Cranford, The Forsyte Saga, A Very Peculiar Practice, The Durrells, A Family at War... just some of the TV classics where Barbara Flynn has given sublime performances. Her middle name should be ‘Versatility’ as she is so adept at turning her hand to a huge variety of roles.
In the second series of ITV’s Kate & Koji, Barbara plays humourless fun-sponge Councillor Lavinia Bone. The sitcom centres on plain- speaking seaside café owner Kate (Brenda Blethyn) and young African asylum seeker Koji (Okorie Chukwu) who’s also a doctor. He becomes the unofficial GP for the area and starts holding ‘surgeries’ in the café – racking up customers for Kate, who offers him free food to keep the scheme going. It’s a very funny comedy and Barbara says it’s just as fun working with Brenda.
“Oh, it’s just joyous! Kate & Koji is the first time I’ve ever worked with Brenda, although I think we may have met briefly in the past when we were both working at the National Theatre in London. She is just brilliant and so, so funny. There’s an awful lot of laughter that goes on during rehearsals, although we do try to hold it together when we’re actually on set filming. That’s great fun, too, as we have a live audience so there’s a real energy and spontaneity about it. The audience laughter you hear is real, not canned.
“Brenda and I kind of spar off each other as our characters were at school together and they are each other’s nemesis. Lavinia Bone is terribly pompous and takes herself far too seriously while Kate certainly doesn’t mince her words. We find out in this series why Kate and Lavinia don’t get on and how their feud started when they were schoolgirls. Let’s just say, as the Queen so aptly put it, certain recollections do vary!”
Happily, Barbara’s oldest real-life friendship has always been feud-free!
“I met her at school when we were just five years old,” Barbara recalls. “We don’t live in each other’s pockets but when we do meet or get in touch, we just pick up where we left off. There’s never any awkwardness. Old friends are absolute treasures and you get back what you give.”
Barbara says friends have been especially helpful to her since she lost her husband, TV producer Jeremy Taylor, in July 2017 – just a month after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
It is indirectly via Jeremy that Barbara became involved with the end of life charity, Marie Curie. “Jeremy’s death happened so suddenly there was simply no time to get Marie Curie involved,” she says. “But I was going through paperwork after he had died and came across a letter from them.
It was a very kind letter, offering me bereavement counselling near my home in North London. I didn’t take up the offer immediately but eventually contacted them. I started visiting a lovely woman once a week to begin with, then, later on, twice a month.
“It really helped to be able to talk to someone I didn’t know. Someone to whom I could really express my sadness, grief, and, yes, anger. Sometimes it’s hard to talk to those closest to you about losing a loved one. Particularly here in the UK I don’t think we look honestly at the grieving process.
“Anyway, Marie Curie were of invaluable help to me as someone who was in shock and grieving. Maybe this is an area of their work that isn’t so widely known – they can help those who are left behind when a loved one dies of a terminal illness.
“Since then, I’ve used my skills to help Marie Curie in whatever way I can. I’ve done readings for them at their carol services at Christmas, and meet and greets at various functions. I make jewellery as a side-line and have had stalls at their fundraising fairs. I do as much for them as I can.”
Barbara (73) is delighted to be publicising Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal and the National Day of Reflection which takes place on March 23. “I don’t think Marie Curie could possibly have a better emblem than the daffodil,” she says. “After the dark winter months, these brilliant yellow flowers are wonderful and so representative of renewal. I feel lifted by them. I have a hat covered in daffodils which looks like a spring border. We have pearly kings and queens, why not daffodil ones?’ Why not indeed!
Kate and Koji starts on ITV week beginning March 14.
• Marie Curie’s annual flagship fundraising appeal, the Great Daffodil Appeal takes place throughout March. Money raised helps support the charity’s nurses, doctors, and hospice staff so they can continue working on the frontline giving expert care to people at the end of life, and their families. For more on how to fundraise or donate, visit: mariecurie.org.uk/daffodil
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