"The Sport I can't Live Without"

New Woman 'I Just Think You Haven't Got Anything To Fear By Saying What You Think'
November 2001

Ooh, we do love a celeb who speaks her mind, which is why we can't get enough of Sophie Ellis Bextor. Sarah Pyper finds out what really happened when Sophie came face-to-face with Victoria and Robbie

Words: Sarah Pyper
Photos: Joe Chaves
Article printed November 2001 issue of 'New Woman' magazine

With an image as cool as a Solero and cheekbones as sharp as Sabatiers, it's a big relief to see how friendly and polite Sophie Ellis Bextor actually is in real life. (When everyone on the shoot writes a list of what they want for lunch, Sophie is the only one to add the word 'please' after her choice).
She arrived with a case full of fantastic dresses, many of which she, er, borrowed from the Take Me Home video shoot and she's genuinely keen to get chatting. 'I get New Woman every month,' she says. 'I hope I pass the New Woman test. Has anyone ever failed it? Maybe I'll be the first. Oh golly!'
It's hard to believe that this is the same self-assured 22 year old who last year took on the might of Victoria Beckham and beat her to the number one spot with DJ Spiller and the song of the summer Groovejet (If This Ain't Love). Especially when she starts oohing and aahing along with the rest of us when we spot a dolphin swimming up the Thames. But then she deserves to be in a good mood. She's just reached No2 with her first truly solo single and it seems like the perfect time to ask her the truth about Victoria Beckham, Robbie Williams and, ahem, Richard and Judy...

Congratulations on hitting No2 with Take Me Home.
Thanks. I'm kind of surprised and proud at once.

Were you disappointed you didn't get to No1 again?
No. I knew Five would be No1. I took my little sister and her friends to one of their concerts in December and when I saw the girls' reaction to them I knew they'd be really popular. I was just pleased to be in the top five.

So you must have been ecstatic when you beat Victoria Beckham to the No1 spot with Spiller last year.
Tell me about it! We had no idea it was going to end up like that. And I was truly humbled by the response. I even had two Spice Girls tell me they liked it.

Really? Which ones?
Erm. I don't know if I should say. Obviously it wasn't Victoria. So that doesn't leave very many to choose between, does it?

You and Victoria had had a real war of words in the press. Do you regret anything you've said?
No. I haven't said anything nasty. It's all been very tongue-in-cheek but sometimes things come across differently in print than they do when you say them. I just think I was being quite witty actually! I mean, if you're a comedian or a social writer or something, the Beckhams are easy targets. Not that I'm saying they're nasty people. I just mean that there are lots of things to pick on.

So what's the situation between you and Victoria now?
For a long time she refused to say hello to me. Maybe she was just having a nasty night and didn't want to speak to anyone but I found it a bit perculiar. A few weeks ago though we were rehearsing in next door studios and we bumped into each other in the canteen and ended up chatting about our albums and that kind of thing.

Wasn't it a bit awkward after everything that's gone on?
I did feel a bit uncomfortable at first but then if anyone understands how the media can manipulate things people say, it's her. And if she did take offence at anything I said then all I can say is that she's not as bright as I thought she was.

Do you enjoy causing a commotion?
I don't know about that. I just think that if you're someone who's a bit articulate or thinks about the world at all then you haven't got anything to fear by saying what you think. It's not worth taking yourself too seriously.

So you haven't lost any sleep over describing Robbie Williams as 'a Butlins Redcoat' then?
No. I still hold similar opinions but I don't think I'll be quite so rude in future! Actually Robbie came up to me at some thing and said he'd been really upset by what I'd said. I apologised but he shouldn't let people like me upset him. I think he'd have been better just to blank me. But it was very sweet and it had changed my opinion of him.

Have you always wanted to be a singer?
Yeah, but I didn't think about it as a career till I was about 16. Even then I thought maybe I would be a backing singer because I liked singing harmonies.

And you could wear cocktail dresses!
[Laughs.] That's right! Long gloves and shoop-shoop type stuff. That'd be cool.

How did you get into singing professionally then?
One of my friend's boyfriends played guitar and the two of us recorded some Oasis songs together. We put these handclaps in the background and we sounded really, really young. Anyway, I gave the tape to this DJ and he asked me to sing in a band [theaudience] with him.

Do you remember your first gig?
Yes. It was at Staines Art Centre and it was quite scary. A firm alarm went off halfway through and everyone had to evacuate the building! Not a good start.

But you'd already experienced a degree of life in the public eye because your mum is Janet Ellis [the former Blue Peter presenter]. Did you ever get to hang out on the Blue Peter sets?
[Quietly.] Yes, sometimes.

Did having a famous mum make you the coolest kid at school?
Yes and no. At first it gave me a bit of notoriety but it wore off after a while.

Was it ever a disadvantage?
It didn't really ever occur to me to question it. And by the time I went to secondary school it was over anyway.

You don't seem to like talking about this very much.
It's fine and I love my mum but it all happened before I was in double figures, you know? I've gone from the age of ten till now without it being an issue. Then in interviews it's like: 'So tell me again what it was like when you were four.' So I'm like, 'Er, OK'. But I can appreciate it's interesting for people to hear about.

But you don't seem to mind talking about anything else, even all the fuss with Victoria Beckham.
[Laughs.] Oh, I don't mind talking about that. At least it's my life!

OK. So what do you watch on TV?
This Morning. It's my favourite programme. I loved Richard and Judy and I'm really upset that they've left. It's not the same without them.

But didn't they drive you mad when they did Midday Money - the easiest quiz on TV?
Yes, I used to get very frustrated! It someone didn't get many questions right they always said: 'OK we'll give you five more.' It seems like the more stupid you are, the more money you get! It was so annoying. I used to shout at my telly a lot!

Did you ever try phoning up so you could win the money though?
Of course! I'm like: 'My God! Fifteen grand for nothing. That'd be alright.' But the lines are always busy. And I haven't watched it much recently because I've just moved home [to Swiss Cottage in London where she lives with her boyfriend, 33-year-old lyricist Andy Bond] and I haven't got the TV aerial fixed up yet.

So are you busy doing DIY at the moment then?
Yeah, I'm painting walls and banging nails in.

When you've done your hammering and painting how do you relax?
I invite my friends round for dinner. I've known most of them for ages. I don't make good friends that quickly. I'm not one of those people who are like: 'Oh golly, you're my new best friend.' I'm not knocking it but I'm just not someone who can hug people I don't really know. I feel a bit awkward.

What's your signature dish?
Something sort of Mediterranean and hearty. I make quite a nice dish with roasted beetroots, grilled monkfish and salad. I love cooking. Even when I was at school I used to go home in my lunch break to cook.

Baked beans on toast?
No, I used to make salads. But not just salad salads. They had mushrooms and croutons and tuna and things like that.

Not your average schoolgirl then!
[Laughs.] No! In fact if I ever gave up singing I'd like to be a food critic. I could eat loads - oysters, lobster, everything.

The press have been saying that you might be taking over Helen Baxendale's role as Ross's wife in Friends.
I don't know anything about it. Anyway, I'm not an actress so I'd have to think carefully about it. Part of me thinks: 'Oh golly, I hope it isn't true in a way so I don't have to think about it.' I just don't know.

So what's the weirdest thing that's ever been printed about you?
I read somewhere that I was going out with Randy Andy from the first Big Brother that was quite funny.

What was the real story?
I only met him once. He was an old friend of one of the press guys working with Spiller. Maybe it was the press guy trying to drum up extra coverage. [Laughs.] He treated me as his pawn! It's so unfair!

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