My Yorkshire: Shaun Dooley

Barnsley-born actor Shaun Dooley, 36, first came to attention in EastEnders and then in Coronation Street, and since then he has appeared both on stage and in major series such as Murphy's Law and Red Riding.

What's your first Yorkshire memory?

When I was a kid, my hero was Daley Thompson and my cousin, Darren, and I used to have regular "Daley days" in our back garden, arguing who was the most like him. We improvised – the clothes prop from mum's washing line was the javelin, all her paper plates became the discus, and we used to go through all the decathlete disciplines.

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

Barnsley, because it is home to my mum and dad and to my two younger sisters, Kimberley and Stephanie. I had a great childhood, and my mates and I were always off out playing somewhere. We were surrounded by fields – "bankings" – and there was always something to do. In the summer you were away until early evening, in the winter we'd be kicking a ball around in the street under the lights. Kids then were able to wander and to experience things – would that life was the same now.

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

Going to a Barnsley match and watching them convincingly thrash another team at home. I've been watching them for more years than I care to remember and for the past 13 years I've been able to treat myself to a season ticket. If I'm not working, I drive up for every match.

Do you have a favourite walk – or view?

A lot of Married, Single Other was filmed in Leeds, some in Roundhay Park, which I think is a wonderful green lung in the middle of a great city. But we also went on location for a day or so to Bolton Abbey, and that just takes my breath away. It was a beautifully sunny day, not a cloud in the sky, and there were kids enjoying themselves, people fishing, and the Abbey ruins themselves. Idyllic.

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

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Brian Clough would be fascinating to listen to. I say "listen to", because I don't think that you'd have been able to get a word in edgewise. And he also spanned that time between footballers earning modest wages, and the point when they began to earn silly money. What would he think of the "Beautiful Game" today?

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

Brian Glover, who for a long time was "the voice of Yorkshire" because of his association with Tetley tea bags. One of the first jobs I ever did was a small role in a Crucible production in Sheffield, and Brian was appearing at the Lyceum. I managed to have a chat with him one night, and he was a big, kind, lovely and multi-talented man. I also saw him wrestle a few times when my grandad took me to a couple of bouts locally. Everyone who knew him loved Brian, and he is a sad, sad loss, dead well before his time.

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

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I am not a folk music fan, but Barnsley has produced two fine singers in Kate Rusby and Rosalie Deighton – the Deightons are a remarkably talented musical family – and I love their voices. They should be known about much more than they are, and if you aren't familiar with their work, then make the discovery – you won't regret it.

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

Old-fashioned values, for a start. Like manners. That dry sense of humour. The warmth, the generous nature of the people. And no nonsense. What you see is what tha' gets. You find truly genuine people in our county.

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

Barnsley FC are pretty big in my life. I have never ever been able to "get" cricket.

Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub?

The Syndale Road Working Men's Club in Cudworth. My grandad was manager there for some time, I think, and when I was studying for a BTech, I worked part-time as their bar-cellarman. I did that for three years. Don and Joan were the remarkable couple who ran it then, and they were amazing and lovely people, now retired, but we keep in touch. They taught me a lot – not just the pub trade, but decent values and how to work with other people. They are the salt of the earth. It was (and is) a typical WMC – bingo, the lot.

Do you have a favourite food shop?

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I am absolutely no cook, so I let the expert, my wife, Polly, get on with it. She is just amazing. She goes to Cannon Hall, which has everything from meats to chutneys, and she tells me that the value is brilliant, and I know from what she puts on the plate that the quality is superb.

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

I think that so many good things have happened in the last few years, with cities like Leeds and Sheffield regenerating themselves, and all the work that Yorkshire Forward does. But I'm afraid that the miners' strike did a lot of damage to communities and brought in a lot of adverse side-effects. I was 10 or so when it happened and I don't remember drugs being part of my life, or the life of anyone else back then.

Someone who sniffed glue was regarded as low-life. Now, drugs are everywhere in the communities, and even young kids get offered them. When I went to Grimethorpe not so long ago, what had been my youth club had become a drugs rehab centre. I'm amazed how much the strike affected the social fabric and how much it still does.

Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire?

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My dad, Denis, who was a miner, and who now works as a contractor in Hull. He is the man that I aspire to be, one day. He's my hero, bless him.

Has Yorkshire influenced your work?

It's created me totally. I still have my accent, softened though it is by living in London. But my upbringing gave me one thing, I think, and that is that I am very grounded. I am deeply, deeply, grateful for that.

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

There are a few here. I am a great admirer of the works of JB Priestley, and I particularly like Time and the Conways and An Inspector Calls. He was a masterly writer, and a wonderful social commentator. I like the music of Jarvis Cocker, and the best Pulp album ever, to my mind, was Different Class, from 1995. JB Priestley and Jarvis Cocker, how's about that for diversity?

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

I would tell them to get over to my mum and dad's place, and to get themselves invited for tea. They'd find a warm welcome and true Yorkshire hospitality. And I'd also warn my mum, Anne, that she was expecting guests, so that she could do some baking. She and Kimberley have just started a business, Celestial Cakes, and what they produce really does live up to their name.

YP MAG 3/7/10