Thursday 11 December 2003
Sheridan attends Jerry Springer The Opera
Sheridan attended "Jerry Springer" The Opera - Opening Night on November 10, 2003 at the Cambridge Theatre, London. She was there with her Two Pints of Lager co-stars, Ralf Little, Will Mellor, Kathryn Drysdale and Natalie Casey.
Friday 15 August 2003
Telly talk: Off to bingo with a bump
SHERIDAN Smith has enjoyed one of the longest pregnant pauses in the history of television.
The third series of Wythenshawe-set The Royle Family saw the engagement of her character, Emma, to Antony, played by Bury's Ralf Little.
"And then in the Christmas special Emma was expecting," explains Sheridan. "But we never got to find out what happened because that's when the series finished."
Now Sheridan's pregnant on screen again - as number checker Sandy in Eyes Down, a new sitcom which begins on BBC1 at 9pm tonight. "She's not the brightest spark and doesn't really understand what the pregnancy entails.
"It's been very weird running around with a bump. A prosthetic tummy has been made for me, which is so real. It even has my little mole next to my belly button."
Has it made her broody? "No it hasn't," she laughs. "It's done the opposite. No thank you, not just yet. I've got a long time to wait."
At 22, the Yorkshire-born actress is happily single and looking to swap a full house for a place of her own. When she first moved down to London she set up a flat-share with fellow teenage actress, Hannah Spearritt.
Hannah went on to fame with pop band S Club and recently moved out to set up home with former group member Paul Cattermole, who left before the group split up earlier this year.
"They've bought a place together, but it's only down the road, so I still see lots of her. I've lived there since I was 16, so now I think it's time to buy a place of my own.
"I had a big party when I was 21. Hannah was in Barcelona filming with the band but she flew back to surprise me. I was in tears."
Sheridan's mum, Madeleine, and dad, Mark, perform in northern clubs and pubs as a country and western duo called The Daltons. It wasn't long before the showbusiness bug bit Sheridan. "I was dancing from the age of four and singing with my mum and dad when I was about seven."
Debut
At 14, she made her professional debut in Annie at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, alongside Coronation Street star John Savident as Daddy Warbucks. Three years later, she made her first TV appearance in Granada's Dark Ages.
"The director of that went on to do The Royle Family and put me forward for it. I went along and met Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash, read for the part of Emma and got it, which I was over the moon about. I'd watched the first series and loved it."
She's since teamed up again with Ralf as Janet and Jonny in three series of Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps (BBC2, Monday, 9.30pm) as well as roles in dramas like Anchor Me, Blood Strangers and Fat Friends.
The latter saw her guest starring as a young woman who bullied a garden centre worker, played by Lisa Riley. "It was very weird at first when I knew it was Lisa that I was going to 'bully'. I'm so small - 5ft 2ins - and I wondered whether it was going to be feasible. But it's words, isn't it? It's often the little ones who are the terrors."
Her research for Eyes Down included a trip to the local Mecca. "I'd never been to bingo before. I didn't realise how seriously people take it. It was just unbelievable.
"On the night we went, they did a link and teamed up with lots of other bingo halls and played for loads of money - but the link wasn't working and there was uproar. One woman was shouting: 'It's scandalous.'
"I didn't win the bingo, but I won £25 on the bandits. I got my membership card through the post the other day. I haven't been back yet - but I will."
The third series of Wythenshawe-set The Royle Family saw the engagement of her character, Emma, to Antony, played by Bury's Ralf Little.
"And then in the Christmas special Emma was expecting," explains Sheridan. "But we never got to find out what happened because that's when the series finished."
Now Sheridan's pregnant on screen again - as number checker Sandy in Eyes Down, a new sitcom which begins on BBC1 at 9pm tonight. "She's not the brightest spark and doesn't really understand what the pregnancy entails.
"It's been very weird running around with a bump. A prosthetic tummy has been made for me, which is so real. It even has my little mole next to my belly button."
Has it made her broody? "No it hasn't," she laughs. "It's done the opposite. No thank you, not just yet. I've got a long time to wait."
