on their faces when they recognise you, and I think probably that that’s what some people miss when they’re no longer famous. But it also means that you can’t go to the shops in peace. And that can be tough – so is reading about yourself in the paper, when what’s being said is a load of rubbish. But you just have to learn to cope with that side of it…

Today, in our series about celebrity families, the TV presenter Tanya Edwards talks about her first job and also about her daughter, Maddy, a pop star and model. Tanya, your first job was in children’s television, wasn’t it?

When I was asked to audition for a job presenting on children’s television, I didn’t want to do the job at all. I’d always wanted to be an actress, and had done a lot of acting at college. In fact, it was the closest thing to acting that I could possibly have chosen, because it was presenting a live programme – so having been on stage in college productions came in handy. In those days, we didn’t have talkback – you know, that’s where you have a little gadget stuck in your ear, and you can hear the producer talking to you – so we had to rely on signals from the floor manager… which worked fine.

You had an extraordinary boss, didn’t you?

Yes. Paul Broadly. He was a very well-respected programme editor. He taught me so much. He seemed quite old to me when I started – he was a grandfather – but he had this way of understanding what children could enjoy watching. He was absolutely determined to produce the best children’s television – whether it was something about wildlife on safari, or how to make a chocolate cake. He was devoted to the programme, completely single- minded about it, and expected us to feel exactly the same.

But you enjoyed it?

Oh yes, and there was always something different. I even did parachuting for the programme. There I was, leaping out of this aeroplane, with the cameras on me – trying to smile, although it was pretty scary! The stupid thing was that the jump went fine, but I fell over running back to the car, carrying the parachute – and broke my ankle. I thought my boss would be furious, but in fact he was okay about it, and I was amazed that lots of the children who watched the programme sent me cards – one even sent me a cake. And your daughter is Maddy, the singer and model.

Did she always want to be famous?

Well, we always had a lot of music in the house, when she was young. I wouldn’t say that I knew that she would do something special – I had to persuade her to learn an instrument – but I do remember one day, she was supposed to be doing her homework, and my husband came down the road and there was Maddy leaning out of the window, playing her flute for all she was worth. It was a nice sunny day, and people were stopping and listening, and Maddy was bowing and really enjoying the attention!

And she still does?

Well, these days, years later, when I watch my daughter singing in front of a big crowd, there’s always this curious thing – I suddenly realise that practically everyone is thinking that she’s brilliant – it’s not just me thinking, That’s my little girl’ – it’s the whole room sharing the experience. It’s not all roses, though. When Maddy had a bad patch with her singing career, she was taken on by a modelling agency. Another glamorous job. Well, I don’t think that modelling’s at all easy. And I know she finds it hard when people back at the agency don’t think she looks right for a particular job – you know she’s too tall or something, or not young enough. It can be hard – even if, like Maddy, you know you’re beautiful.

Mm, and how do you both deal with your fame?

Well, we’ve talked about it – there is a certain look that people get on their faces when they recognise you, and I think probably that that’s what some people miss when they’re no longer famous. But it also means that you can’t go to the shops in peace. And that can be tough – so is reading about yourself in the paper, when what’s being said is a load of rubbish. But you just have to learn to cope with that side of it…

Today, in our series about celebrity families, the TV presenter Tanya Edwards talks about her first job and also about her daughter, Maddy, a pop star and model. Tanya, your first job was in children’s television, wasn’t it?

When I was asked to audition for a job presenting on children’s television, I didn’t want to do the job at all. I’d always wanted to be an actress, and had done a lot of acting at college. In fact, it was the closest thing to acting that I could possibly have chosen, because it was presenting a live programme – so having been on stage in college productions came in handy. In those days, we didn’t have talkback – you know, that’s where you have a little gadget stuck in your ear, and you can hear the producer talking to you – so we had to rely on signals from the floor manager… which worked fine.

You had an extraordinary boss, didn’t you?

Yes. Paul Broadly. He was a very well-respected programme editor. He taught me so much. He seemed quite old to me when I started – he was a grandfather – but he had this way of understanding what children could enjoy watching. He was absolutely determined to produce the best children’s television – whether it was something about wildlife on safari, or how to make a chocolate cake. He was devoted to the programme, completely single- minded about it, and expected us to feel exactly the same.

But you enjoyed it?

Oh yes, and there was always something different. I even did parachuting for the programme. There I was, leaping out of this aeroplane, with the cameras on me – trying to smile, although it was pretty scary! The stupid thing was that the jump went fine, but I fell over running back to the car, carrying the parachute – and broke my ankle. I thought my boss would be furious, but in fact he was okay about it, and I was amazed that lots of the children who watched the programme sent me cards – one even sent me a cake. And your daughter is Maddy, the singer and model.

