Channel 4 Black Books Webchat -- Tamsin Greig - 22nd March 2002 - www.channel4.com

Chat Ed : Welcome to tonight's live BLACK BOOKS chat with TAMSIN GREIG!

Tamsin Greig : Hey chatters!

Mr_Tamborine_Man : woo hoo
Raven : woohoo
clanger : aaaaaayyyyy!

Tamsin Greig : Great to know you're out there chatting and tapping somewhere! Why are you in!? But glad you are :)

KerPlunk : Good Evening
harr mad : hi tamsin
Paul! : Hello Tamsin my love

Tamsin Greig : Paul, do I know you?
Tamsin Greig laughs
Tamsin Greig : Hehe, hello Paul. Now, go home!

G256 : How do you feel being one of the most whacky of the cast?

Tamsin Greig laughs
Tamsin Greig : You're more than a number, G256... and what do you mean 'one of the most'? The other 2 are insane! I represent the sane female equilibrium of the programme.

clanger : What was it like trying to seduce Johnny Vegus in the episode with Fran's shrinking flat? lol

Tamsin Greig : Like being on a hot date with a soup dragon. Quite hot, but at any minute you could get fried. Also, hilarious, he's a beautiful man.

Raven : Judging from tonights episode, do you think Bill Bailey really is into nipple clamps?

Tamsin Greig laughs
Tamsin Greig : You could never reach his nipples through all that hair!

Andy : Black Books has to ne one of the greatest hits on channel 4 since Father Ted. How do you cope with the comparisons, expectations and adoration?

Tamsin Greig : I go shopping, I go to the park, I go swimming, I go to bed early. I don't do online webchats.

Jonathan Franks : Which would you say is your all time favourite sitcom (excluding Black Books of course!) and the one which has had the biggest influence on you as a comedy actress?

Tamsin Greig : Not really a sitcom, but Smack the Pony. I think they opened the door to wild women and the beauty of the possibility of anything.

Andrew : I just bought the dvd of seris 1 and listened to the audio commentary you did, sounded like everyone was having fun, was it really fun to do or was it all I put on?

Tamsin Greig : We do all really have a laugh together, but none of what we say in public should be taken seriously. Or privately.

MeThOd_MaN : hi tamsin,is that really you.....or is some guy from channel 4 just fakeing it??

Tamsin Greig laughs
Tamsin Greig : Method Man is your method in your madness? I've never faked it! And neither has Channel 4!

cool dude : How long have you been acting for? What age did u start and what got u into Black books?!!!

Tamsin Greig : I've been acting since I could function. I got into acting to get attention as a child. I got into Black Books by an act of grace. It's a dream job that I couldn't have dreamed up.

arthur : A big Phwoar for Tamsin! You're so sexy!
BillyBoy : I think your completely boadashious. how does it fell to be seen as sex figure?

Tamsin Greig laughs
Tamsin Greig : BillyBoy does that mean you are into bin liners, or just putting out the bins a lot? Is 'boadashious' an insult? I don't know what a sex symbol is. Do you get it in a chemist? Or on the motorway?

Lisa : How much input do you get about any of your story lines/scripts?

Tamsin Greig : None. Thankfully. I would never have chosen to have my chin sucked. I get to choose my clothes.

Leanie : whats really in all those wine bottles?!?!

Tamsin Greig : Grape juice. Why?

Stefan : Who was your favourite comedian when you were young and did they have a big influence on you? I'm asking this cause in only 15 and I want to be a comedian when I grow up

Tamsin Greig : I'm much older than you. You probably don't remember Cannon and Ball. I didn't go out on Saturday nights, so that I could watch them. But maybe it's better if you do go out. Funny and sad don't fit well together.

Sue : rock on Tommy!

Tamsin Greig laughs at Sue!
Tamsin Greig : They were geniuses! I'll have nothing said against them. And it's rock on Tammy!

Dogzbollox : How do you feel about the standard of british sitcoms in the last ten years as apposed to the american washover we seem to have?

Tamsin Greig : I can't take your question seriously, because of your name and also because American dogs don't have bollocks and most English bollocks don't have dogs.

IronWolve : Blackbooks is an underground favorite here in the states, Did you ever think you would have such a following over here?

Tamsin Greig : There are bizarre people everywhere, that's the beauty of this world. Wherever you are out there, we'll find you.

Anthony : fran bernard and manny stranded on a desert island - the future of the human race depends on you procreating with one of them...whos it to be?

Tamsin Greig : All of them. None of them. The island donkey. It wouldn't matter anyway because Bernard reproduces asexually.

Neil : Well, unfortunately I dont have all night, otherwise I would ask you lots, but one thing I wanna ask, is, which I'm sure all the men on tonight would like to know as well, are you single, and me being only 20 years old, does this make me sad that Im asking?? haha

Tamsin Greig laughs
Tamsin Greig : Bless your heart, Neil! We should all live with an eager sense of hope and utter lack of shame. I am indescribably married. Thank God.

mr bernard black : what would u say if i told u i have evry piece of merchandise about black books and have my own web site about it tamsin ?

Tamsin Greig : Get a life! There's more to life than this. I'll tell the newspapers.

