AMANDA ABBINGTON has always been terribly polite. Well, mostly. "Unless I'm in the car on A my own and people don't say thank you," she says. "Then I'm really mouthy and nasty." She's not kidding. She once got so cross on the motorway that she followed someone in her car to a service station car park to tell him off. He was mortified, and she ended up buying him a coffee because she felt so bad about it.
"That's one of the most embarrassing things I've done," she cringes. "From 'Why don't you say thank you?' to 'Have a cappuccino on me. I'm really sorry. Come and live in my house. Please have all my money."
Her terminal courtesy is one of the reasons that her latest play, about to open at the Criterion in Piccadilly Circus, hits so deliciously. Unfriend, the first play by Sherlock's Steven Moffat and directed by Abbington's co-star in that show, Mark Gatiss.
"I love working with those two," she says, "Sherlock was such an amazing thing to do, I loved being part of it. When Mark sent me this script and said Steven's written it and would you like to do it, I didn't really need to read it, I had a feeling; Mark's got impeccable taste; Steven's really clever. And then I did read it and it just made me laugh."
Stage star: Amanda Abbington and, below left, with fiancé and former stunt performer Jonathan Goodwin
Denne historien er fra January 18, 2023-utgaven av Evening Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 18, 2023-utgaven av Evening Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.
'Healing is a dirty word'
After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis