FIRST IMPRESSIONS: CHARLOTTE GREEN
What are you working on at the moment?
I'm presenting a programme for Classic FM, called Charlotte Green’s Culture Club, which involves playing music and also interviewing various leading figures from the arts world.
When were you at your happiest?
Laughing with friends over a really good meal and good bottle or two of wine. Also, when I’m walking, particularly in beautiful landscapes like the Lake District, Scotland or Cornwall.
What is your greatest fear?
Losing my mental faculties and physical strength.
What is your earliest memory?
Being on the beach in North Cornwall. I was about four and my father was whirling me around, then he would dip me over the waves and pretend to drop me into the water.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
I have a tendency to be a bit stubborn.
Who has been your greatest influence?
Certainly my parents, who I owe a great deal to. They gave me the most wonderful childhood, really happy and full of laughter. My English teacher at school, Gloria Williams, was a tremendous influence and taught me in a way that was really fun, exciting, and stimulating. At the BBC, my mentor and great friend Laurie Macmillan.
What is your most treasured possession?
A Just William book by Richmal Crompton that was given to my father as a school prize. He gave it to me – as a child I was a real tomboy, I loved the stories. Certainly now that he is no longer around that is probably my most prized possession.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Pomposity. And a lack of ability to laugh at yourself. What do you most dislike about your appearance? My lack of an aquiline nose.
What is your favourite book?
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy.
What is your favourite film?
Some Like It Hot. I laugh at it every time I see it.
What is your favourite song or piece of music?
Brahms’ Violin Concerto.
What is your favourite meal?
Sea bass; also roast beef with all the trimmings and lots of gravy.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Emma Thompson, Simon Russell Beale, Victoria Wood, Sandi Toksvig and Roger Federer.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
I genuinely can’t remember because I really blot out negative comments.
Do you believe in aliens?
No, but I would like to keep an open mind.
What is your secret vice?
Choc ices. I keep a stash in my freezer so I am never without them.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Yes I do. I think I am quite old-fashioned in that respect. I know how much I love receiving handwritten letters from friends simply because it is fairly rare these days.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
I have caught myself saying, in response to something that is rather odd or weird, ‘that is so bizarre!’
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
My own personal hairdresser who I could ask for whenever I needed him.
Can you tell us one thing people might not know about you?
I’m quite a good mimic. It tends to be people who my friends and family know, rather than people in the public eye. I really enjoy doing it, I used to do it at school and it would get a lot of laughs. It’s not malicious, it’s done as fun.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
She was kind and she made us all laugh.
The News Is Read, by Charlotte Green, is published by The Robson Press, priced £20.
I'm presenting a programme for Classic FM, called Charlotte Green’s Culture Club, which involves playing music and also interviewing various leading figures from the arts world.
When were you at your happiest?
Laughing with friends over a really good meal and good bottle or two of wine. Also, when I’m walking, particularly in beautiful landscapes like the Lake District, Scotland or Cornwall.
What is your greatest fear?
Losing my mental faculties and physical strength.
What is your earliest memory?
Being on the beach in North Cornwall. I was about four and my father was whirling me around, then he would dip me over the waves and pretend to drop me into the water.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
I have a tendency to be a bit stubborn.
Who has been your greatest influence?
Certainly my parents, who I owe a great deal to. They gave me the most wonderful childhood, really happy and full of laughter. My English teacher at school, Gloria Williams, was a tremendous influence and taught me in a way that was really fun, exciting, and stimulating. At the BBC, my mentor and great friend Laurie Macmillan.
What is your most treasured possession?
A Just William book by Richmal Crompton that was given to my father as a school prize. He gave it to me – as a child I was a real tomboy, I loved the stories. Certainly now that he is no longer around that is probably my most prized possession.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Pomposity. And a lack of ability to laugh at yourself. What do you most dislike about your appearance? My lack of an aquiline nose.
What is your favourite book?
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy.
What is your favourite film?
Some Like It Hot. I laugh at it every time I see it.
What is your favourite song or piece of music?
Brahms’ Violin Concerto.
What is your favourite meal?
Sea bass; also roast beef with all the trimmings and lots of gravy.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Emma Thompson, Simon Russell Beale, Victoria Wood, Sandi Toksvig and Roger Federer.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
I genuinely can’t remember because I really blot out negative comments.
Do you believe in aliens?
No, but I would like to keep an open mind.
What is your secret vice?
Choc ices. I keep a stash in my freezer so I am never without them.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Yes I do. I think I am quite old-fashioned in that respect. I know how much I love receiving handwritten letters from friends simply because it is fairly rare these days.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
I have caught myself saying, in response to something that is rather odd or weird, ‘that is so bizarre!’
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
My own personal hairdresser who I could ask for whenever I needed him.
Can you tell us one thing people might not know about you?
I’m quite a good mimic. It tends to be people who my friends and family know, rather than people in the public eye. I really enjoy doing it, I used to do it at school and it would get a lot of laughs. It’s not malicious, it’s done as fun.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
She was kind and she made us all laugh.
The News Is Read, by Charlotte Green, is published by The Robson Press, priced £20.