Zoë chats about Mr Selfridge, Stevie and the perfect vodka martini!

23 February 2015 15:05

Today Zoë appeared as a special guest on ITV's This Morning.

She chatted to presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford about her current show, the hit costume drama Mr Selfridge. As she explained, the costumes she wears as Princess Marie are designed to look 'as real as possible and also as rich as possible'. Their beautiful styling and extravagant hats closely reflect the show's early twentieth-century setting and Marie's luxurious lifestyle.

Rehearsals started at the beginning of February for Zoë's next project, reprising the role of quirky poet Stevie Smith at London's Hampstead Theatre, following a successful run during last year's Chichester Festival. Zoe is clearly relishing the part; she described Smith as 'an extraordinary human being', who was 'part of an era that is gone' now. The play, Stevie, begins previews on 6 March.

In addition, Zoë showed the presenters how she makes perfect vodka martinis, in the light of her Mr Selfridge co-star Leon Ockenden praising them in a recent interview. They certainly seemed to go down well; a very nice treat to start the week with, and one of which Mr Selfridge's Russian princess would surely approve!

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News round-up: Mr Selfridge, Death of a Salesman, Your Dog and your chance to tweet a question for Zoë

6 February 2015 23:51

Zoë's on-screen son in Mr Selfridge, Leon Ockenden, has praised the 'passion and intensity' in her approach to acting. Interviewed by the Sunday People, Ockenden emphasises that 'She did such a brilliant accent that everyone mimicked her on set and she kept it going all day. It's only at the end of the day when you get in the car with her that she changes. That's when you see the real Zoë.'

And in an interview on daytime chatshow Loose Women today, Ockenden revealed that Zoe makes the best vodka martinis!

Zoe's role in Mr Selfridge has captured the attention of the Independent.ie, which remarks that 'the wonderful Zoe Wanamaker [...] will doubtless bring an injection of energy and wit' to the series. Similarly, Metro finds Princess Marie a compelling character, 'thanks to Zoe Wanamaker's incredible and complex talent'.

You can catch up with episodes one and two of Mr Selfridge's third series on the ITV Player. Episode three will be broadcast on Sunday, at 9pm on ITV1/STV. The whole of series three is available to pre-order on Region 2 DVD; it is due to be released on 20 April.

Zoë has recently been rehearsing a new radio production of Arthur Miller's masterpiece, Death of a Salesman, in which she will star alongside David Suchet. As many of you will know, they have worked wonderfully well together on previous productions such as All My Sons (2010) and, of course, several episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot; and so the radio play is sure to be a real treat for fans.

The rehearsals took place at the premises of Mousetrap Theatre Project, the theatre education charity of which both Zoe and her co-star are patrons. You can see a photo of the cast on Mousetrap's Twitter profile. The broadcast date for the play has not yet been announced, but Suchet has tweeted that it is due to air in the autumn, in which case it will coincide with the centenary of Miller's birth.

The March issue of Your Dog magazine features a lovely interview with Zoë about her support for the Bark and Read project, which is funded by the Kennel Club Charitable Trust. The project supports efforts to encourage schoolchildren to read to specially trained support dogs. By reading to a calm, non-judgmental canine audience, pupils can increase their confidence and literacy levels.

As well as discussing the 'wonderful' Bark and Read, Zoë recalls her parents' pet dogs. 'I've grown up with dogs all my life,' she emphasises. She has particularly fond memories of Pasha, an Afghan Hound. 'He was a stunning dog, with a flowing beard and a real sense of humour – he actually laughed. But he was uncontrollable with a mind of his own and would run off – Afghan Hounds run like the wind!'

Pasha, as Zoë points out, was the inspiration for her 1996 performance as a dog, Sylvia, in A.R. Gurney's play of the same name. 'I had a collar – a necklace with a chain – made specially' for the production, she says. Playing a dog was 'great fun'.

Your Dog is available to purchase in print and as a digital edition.

