06CITYLIVINGJUNE
INTERVIEWHE8217Sb
est
kno
wnas
one
half
of t
he
comedy
duoMel
and
Sue,the
kooky
pair
who
entert
ained
daytime v
iewers
in
Channel
48217
s
Light
Lunchand
popped
upi
n t
he
Kingsmill
ads.But
no
w
Mel
Giedroycis
going
all
bling w
itha s
taring r
ole
in
Eurobeat
The
Musical,a
s
lightly
mad s
poof
Eurovision s
ho
w
that
comes
toNewcastle8217
s
Theatre
Royali
nJuly.
Even
morecheesy
than t
he r
eal t
hing
,the
interactive s
ho
w
has
been
described
by
The
Times as
"instantly
wonderfully
funn
y,"and
"filled w
ithbroad
but
clever
satireand w
ithering
innuendo
."
Featur
ing
numbers
from t
en
competing
countr
ies,
it
even
has
a r
ecorded
introf
rom
Woganand
genuine
text
voting
from t
he
audience.
Mel
plays
the
Bosnianh
ostess
Boyka w
ho s
he
describes
as
"Nancy
Del8217Olio
meets
Bet
Lynch."
WithEasternEuropean r
oots
(her
Polish
Lithuanianf
ather
came t
oEngland
in
1947)and
being
ahuge
fano
fEurovison,M
el
didn8217
t
hesitate t
o
snap u
p t
he r
ole.
"She8217
s
basically
a s
lapper,soo
fcour
seI8217vebeen
getting
into t
he
character
for
the
last
few
months
like
Daniel
Da
y
Lewis
would,"j
okes
Mel.
"Really,she8217
s
a
bit
too
old
and
overw
eight
tobed
oing w
hat
she8217
s
doing.
"It8217s
my
birt
hday
in
June s
oI8217ll
be4
0
when
I
performi
nNewcastle,"admits
Mel.
"I8217vealways
hada
ball
in
Newcastle s
oIc
an8217
t
wait
tog
et
up t
here.
"Life
has
taken
a r
eal t
ur
nl
ately
8211I s
eem t
obe
doing
more s
ing
ing
and
hoofing!
Ieven
did
my
firs
t
pantol
ast
Christmas.
"It8217s
been
a r
iot
every
night.It8217s
the
biggest
laugh
ever
8211and
Ia
lsog
et
toh
ang
out
withl
ots
of
buff
blokes!"
As
the s
ixth s
tudent
tobe v
oted
out
of
Comic
Relief
does
Fa
me
Academ
y
last
year,M
el
has
earned
her
sing
ing s
tr
ipes
the
hard w
ay
8211and
even
gets
to
sing
anumber
in t
he s
ho
w.
"I w
on8217
t
gi
vei
t
away
but
it
in
volves
a r
oot
vegetable," s
he
laughs.
Mel w
ill
beco-hosting t
he s
ho
w
withLes
Dennis
in
Newcastle
but
as
both r
oles
aree
ssentially
job
shares,she
alsog
ets
top
erform w
ithGarethHale
of
90s
comedy
duoHale
&P
ace.
"Ifeel
like
Liz
Ta
ylor
withabout
four
husbands," s
he s
ays
.
Mel
is
best
kno
wnf
or
presenting
comedy
items
alongside
SuePerkins,who s
he
met
at
Cambridge
Univers
ity
where t
hey
bothj
oined t
he
famous
student
Footlights
troupe.
As
Mel
and
Sue t
he
duo w
ere s
hort
-listed
for
the
Daily
Express
Best
Newcomers
Awardat
the
Edinburgh
Festivali
n1
993.
The
pair
also w
rotef
or
French&S
aunders
and
hosted
alunchtim
e s
ho
w
on
Channel
4called
Light
Lunch(
and t
he
early
evening v
ers
ion,L
ateLunch).
Recently
ho
wever
they
havep
ur
sued
different
projects
.Mel
has
been
apresenter
on
Channel
48217
s
RI:SE
and
ac
ontestant
on t
he 2
005 s
eries
of
The
Games
as
well
as
co-starring
in t
he 2
005BBC
One
sitcom
Blessed.