At 22, the Yorkshire-born actress is happily single and looking to swap a full house for a place of her own. When she first moved down to London she set up a flat-share with fellow teenage actress, Hannah Spearritt.
Hannah went on to fame with pop band S Club and recently moved out to set up home with former group member Paul Cattermole, who left before the group split up earlier this year.
"They've bought a place together, but it's only down the road, so I still see lots of her. I've lived there since I was 16, so now I think it's time to buy a place of my own.
"I had a big party when I was 21. Hannah was in Barcelona filming with the band but she flew back to surprise me. I was in tears."
Sheridan's mum, Madeleine, and dad, Mark, perform in northern clubs and pubs as a country and western duo called The Daltons. It wasn't long before the showbusiness bug bit Sheridan. "I was dancing from the age of four and singing with my mum and dad when I was about seven."
Debut
At 14, she made her professional debut in Annie at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, alongside Coronation Street star John Savident as Daddy Warbucks. Three years later, she made her first TV appearance in Granada's Dark Ages.
"The director of that went on to do The Royle Family and put me forward for it. I went along and met Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash, read for the part of Emma and got it, which I was over the moon about. I'd watched the first series and loved it."
She's since teamed up again with Ralf as Janet and Jonny in three series of Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps (BBC2, Monday, 9.30pm) as well as roles in dramas like Anchor Me, Blood Strangers and Fat Friends.
The latter saw her guest starring as a young woman who bullied a garden centre worker, played by Lisa Riley. "It was very weird at first when I knew it was Lisa that I was going to 'bully'. I'm so small - 5ft 2ins - and I wondered whether it was going to be feasible. But it's words, isn't it? It's often the little ones who are the terrors."
Her research for Eyes Down included a trip to the local Mecca. "I'd never been to bingo before. I didn't realise how seriously people take it. It was just unbelievable.
"On the night we went, they did a link and teamed up with lots of other bingo halls and played for loads of money - but the link wasn't working and there was uproar. One woman was shouting: 'It's scandalous.'
"I didn't win the bingo, but I won £25 on the bandits. I got my membership card through the post the other day. I haven't been back yet - but I will."
Monday 7 July 2003
Eyes Down - Sheridan Smith is Sandy
"I liked her straight away," says Sheridan Smith about Sandy, the pregnant character she plays in Eyes Down. "She is so sweet and endearing; she's just young and naïve.
"I've played other roles in the past which are streetwise and naughty, so it was fantastic to get inside the character of someone completely different to who I am and what I've done before.
"I've played other roles in the past which are streetwise and naughty, so it was fantastic to get inside the character of someone completely different to who I am and what I've done before.
"Sandy's job is to run over with a microphone in her hand and check that people's bingo claims are genuine. She has a boyfriend, 'My Terry', and they're a really sweet couple.
"She just gets it wrong over and over again and says the most stupid things.
"I really wanted to try and capture her. And I love this kind of comedy."
Sheridan - who is best known for her roles as Janet in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and as Emma in The Royle Family - not only had to overcome the temptation to burst into laughter during filming but also get used to playing a heavily pregnant lady.
"It's been very weird running around with a bump. A prosthetic tummy has been made for me, which is so real - it even has my little mole next to my belly button.
"People have been coming up and asking me if I've been getting broody, but it's actually making me go the other way.
"It's bizarre wandering around with a big bump in front of me, but it's a new challenge."
Another challenge for Sheridan has been affecting her accent.
"I was told that I could keep my Manchester accent, but because there are so many Scousers in the cast I wanted to be a Scouser too.
"As it happens, I did a production of The People are Friendly at the Royal Court with Michelle Butterly, who plays Pamela in Eyes Down.
"The play was set in Birkenhead, which meant that I had to do a Scouse accent for that, so I decided to stick with it for this too.
"I'm quite nervous as to what genuine Scousers might say, but I think it's worked pretty well."
On the set of Eyes Down, Sheridan was the baby of the group, which was a cause of trepidation at first.
"I had no idea that Michelle Butterly had auditioned for and got the part of Pamela in Eyes Down.
"Once Michelle heard the part was hers, she sent me a text message, and it really cheered me up.
"I was so reassured having someone I knew at the read-through, because they're such scary things to do.
