From ‘Rock Follies’ to ‘Bognor’

Press, 9 November 1983, Page 19

From ‘Rock Follies’ to ‘Bognor’

Seven years ago Charlotte Cornwall, who plays Molly Mortimer in “Bognor” (TVI, tonight), was one of the Little Ladies, the raw-pop trio that broke new ground in the series, “Rock Follies.” Earlier this year, she again appeared as a singer - but this time a fading rock star — in “No Excuses.” She is quick to point out that it has “nothing to do with Rock Follies. It couldn’t be more different.”

Charlotte previously played the role on. stage in a musical called “Bastard Angel” by Barrie Keefe, who extended the idea into seven hour-long scripts for television.

A half-sister to the author, John le Carre — real name David Cornwell — Charlotte was flattered to find herself the inspiration behind the leading character in le Carre’s latest best-seller, “The Little Drummer Girl.” “The initial idea for the character is me. She’s a redheaded British actress called Charlie who becomes involved in a terrorist plot; There are a lot of similarities in that it is as he

remembers me, years ago,” she says. “I was very aware of politics at that time in my life, very extreme and un-sorted-out, which Charlie is in the book. She’s a middleclass girl who flirts with very Left-wing organisations because she’s desperate for somewhere to belong.

“I’m not an aggressive bomb-slinger, buy my politics are very Left and I think that it’s a little bit to do with me. I also think it’s the best book he’s ever written,” she says.

[ VIEWERS’ I I VIEWS I

Cycling on TV

Sir,—l am not a big cycling fan but last night (October 25) I was watching and taking interest in the 30km bike race. There were seven laps remaining when a voice cut in to inform us that the cycling was running behind time and they would have to leave Cook Gardens, although the last laps would be shown on the 6.30 p.m. news. Mind-boggling? Yes, because they then ran advertisements for three minutes before switching to the news room. Who comes first, the paying public or the paying advertisers? Whatever the answer, I presume a highlevel of intelligence is not a prerequisite for a programme controller. The last few laps could quite easily have been slotted in without delaying the news, and if it did, who cares?—Yours, etc.,S. C. WRIGHT. (T.V.N.Z.’s acting controller of programming, Mr B. W. Parkin, replies: “While the late running of the cycling events was unfortunate, Television New Zealand had to consider a much larger viewing audience who were interested in the news and the following programmes.”)