Stefan Booth Online

Interview in Hello - July 2010

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Category: Interviews with Stefan

Published on Saturday, 02 April 2011 08:10

Written by SBO Admin

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Exciting things have been happening for Stefan Booth.  This week, the 32year-old 2006 Dancing on Ice runner-up and former Hollyoaks and The Bill actor is on our screens in BBC1’s gritty drama The Silence, alongside a stellar cast that includes Douglas Henshall, Dervla Kirwwan, Hugh Bonneville and Gina McKee.

He has also been penning songs for an album, as well as building up an impressive portfolio as a photographer.  On top of that the day we meet he has found out that a comedy film he did a pilot for, entitled Meet Pursuit Delange and co-starring Craig Fairbrass has been given the green light.

But as exciting and rewarding as all that may be, it can’t hold a candle to Stefan’s favourite current role – that of doting dad to Tabitha, two and Benjamin, aged six weeks, his children by his beautiful wife of three years model and presenter Debbie Flett, 30, whom he met in Mauritius nine years ago on the set of the drama Breakwater.

On first impressions, Debbie was, says Stefan, “not his usual type”.  “She was absolutely beautiful but, because of the way she looked, I assumed she would be stand-offish – but she wasn’t at all.  She was so down to earth and great company.  We became soulmates first but deep down I knew she’d be the mother of my children.

PAWS FOR THOUGHT
Fortunately, Debbie felt the same.  “While filming in Mauritius, Stefan and I found a stray kitten trapped in overgrown grass,” recalls Debbie, a successful model and actress and one of Bruce Forsyth’s original ‘Dolly Dealers’ on Play Your Cards Right.  We had to cut it free because it was so distressed, and I looked at Stefan holding this tiny creature and being so gentle with it and thought, ‘He’d make such a good dad.’

“We were staying in a complex with the other cast and crew and this kitten was up nearly all night, whimpering and trembling.  Stefan and I took it in turns to sit up with it and cuddle it.  So all those years ago, we were getting experience of being parents,” smiles Debbie, gazing at her blissfully snoozing baby boy.Like his big sister Tabitha – a star in the making if ever there were, with her mop of blond curls, big blue eyes and fondness for singing (everything from Wheels on the Bus to Barbara Streisand, by all accounts.  “That’s Debbie’s influence,” says Stefan of the latter – Benjamin was delivered by water birth, at Surrey’s Kingston Hospital.  He arrived as dawn was breaking on the morning of 23rd May, weighing in at a healthy 8lb 5oz.  It was, agree the couple, a truly amazing experience.

“Debs and I had done these fantastic natural birthing classes with a woman called Annabel Hargrave, which taught me how to support Debs in the way she needed,” says Stefan, who lives with Debbie and the children in south-west London.

“I was in the birthing pool with her for the birth and I can remember every detail, like it was happening in slow motion.  Seeing my son make his entrance into the world was magical.  Debbie and I were crying and completely overwhelmed.”

SUPERDAD
Debbie describes Stefan as “superdad”.  “He’s so amazing with Tabitha.  Every day that he’s not working, he’ll take her to the park where he’s always encouraging her to try new things and be bold”

“I went through a phase at school of being bullied,” says Stefan.  “I’ve never forgotten how horrible it is to feel you’ve got to hold back and not push yourself forward.  I’m sure that is what’s given me the drive and passion I’ve got for life now.  I really want my kids to have solid confidence.”

The couple admit they fretted about how Tabitha would adjust to having a new addition to the family.  “When we bought Benjamin home from hospital, we laid him in the Moses basket, then went to wake up Tabitha.  We said to her, “You know Mummy had a big bump because she was making a baby for you, her and Daddy? Well, he’s here,” says Debbie.  “We took her in and she peered into the Moses basket and got such a shock when she saw he was moving and not a toy baby.  But straight away, she wanted to help with his nappy and do things for him.”

“She cooks dinner on her play oven,” laughs Stefan.  “She brings him the occasional plastic fried egg, which we have caught her trying to feed him, but there’s been no jealously.  She’s been an angel.”

Filming The Silence took Stefan to Ireland, where he admits he “made full use of the Guinness”.  “Making the drama was a fantastic experience and I felt privileged to be surrounded by such amazing actors who know their craft so well Douglas Henshall is just mesmerising to work alongside.  He’s such a great guy.”

Even so, he admits becoming a family man makes long absences from home all the more difficult.  “It’s all part of the career I’ve chosen and Debs understands that better than anyone but that doesn’t mean it’s not heart-wrenching, being away from them.” says Stefan.  “Now that Tabitha and Benjamin are here, I feel I’ve grown two extra limbs.  Before I had them, I didn’t know what they’d feel like but now it’s impossible to think of life without them, because they’re everything.”

Interview in Hello Magazine
No 1132 dated 19th July 2010

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