About Carol
Actress Carol Drinkwater is probably best known for her role as Helen Herriot in the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small. Also an accomplished novelist, she has achieved bestselling status with her much-loved memoirs of life on an olive farm in Provence.
Carol has been invited to work with UNESCO to help found an Olive Heritage Trail around the Mediterranean Basin. The aim is to create peace within the region and honour the heritage of this sacred tree.
Q&A
What were the first pieces of writing that you produced?
I had an article published in a girls’ magazine – I can’t remember its name – when I was ten or eleven. It related an embarrassing experience at a dance. For this I received a five-shilling postal order. I was so overwhelmed when the letter arrived with the payment. I can still see myself staring proudly at that money order. Aside from that I kept copious diaries and notebooks and I collected words and phrases that I liked the sound of in a big green book.
What jobs did you have before you started writing?
I was – still am – an actress. So years of working in theatres and on film sets. When I was a drama student, I had a series of part-time jobs. The longest stint was as a waitress in a French bistro in Belsize Park.
What is your philosophy for life?
Live life to the full. I try to treat those I love well, telling them ‘I love you’ regularly and showering them with presents, particularly music. Each night before I close my eyes I run through the day and remind myself of all the miracles I have encountered. I try to tell the truth – the birds’ nests growing on Pinocchio’s nose scarred me for life!
Who do you most admire and why?
Writers, artists, such as the Argentinian Jorges Luis Borges who continue to create no matter what obstacles they encounter.
- Carol Drinkwater Lives the Good Life in France (and Writes About It Too) The Thin Reads Interview with Carol Drinkwater, Author of “Hotel Paradise” 0
- A Python’s Paradise: Carol Drinkwater Interview A Clockwork Orange 50th anniversary exclusive! 0
- The Irish Times, December 2017 From award-winning actor to bestselling author: John Rainsford discovers the emotional outpouring behind the writer’s latest novel. 0
- Daily Mail: Emotional ties with actress and author Carol Drinkwater Carol on notebooks, her obsession with olives, getting married in the Cook Islands, showbiz running in the family and her days on All Creatures Great & Small 0
- Where are they now? Actress and author Carol Drinkwater. STAGE and screen actress Carol played Helen Herriot in the popular TV series All Creatures Great And Small (1978-1985) with Robert Hardy, Christopher Timothy and Peter Davison. 0
- Writer's Forum Where I Write: Phil Barrington visits novelist Carol Drinkwater at her French olive farm 0
- Interview for WAMC's The Roundtable, Northeast Public Radio USA An award-winning, nationally recognized eclectic talk program. 0
- 'As a young actress, I would spend everything that I'd earn on travelling…' Irish Indpendent. Louisa McBride interviews Carol Drinkwater. 0