Interviews

Vicki Michelle stars in Out of Order

Allo - it's Vicki!

The Ray Cooney farce 'Out of Order' is described as presenting "mayhem and murder at Westminster"! It sounds like an ordinary day in Parliament really - but as one of its stars explains, politics merely provides a setting for some hilarious comedy.
"If people said to me 'it's about a politician' my immediate reaction would be 'Oh my god, it's going to be boring'" says Vicki Michelle, who plays MP's wife Mrs Willey in the production.

"But the politics side of things is just incidental to the story."

"It's classic farce but the situation he [Ray Cooney] has created is excellent" she adds.

And if there's anybody who knows about comedy it's Vicki. She shot to fame when she played the sexy French waitress Yvette in the classic BBC comedy series 'Allo 'Allo and has worked with such greats as Dick Emery, Kenny Everett, Ken Dodd, Les Dawson, The Two Ronnies, Bobby Davro, and Lenny Henry to name but a few. Then there are appearances in Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads, The Goodies, Come Back Mrs Noah and Are You Being Served.

Out of Order

Her latest venture arrives at the Gordon Craig Theatre this week and joining Vicki in the mayhem are Giles Watling (Bread), Barry Howard and Scott Wright (Coronation Street). And as Patron of the Gordon Craig Theatre Club, Vicki also promises that the audience will be laughing in the aisles as the political disaster unfolds.

"I don't want to give too much away" she says.

"But Junior Government Minister Richard Willey is in London for a meeting with Tony Blair. I play his wife Mrs Willey - which makes you laugh to start with!

"Unknown to me, he is about to embark on an affair with Michael Howard's secretary, and unknown to him, I'm on my way to London!

"Then they find a dead body!" she adds. "After that there are twists and turns and general mayhem. It's farce, so everybody is trying not to be caught out doing what they're not supposed to.

"The energy is incredible. Everybody must give 200 per cent. It's very fast - you have to come in a door as soon as a line finishes so you have to pre-empt everything. It's mad but it's written so brilliantly."

This comedy was first in the West End in the late 80s and was written during the time of a Conservative government, so for this tour it has been updated to include the names of more recent prominent politicians and surprise, surprise - it still works as a comedy!

Vicki with the fellow cast of 'Allo'Allo

What's clear is that this is probably a good show to go and see at a time when laughs in politics, and life in general for that matter, are often few and far between.

"Yes, audiences love it" agrees Vicki. "It's great. We haven't had a bad crit yet and we've been on the road for six months.

"There are some big laughs during it, but there you can also hear people just chuckling all the way through, which is lovely.

"People are really laughing and they say to me afterwards that they haven't really laughed for years. I just don't think there's enough good comedy on TV anymore."

This of course is the perfect excuse to talk about the show that made her famous. For appearing in all nine series of 'Allo 'Allo makes Vicki well qualified to talk about what she thinks makes good TV comedy.

The war time comedy set amongst the French Resistance is still being shown on satellite channels in this country and around the world and keeps Vicki as popular as ever.

"Yes -people still come up to me now" she laughs. "It seems that EVERYBODY is watching it on UK Gold. They say to me they had forgotten how funny it was, and I still get tonnes of fan mail - it's great!"

Fun and frolics in Nazi-occupied France may not have seemed a likely topic for humour, but the show's premise was not to make fun of the war, but to spoof war-based film and TV dramas, and in particular a BBC1 drama about the resistance movement, Secret Army.

It has since become a bit of a phenomenon, being a hit both in this country and internationally with a stage version that enjoyed a successful West End run and national tour. More recently the TV series came an impressive 13th in the BBC's Nation's Favourite sitcom poll.

Vicki has clear ideas about what made it so popular, and hopes that production companies will go back to making the kind of comedy that the whole family can enjoy.

"'Allo Allo was one of those sitcoms that are timeless" she explains. "Probably because it was set in the war. And it now has a new generation of fans as kids watch with their mums and dads.

"Added to that, the writing was fantastic, there were excellent scripts" she continues.

"And it was a family show, everyone sat down together to watch it and it was on at the right time of night.

"You could come in from work and have a laugh whereas now you just find out how to buy a property or do some gardening!

"I'm not really complaining though" she says quickly. "I like gardening!"

She goes onto explain that there were other factors in its popularity including a plethora of main characters and comedy that appealled to all ages.

"There were about 15 main characters and every one of them was strong so you could always find one that appealed to you” she says.

"But of course, there was also the riskiness of the double entendre for the mums and dads to laugh at while the kids just laughed at the situations!" she adds, before bemoaning the lack of family entertainment on TV nowadays.

"We need more of those family shows now, although I do think things are turning around" she says.

Vicki in her typical saucy attire

"There was a phase when TV was trying to go for the 15-25 audience on a Friday and Saturday evening but they're not in at that time! They're out meeting people so it's the mums dads and kids that should be catered for!

We [me and my family] sit down together to watch things like 'X-Factor' and 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' but those kinds of shows are few and far between.

"I wish they'd bring back variety shows like Sunday night at the London Palladium and also produce comedy without swearing. You don't have to swear to make people laugh!"

For all Vicki's well-founded comedy knowledge, she does admit that she'd like to take on more serious parts sometimes. But despite coming close to one in a major film role, she reveals that it's hard to get people to see you another way.

"I'd like to do some dramatic roles because I'm trained as an actress" she says. "But I've got into that comedy slot and it's sometimes difficult to get people to see the other side of you.

"I got down to the last two to play the wife in the film 'Sexy Beast'" she reveals. "It was disappointing not to get it, but it was good that the producers and director saw me as a dramatic actress.

"But I'd like to do something new, something feisty.

“I play baddies in panto and I love playing those” continues Vicki, who is also due to return to the part of the rather nasty Miss Hannigan in Annie after Out of Order finishes its tour.

“People really hate me in those parts so a decent baddie role would be excellent!"

She feels that as she gets older people take her more seriously, but then again, when she thinks about it, maybe comedy is more fun!

"It would be nice to do more dramatic roles but then when you do that on TV people tend to hate you rather than love you and I'm rather used to being liked!" she jokes. "And there's nothing better than making people laugh!"

Vicki now works constantly but admits that she has suffered her fair share of knock backs and is quick to give sound advice for those thinking of taking up the profession.

"It's hard" she says. "You have to suffer rejection and handle it. You can't take it personally but if the director doesn't see you in the part, say he wants a blonde and not a brunette, then you won't get it. You just have to get over it.

"I just used to say 'oh well - their loss'" she laughs.

She also feels that it's important to have other skills to use when you are not working. Vicki says that she did a secretarial course and now she and her sisters run their own company called Trading Faces, which supply after-dinner and motivational speakers. She also reveals that one famous 'Allo 'Allo face could have turned up at your house while he was 'resting'!

"It's important to get another string to your bow so that you have something to fall back on" she says.

"Even when doing 'Allo 'Allo they didn't pay you a fortune. There were only eight episodes a year and a large cast so they couldn't pay you that much.

"I remember Richard Gibson who used to play Herr Flick did painting and decorating in between to survive!"

So back to today, why should people come and see Out of Order?

“You'll just love it” she says. “It’s got a good script and a strong cast.

“Even the person who plays the dead body gets a great reception - because it's very difficult to play a dead body!”