Phil Daniels interview in the Sunday Mirror

[carmelina]

SHOWBIZ EXCLUSIVE: WHY IT'S THE ENDER ME BY PHIL DANIELS Oct 29 2006
By Lara Gould Tv Reporter



HE first found fame as Sixties mod Jimmy Cooper, riding into Brighton on his scooter in the classic movie Quadrophenia.

Now Phil Daniels could soon be on the move again... this time riding out of Albert Square in the back of taxi.

Since he joined EastEnders a year ago Phil has become one of the soap's best-loved characters, playing Pat Evans's nephew Kevin Wicks.

But Phil's as easy-going as Kevin and can't see himself as a long-term fixture on the show.

Fans needn't feel too distraught just yet as he plans on hanging around Albert Square for at least another year - so there will be plenty of time to see how Kevin gets on living together with Post Office worker Denise Fox.

"I've signed up for another 12 months - so I'll make my mind up about the future then," says Phil, who celebrated his 48th birthday last week. "But when I joined EastEnders it was never going to be forever. I won't be doing 21 years!

"Actors enjoy long runs because it can be a tough world out there. But I'll go back to doing what I did before, maybe some more theatre, perhaps some more films. I'll see what's out there and just do it."

Phil arrived in EastEnders last December with more of a whimper than a bang, strolling into the Queen Vic to be reunited with his aunt Pat (Pam St Clement).

And Phil would like to end his days in the Square in the same low-key way.

"I don't want to go out with a bang. Just riding off in the back of a taxi would be fine for me," he says.

"Or best of all, I could get chased out of the Square by a mob of gorgeous women! Then there's always a chance to come back!"

Until then Phil's got big plans for lowly Kevin as he settles into his new life with girlfriend Denise (Diane Parish).

But the course of true love never runs smoothly in EastEnders and trouble is on the horizon when Kevin's ex-wife Shirley - Bad Girls actress Linda Henry - arrives in the Square in December.

Phil was just a nervous 19-year-old fresh out of drama school when he landed the role of Jimmy in Quadrophenia... about the battle between mods and rockers in 1960s Brighton.

The film set became a finishing school for a generation of young stars including Sting, 80s pop star Toyah Willcox and The Bill's Mark Wingett. Phil also shared a raunchy sex scene in a Brighton alley with Men Behaving Badly actress Leslie Ash.

Thirty years on, the film still holds fond memories for Phil. "We thought we were really grown-up, but when I look back at it now, it's like looking at someone who is my son, not me," he says.

"We thought we were so tough. But really it's just a bunch of teenagers riding around on hairdryers!"

While Phil has had a varied career, Sting - of course - went on to mega-success, first with The Police then as a solo artist.

And Phil might have just missed the chance of a lifetime... because he didn't realise what lay ahead for his famous co-star.

"I got on well with Sting when we were making Quadrophenia," he says. "So he used to give me backstage passes before The Police were famous.

"He asked me to jam with them once but I turned him down. I told him they'd never make it!"

Phil went on to carve out a successful stage career as well as acting in TV dramas including BBC underworld crime series The Long Firm and providing the voice for rat Fetcher in animated Brit film Chicken Run. His "cool" status was confirmed when Britpop band Blur asked him to provide the straight-talking Cockney voice behind hit single Parklife in 1994. "I call myself a part-time pop star," says Phil. "We recorded the whole song in less than half an hour!

"I think Parklife was written with me in mind, because the boys knew me. They understood me and wanted that unique sort of Englishness.

"That song took me round the world. We played everywhere, Glastonbury, even in Moscow. I used to come on for the encore and the crowd would go even more mental."

Now he has become one of the most recognisable stars on TV as his cheeky face is beamed into more than eight million homes four times a week.

But even so, some fans get him a little confused. "I got a letter from one, saying 'My husband Eric and I have been watching you for years, Phil. We love your show. You are the best magician on telly.' I always wondered if Paul Daniels got ones saying he's a good actor..." he laughs.

But that's the exception. Phil, who lives with his long-term partner Jan Stevens and their daughter Ella, 16, in North London, is slowly getting used to the attention his high-profile role brings from fans.

"It used to be just film fans and indie kids coming up to me, so I didn't get too much hassle," he says. "They used to shout lines from Quadrophenia, 'You've killed my scooter', that sort of thing. Now it's usually 'Alright Kev'.

"It's hard when you're not in the mood and you're just popping to the shops and you want to be left alone.

"I don't know how people like Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale), who've been in the show for years, cope.

"I imagine they just lock themselves away and stay in as much as possible."

But all the attention doesn't hold much sway at home. Phil admits Ella is unimpressed by her dad's success.

"She's usually up in her room listening to music. Her friends aren't really interested either.

"At home, the only thing I have to do is try not to be an embarrassing dad!"

Now Phil is looking forward to the annual National Television Awards which will be held at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday.

EastEnders is up for Most Popular Serial Drama against ITV rivals Coronation Street and Emmerdale and Channel Four tea-time soap Hollyoaks.

So how does Phil think the show will fare - after scooping the top prize three times in the last four years?

"I don't usually get into these battles, but I think we'll do well," he says quietly. "The show's well written and we work hard so we deserve it!"

[janbo1960]

He was an instant 'hit' on the square... I really like his character

[Skylace]

He really is one of my all time favorite characters on EE. I just love him.

[eefanincan]

I like him as well but I can hardly believe that it's been a year that he's been here already!