remain entwined.
At present, Bryony’s life is consumed by work, to the point where even her spare time is spent at the theatre.
‘I am writing a list of exciting things to do before I’m 30,’ she confides. ‘But, with the exception of jet skiing it’s looking woefully empty!’
One suspects that the shadowy, real-life Cynthia might have rather approved …
Q&A
What is your favourite outfit?
My floral dressing gown. My grandmother made it for me from a bedspread, not long after the War.
Where do you go on holiday?
I’m quite keen on Youth Hostelling, and last year I took my bike and cycled all over Derbyshire.
Who is your dream date and where would you go?
I think I’d be too nervous to enjoy an actual date, unless it was with someone I’d known for a long time. I’d quite like a penfriend – maybe someone living in America or Australia.
What is your favourite record and film?
I love the song ‘I’m Always Chasing Rainbows’ – it’s been recorded so many times, but I never mind who’s singing it. And I adored Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp.
What is your most treasured memory?
As a student nurse, I looked after a little boy who was desperately ill with polio. He was in an iron lung to begin with, but eventually walked out of the hospital under his own steam. As he left, he turned round and said, ‘Thank you’.
Your favourite meal?
Roast chicken, with all the trimmings. And rhubarb fool. I love rhubarb.
What do you do in your spare time?
Chummy’s been teaching me how to use the sewing machine. And I help out with Girls’ Brigade.
What’s your secret vice?
Emergency Ward 10. I sometimes time my housecalls so that when it’s on I’ll be at a house with a television set. And then I look at Dr Dawson over the patient’s shoulder.
And your most shining virtue?
I don’t think I have one. But I try to be kind.
Where would you like to be in five years’ time?
In the right place. And I’m not sure where that is yet.
(© John Rogers)
PROFILE
CHUMMY
There has been some debate as to whether ‘Chummy’ ever actually existed. Her full name – Camilla Fortescue-Cholmondely-Browne – seems implausible enough to be a pseudonym. In the original book, she was described as the daughter of a Governor of Rajahstan, but when the script team looked into this, it raised immediate questions. Rajahstan did not exist until after partition in 1947, whereafter all Governors were Indian. On two separate occasions, Jennifer Worth gave Pippa and I different names for her, but by then she was ill, and they did not tally. On our final visit to her she also showed us a photograph of a tall and mannish nurse, who she said was Chummy, but it passed through our hands but briefly, and the trail went cold. If Chummy is a fiction, perhaps it doesn’t matter. Miranda Hart was captivated from the off.
‘I was in the middle of writing my own series and I thought, “I’m too busy to read this”. But after I read the first chapter I fell in love with the Chummy in the book. And when I read the scripts I thought, “These are brilliant”.’
Pippa invited Miranda to lunch at Neal Street Production headquarters. As we tucked in to our sandwiches, we were told that Sam Mendes – director of the latest Bond film – was auditioning girls in the room across the corridor. Peering through the glass door, we watched them trooping in and out of his office. ‘Why doesn’t he ask us?’ said Miranda, ‘We’d be much better.’ The three of us laughed a lot that day, which seemed to seal the deal – ironically, perhaps, as this would be Miranda’s first straight role. She was keen to stretch herself dramatically after the success of her eponymous sitcom. Since it was first aired on TV in 2009, Miranda has won her an army of fans and a mantelshelf full of awards.
‘Not having to get a laugh is a nice change,’ she admits. ‘Having done two series of my situation comedy, it was marvellous to do something a bit more real.’ In addition, as the writer, star and executive producer of her series, she enjoys the chance to simply focus on performance. ‘It is a huge pressure off, acting rather than writing. The writing is the hard pressure to me,’ she says ruefully, half way through writing the third series of the sit-com.
Other pleasures include being able to take her Shih-Tzu Peggy to work with her – St Joseph’s, the disused seminary where we film, has thirty acres of dog-friendly grounds – and the company of her fellow actors. There is a genuine chemistry between them all. ‘It really shows on camera, and it works off camera as well. The cast is a great mix of women who just all gelled. I love them all. It’s been lovely to work with them again, making the second series.’
Miranda does take working with tiny infants very seriously. ‘The responsibility of working with babies is great. You are holding this priceless newborn, just terrified you are going to drop them.’ She adds, ‘And they do things like wee in your glove.’
In the final episode of Series One, I wrote a line for Miranda that, when she read it in rehearsal, actually made her punch the air. Told by her mother, Lady Browne, that she must wear white for her forthcoming wedding, Chummy retorts, ‘Sorry. No longer entitled.’
She cites this as one of the best things about her role in Call the Midwife.
‘Getting the man! Now, that was a first.’
Q&A
What is your favourite outfit?
Last year I made myself a Crimplene skirt suit that I like to wear in church. There’s plenty of stretch around the derriere, so it’s frightfully comfy, even during quite long sermons.
Where do you go on holiday?
When I was a child in India, I thought there could be no more exotic place on earth than Blackpool, and I still have a soft spot for the seaside. Give me a 99 and a donkey ride, and my heart could burst with joy.