What would you like to ask Zoe? To celebrate its twentieth anniversary, the Dyslexia Research Trust, an Oxford University-based charity that tackles reading problems, is giving people the chance to tweet questions for Zoë, who will answer the top three in due course.

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Full cast announced for Zoë's Stevie at Hampstead Theatre

27 January 2015 13:34

Hampstead Theatre has today announced the full cast for Stevie, in which Zoë will reprise her role as quirky poet Stevie Smith from 6 March, following her success at Chichester's Minerva Theatre.

Zoe will be joined by Lynda Baron (who will play Stevie's down-to-earth, kindly aunt) and Chris Larkin (The Man, a mysterious figure who helps to tell Stevie's story). They too are reprising their roles from last year's production at Chichester, which was highly acclaimed.

Please see Hampstead Theatre's website for Stevie performance details and tickets.

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Zoë and her Mr Selfridge co-stars chat to the Radio Times in more behind-the-scenes videos

25 January 2015 15:34

It's almost here! Mr Selfridge series three begins its ten-part run in the UK tonight, and the Radio Times is celebrating the occasion with several behind-the-scenes videos, filmed last year, featuring Zoë and other members of the hit costume drama's cast.

The RT was on-set during the filming of what it describes as 'the ultimate society wedding' – between wealthy entrepreneur Harry Selfridge's daughter, Rosalie, and Eton-educated Russian aristocrat Serge de Bolotoff. Zoe's character, Princess Marie Wiasemsky, keeps a watchful eye on proceedings as the groom's mother.

Princess Marie looks set to shake things up for the Selfridges during series three. Zoë, interviewed alongside Leon Ockenden (who plays Serge), explained that 'She's a very lively character' who 'loves life'. Those qualities make Marie great fun to play.

As Ockenden points out, he and Zoë 'got to build relationships with some of the supporting artists' who also took part in the wedding day filming. This approach helped to ensure that the atmosphere of the wedding scenes is as authentic as possible, as the connections between the main characters and other wedding guests feel real.

Amanda Abbington, who plays trusted Selfridges employee Miss Mardle, is delighted that Zoë appears in the new series. 'She's a joy to have on the show. We're lucky to have her.' Abbington emphasises that Zoe 'absolutely brings the glamour' to Mr Selfridge in her role as the extravagant, opulently-dressed princess. (You can see some of Princess Marie's beautiful outfits in MSN's Mr Selfridge gallery.)

To catch up on the events of the first two series and find out what to expect from the third, head over to The Mirror's guide to the show.

The third series airs on ITV1/STV on Sundays, 9pm.

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See Zoë and her Mr Selfridge co-stars in behind-the-scenes videos

23 January 2015 22:08

What a treat for fans of Zoë and Mr Selfridge! Breakfast show Good Morning Britain and lifestyle programme Lorraine have both gone behind-the-scenes of the drama's eagerly anticipated third series, filmed last year. If you missed these short features on TV today, you'll be pleased to know that they are available to watch online.

Good Morning Britain's entertainment editor, Richard Arnold, was on-set to watch the filming of Rosalie Selfridge's and Serge de Bolotoff's lavish wedding day. During breaks between the filming, he chatted to Zoë and several other cast members. As he pointed out, Zoe's character – Serge's headstrong mother, Princess Marie Wiasemsky – has raised a very handsome son. 'Isn't he pretty!' Zoë laughed.

On Lorraine showbiz reporter Dan Wootton was also on-set with the Mr Selfridge series three cast. Zoë is 'a legend', he emphasised. 'How do you think viewers are going to react to you when you hit the screens?' he asked her. 'With love and awe!' she joked.

Both behind-the-scenes features include a clip of Princess Marie enjoying her son's wedding reception, dressed in a characteristically extravagant, turquoise outfit – complete with a show-stopping hat. As described by Zoe in a recent interview, the hat looks 'like a crown', emphasising Marie's imperious nature. Marie is clearly no wallflower, and she suggests to journalist Frank Edwards that he should write a book about her colourful life. 'A very big book!' smiles the princess.

Mr Selfridge series three begins on 25 January, at 9pm on ITV1/STV.

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