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First book I loved
The Crimson Petal and the
White by Michel Faber was
the first book I really invested
in as a young adult. It is this
incredible tale of a young
prostitute who meets what is
effectively a sugar daddy. It is
a gentle feminist novel, which
is interestingly written by aa hat without a top part, and
her hair is falling through it. I
tried to recreate that look with
a piece of cardboard from my
dad’s office.First concert I went to
It would have been the
New Kids on the Block at the
NEC Arena in Birmingham.
Everyone was just obsessed
with them and there were a lot
of screaming children. I may
have been one of them!First actor I loved
Tom Hanks was a key part
of my film education.
My dream is to meet
him. He just seems
so bloody nice, but
I really want him to
play a psychopathic
murderer, covered in
blood, going crazy. He
doesn’t seem the type to
ever have an argument with
anyone. Instead, he would just
hug people and walk away.
He should be a politician —
we would be in a much
better state.First film I saw at the cinema
It was probably ET. It wasn’t
scary, just very emotionally
draining. I remember just
screaming for days afterwards
because it was so sad. I tried
to let my four-year-old
watch it but I quickly
realised it wasn’t
age-appropriate.
And at the moment,
we’ve seen
enough people
in bodysuits
and masks.First
unmissable
TV show
The
Chronicles
of Narnia
was such a
big event on
a Sunday
night.
Everybody
would race into
school on Monday
to discuss what had
happened to Aslan the
night before. It was
so beautifully done,
but the Snow Queen
was genuinely
terrifying.First Christmas song I
remember listening to
Frank Sinatra‘s dulcet tones
on The Little Drummer Boy
are incredible. Nothing says
Christmas more than whiffs
of the mafia. I tried to put it
on when we put the tree up
this year, but my family were
nonplussed.First Christmas movie I fell
in love with
Santa Claus: The Movie has
everything. The music is
fantastic, Santa’s workshop
is brilliant, and it is set in
New York. I don’t
think anyone has
come up with a
Christmas film to
rival it. cMY CULTURAL FIRSTS HELEN GEORGE
The BBC star, 37,
has played perky
Trixie Franklin in
all ten series of
Call the Midwife.
By Jake Helm
man. The author really
captures Victorian England.
It is just magical.First pop-inspired fashion
trends
I am a kid of the Eighties so
my first pop idol was Kylie
Minogue. I remember her first
album cover where she wearsCall the
Midwife is
on BBC1,
Christmas Day,
at 8pm26 19 December 2021