Alex Kingston is just what the doctor ordered!
Whew! What a week that was. I was glued to the telly waiting for the final result. The agony. The ecstasy. Sadly, my lottery numbers didn’t come up.
The best way to cure last week’s case of acute referendum fever was to call a doctor or the next best thing.
Alex Kingston, star of ER and Doctor Who, came over to the house for a cuppa, a well-fired roll and a natter.
She was talking about her new ITV show, Chasing Shadows, opposite Reece Shearsmith and her old pal Noel Clarke.
Alex and Noel were Tardis-botherers for a few years, and she played the iconic role of roguish space adventurer River Song.
Way before that, she was Dr Elizabeth Corday in long-running medical drama ER.
She must have LOVED playing doctors and nurses as a youngster. I did but I always ended up being the ambulance driver!
Alex is a neighbour of mine in Hollywood, so we thought it would be a good idea to meet up.
Not long after shoving the old magazines under the couch and giving the front room a blast of air freshener, Alex arrived looking lovely.
That’s despite the commute to London from LA to film Chasing Shadows.
“It’s the longest commute I’ve ever done,” she explained. “I’ve been back and forth three times in the last few month. That’s a long way to go. I’m hoping for a rest just to give my body a break! The jet lag is something else.”
I’m a fan of Chasing Shadows and reckon we’ll see more episodes soon. Co-star Reece Shearsmith, is formerly of the creepy comedy The League Of Gentlemen. It’s an odd coupling, but the chemistry is good.
“What I liked about this script is that, as much as it’s about solving crime, it’s also about the relationship,” Alex said.
“My character is an analyst with the missing persons bureau, but it’s a desk job. She’s not a detective, she’s a civil servant. Reece’s character is a detective but he has problems with social skills.
“He’s on the Asperger’s spectrum. So this department has been created to give him one last chance. My character’s skill is people. Her job is to understand and give him the freedom to solve these mysteries.”
Alex’s roles have been quite varied one minute she’s solving crimes, the next trading barbs with a Dalek. But she’s not a deep character study when it comes to acting.
“I’m not a method actor,” she pondered. “I go with my instincts. When I read a script it’s instantaneous I’ll feel a connection or not. I have to feel it deep within me rather than put it upon myself.”
Alex is quite an easy-going character, she’s quite an elegant and serene figure.
“I’ve haven’t had a game plan in my career,” she added. “I’ve not plodded along, but I’ve never been pushy either. I feel that what will be will be.
“Sometimes I’ll be disappointed but there’s no point in getting het up about it. Life’s too short and I’ve been amazingly lucky anyway. I’ve done alright for being a plodder!”
Alex, who’s 51 now, started off in Grange Hill in 1980, and she can’t quite believe how far she’s come.
“I was doing a theatre job back in Manchester when a colleague recommended I go to see this medium she knew,” she added.
“She told me I would move to another part of the world. Somewhere hot and dry California or Australia. And that I’d work with someone called George. At the time I thought, ‘What a lot of rubbish’.”
Of course Alex went on to appear alongside George Clooney in ER. I had to ask if she’d had an invite to George’s forthcoming wedding to lawyer Amal Alamuddin. Unfortunately not!
“We don’t keep in touch. My daughter asked, ‘Mummy, why don’t you get invited?’” Alex laughed.
“But George has got more important friends than me!”
Funny, Alex I haven’t been sent one yet either…
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