'I don't know what that means': Helen Lederer rules out retirement
Helen Lederer has no plans to step away from the spotlight after four decades in comedy and acting.
Helen Lederer has no plans to retire.
The 70-year-old comedian has joined the cast of Fawlty Towers – The Play in London's West End and explained that she intends to carry on working for years to come.
In an interview with the Metro newspaper, Helen said: "I don't know what that means. In Fawlty Towers, my co-star Paul Nicholas is marginally older than me, and he's amazing. If you've got it in the brain, and in the body, then you just do it."
Helen is playing the demanding hotel guest Mrs Richards in the theatre production based on John Cleese's iconic sitcom and describes it as "liberating" to play a character who is vastly different from her.
She said: "It's actually liberating to be such a cow because I've spent all my professional life trying to please people and beg for jobs, with all the obsequiousness that goes with showbiz."
The Absolutely Fabulous star's attempts to land her own sitcom were never successful and she says that the frustration was at the heart of her memoir Not That I'm Bitter, which was published last year.
Lederer explained: "I put everything in because I'm that kind of person. The book is a window into how I navigated that world and my own family history.
"Hopefully, it's funny, but it's funny because it's truthful. When people just list their successes, it's not that funny. I think you've got to have the dark stuff to connect."
Cleese has often bemoaned the current state of British comedy but Helen has a far more optimistic outlook.
She said: "I think new comedy is very exciting and I embrace how comedy moves and reflects the society we're in now. I'm not a person who despairs."
Helen also believes that Fawlty Towers has stood the test of time, even though it aired back in the 1970s.
The former Celebrity Big Brother contestant explained: "What's fascinating about it now is that I don't think it has aged and that's so unique when you think about a piece of comedy.
"It's about class and pretension, and all the stuff that still makes British people laugh – because we're so class aware, even though we say we're not."
Helen appeared on the BBC series Pilgrimage earlier this year and explained how she bonded with The Wanted singer Jay McGuiness and The Traitors winner Harry Clark despite their differing life experiences.
She said: "You can forget about age and background. The liberation of connecting with other people and finding things in common, is irreplaceable."
