Finetime Fontayne

What’s your first Yorkshire memory?

My dad being roundly and soundly told off by my mum on the day that the Queen came to Wombwell. This would be in 1954 or thereabouts, when I’d have been three or four. Dad had been put in charge of my brother and me and we were so far back in the throng that I don’t even recall seeing the Queen as she drove past. In hoisting me up, he lost his balance slightly and over I went, right into freshly-delivered steaming pile of West Riding Constabulary horse muck, ruining my newly-bought Whitsuntide gabardine. Mother was not best pleased. I could be bathed, the coat needed more attention.

What’s your favourite part of the county – and why?

The Lancashire border. I do pantomime every year in Oldham, and the Lancastrians do seem to be quite pleasant folk. I always play the Dame – this year, it’s Dick Whittington – and I never manage to pronounce their local names the way that they do, and I get the biggest response of the night by saying “It’s not my fault, I’m from Yorkshire”. There seems to be a running dispute as to where the border ought to be. Every now and then there’s a boundary change and Yorkshire appears to lose a bit of land or a village somewhere, and everyone complains, and then next time we get it back.

What’s your idea of a perfect day, or a perfect weekend in Yorkshire?

Lying in bed and doing nothing. Let’s make it lying in bed and doing nothing in Scarborough. I’d never really planned to be an actor or a performer and went to art college. While I was studying in York, we’d go over to Scarborough for the day, and I fell in love with it.

Do you have a favourite walk – or view?

Walking at dawn into Sheffield from the Tinsley Viaduct through Brightside and – before all the rolling mills disappeared – catching the occasional glimpse of the corrupted river. If you looked back there were twin cooling towers keeping Rotherham out and Sheffield in. The towers are also long gone

Which Yorkshire sportsman, past or present, would you like to take for lunch?

Donna Hartley, who was a championship bodybuilder ,and who is now married to Bobby Knutt, that great comic and actor. She had national and international successes. Donna was born in Southampton but she’s lived for a long time in Birdwell with Bobby, so I think we can claim her as properly adopted. I’ve known her for such and long time, but I’ve never to my shame sat down and asked her properly about her life and career.

Which Yorkshire stage or screen star, or past or present, would you like to take for dinner?

James Mason. Isn’t it amazing that that man, the epitome of Hollywood smoothness, should have been born in this county, and probably had quite a broad accent in his youth. Come to think of it, he’s one of a trio of actors from this patch who have all “lost” their accents and who have slipped, apparently effortlessly, into being suave gents. The others are Charles Laughton and Patrick Stewart. Thank heavens that Mr Stewart is still with us, a truly versatile actor.

If you had to name your Yorkshire ‘hidden gem’, what would it be?

Whitby Jet. Geddit? Hidden gem. Think about it. Oh, gawd. As Frankie Howerd used to say, “Please yerselves”. But seriously, it is a lovely gemstone, isn’t it?

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

Because it’s big. It’s got everything. Coast, culture, countryside. Sweeping views, history, architecture. Lots of good, some that’s bad. Bits of beautiful, clumps of the ugly. But in everything, so much more of it than everywhere else.

Do you follow sport in the county, and if so, what?

I am deeply apologetic, but I don’t “do” sport. Apparently, my late grandfather played football for the England Under-21s, and the cap that he won is somewhere in Liverpool, but maybe that’s just a family myth. And a myth, as we all know, is as good as a mile.

Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub?

I love Whitelock’s, in Leeds, and if I were ever to be Doctor Who, my Tardis would be Whitelock’s. It’s up Turk’s Head Alley. It was one of the city’s first “refreshment rooms”, and is named after the first mine host, who I believe was a very talented musician, a flautist who played with a couple of symphony orchestras. The walls have those wonderful mirrors with adverts for breweries and beers long since forgotten. It’s all glass and brass, and the ales are terrific.

Do you have a favourite food shop?

This is a difficult one for me, because when I’m working, and on tour, the answer is “the one that is nearest to the theatre, and open when we’ve finished rehearsal or when the performance ends”. I do say a silent prayer of thanks for a handy M&S Local.

How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you’ve known it?

Coal, steel, trawling, with all their associated communities have all but disappeared, more’s the pity, and they had an exuberance and a life force all their own. But then there was dole, disease and death as well. So let’s not forget the past, but embrace the new and the future. Of course, we have no choice, because the future has a strange habit of turning up.

Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire?

I am going to select an “adopted” Yorkshireman, Sir Alec Clegg, who was born in Long Eaton, in Derbyshire. He was chief education officer for the West Riding County Council from 1945 until 1974 and he founded Bretton Hall College. His commitment to the education of working- class children was second to none and he was a huge force in the building and opening of new schools. I count myself privileged to be one of the number he helped.

Has Yorkshire influenced your work?

Absolutely and wholeheartedly yes. To the marrow of my bones. I’ve had a wonderful career, full of ups and downs, like everyone else’s. I’ve strayed into acting… I never went to a proper drama school and I’ve still got my accent. And now I’m with Northern Broadsides, which actively encourages that regional voice to come through.

Name your favourite Yorkshire book/author/artist/CD/performer.

Ian McMillan, who is another product of Sir Alec’s.

If a stranger to Yorkshire only had time to visit one place, it would be?

The Yorkshire Mining Museum. You go there and you realise what determined and brave men the miners were. And how it all vanished, almost overnight. And don’t get me going on that topic!

Finetime Fontayne plays Claudius in Northern Broadsides’ tour of Hamlet which opens at West Yorkshire Playhouse April 19-30. www.wyp.org.uk