well, it was a very normal, i guess, suburban house, semi—detached, in nuneaton. erm...e. i mean, i cared passionately about the theatre from having been in the school play the tempest at age 11, as a nymph or something. and i don't know, i just got the bug. there was a rep company that came to nuneaton three days a week, this is the late �*40s, early �*50s, and it's... ..it became what i was obsessed by. on this cultural life, i ask my guest to nominate the people, places, the experiences, the works, cultural works that have had a direct influence on their own creativity. and your first choice is perhaps surprising. you've nominated a week that you spent in blackpool in the 1940s, seeing variety shows on the pier. who did you see? yes, once a year. we went for a week in blackpool and blackpool was at its height. this is the, the late �*40s, we might have gone, even gone during the war, i don't remember. it was the great comics of the time, jewel and warriss, ethel revnell and gracie west, nat jackley, albert modley and donald peers, the singer. it was a great experience