Did she always want to be famous?

Well, we always had a lot of music in the house, when she was young. I wouldn’t say that I knew that she would do something special – I had to persuade her to learn an instrument – but I do remember one day, she was supposed to be doing her homework, and my husband came down the road and there was Maddy leaning out of the window, playing her flute for all she was worth. It was a nice sunny day, and people were stopping and listening, and Maddy was bowing and really enjoying the attention!

And she still does?

Well, these days, years later, when I watch my daughter singing in front of a big crowd, there’s always this curious thing – I suddenly realise that practically everyone is thinking that she’s brilliant – it’s not just me thinking, That’s my little girl’ – it’s the whole room sharing the experience. It’s not all roses, though. When Maddy had a bad patch with her singing career, she was taken on by a modelling agency. Another glamorous job. Well, I don’t think that modelling’s at all easy. And I know she finds it hard when people back at the agency don’t think she looks right for a particular job – you know she’s too tall or something, or not young enough. It can be hard – even if, like Maddy, you know you’re beautiful.

Mm, and how do you both deal with your fame?

Well, we’ve talked about it – there is a certain look that people get on their faces when they recognise you, and I think probably that that’s what some people miss when they’re no longer famous. But it also means that you can’t go to the shops in peace. And that can be tough – so is reading about yourself in the paper, when what’s being said is a load of rubbish. But you just have to learn to cope with that side of it…

Today, in our series about celebrity families, the TV presenter Tanya Edwards talks about her first job and also about her daughter, Maddy, a pop star and model. Tanya, your first job was in children’s television, wasn’t it?

When I was asked to audition for a job presenting on children’s television, I didn’t want to do the job at all. I’d always wanted to be an actress, and had done a lot of acting at college. In fact, it was the closest thing to acting that I could possibly have chosen, because it was presenting a live programme – so having been on stage in college productions came in handy. In those days, we didn’t have talkback – you know, that’s where you have a little gadget stuck in your ear, and you can hear the producer talking to you – so we had to rely on signals from the floor manager… which worked fine.

You had an extraordinary boss, didn’t you?

Yes. Paul Broadly. He was a very well-respected programme editor. He taught me so much. He seemed quite old to me when I started – he was a grandfather – but he had this way of understanding what children could enjoy watching. He was absolutely determined to produce the best children’s television – whether it was something about wildlife on safari, or how to make a chocolate cake. He was devoted to the programme, completely single- minded about it, and expected us to feel exactly the same.

But you enjoyed it?

Oh yes, and there was always something different. I even did parachuting for the programme. There I was, leaping out of this aeroplane, with the cameras on me – trying to smile, although it was pretty scary! The stupid thing was that the jump went fine, but I fell over running back to the car, carrying the parachute – and broke my ankle. I thought my boss would be furious, but in fact he was okay about it, and I was amazed that lots of the children who watched the programme sent me cards – one even sent me a cake. And your daughter is Maddy, the singer and model.

Did she always want to be famous?

Well, we always had a lot of music in the house, when she was young. I wouldn’t say that I knew that she would do something special – I had to persuade her to learn an instrument – but I do remember one day, she was supposed to be doing her homework, and my husband came down the road and there was Maddy leaning out of the window, playing her flute for all she was worth. It was a nice sunny day, and people were stopping and listening, and Maddy was bowing and really enjoying the attention!

And she still does?

Well, these days, years later, when I watch my daughter singing in front of a big crowd, there’s always this curious thing – I suddenly realise that practically everyone is thinking that she’s brilliant – it’s not just me thinking, That’s my little girl’ – it’s the whole room sharing the experience. It’s not all roses, though. When Maddy had a bad patch with her singing career, she was taken on by a modelling agency. Another glamorous job. Well, I don’t think that modelling’s at all easy. And I know she finds it hard when people back at the agency don’t think she looks right for a particular job – you know she’s too tall or something, or not young enough. It can be hard – even if, like Maddy, you know you’re beautiful.

Mm, and how do you both deal with your fame?

Well, we’ve talked about it – there is a certain look that people get on their faces when they recognise you, and I think probably that that’s what some people miss when they’re no longer famous. But it also means that you can’t go to the shops in peace. And that can be tough – so is reading about yourself in the paper, when what’s being said is a load of rubbish. But you just have to learn to cope with that side of it…