KerPlunk : What did Tamsin think when first presented with the original scripts? Did she realise that Dylan drank a bottle of Absinthe a day?

Tamsin Greig laughs
Tamsin Greig : That was obvious the first time I met him. If anyone can write this stuff on Absinthe they are worth a second glance. It was like being sent gold leaf through the post.

Mike Holt of Sirrus : Hello TAMSIN - this is Mike Holt, you probably won't remember the name - you did some presentations for my company at a show a couple of years ago [ Vision Factory, electronics co, Surrey ] - I just wanted to congratulate you, on your growing success. I kept wondering who this girl was who I knew I recognised.... best wishes, Mike

Tamsin Greig laughs
Tamsin Greig : Thanks Mike for getting me to where I am now. I'll remember you in the BAFTA speech. Hope the factory is running well.

Paul Young : Tamsin, What are u going to do after Black Books?

Tamsin Greig : Have little bit of toast! Remember Paul, wherever I lay my hat, I lose my head.

flossy : Comone ed....Ask Tamsin whether she prefers the Archers or Black books.

Tamsin Greig : For what? For notoriety? For good dinners? For not putting your hand up the back end of a sheep?

flossy : Enjoyment.....as a genre.....fun

Tamsin Greig : I love both. They are a great combo. Do you use a lot of floss yourself?

Me again : A Black Book movie is needed. How are you going to go about persuading people to make it?

Tamsin Greig : Get Ali G to do the PR. Get Pixar to computer generate Bernard Black. Oh no, sorry...he already is!

J_Vegas : pleeese DONT make a movie, it would spoil the whole thing

Tamsin Greig : OK, J Vegas, are you sister to Johnny?

AtHomeWithTheBlackBo : Nobody has mentioned Neverwhere, your Vampy role. Did it get you a lot of sci-nerd fans?

Tamsin Greig : No, but it did get me a husband.

monkey_dave : Are there to be any more comedian cameos this series (like Jonny Vegas and that midget fella from brass eye)

Tamsin Greig laughs
Tamsin Greig : Do you mean the very talented 'Big Mick'? Jessica Stevenson from Spaced is on next week. Now she is a star.

Roger : what was the most embarrasing cockup you've made on set?

Tamsin Greig : ooh...erm...
Tamsin Greig thinks
Tamsin Greig : Not so much embarrassing but practically all the out-takes are me wetting my pants laughing because Dylan and Bill are stupidly funny.

hughmac : when were you first recognised - and did it freak you out?

Tamsin Greig : Somebody once recognised my voice because of The Archers, by listening to my whole conversation at a table in a restaurant. I was more outraged than shocked.

april_lady : What do you want, chat ed? Money? Sex? Wine? Please ask Tamsin whether Dylan Moran knows how gorgeous he is, and whether he's attatched!!!

Tamsin Greig : Remember, April is the cruelest month. Dylan knows he has a following of older women who would like to put him to bed. He is very much attached.

Gabezz : So, how long to you plan to stay with Black Books? Till the end?

Tamsin Greig : Of time? Of this episode? Until we're all killed off? Until we are all re-cast?

Kostya : What's the best piece of advice you could give us all? In life, I mean.

Tamsin Greig : Walk humbly and speak love.

Chat Ed : Our half hour with TAMSIN is up now, so last three questions now...
cool dude - : What plans do u have for da future anything exciting???

Tamsin Greig : Go to the park. Eat croissants. Muck about. Love life.

Heza : Are actors huggy people? I like hugging people and usually people who act like to hug more. Is it true or is is just me!? I'm not going to deny that I'm very much more that slightly insane. But hey, who want's to be normal. Only normal people wnat to be normal!

Tamsin Greig laughs
Tamsin Greig : Hey Heza! You don't have to be mad to work here... but you ARE. It's the greatest insult to you to be called normal. Some actors hug, some don't. Just like accountants.

Robin : Would you agree that there ia a Black Books in all of us. It is, indeed, a metaphor for life?

Tamsin Greig : We all engage in dysfunctional relationships, of abusive interdependence and mutual shafting. But hey, don't listen to me. I'm no expert.

Chat Ed : That's it! Thanks for coming and talking to us Tamsin.
Rodney Bird : thanx for the best prog on the box cheers T
clanger : Polly from Eastenders taught me maths this morning and now I'm in a chat with Tamsin Greig, life doesnt get much better!

Tamsin Greig : Hey back chatters! It's been great joining you in the ether, now get out of the wires and TALK to someone!

Gabezz : Yes. I LUV U TAMSIN GREIG!
Dav : bye
Tamsin_Is_Fit : Tamsin is GOOD
stan_swegney : Fantastic

Tamsin Greig : All the best. God bless.

davisaacs : bye Tamsin:)
max64622 : well done
Books that are Black : Love you Tamsin
moomin : byeeeeeeee
DarlShrine : thanks Tammy!
Vicky : byeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
Frantastic : lotswa love 2 u tam
flashbloke : good work, keep it up - bye
Cavalorn : we loooooove you
Andrew : byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
shielsy : BY TASMIN!!!!!!U R THE BEST!
Snake : bbbbbbbbbbbbbbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee tamsin best o luck
Ushka : byeeeee
Nick : Goodbye Tasmin

Tamsin Greig leaves the room