"But even the read-through here was fine because everyone was just so friendly."
Now, however, Sheridan is clearly relishing working with the Eyes Down cast, irrespective of the age differences.
"This is a truly great bunch of actors; I'm having such a laugh.
"After the first read-through, we all went to the pub and bonded, and it really wasn't long before we all clicked.
"Of course, I was apprehensive at the first recording. When I started with studio audiences, I always found it a bit weird, because you want to play to the audience and yet the cameras are right there on top of you, so it's a mixture of both disciplines - it takes lot of getting used to.
"I get really nervous before recording and I start biting my nails. But once I'm out there, I love it. Seeing the enjoyment on people's faces is brilliant."
One thing which her upbringing didn't teach her were the ins and outs of bingo playing, something which Sheridan is now making up for.
"I went to bingo with some of the cast," Sheridan says.
"It's unbelievable how seriously everyone takes it. I'd never been before, and so you think it's a bit far fetched when you hear all the stories of superstition and luck, but they're all true.
"On the night I went there was a lady who made some man move because he was sat in her lucky seat. We were having such a laugh.
"I didn't win the bingo, but I won £25 on the bandits. I was about three numbers behind - it was really hard to keep up.
"I have a bingo card now and I'm a bingo member, so I can go to anytime, any place. It's so addictive. I don't have time to go now, but it'd be fun to go again in the future."
"She just gets it wrong over and over again and says the most stupid things.
"I really wanted to try and capture her. And I love this kind of comedy."
Sheridan - who is best known for her roles as Janet in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and as Emma in The Royle Family - not only had to overcome the temptation to burst into laughter during filming but also get used to playing a heavily pregnant lady.
"It's been very weird running around with a bump. A prosthetic tummy has been made for me, which is so real - it even has my little mole next to my belly button.
"People have been coming up and asking me if I've been getting broody, but it's actually making me go the other way.
"It's bizarre wandering around with a big bump in front of me, but it's a new challenge."
Another challenge for Sheridan has been affecting her accent.
"I was told that I could keep my Manchester accent, but because there are so many Scousers in the cast I wanted to be a Scouser too.
"As it happens, I did a production of The People are Friendly at the Royal Court with Michelle Butterly, who plays Pamela in Eyes Down.
"The play was set in Birkenhead, which meant that I had to do a Scouse accent for that, so I decided to stick with it for this too.
"I'm quite nervous as to what genuine Scousers might say, but I think it's worked pretty well."
On the set of Eyes Down, Sheridan was the baby of the group, which was a cause of trepidation at first.
"I had no idea that Michelle Butterly had auditioned for and got the part of Pamela in Eyes Down.
"Once Michelle heard the part was hers, she sent me a text message, and it really cheered me up.
"I was so reassured having someone I knew at the read-through, because they're such scary things to do.
"But even the read-through here was fine because everyone was just so friendly."
Now, however, Sheridan is clearly relishing working with the Eyes Down cast, irrespective of the age differences.
"This is a truly great bunch of actors; I'm having such a laugh.
"After the first read-through, we all went to the pub and bonded, and it really wasn't long before we all clicked.
"Of course, I was apprehensive at the first recording. When I started with studio audiences, I always found it a bit weird, because you want to play to the audience and yet the cameras are right there on top of you, so it's a mixture of both disciplines - it takes lot of getting used to.
"I get really nervous before recording and I start biting my nails. But once I'm out there, I love it. Seeing the enjoyment on people's faces is brilliant."
One thing which her upbringing didn't teach her were the ins and outs of bingo playing, something which Sheridan is now making up for.
"I went to bingo with some of the cast," Sheridan says.
"It's unbelievable how seriously everyone takes it. I'd never been before, and so you think it's a bit far fetched when you hear all the stories of superstition and luck, but they're all true.
"On the night I went there was a lady who made some man move because he was sat in her lucky seat. We were having such a laugh.
"I didn't win the bingo, but I won £25 on the bandits. I was about three numbers behind - it was really hard to keep up.
"I have a bingo card now and I'm a bingo member, so I can go to anytime, any place. It's so addictive. I don't have time to go now, but it'd be fun to go again in the future."
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