Amy Lamé (CelebAir) Interview

Starting on Tuesday 2nd September 2008, ITV2 will be taking to the skies with the brand new show, CelebAir; with a real plane, flying to real places, staffed by real celebrities!

In this new eight-part series, 11 celebrities will take on a range of jobs on the ground and in the air to battle it out ultimately to become CelebAir’s star employee and win thousands of pounds for the charity of their choice.

A survivor of ITV1’s Celebrity Fit Club, Amy Lamé is an accomplished writer, entertainer, as well as TV and radio presenter. Her one-woman show Amy Lamé’s Mama Cass Family Singers wowed audiences at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival, and met with rave reviews at London’s Soho Theatre. Amy is the co-founder, promoter and hostess of Duckie, London’s premiere pop and performance nightclub, taking place every Saturday at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. Amy also writes regular features for The Times, The Independent, The Observer and Woman’s Own. She was also a contestant in the Alternative Miss World competition in 1995 and 1998.


Favourite holiday destination?

I’ve got two. I’ve spent a lot of time in the Pyrenees, in the south of France where I have a house. I love the mountain walking there and being in the wilderness. It’s the complete antithesis of London. For an exotic holiday location I love Malaysia, it is the most amazing place I’ve ever been. It’s like the best of Asia all in one country, because it is such a multicultural society. So the food, you can imagine, is off the scale. I spent two weeks travelling around Malaysia; eating, cooking, swimming and just seeing wildlife.

Any holiday disasters?

I’ve flew with an airline once where the safety videos went into malfunction and the stewardesses didn’t really care about the service! We didn’t get any pillows and I’d ordered a vegetarian meal and they didn’t have any for me so there was nothing to eat for 10 hours.

My three travel essentials?

A really, really good book, my crochet and wherever I’m going I have to make sure there’s brilliant food and wine, and my grand friends of course.

If I could serve any famous passenger?

I would least like to server Freddie Starr, he shouldn’t be anywhere near a plane let alone a passenger and I think I’d most like Morrissey.

Am I a swimsuit or bikini girl?

Well, I think in my heart of hearts a bikini, but to protect the general public, a swimsuit. I mean preferably nothing to be honest, but you know, I don’t want people to be screaming!

My favourite holiday anthem?

When I was 17 I got a Mustang convertible for my birthday and I just remember always listening to Every Day Is Like Sunday really loudly driving down the shore.

How will I deal with awkward people?

I think the answer is to always kill them with kindness, charm and wit. I mean I’m used to dealing with difficult people, I run a night club and I’ve dealt with drunks, I’ve dealt with aggressive people and I’ve dealt with the people who go ‘oh I love you!’ So I feel quite well equipped emotionally and physiologically to have to deal with people. I’m firm but fair. I will be really calm and cool because that’s the way you diffuse it.

How am I finding the training?

I think it is much harder than what I anticipated. I will never call them trolley dollies ever again, because these people are actually fully equipped to deal with terrorists, to deal with crashes, to deal with disruptive people on board - to deal with any permutation of any sign of danger or lack of safety. I have been extremely impressed with the rigorousness of our training. We study all day and then we go home and everybody spends all night studying.