Mel Giedroyc is reprising her roles in the triumphant return of successful comedy musical Starter For Ten at Bristol Old Vic this month – Diane Parkes speaks to her about her quiz specialist subject,
being a Gemini and why she’s always loved our city. All rehearsal photos taken by Pamela Raith.
Having become a household name after presenting television competition shows you might expect Mel Giedroyc to be a dab hand at quizzes. But, she says, that’s far from the case. Mel is discussing her buzzer ability as she prepares to return to the hit musical Starter for Ten which centres around a University Challenge competition and plays Bristol Old Vic and Birmingham Rep Theatres this autumn.
Based on the best-selling novel by David Nicholls which was then turned into a successful 2006 film, Starter for Ten follows the adventures of Bristol University student Brian Jackson who dreams of winning the TV quiz show University Challenge. But how far will Brian go to take the prize?
Mel studied French and Italian at Cambridge’s Trinity College, so did she ever hanker to be on the University Challenge team?
“I cannot tell you how far that would have been from my university experience,” she says. “My general knowledge is absolutely appalling. I’m good on Eurovision, but that’s about it. My subjects are Eurovision, Italian and literature and I’m not good at pretty much any of the others.”
Fortunately it is her acting ability rather than her general knowledge which is needed for Starter for Ten in which she plays Brian’s mum Irene and television executive Julia Bland in the musical. And Mel is looking forward to returning to these roles after playing them last year when the show premiered in Bristol.
“I love the fact that it’s a homegrown British comedy musical with real heart and soul,” she says. It was a total joy to be in it the first time round, so when they asked me to be involved with another outing of the show, I jumped at the chance.
“We also will have reworked the show so it’ll be Starter for Ten 2 to make things sharper and tighter, so it’s great to be involved in that process too. We all believe in this show and want it to be the best it can possibly be.”
There are both joys and challenges to playing two very different parts, says Mel, whose long-term partnership with Sue Perkins saw the two women presenting Light Lunch, The Great British Bake Off, and Mel and Sue together.
“Irene is so much fun to play. She’s been a single mum to her teenage son Brian since her husband died. She is a no-nonsense grafter, a coper, adores Brian but acts as a bullshit barometer when she feels he’s losing his head at Bristol University.
“Julia Bland is the vice executive on the Granada TV gameshow committee and is pure eighties powerhouse. University Challenge is her life and she takes no prisoners. I’m a Gemini – I think there is definitely both an Irene and a Julia lurking around in my personality – it’s great to get the chance to unleash both of them in front of an audience.
“They couldn’t be more different so it makes both parts a real joy to play. You have to keep well on your toes. Irene has a heartbreaking song in the second act, so the dial has to be turned up and then down – which is challenging and fun. I have to get my power metal head on for Julia and then find much more sensitivity for Irene.”
Starter for Ten was premiered at Bristol Old Vic in 2024 to a sell-out run.
“It’s a great combination of funny, tender, sad and utterly life-affirming,” says Mel. “The storytelling is great and you definitely feel like you are going on the journey with the characters in the show.
“It’s a show about the joy and freedom of being young and a student where anything is possible and your world is opening up on all sides. I think the young crowd love it because it’s about them, and the older crowd because it makes them feel so nostalgic. It’s also set in the eighties. What is not to love!”
Despite being set in a decade famous for its pop music, the show features new music.
“It’s not a jukebox show – all the songs are newly written and wonderful. That is such a rarity these days. The reaction that the music has got is amazing – and rightly so. All the songs are so cleverly crafted and catchy and are clever in that they give you hints of the eighties’ songs without being complete scrapes. So you will hear whiffs of The Smiths, The Cure, Electronica, Kate Bush, all the greats – without being able to say exactly how.”
Mel is looking forward to the show returning to Bristol, a city she has come to know well.
“I’ve always loved Bristol. One of my best friends studied Drama there in the eighties and I used to visit her a lot and come away feeling slightly jealous. I love the music scene and the fact that you can get to the sea so easily.
“My husband and I were lucky enough to be at the big Massive Attack gig last September which was just epic. It really summed up for me all the brilliance of Bristol. I’m a fan of Clevedon too, which has the big open air swimming pool filled with seawater. I’ll definitely be trying to head there lots in September.
“And the Old Vic is an extraordinary theatre to play. So much history, so many stories, and the love and support that it has in the city makes it very, very special.”
Alongside taking part in countless television and radio shows, Mel has also built a strong stage presence in recent years with roles in Stephen Sondheim’s Company, The Crown Jewels, The Rocky Horror Show, Much Ado About Nothing and pantomime.
“I hope to be able to do more and more theatre,” she says. “There is no feeling like it. I love the fact that every audience is different, so that there are different beats and potential for different things to land every single performance. I’m never happier than being on stage to be honest.
“I think it goes right back to being a six-year-old and going to panto at the Thorndike Theatre in Leatherhead, which was always my favourite day of the year, and running up onto the stage with the other kids and feeling like this was the best place to be.”
Now Mel is thrilled to be treading such famous boards as the Bristol Old Vic and Birmingham Rep.
“To be honest I can’t quite believe it. I’m an untrained actor in that I didn’t go to drama school – any ‘training’ I’ve had has just been learning on the job for 37 years. There’s a lot of me that will always feel like an eternal student – getting away with it and learning on the fly.
“So, Starter For Ten, a celebration of the unfettered joy and heartache of being a student, is the perfect show to be part of, really. What an honour to be heading for the Bristol Old Vic and Birmingham Rep, seriously!”
Mel says audiences will enjoy the show.
“It’s a lovely story, really well told, with fantastic performances from this vibrant young cast. Plus, it’s a new British comedy musical with all-new songs – this really doesn’t happen very often.
“We want audiences to come along with us for the ride – to laugh, cry and feel that they’ve been part of something really special.”
Starter for Ten plays at Bristol Old Vic 10 Sept – 11 Oct; see bristololdvic.org.uk for more information and tickets.
