Interview with Meg Mathews for Time Crashers

12 August 2015

The following feature is available free for reproduction in full or in part.

 

Tell me why you wanted to do the show. 

My mum passed away last August, and I sort of hadn’t really done anything, it as a really hard time for me. I was offered it and I just thought I would keep a low profile and keep my head down at the time. Then I looked at the email again, and history was my mum’s favourite subject, she worked at the National Trust and I spent years walking around houses and going to the Loire Valley. It also happens to be my daughter’s favourite subject as well, and she was like, “Mum, you have to do it,” so I was just thinking the two most precious people in my life were history mad, and Anais got a B in her GCSE mock, she was one point off an A, so it seems I was really meant to do it. 

 

So you were the perfect person for it! 

I was, wasn’t I? Everyone thought I was going to be this mental rebel, you know, rock ‘n’ roll troublemaker, and I basically just loved my tasks. I loved being told what to do, it’s not in my nature but I quite liked it, the authority amongst people, and having a time frame and not just being the rebel that I usually am seen as in my daily life.

  

The others found the Edwardian period really tough. How about you?

It was really tough. What I found interesting is that it was only 100 years ago and it was definitely that whole high society and money and image. We weren’t called by our names, and when the lady of the house came around we had to face the wall. I mean, how degrading is that?! That’s when you could just see that the era was all about money, prestige, the clothes they wore, the crockery they had, and it was all about showing off! It was terrible! You got paid the least, you would never work your way up, never. I came home to Anais and said, “You always vote, Anais.” I have always voted, but that really came to light now. Being a woman, I owe a lot to the Suffragettes, our country really took a stance at that time for women and we really should appreciate that. I have to say, the more we got taught on the show and the facts that I learned. I really did appreciate it more. I just loved it. 

 

What was your biggest concern going into it? 

Do you really want to know how shallow I am?! It was how I would look with no make-up on! There you go, that’s all I was worrying about. I wasn’t worrying if I would have to be in pig poo up to my knees or if I didn’t eat for a week, it was all about what am I going to look like with no makeup on, and really unflattering period clothing. But within hours, that had gone. 

   

What was your favourite era? 

The Iron Age. I was voted the leader, which was incredible. There were a lot of big personalities and actors like Keith Allen and Kirstie Alley. So I thought, “Step back and watch,” so that’s what I did, and then I slowly started to come out of my shell and have a bit more input and everything. And at the end I got picked and I was really touched – I think I might have cried actually, because I was picked by everyone to be the leader, it was quite amazing really, and it was unanimous, all nine people picked me, I didn’t think it would be me. There were Olympic athletes with the mind sets to achieve things, and Keith Allen, who has his own smallholding. And Louise Minchin! A BBC anchor woman! My favourite. I love her to death. She’s so highly intelligent and everything

 

What was your worst moment? 

Having to wash clothes in urine and knowing it’s been standing there for 10 days! I’ve got my hands in this bucket and I’m thinking, “Whose wee am I washing in?” I’m up to my elbows in this ice cold bucket of pure urine, washing a load of Tudor clothes. My hands were cold and red, and I had to wash Lady Catherine’s night shirts in wee because it turns to ammonia, that’s what urine does after nine days.

 

Were there moments where you thought, “What am I doing?” 

The truth is, you know you’re going home in two weeks – it would be a different matter if I was living on the streets. That said, when I first moved to London, I hitch-hiked to London with a bin bag, and I lived on the streets of London for two years when I was 17/18. I lived in squats in Brixton; I slept in cars, so I know that I’m never going to go back to anything like that. So for me, I always knew that we weren’t in that situation. We are lucky, and I am so grateful that I know that I’m going back home.

  

So what was your best moment? 

I really loved being a fisherwoman! I just loved the sea air, I loved collecting seaweed, and I laughed my head off. I like the fact that despite being a vegan I knew how to cook cod roe. It was like going back to my parents and what they taught me as a child. There was a real sense of community because we were all equal, and we worked for ourselves, so we were going to make money if we had all the oysters together and the kippers together, and we did – we all went there in the morning, and we had to get certain amounts of baskets of oysters, clean them, mussels, clean all the mussels, then gut the fish, smoke the fish, make the kippers, eat the cod roe and I collected the seaweed, packed the oysters in the seaweed, and you know what, they were starting at 9am and we had to get it finished by 5pm and we actually did it, and then we put it on this cart and it went off to London. It was amazing. I can’t wait to watch that one. 

 

How did you feel about the outfits? 

The corsets killed me, you can’t move in them. The material is rough, the corset is rough, and the shoes aren’t built for any comfort whatsoever. Those corsets weren’t like lovely, lacy sexy numbers, they were very authentic, original bras that were so uncomfortable – thick, starched cotton, nothing sexy about them!

  

What did you do when you came out? 

I really got straight back into it the minute I got in the car to leave. I stopped at the service station and I was straight in Smiths buying every magazine, every newspaper, I don’t even drink fizzy drinks and I bought Coca-Cola. I was just going, “Let’s buy that and that!” And I drove back with Kirstie Alley, and we had the best time, I was showing her all the English stuff. She ended up staying in London and living with me for about a week, we had a great time.

   

Why do you think people should watch the show? 

Because they want to have a good laugh! I think it’s going to be good because of all the characters in the show and maybe even something a bit deeper like how lucky they are to live in the 21st century. I just think that Tony Robinson is great. Kids will love it, I think, grown-ups will love it, everyone will. But you’ve got the experts in our programme as well, and they’re great. I think everyone would love it. 

 

Which celebrities would you choose to do it next time? 

Me! I would do it again! I wish they did it around the world. That would be amazing. Who would I pick? How about Gazza, Eamonn Holmes and Holly Willoughby. And Lorraine!

 

Time Crashers is on Channel 4 from Sunday 23rd August at 8pm.