Anthony Head

Earlier this year, Anthony Head, who lives near Bath, auctioned off two Valentine’s Day phone calls to raise money for the Royal United Hospital Bath’s Forever Friends Appeal. We caught up with him just before he made the calls to the lucky winners.

The winner of the auction bid a whopping £1000 for a thirty-minute phone call from Anthony, whilst the runner-up bid £650 for a fifteen-minute call.

You can listen to this interview with Anthony talking about the Forever Friends Appeal, as well as his acting roles, by clicking on the link at the top of this page.

You’re just about to make the Valentine’s Day phone calls. Do you know what you’re going to say?

No, I have no idea! I’ve already broken the ice, though. I’ve just called to say that I’m going to be a little late, as I have a couple of interviews to do first.

Who came up with the idea to do the phone calls?

Liz, who runs my website, came up with the idea. I auctioned some of Giles’ glasses (from Buffy) for another appeal, and she suggested auctioning the phone calls. As Valentine’s Day was coming up, it seemed like a good idea.

So, what’s the Forever Friends Appeal all about?

It’s about raising £10 million, £5 million of which they’ve already raised.

What I’ve seen has largely gone towards the children’s wards. They’ve just opened a garden outside one of the children’s wards, so the kids can play out there. It’s a really nice space, which you can see out of the windows too.

I’d like to get more involved with coming into the hospital, and since I’m local, it seems the least I can do.

How did you get involved in the project?

They asked me, and the children aspect really appealed to me. You can’t do everything you get asked to do, but they invited me to come in and have a look around, which I did, so that’s how it all started.

You’re involved in a lot of other charity work too, including the Theatre Royal Bath egg appeal.

Yeah, I feel somehow linked to the Theatre Royal Bath. I’ve always thought of the city as somewhere special. The egg appeal is a great idea and a great space for children.

I asked myself what I could do to help. So, I auctioned off the Giles glasses for them. It went really well, and they were extremely pleased.

You also run Tilley Farm near Bath. What’s that all about?

I don’t run it - I’m a very interested observer! My partner Sarah Fisher runs it, and it’s the UK centre for the Tellington Touch Equine Awareness Method (TTEAM). This is a way of working with animals, the basic principle being that posture dictates behaviour.

It was born in America, but England is now the most successful nation for TTEAM in the world.

Acting-wise, you’ve attained cult status over the past few years for your roles in Buffy and Little Britain. How do you feel about that?

I’m immensely grateful! It started with the coffee commercial, which actually sent me over to the US, because that was limiting what I was being seen for here.

I hoped that I would do something over there, which got seen over here. But in my wildest dreams, I would never have guessed that I was going to be part of a show that would not only be seen in countries across the world, but that would also be a cult, as well as a critical, success.

And then, to come back and be approached about Little Britain, was great. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but I met David and Matt, we started rehearsals, and it was fun. I was laughing until I wept in some sketches.

And yeah, the success of it is astonishing. In fact, my mum told me today that she watched Neighbours at lunch time and the characters did impressions of Kenny Craig and Vicky Pollard. So there you go, Vicki Pollard has made it into Neighbours!

Are you going to be in the Little Britain stage show at all?

We’ve talked about it. I can’t really commit to the whole tour as it’s a big chunk of time, but I’d love it if we could work out a way of me doing it in some cities. I’d certainly like to do it in Bristol. But, we’ll see.

Finally, what can people see you in next?

True Horror, a series I did for the Discovery Channel. A movie called Click which is a romantic comedy that should be out in the autumn, and more Little Britain.