Bonnie Langford (59) talks about being a child star, revisiting Doctor Who, meeting a ghost and her stage role in Old Friends
WORDS: ALISON JAMES IMAGES: SHUTTERSTOCK
● I have no regrets about being a child star. I had a fantastic time. But I am glad it was then and not now, because it would be very different with social media.
● The trickiest period was in my 20s. I was doing 42nd Street and I was physically exhausted. My body was all over the shop, and I was going on stage thinking, “This is not making me happy any more.” I wasn’t a baby any more. I didn’t want to be “Bubbly Bonnie Langford”, but I didn’t know how to be anything else. I couldn’t reinvent myself through sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll because I just wasn’t that sort of person. So, I just ploughed on and weathered it.
● The theatre is the gift that keeps on giving. If you had told me in the 1980s that I’d still be working all these years later, I might not have believed you. I am just very happy to be working and having such fun. Particularly on something like Old Friends. It is nourishing, and I love it – but I’ve also always believed that it’s just as important to go to Sainsbury’s and walk the dog.
● I like being part of a company ensemble.
Everyone gets their moment in Old Friends but we are very much an ensemble, all supporting each other. It is very full-on – the amount of music we’ve had to learn is phenomenal, and any ego has to be set aside. It’s great fun, too.
Old Friends is at the Gielgud Theatre, London until January 6, 2024 (sondheimoldfriends.com)
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