DEREK MARTIN
A man you'll want to meet
ACTOR Derek Martin, widely known as Charlie Slater from BBC TV's Eastenders, is a man you can easily talk to, so we did and it proved fascinating.
Derek, real name Derek Rapp, is bringing his one-man show to Whitehaven's Rosehill Theatre, on Friday July 15, and it will be his first ever trip to the area. Our editor, CHRIS BREEN, spoke to him at his Hatfield, Hertfordshire, home.
CB: Are you looking forward to coming here and will you be able to see much of the area?
DM: Yes and I'm bringing my son, David, to share the driving I'll try and see a bit en route but we'll have to get back the following day to our dog, Giles. He has the run of the house, because he saved my son's life. David developed agoraphobia when he was 18 and couldn't even go out. He was advised to get a dog and picked "Giles," a pedigree mongrel, from Battersea Dogs' Home. It worked because he was David's dog and he had to look after him...and go out... but Giles is getting on a bit now; he has the run of the house and gets what he wants because I believe he saved David's life.
CB: So what can we expect in the show?
DM: In the first half DJ and interviewer, Paul Harris, from BBC Radio Kent, will interview me about my life and in the second half there will a chance for anyone to ask me about anything...no holds barred.
CB: With two failed marriages you've had your share of troubles.
DM: Yes, I have only ever been drunk twice, both times over women and the drink didn't help
CB: Over the years we've seen your Eastenders character, Charlie Slater, face tough challenges, from losing his licence for drink-driving (ironic since Derek himself hardly ever drinks) to supporting his daughter through the horror of domestic abuse but why did Stacey Slater's struggle with bipolar disorder affect you most?
DM: Because one of my twin sons, David suffered terrible depression for 12 years and that really resonated with me. Having personal experience of mental illness made acting it both harder and easier. I was thinking about David the whole time. By speaking out we hope to encourage other families affected by mental illness to fight stigma and seek help.
CB: So will there be any topics you won't talk about at Rosehill? DM: Not really.
CB: How did you get into acting?
DM: I was a meat porter at Smithfield Market, when I was accused of a £10,000 scam but I was acquitted at The Old Bailey after a trial. Afterwards someone said I should take up acting and someone else said that the coppers would try and fit me up because I got off. So I decided it was time for a career change. I visited a cafe where actors met; got some agents' contact details; and told them I had performed in repertory theatre in obscure towns where I had served in the RAF. I got a job as an extra for three guineas a day; my first job was in Z-Cars and when I walked out afterwards I said "Yes!" this IS what I want to do.
CB: What then?
DM: I decided to become a stuntman and but after falling off a horse and breaking my collar bone in "Elizabeth R" I moved into acting full time; got my first big break in 1977 playing a leading character in the controversial series "Law and Order".
CB: But now you're best known as an Eastender and you are a real Cockney too aren't you?
DM: Oh yes. I was born at Bowe and lived near the East India docks. We were bombed twice during the war. The house was flattened each time. We were in the air raid shelter at the bottom of the garden every night. I can still remember hearing the bomb coming and to this day I can't stand the smell of candles because we used them every night in the shelter. The second time was towards the end of the war, 1944, when a doodlebug (V1 rocket) hit our house. My dad was on duty nearby, heard it coming and dashed home to find the house flattened. He knew I was out but thought my mother was home and was very relieved to find she had gone out. My dad was a fireman and won The British Empire Medal helping fight the fires in The Blitz. He was a lunatic but I was with him and met King George VI when he was presented with his medal.
CB: So what do you do to relax? I like darts, snooker, golf and football. I've always been a Chelsea supporter. I'm also huge film buff, films of all nationalities. I have over 800 CDs/films
CB: So who is your favourite footballer?
DM: Surprisingly Sunderland's Len Shackleton. I saw him play at Chelsea. He'd be right at the top today. The tricks he could perform with those heavy leather balls and big boots! Phenomenal!
CB: Your favourite film and actor? DW: On the Waterfront, starring Marlon Brando.
CB: And dare I mention retirement after your recent replacement knee operations?
DW: I don't want to retire... I love it too much. It's taken me all over the world at someone else's expense and Old actors don't retire they just fade away! But I recommend anyone who needs knee replacement not to delay!
CB: So is there anywhere you haven't been that you want go?
DW: Hollywood...not to work I'd just like to see it, take the bus tour and see the stars homes etc. Yes, Hollywood, but the nearest I've got so far is Borehamwood, where they shoot Eastenders!
....and in an hour long interview there was lots more to tell but you'd better go and ask Derek yourselves when he come to Rosehill, on July 15. Among other things, has been a professional gambler, an RAF policeman stationed at the Dambusters' base, and a brewery worker and he can talk the hind legs off a donkey...His reminiscences are fascinating, he's charming, entertaining and witty. His book, An East End Story, My Life, by Derek Martin, makes riveting reading... but God knows what my phone bill will be like.
