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Dame Emma Thompson has recalled how people thought her father was on drugs when he worked as the narrator for The Magic Roundabout.
The acclaimed actress – who is set to star as Miss Trunchbull in an upcoming Matilda film – is far from the only star in her family, with her parents and sister all working in showbiz.
Her father, Eric Thompson, narrated the iconic Magic Roundabout, a show renowned for its bizarre, magical adventures and use of puppetry.
Speaking on BBC’s The One Show on Tuesday, Dame Emma recalled her memories from her father’s time on the show – namely, that everyone thought he was on drugs.
Speaking to hosts Zoe Ball and Jermaine Jenas, she said: ‘Everybody thought my father was on drugs when he narrated it.’
She went on: ‘He never took any drugs at all,’ before clarifying there was one time.
‘Only once. There was a very old joint in the sock drawer that was about 20 years old, that they once thought “Oh we’ll try it.” And of course it had no effect at all.’
Dame Emma appeared on The One Show where she shared memories of her father (Picture: BBC)
Eric – pictured with a young Emma and other daughter Sophie – narrated the acclaimed TV show for British audiences (Picture: Radio Times/Getty Images)
Reflecting further, she recalled how the series was made in France, before casually dropping in that he ‘hated the French’ as he thought they had ‘no sense of humour.’
Dame Emma said he had a process for narrating the show, in which he would watch the puppet reels before making up the stories, which ‘were quite odd’ – and may have helped add to the rumours he was on certain substances.
Elsewhere in the interview, the BBC Archives surprised Dame Emma with a letter her father had written to the BBC looking for a job, despite him having ‘no broadcasting experience.’
Years later, Eric was successful in getting an audition – and the One Show hosts also had the report on his audition to hand.
Dame Emma had an emotional moment as the BBC gifted her with a decades-old letter from her father (Picture: Getty Images)
The producers of the audition had noted Eric had a ‘quiet charm and twinkle,’ and an ‘obvious sense of humour’ – with Dame Emma herself noting her father had been ‘a bit of alright’ back in his day.
Becoming emotional, Dame Emma spoke to her 90-year-old mother, fellow actress Phyllida Law, who was watching from home, and said: ‘Mum, look!’
Dame Emma stars as the monstrous Miss Trunchbull in the massively anticipated Matilda: The Musical, and recently stole the show as the first trailer was released.
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The upcoming film, which comes out on November 25, is an adaptation of the Matilda stage musical, which began its run back in 2010 and was itself an adaptation of the 1988 novel by Roald Dahl.
The One Show airs weekdays from 7pm on BBC One.
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Her father’s storylines were ‘bizarre.’
