"I'd Be Way Too Uptight For Strictly"
Now Magazine, February 2009
The Mistresses star on reality TV, affairs and the joys of motherhood
Sharon Small is running late. But it’s not her fault. The busy mum to Leo, two, and eight-month-old Zac with her partner Dan, 35, is balancing babies with filming for TV drama Mistresses, which returns next week. ‘You try to give them cereal and they don’t want it, so they throw milk all over you!’ Says Sharon of the hectic morning she’s had before meeting Now in London. Once she’s settled with a cup of tea, the 41-year-old actress is ready for a good old chat.
Do you a have tight-knit group of friends like Mistresses’ Trudi?
I do, but I don’t see them as regularly as she does. I’ve got college girlfriends, my mother’s group and acting friends who I’ve picked up along the way. I’ve got lots of different group of friends.
Who’s your best celeb mate?
It was David Tennant, but now he’s so famous I don’t see him as much. We go way back.
Have you changed much since you became a mum?
Oh, completely! I’m such a baby bore. They take up so many hours of your day that it’s hard to find time to do the other things that you’d find interesting. But I’m loving discovering life again through children’s eyes. Leo’s personality is really starting to show and he’s becoming more independent. It’s hard, but it’s good fun, too.
How do you keep in shape?
I’m doing a bit of Davina McCall’s DVD at the moment, but I went to a personal trainer before I started filming Mistresses. I had to go to the gym about five weeks before we started and really work hard. I dropped about a stone, but I look huge at the start of the series and get a little bit smaller as it goes on.
Would you ever do a reality show?
I like Strictly Come Dancing because you learn a skill and I’d love to do that. But I don’t think I’ve got the personality for it – I’d be way too uptight. I’d hate it if no one voted for me.
How would your friends describe you in five words?
Disorganised, apologetic, funny, happy and a perfectionist.
Are you more like Trudi or your Inspector Lynley Mysteries character Barbara?
Trudi because I’m a mum and we have the same lifestyles. I’m not as morally judgemental as or as naïve as her, though. Barbara was very separate, in a way. She only really had Lynley to play with and that was very limited.
How close are you to the other Mistresses stars?
Very. We have lots of girly catch-ups. We’ve grown much closer during this series because we’ve been sharing an apartment block and spend a lot of time together in our homes. At night someone will always say: ‘Right, I’m opening a bottle of wine. Come on up!’
Do you watch yourself on TV?
I find it hard, but there’s a weird fascination to finding out if I got it right. I do like to study that.
Where’s the most unusual place you’ve ever been recognised?
One time in the Maldives, way out in the tropics. There were like 20 people on the island and someone came up to me and said: ‘I know you.’
Would you ever move to Hollywood?
I’d have to have done that at 21. It’s much harder for women doing the Hollywood thing because you have to be exceptionally beautiful. I couldn’t compete with that – I’m a character actress.
What was the last romantic thing Dan did for you?
One day I came back from filming and he gave me this little box with a beautiful handmade ring in it. He’s more romantic than I am.
What would you do if he ever cheated?
I don’t think I could cope with it – not now that we have children. When you have kids, you have to think what’s in the best interest of everyone really. Emotionally it would be really hard. But you never know until it happens.
How do you like to unwind?
I watch TV – with a big glass of wine, obviously! I love American dramas, like The Wire.
When did you last cry?
Every single day since I’ve had children. Dan just looks at me and thinks: ‘Here she goes again!’ I cry about stuff that’s going on in the news, but about happy things, too.
What makes you angry?
People who pee on the toilet seat. A friend told me the other day that she’s a ‘hoverer’. I said: ‘No! We can’t be friends any more.’ [Laughs]
Who would you snog, marry and kill out of Brad Pitt, Louis Walsh and Prince Charles?
I’d snog and marry Brad Pitt. I can’t kill anyone – sorry. Brad all the way, please!
