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JANET STREET-PORTER MEETS JULIAN CLARY

Marie Claire Celebrity Interviews: Julian Clary interviewed by Janet Street-Porter

Julian Clary arrives wearing a very beautiful-but-battered Burberry coat, jeans and a smart shirt, no obvious make-up, carefully tousled hair, accompanied by Valerie – his faithful dog.

I could never understand why anyone so attractive wore such a huge amount of slap, but having worked with Julian quite a bit over the years, I've discovered that he's very shy. And although never lost for a cutting riposte on the telly, in the flesh he's a private
person, quietly spoken and very sensitive.

And after the big love of his life, Christopher, died from Aids in 1991, Julian seemed trapped in depression for years.

These days, Julian is back in the mainstream. His autobiography, A Young Man's Passage, is not only hilarious, but well written and painfully honest, which is more than you can say about 99 per cent of celebrity efforts in this genre.

He writes a fortnightly column for the New Statesman, and recently presented The Underdog Show for the BBC, in which celebrities had to train rescue dogs.

His latest literary opus is Murder Most Fab, a very funny novel that charts the progress of a gorgeous boy from drama school, through to working as a rent boy and telly stardom.

JSP: Was Murder Most Fab your first choice of title?
JC: Well, the publishers didn’t like my first two: Catch a Fellating Star and Dead Man Wanking.
I’ve got this image of you sitting at a big desk in Noël Coward’s study, writing your novel. [Julian recently bought Noël Coward's old house in Kent, just down the road from his old friend, Paul O’Grady.]
That’s the image I had, too, so I bought the great, big desk and sat there by the window, looking out to the garden. But the pressure was too much, so I went back to Camden [north London] and wrote it sitting at the breakfast bar in my flat with The Jeremy Kyle Show on in the background.
What about your autobiography – was there any fallout?
My father never mentioned it. Never said a word. My mother said, 'Well, I suppose it's honest.'
Did you ever really 'come out' to them? You haven't, have you?
No, but they're not stupid.
Have they met your boyfriend?
Yes.
What do they think of him?
I can't say.
What does he do?
He works in advertising, sadly.
Are you a bit embarrassed about that?
It's just so tedious, you know?
How old is he?
30.
God – proper age and real job.
And he doesn't drink, smoke or take drugs. He's very clean-living, and I like that. A previous boyfriend was an alcoholic – he was very wild and sexy with it, but you could never trust him, and you never knew where he was or if he was face down in a ditch.
So, how long have you been with your new boyfriend?
We've been together for about three years altogether.
Before he moved in?
No, he hasn't moved in.
He still hasn't moved in?
I don't want him to move in, and I don't suppose he wants to move in. I haven't asked. We have most weekends in Kent, which is lovely. And I like my own space.
It sounds like you've reached a harmonious place in your life.
I realised I'd been very unhappy for years. I was having panic attacks every five minutes – that's a real symptom of anxiety and depression – but I just learned to live with them. But I'm very happy now, and I don't worry about anything much.
Do you think Strictly Come Dancing changed people's perception of you?
Yes, certainly. It was such a journey doing that show – I was so awful to begin with, and
I overcame so many obstacles. Actually, I've just turned down I’m a Celebrity…
Couldn't face it?
I thought about it, because it would have been good timing for the book release, and I'm
not that squeamish.
Do you feel, because you've done Strictly…, you don't need to do another reality TV show.
Yes. I've made my contribution.
Reading your autobiography, I couldn't believe how much you made: £10 here, £15 there. How did you make a living out of it [comedy]?
By signing on.
Do you do any stand-up now?
I do the odd thing, but I have no desire to go on tour around the country. Last Saturday, I
did a show at the Hackney Empire [in east London] with Paul Merton and Jo Brand; it
was a recreation of a show we did there way back in 1987.
Now you've done your Groucho time, what next? Are you decorating your house? What are you doing there all day?
I've been writing my book.
How long did it take to write?
Two years.
You're a slow writer.
I would take a break from writing when I was doing TV.
You've become a bit of a national institution now. Do you hate that kind of label?
I'm just lucky to still be here.
That sounds grateful.
I mean lucky to be alive when so many people aren't.
You do seem chilled out. Do you drink?
Sometimes.
Well, that's good. Do you take drugs occasionally?
I don't take coke and speed-type things. We used to take such a lot in the Eighties without thinking about it. It's just what we did. It was such a posh drug back then. But it's everywhere now.
Have you ever been in therapy?
Yes, but not any more.
How long did you go for?
I went a lot after Christopher died. But I really believe that if you don't think about negative things, they go away after a while.
What's the name of your current boyfriend?
Ian.
Before you met Ian, did you think, 'I'm going to be a sad, old queen living by myself. I'll be all old, wrinkly and lonely, reduced to one-night stands'?
I wouldn't be reduced to one-night stands. But I don’t know if I'll be with Ian forever. I really wouldn't be surprised if I’m completely on my own when I'm old, living in that house in Kent, writing my books.
You sound like Miss Havisham.
But I wouldn't mind that, really. I'd come to London sometimes to see people. I get happier as I get older. So why shouldn't things carry on that way?

With that, Julian goes off to make plans for a new herbaceous border in his garden in Kent.

Julian Clary's novel, Murder Most Fab (£16.99, Ebury Press),
is out later this month.

This is an edited version of the full interview, which appears in the September issue of Marie Claire.

Thursday 26 July 2007


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