IN ANOTHER life, Kerry Godliman moved to Glasgow in her teens, studied acting in the city, and built a life for herself in Scotland.
“I really did fantasise for a bit about moving up, because I got offered a place at the RSAMD,” she says, smiling.
“I know, I know - it’s called the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland now. I know that because my daughter is applying.”
She breaks off with a laugh: “It’s like living with a ghost of my old self. She’s 18, wants to go to drama school…I do have mixed feelings about that because I have had a lot of joy out of the choices I made, but also a lot of upset.
“Stand up saved me. If I hadn’t had that, I don’t think I’d still be an actor.”
She sighs. “So is my daughter embarking on a similarly fraught course? I don’t know. Just be a plumber! You’ll never be out of work…..”
Anyway, back to Glasgow and Kerry’s almost-life here. The comedian and actor is bringing her new stand up show Bandwith to Glee on May 15 as part of a UK tour.
“In the end I chose a London school, but I do sometimes think about that ‘sliding doors’ moment…” she trails off. “I love Glasgow, I’m looking forward to visiting.”
One of Kerry’s biggest comedy influences growing up was Billy Connolly, she says.
READ NEXT: 'Magnificent play': David Hayman on new Glasgow role
READ NEXT: Glasgow musicals star on city school that changed her life
“Billy has always been my comedy hero,” she explains. “My mum and dad took me to see him when I was in my teens, and I always remember our old family friend who came with us, laughing so much he was actually in pain.
“You know that way when you are in proper medical trouble? Only Billy can do that to someone.”
Bandwith is the “latest chapter” in London-born Kerry’s life, she says, following on from “the pregnant bit, and the kids thing” and will feature, among other things, the joys of parenting teenagers, turning 50, knicker admin, and considering dealing HRT on the black market.
‘Acceptable’ topics in comedy have changed since she started out, she admits.
“I guess I’m lucky there is, finally, a discourse around the menopause just as I hit it,” she says. “My mum certainly didn’t have that. It just wasn’t talked about in any arena, never mind comedy.
“There are more women in comedy now too, of course, so you feel a bit more emboldened to talk about this stuff.”
Looking back at old clips of herself as a fledgling stand-up, Kerry says she feels “proud of the journey.”
She adds: “I was at a point in my life when it felt like I was in a weird kind of Traitors game, full of doors that wouldn’t open.
“I nearly got in to the RSC, nearly got the lead in a big TV sitcom - I was in the land of nearly for a long time, just waiting for a break. Stand up saved me.”
She smiles. “In those clips, I can see I’m excited, I knew I was in the foothills of a new adventure. It was scary, but healthy scary. You do need nerves to propel you a bit.”
She adds, with a snort of laughter: “I wish I felt as deeply as that now. It’s all a bit numbed by HRT…everything is more level…”
In addition to stand-up, Kerry is well-known for roles as Ricky Gervais’s late wife in After Life, bomb and ballistics expert Sonia Reeves in Trigger Point and as a restaurant owner-turned-private-detective in Whitstable Pearl, a brilliant, unusual detective show which pops up on odd channels like Acorn and U, but which absolutely deserves a primetime spot.
“Oh thank you, yes, I love it – again, it just came along at a time when there was an appetite for middle-aged women solving crimes,” says Kerry, with a grin.
“We did series one and two close together, then there was a big gap until season 3 and I actually don’t know if there will be more… In the wibbly wobbly world of TV, nothing is ever sure. That’s why I’m glad I have stand up…”
Kerry has also landed a role in the movie sequel to This is Spinal Tap, filming with Elton John and Paul McCartney, which she says was a “surreal experience.”
“It was weird to be so close to mega-fame, you know?” she laughs. “I could not get my head around the fact I was stood beside Elton John.”
She is currently filming series three and four of Trigger Point, which is exciting news for fans of the tense bomb disposal squad drama.
“It IS very tense, I actually can’t watch it,” she agrees. “I don’t have tons to do, to be honest - I tend to sit around talking science with Vicky McClure, but that is lovely. And I love Sonia, she is very smart. She basically speaks the periodic table.
“Again, I feel lucky to be getting these parts – scientists, barristers, academics…”
She grins. “When I was starting out it was always ‘drug dealer’s girlfriend’, so it's definitely a step up.”
Share