Some well-known faces describe the earliest steps in their arts and showbiz careers…
WORDS: CLAIRE SAUL PICTURES: SHUTTERSTOCK
Paternal Pride
Television and stage star Brian Conley made a memorable first performance.
“I have been told that when I was about 2 and a half and my family were staying at a holiday camp, I went up onto the stage and pretended to go to the toilet behind the trombonist! My first real memories of performing were in talent competitions and drama clubs. Then of course, when I went to the Barbara Speake Stage School there were a lot more.
“My father had a great operatic voice, but he never took it anywhere professionally. He worked at the BBC for 25 years as a rigger supervisor after being a cabbie in his early life, so I used to go and see all the shows and I just got used to being in a television studio and seeing all that.
“I used to mimic his operatic voice as a very young child. I was very much encouraged by my father, he saw himself in me.”
Designs On Life
Interior designer Linda Barker comes from a creative family, her siblings also having carved careers in areas such as garden design, ceramics and art.
“I think it was my mum’s influence really. She was quite creative when we were growing up, and I think that it all stems from there. For me, it was a given that I would have a career in art, it was always a really strong subject.
“I kind of stumbled into interior design, I suppose, when I got my first flat and did it up and then a magazine saw it and featured it. It was in the 80s and it was all about paint effects, big scale painting, all that kind of stuff, quite close to what I was doing at art college. It was an easy route for me and I really enjoyed it and sort of took it on from there.
“It was a kind of happy accident.”
Striking The Right Note
“It was a musical household, in that most members of my family sang in the church choir at some point and my parents both loved to sing at family parties,” says classical singer Katherine Jenkins.
“Apparently, my grandmother on my father’s side was a mezzo-soprano. She used to sing solo in the local chapel, but she died before I was born.
“My father believed in my talent and thought that if I was dedicated enough, it would happen. And it was not until I was much older that I actually realised how amazing th