Sue,who u
sed t
od
ateRhonaC
ameron,a
ppeared
in
Celebrity
Big
Brother
in 2
002
and
over
the
last
tw
o
years
has
wr
itten t
wof
ull-length s
tand-up s
ho
ws,
Spectacle
Wearer
of t
he
Year8217and
The
Disappoin
ting
Second
Sho
w.
"Life
has
changed
ab
it
of
late," s
ays
Mel,who
has
tw
od
aughters
Flossie,six
and
Vita,
four
."
Suen
ow
splits
her
time
betw
een
Cornwall
and
London s
o
wed
on8217
t
see
eacho
ther
as
muchbut
I8217d
r
eally
lo
ve t
o w
ork w
ithSueagain.
Wep
lan t
o s
tart
wr
iting s
omething t
ogether
and t
hen w
ee
nd u
p
in
ac
ur
ry
house t
otally
laughing
all
night
and
never
quitem
ake
it."
Juggling w
orkand
motherhood
is
alsoa
challenge
8211 s
omething
Mel
has
wr
itten
about
in
her
tw
obooks
8216From
HereTo
Ma
ternity
and
Going
Ga
Ga.
"It8217s
slightly
mental,"admits
Mel,
who8217
s
marr
ied t
oTV
director
Ben
Morr
is."
But
I8217m
lucky
that
I8217veg
ot
a
very
s
upport
iveh
usband w
ho
holds
the
fort
w
hen
I8217m
away.The
chil
dren
arecomi
ng t
o s
ee t
he
sho
w
in
Bradfordd
ur
ing
half
term,which w
ill
bef
antastic."
Sod
oesMel
ever
see
hers
elf
follo
wing
in
Hugh
Laur
ie
or
Eddie
Izzard8217
s
steps,a
nd t
aking
on
a
serious
acting
part
?
Unsur
prisingly
the
question
makes
her
laugh.
"Can
you
imagi
ne
me
ever
being
asked t
od
o s
omething
like
Cheko
v
or
Ibsen?
I8217ll
just
take w
hatever
I8217m
offered!"
As
for
the
future,M
el8217
s
sworno
ff r
eality
TV
and
is
wr
iting
afilm s
cript
8211afamily
comedy
8211 w
hich s
he
cancombine w
ithf
amily
life.
"It8217s
early
days," s
he s
ays
."
But
I8217m
beavering
away.
Writing8217
s
great
because y
ou
cand
oi
t
anywhere."
Eurobeat
The
Musicalcome
s
to t
he
TheatreRoyal,
Newcastle
from
July
7th-12th(
evenings
Mon-Thur
7.30pm,F
ri8
.30pm,S
at
8pm,matinees
Fri5
.30pm,
Sa
t
5pm
).
Ticke
ts
cost
from
163
7.50.Box
office:08448
112
121.
Name:
Mel
Giedroyc
Age:
39
Ha
ve y
ou
ever
been
mistaken
for
another
celebrity?
Toni
Colette,whichI
was
really
chuffed
about.
What8217s
your
favour
iteEurovison
song?
Not
wanting t
obe t
oo
nationalistic,
anything
by
the
Brits
.Lynsey
de
Pa
uland
the
Fizz
spring t
om
ind.
What
are y
ou
most
proudo
f?
My
children.
They8217reabsoluted
iamonds
and
suchalaugh.
What8217s
the w
ors
t
job y
ou8217vee
ver
had?
Igot
paid 2
0panh
our
when
I w
as
about
11
by
my
brother
and
his
mates
toh
elp
them r
eno
vateano
ld
barge.
It
was
highly
unsafe
and
probably
illegal.
Who w
ould
be y
our
ideald
inner
part
y
guests?
The w
hole
cast
of
SpinalTa
p.
How
would y
our
friends
describe
you?
Anno
ying
,goofy,pers
istent
and
a
tosser!MEL
IN
AN
UTSHELLEURO
VISION
IS
COMING
TO
NEWCASTLE!KA
REN
WILSON
SPEAKS
TO
COMEDIAN
AND
WRIT
ER
MEL
GIEDRO
YC
AB
OUT
HER
LA
TE
ST
CH
EE
SY
RO
LE
.S
E
U
R
O
D
I
V
A
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