The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency A quick chat with No.1 Lady Detective Jill Scott

Actress Jill Scott, aka Precious Ramotswe in The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, on poetry, pregnancy and Pitt...

What do you like best about playing Precious Ramotswe?"The show has a lot of heart. We’re so used to seeing violence, explosions and sex on TV these days. Our stories have a lot of positive energy, even when things aren’t going quite right."

The show’s director, Anthony Minghella, died last summer. Did you feel his absence on set? "Oh, absolutely. There was this huge, huge void. He was the father of our little show. I miss him every day."

How did you mark his passing? "On the first day of filming, we all gathered in front of the Agency building. We sang, listened to some music and gave each other back massages. Anthony was a great masseuse."

If series two goes ahead, will Precious marry JLB Matekoni, as in the books? "It’s a possibility. But I could also see them breaking up for good. We could go in a different direction from the books. There is that option."

You were pregnant with your first child when you filmed the series. How was the morning sickness? "Terrible. I was throwing up every day. Luckily, we had paper bags on hand so I didn’t even have to rush off set."

You started out as a poet. What was your first ever poem about? "My school. My first school had lots of fights, not enough teachers, lots of stress. Then I started at a new place, where I fell in love with the arts. I wrote a poem about it. I think it went, ‘Education is like a flower, a bouquet you gave to me.’"

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? "I once cleaned toilets at a theatre company in exchange for free acting classes. It’s not the worst job you could ever do, but I didn’t like it much. People leave things in there. Not so nice."

Do you have any unusual hobbies? "I use colouring books and crayons. It makes me feel like I’m five again. I love anything that makes me feel that I don’t have any problems in the world."

Which celebrity would you like to be stuck on a desert island with? "I’d like to hang out with Brad Pitt. He seems to have a lot going on in his head and his heart. He’s not bad-looking, either, but he is Angelina’s man."

What’s the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you? "At school, I once had to give a talk to the class. I was wearing a wrap skirt that my mother made, and it unravelled and fell to my knees, revealing Superwoman underwear. I had to hide in the cloakroom until the teacher brought my skirt to me. Those are things you don’t forget."

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