Christmas time is all about sharing precious moments with family and friends, from the youngest babies and innocent children to the older generations of Grandparents (and if you’re very lucky) Great-Grandparents.  
 
Our house has always been packed to the rafters with brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews – food and drink flowing with plenty of party games, quizzes and laughter.  Seeing all the wonderful festivity through Hugo’s eyes this last six years has been extra special.
 

For my Mum however it was when she met my Dad that the fairy-tale truly began. 
 
She was such a natural beauty, always immaculately made up but miraculously someone who seemed to be able to look amazing in no time at all.  My parents always made such a handsome couple at every stage of their life together.   

​They were together four years before they got married on a snowy Winter’s day on 20th December, 1969.  Soon after they had my eldest brother Norman followed by Laura, Edward and finally me; Charlotte Emily in 1980.

Our childhoods (and adult lives!) were all about home cooked food, impulsive trips to the beach, an open and cosy house with clear boundaries if we misbehaved!  She was the perfect mix. 

When I went to secondary school Mum decided to go back to University and studied Nursing at Canterbury Christchurch. She did this whilst still being a fabulous wife and Mum, getting up at 4 a.m. to study and then getting us all ready for our day when we came downstairs – I don’t know where she found the energy! 

​Mum had a wicked sense of humour, her laugh was a cackle and it was the kind of laugh that you just couldn’t help but laugh with her. As the years passed we grew even closer as friends as well as Mum and Daughter. She supported me through all of my career – she came to all of my informal concerts at school where I used to sing and play the piano to my first West End show (she was more nervous than me I think).  
 
We shared bubbles, nights at the theatre, chats, spas, lunches in Harrods and a love of karaoke after a few drinks at home!  She was just the best. 

As a Grandmother to her 5 Grandchildren she was amazing.  She never said no to them and doted on them all at all times, they all loved her but respected her too! Nobody messes with Granny.  (Although I swear I saw Hugo getting away with things that I would have been in trouble for when I was his age!)

​Sadly this is where our story takes a devastating turn.

In April 2016 my Mum and I were out shopping for my Birthday when I noticed she couldn’t swallow her lunch properly... this was the first sign of a year long battle with stomach cancer. 
 
To say it tore me apart would be an understatement..... my world collapsed at that moment, all of my foundations suddenly shifted seismically and a new world was created – one with the fear and prospect of losing this special lady, the woman that bore me into the world and cradled me everyday since whether I knew it or not.

Despite my own fear I was determined to support my Mum and Dad through this with all the positivity and love that I could muster…and that’s what we did. 
 
She lost all of her hair through the chemotherapy (albeit she looked great with a bald head!).   As she could no longer eat normally she had a nasogastric tube fitted for 8 weeks which gave her food and drink, she underwent a major operation to remove her stomach in a bid to beat the spread of cancer as well as endless scans and procedures.  Mum bravely battled the whole ordeal with a smile and never uttered a single word of complaint.
 
She was going to beat this, that was her sole determination. 
 
This picture of Mum and Dad below was taken at an Easter family dinner about 6 weeks before she sadly died.  Four weeks later she was given a terminal diagnosis and passed away peacefully 2 weeks after that. Poignantly we were all by her side, a moment I will never forget. 

Hi all,

It’s been a little while since my last blog so I thought I must sit down and write something this morning! Work has been really busy for me recently which is brilliant, especially in a profession that can have big peaks and troughs

Let’s start with Slovenia, I was lucky enough to be cast by the German brand Verivox for their latest adverts.  They are being broadcast over in Germany and we had great fun filming them! I got to work with an amazing cast and crew, stay in some lovely hotels and see a beautiful country. Although I feel very lucky I always miss my boys so much though! Some pictures and the advert itself below. 

I came back from Slovenia and straight into filming my part in brilliant new Sci Fi movie Dune Drifter directed by the excellent Marc Price!  I’m not going to lie, it was really tough filming it.  It was cramped and I could hardly breathe in my helmet, but sometimes filming something amazing can be brutal (ask Di Caprio in The Revenant!), it can't all glamour and red carpets...can it?!   Aside from the discomfort it was really exciting to make  😅 I’m looking forward to seeing the end result. Some behind the scenes below. ​

On the other end of the spectrum I also had a great corporate job where I got to work with a smashing presenter and we got along really nicely! Chemistry is obviously really important and I felt we did a good job together... well I hope so anyway! Some pics below. 

With Christmas not that far away it’s only fair that I share some behind the scenes of another of my recent commercials.  I had a ready-made family for the day and got to stay in the beautiful city of Bath whilst filming! Advert out very soon. ​

FINALLY on the work front (I know!) the board game advert for “Sort it Out “ is now out on the TV, keep your eyes peeled for it as I’m sure it will get a lot of play before Christmas! 

Before I go, I got to spend the weekend with my best friend recently. True friends are hard to find and I’m so lucky to have such a lovely friend in Barbie!! We had a day out in Blackpool and did all the tourist attractions! I got told off by a man for sorting out my tea by his slushie counter.... ooops!! Here are a couple of pictures from our Western Photoshoot. ​

Blog soon. 

Charlotte xxxx ​

 ​Hi all,

It’s been a little while since I blogged because my little one has been off school for the Summer so I went into Mummy mode and we had a fantastic time! Now he is back at school I’m talking full advantage of catching up with chores and of course this blog!! 😃

Its always so varied as an actress and I consider my myself very fortunate and lucky to be doing what I do! Hugo, being a huge fan of the films and ipad game, was delighted when I told him I was going to be starring in a commercial for Angry Birds.  Things never stand still in this profession,  we were shooting  for the VR game where you put on a Virtual Reality head set and can see all the way around you!  We had a really fun day filming despite the fact that it was the hottest day of the year...don’t be fooled by these fresh faced pictures though, we were melting!  😂

​After Murder Maps I was delighted to get chosen for another commercial. This one was for a board game called “Sort It Out".  It was all shot on a green screen which means we were acting to nothing, it was all going to be added in post production afterwards! I worked with a company called Premiere and they are fabulous to work with! It’s a great game and the advert is out soon. Some pics below from the shoot. 

​I also celebrated my birthday at the end of April! I was very spoilt by my hubby Mark and family and I have put on a few pictures of the celebrations below!

Hi all,

January has gotten off to a very busy start for me in 2019!  There have been auditions galore so fingers crossed from those auditions.  I was absolutely delighted to audition for the feature film The Curse of Halloween Jack and get the part of the Mayor's wife Annie Boyle!!! I am over the moon to be a part of this production and can't wait to start shooting in February with the brilliant director Andrew Jones.

My first job of 2019 was a voice over, I have said this before and I’ll say it again I absolutely love doing voice overs! Because it's a not on camera I love the fact that I can turn up and look how I want too haha!! 😂 Below is a behind the scenes from the day! ​

Finally it was the premiere of Ready For My Close Up, a great little comedy in which I star alongside Lynn Lowry (Shivers/ The Crazies), Gary Shail (Quadrophenia), George Sweeney (Jack the Ripper/The Sweeney) and Dawn Perllman (The Omen). The film had some some great feedback and I had a blast with the producers of the film; the fabulous Stuart and Jen Morris from Misty Moon Productions, the writer Michael Haberfelner and the Director Jason Reed. Some pictures below from the night!