HATTIE HAYRIDGE Hattie Hayridge has for several years been a successful comedienne on the 'alternative circuit'. She was recently on our TV screens as Holly, the computer in Red Dwarf. Shortly before series three went out, we caught up with Hattie at a cabaret in Nottingham.
Oct: Were you a fan of Red Dwarf before you joined the series?
HH: I hadn't watched it very much, no. When out doing this around the country you tend not to watch TV unless you remember to set the video days in advance. Norman Lovett lent me the videos of the series and after that I was a fan.
Oct: How is the changeover of Holly's face done, because you don't look much like Norman Lovett?
HH: Thank you. I don't know if I can say really. There is not an entire episode on it, only about 5 seconds explanation on it. A clue is that the first episode of the third series would be episode 13.
Oct: You are not continuing the character of the female Holly, you're taking over the role in the male universe?
HH: That's right, we don't go off into another universe, it's exactly the same except it1s me instead of Norman.
Oct: How closely do you keep Holly's mannerism to what Norman had created?
HH: I guess it will probably seem quite similar. I am often described as a female Norman Lovett, I'm not trying to be him but I think the two Hollys will seem quite similar.
Oct: As you are so similar in style to Norman Lovett, did you have to audition for the part or did they think 'Hattie Hayridge is a dead ringer for Norman'?
HH: I did audition for it because I had been in before as Hilly and they thought it may cause some confusion. They auditioned for three days, trying people with totally different styles, mainly women comedy actresses, to try and make it totally different.
Oct: When the filming was taking place you were stuck in a box away from the main set. Did you ever get lonely?
HH: Yes. The studio is quite long, there were three sets all set up and the designers had a little bit where nothing was going on, so that is where they would plonk me. So they could be right up the other end and the audience would be laughing and I'd think what's going on? They had to have a telly there so you know what's going on and sometimes the audience at my end would moan 'can't see anything' and they would turn the telly round and by the time it came to me I would be watching the back of the telly thinking 'oh shit, what's happening'. I always seemed to be in a draft as well.
Oct: Do you think your experience as a stand-up comedian helped with the live studio audience?
HH: Yes.
Oct: I understand that Graham Chapman made an appearance in the show?
HH: No, he was going to but he was too ill when we got round to filming it. They did the credits with his name on and everything. Ruby Wax played his part in the end.
Oct: How did you start your career as a stand-up and how did you progress onto TV?
HH: My first five minutes of material I wrote when in a bad mood. There was a club around which let people do five minutes on stage and a friend said they would do their five minutes if I did my five minutes so we both went and I had eight Southern Comforts before going on.
Somebody booked me from that and I just carried on doing it, bit of lark really. From there I got on to Friday Night Live.
Oct: Are you interested at all in science fiction?
HH: No, not the books, the films more but I don't like them much. I love Blade Runner. The thing which puts me off; I read a science fiction book and think 'they would not still have things like that'. I am also very pessimistic about the future so when they were very optimistic with everyone flying about in spaceships I'd think 'Yeah likely, we will all be out on the streets'. One film I saw which I liked was Soylent Green (Film version of Harry Harrison's classic novel Make Room, Make Room - Ed). It had some people living in penthouses and the rest living on the stairways and I always thought that was the future.
Oct: Is there going to be a fourth series of Red Dwarf?
HH: I hope so and I hope I will be in it, but there is nothing definite yet. I think it should take off, the first two series were a bit of a cult. There's a book come out and there are rumours of a film but I don't know.
Oct: There was meant to be a film of Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy but that never appeared.
HH: I saw a stage show of that once, I loved that, thought it was great.
Oct: Thank you, Hattie Hayridge.