Stephen Leather: Take Two

‘Are you serious?’

‘Most of them hold the average viewer in complete contempt,’ he said. ‘In the evenings they’re in restaurants or wine bars or dinner parties. They’re not sitting down and watching Corrie or Holby City.’

‘They told you that?’

‘They didn’t have to,’ he said. ‘TV isn’t entertainment for them. It’s a way of making money. End of story. They don’t care about the craft. Or the characters. The only shows they care about are the ones that make money.’ He dropped what was left of his cigarette onto the ground and stamped on it.

‘You sound pretty fed up with it,’ said Carolyn.

‘It pays my rent,’ said Jeff. ‘So I can’t complain. I’m writing a couple of plays. That’s what I’m really interested in. I want to be able to sit at the back of a theatre and see how my work affects people, you know? See if I can make them laugh and move them, and be a part of that.’

‘I love the theatre, but there’s no money in it,’ said Carolyn.

‘It shouldn’t be just about the money,’ said Jeff.

Carolyn smiled ruefully. ‘How old are you, Jeff?’

‘Twenty-four.’

She nodded. ‘You’ll feel differently when you get older.’

‘I hope not,’ he said. He looked at his watch. ‘I’d better get back inside.’ He took out his phone and checked it was off. ‘I won’t be making that mistake again,’ he said.

Carolyn dropped her cigarette butt onto the floor. ‘Nice talking to you,’ she said.

‘And you,’ said Jeff.

‘Can I ask you to do me a favour, Jeff?’

‘Sure.’

‘If there’s anything said at Wednesday’s meeting that affects my part, can you tell me?’

Jeff’s eyes narrowed. ‘Are you worried?’

‘I just don’t want any nasty surprises, that’s all.’

‘They wouldn’t do anything to Carolyn Bourne,’ he said. ‘You’re the star.’

‘I hope you’re right, Jeff. Okay, I need to get my face and hair done for the next scene.’

‘Break a leg,’ he said, and held the door open for her.

Filming finished at just after five o’clock. Jake Harrington gave a short speech thanking everyone. ‘The early finish is because I’ve got to go to the Soap Digest awards tonight,’ he said. ’Hopefully, we’ll pick up something and, if we do, I’ll make sure everyone knows it’s a team effort.’

‘Just bring us back a few bottles of champagne!’ shouted one of the electricians.

‘I’ll do that,’ he said. ‘And please, everyone, nice and early on Monday morning. We’re a bit behind.’

Carolyn hurried out of the studio and down to the make-up department where Tracey was waiting for her. She dropped down onto one of the chairs and Tracey stood behind her. ‘Up or down?’ asked Tracey, playing with Carolyn’s hair.

‘Down,’ said Carolyn, but Tracey had already piled her hair up on top of her head. ‘No, you’re right. Up.’

‘What are you wearing?’

‘Terry’s got me a Stella McCartney.’

‘I love her stuff,’ said Tracey. ‘And she’s so animal friendly. Now, what do you want me to do with you?’

‘It’s got to be glamour, but I don’t want mutton dressed as lamb,’ said Carolyn.

‘As if,’ laughed Tracey.

‘I’m serious,’ said Carolyn. ‘I don’t want to see any nasty captions in the papers tomorrow.’

‘You’re in safe hands,’ said Tracey. She spent almost half an hour working on Carolyn’s hair and make-up, and by the time she’d finished Carolyn was well pleased.

She turned her head slowly from side to side, admiring Tracey’s handiwork. ‘God, you’re good,’ she said.

Terry appeared at the door, holding the dress. ‘OMG,’ he said. ‘You look fabulous.’

Carolyn got out of the chair and took the dress from him. She held it against herself and nodded appreciatively. ‘I’ve got a gold necklace that will look amazing,’ said Terry. ‘And a couple of chunky rings.’

‘Bag?’

‘I thought a black Prada. Nice and simple and it won’t be a distraction.’

‘And shoes?’

‘I’m going to stick with black and Prada. The dress is so fabulous we don’t want anyone looking at anything else.’

He folded his arms and nodded at her.

‘I’m not changing with you standing there,’ said Carolyn.

‘Darling, first of all, I’m gay. And, second of all, you haven’t got anything there I haven’t seen a dozen times already. And, third of all,…’ He threw up his hands. ‘I’m sure there’s a third of all but for the life of me I can’t remember what it is.’

Carolyn laughed, handed the dress to Tracey and took off the suit she was wearing.

Terry looked her up and down and smiled. ‘God, you’re fit for a… how old are you again?’

‘You are cruising for a bruising,’ said Carolyn. She dropped the suit on the back of one of the chairs and slipped on the dress. It was a perfect fit, accentuating her curves and revealing just enough cleavage.

‘You know, you should think about going braless,’ said Tracey.

‘I don’t think so, thank you very much,’ said Carolyn. ‘This is just fine as is.’

‘She’s right,’ said Terry. ‘Give it a go.’

‘You’re not serious.’

‘The way it’s cut, you’ll not see anything but you’ll get the ripple effect.’

Carolyn laughed. ‘The ripple effect? Or the nipple effect?’

‘Just try it,’ said Terry.

Carolyn took off her bra and then checked herself out in the mirror. They were right, it looked stunning.

‘Told you,’ said Terry. He handed her the shoes and she slipped them on. ‘You get your coat and I’ll fetch the bag and jewellery,’ he said.

Carolyn’s Tommy Hilfiger raincoat was in her dressing room. She was just putting it on when Terry arrived with the jewellery and a large black leather bag. ‘Room for your ciggies and big enough to pinch a couple of bottles of bubbly, if you’re half inclined.’ He put the necklace around her neck and gave her two large rings, both with red stones that were an exact match to the to the colour of the dress, and a pair of diamond stud earings.

He kissed her on both cheeks and waved her off like a father sending his daughter away to her first disco.

Harrington was in the back of a Mercedes at the main entrance. Carolyn got into the back. ‘Frank’s not coming,’ he said. ‘His wife’s pranged the car. He’s not a happy bunny.’

‘Is she okay?’

‘She’s fine, the car not so,’ said Harrington.

The car moved out of the car park and headed south.

‘Why are we schlepping all the way down to Surrey?’ asked Carolyn.

‘Soap Digest have done a deal with Hello magazine,’ said Harrington. ‘And they don’t want all the celebs in the papers tomorrow. This place has got a ten-foot high wall around it and there’ll be security at the gate to keep the paparazzi out. That way, Hello gets the exclusive pictures. Plus they want to get the various stars together in a luxury setting. Makes a lot of sense.’

‘For them, sure. But I’d be happier at the Savoy.’

‘Maybe. But at least this way there’ll be no pictures of drunken stars tripping over and ending up in the gutter.’

‘Hey, listen, that was only once and it was eight years ago, and my heel broke,’ said Carolyn archly.

‘It was one hell of a picture,’ said Harrington.

‘Yes, well, my agent was supposed to have had all copies of it destroyed.’

‘These days it’s all computer files,’ said Harrington. ‘Once it’s out there, it’s out there for ever.’

‘So what is it? A country house?’

‘A country house hotel, I think is what they call it. And the chef’s got two Michelin stars, so the food will be good. And the wine cellar is world famous.’ Harrington rubbed his hands together. ‘And the magazine is picking up the tab, so it’s going to be one hell of a night.’