Joanna Lumley always felt like she was about to "lose [her] mind" whilst waiting to find out if she’d won an award for her acting.
The 72-year-old actress hosts the BAFTAs on Sunday (10.02.19), and after scooping three honours and the BAFTA TV Fellowship in the past, she knows how the shortlisted nominees will be feeling when they wait to find out who has successfully been chosen to receive a prize for their work.
She said: "You almost lose your mind, trying to sit calmly and put on a smile to show you don’t care if you win or lose. Inside, your heart is absolutely drumming."
When she won her first BAFTA for her work on ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ in 1993, Joanna admits she just wasn’t expecting her performance as champagne swilling socialite Patsy Stone.
She said: "It really knocked me sideways. It was completely overwhelming. To be recognised by your peers for such a funny and thrilling show, written by the ineffable Jennifer Saunders, was just wonderful. I went as cold as ice. I felt quite calm walking up [to collect it] but I was so shocked. It was like a walk of death. The first cut is the deepest. Nothing matches that."
The former ‘New Avengers’ actress keeps her awards "around the house" but they’re not all on display.
She said: "Sometimes on a bookshelf or upstairs or around the place.
"Some I have to keep in a cupboard because they are quite a lot."
Joanna Lumley recalls awards show nerves
