David Essex: 'I feel like I've come home'

By Alison James

In the news

27 June 2011 16:17

He may be a Seventies heart-throb and superstar, but David Essex is still an East End boy at heart...

It’s only been a matter of weeks but already it feels like boxer-turned-antique dealer Eddie Moon has been in EastEnders for ages. He fits in perfectly. Well, he’s yer authentic East End of London geezer, in’e? But then, so is the legendary David Essex who’s playing him. Born in Plaistow and raised in Canning Town, they don’t come much more ‘apples-and-pears’ than our David.

“I’ve lived all over the world,” he says, “but the East End still feels like home to me. I live in central London now, but I go back to the East End quite a lot to watch West Ham football team – I used to play for the juniors when I was 14. I also visit the cemetery where Mum and Dad are buried.”

So is Walford anything like West Ham?
“Not really,” he smiles – those famous blue-grey eyes of his as twinkly as ever. “West Ham’s nowhere near as dangerous! You know, EastEnders is a great adventure for me, although it was a bit daunting at first. The schedules are fast and furious, and I felt like the new boy at school! But everyone’s lovely and I’m full of respect for the actors here – some of them have been in the show for 20 years.

“I love playing Eddie and it’s important to me that he’s a strong character in his own right. I don’t want people to see him as David Essex. I’m in the show until the autumn then I’m going on tour, but Eddie may well be back after that. We’ll have to see.”

Life’s certainly good for David right now. Professionally he’s loving being able to combine acting on TV with performing on stage, while in his personal life he’s just married his third wife, actress Susan Hallam-Wright, last September. At 38, she’s the same age as Verity – his daughter from his first marriage – but he says that’s not been a problem.

“They’re great friends. And I still get on brilliantly with my first two wives – there’s no animosity. Family is important to me and has become more so as I’ve got older. You can sometimes focus on projects you’re doing and neglect your family, but in the last ten to 15 years I’ve made a conscious effort to put family first.
“As well as Verity, I have Danny, also in his 30s, and Billy and Kit, twins who are in their early 20s. I also have four grandchildren now and I look forward to spending time with them and being on the touchline when they play football.”
David’s strong feeling for family obviously stems from his own, very happy childhood.

“I had the best mum and dad ever, really loving parents,” he explains. “They gave me a very happy childhood because I knew I was loved. They were really good people. Mum was outgoing, loved music and was always first on the dance floor, while Dad was more introverted. But there wasa lot of love between them. There were 13 children on Dad’s side and five on Mum’s so I come from a big family, even though I was an only child. I grew up in a very different world to the one we live in now, but Canning Town was a fantastic place for a boy to grow up. It was a different era. It was very cosmopolitan because of the docks – at the end of the street there’d often be an ocean-going liner four times bigger than the houses. We also had half bombed- out and derelict houses to play in. I was never indoors.”

David’s father wanted him to work on the docks like he did, but the future superstar had other ideas. At 15, he joined a blues and jazz band, and several years later was discovered by Derek Bowman, a showbiz writer who became his manager. In 1971, David was cast to play Jesus Christ in the musical Godspell. Two smash hit movies followed (That’ll Be The Day and later, the sequel Stardust) and he had a number one hit, the first of many.

“That period – around 1973 – was probably the most extraordinary time of my life,” he recalls. “I ’d finished my first film, played Jesus in Godspell, and had a number one record worldwide. Being so successful in three different mediums – film, theatre and music – was great. It took a while to get there, though. I spent six years starving with blues bands. If overnight success had happened when I was 17 maybe I wouldn’t be here now.

“I’ve been very lucky and feel I’ve had a charmed life. I’m so fortunate to be able to do the things I do but I’ve never felt that what I do makes me more important than anyone else. I’m not saying that to sound humble– it’s just the way I feel about things.”

David certainly sounds very together, very content. Doesn’t it bother him that his fabled good looks have, er, mellowed somewhat?
“Growing older doesn’t bother me,” he says. “I hardly ever look in the mirror anyway. I couldn’t care less about lines and wrinkles. I’ve honestly never been that interested in the way I look – I’m a natural born scruff. I was always embarrassed by the girl- pulling, good-looks image. My focus has always been on the music or acting I’m involved with. For me, it’s always been about communicating with people, not the pretty boy stuff.”