Wherever my boys (and dogs) are. I’m a bit rootless and can nest anywhere really so currently home is the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, which is a bit of a community hub with a dog-friendly roof terrace bar. Honourable mention for best brownies in London in Outsider Tart on the ground floor.
“I got to be the fastest washer-upper in west London behind the bar in the Orange Tree Theatre”
Where was your first flat?
A house on Marmion Road in Clapham Junction shared with a theatre director, a trainee psychologist and another actor. Just thinking about it makes me feel dirty now — always mountains of washing up, unflushed toilets and cat food stuck underneath the lino.
Working behind the bar in the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond. That’s how I got to be the fastest washer-upper in west London — the bar was too small to fit a dishwasher.
Where would you recommend for a first date?
I gave my partner three options for our first date — board games night at George IV pub in Chiswick, a light show at Kew Gardens or a dog walk in Richmond Park. He chose the dog walk and I was pretty much sold before we even saw our first deer.
Which shops do you rely on?
Sheen Sports — I have a son who plays rugby, collects rugby balls and seems to get through a mouthguard a week. Feather & Stitch boutique in Richmond — it feels like a mini department store with the bits you aren’t interested in taken out. Sheen Uncovered — we all love the owner, Jackie. The Sheen Bookshop — I’ve always got more than one book on the go.
Ekstedt at The Yard. Everything cooked over an open fire, in iron bowls, presented on beds of moss and nasturtium — wild and wonderful.
What would you do if you were Mayor for the day?
One child in every 20 is homeless in London so stop building largely unaffordable, poor-quality tower blocks and build the housing we need.
Who is the most iconic Londoner?
Well, listen, I know the correct answer is David Attenborough but I’ve got to put a shout in for some of the iconic women of London — Mary Shelley and her mum, Emma Thompson and Tilda Swinton, and both Queen Elizabeths. I could go on…
Where do you go to have fun?
What’s the best thing a cabbie has said to you?
“I loved you in Ocean’s 8.”
Have you ever had a run-in with a London police officer?
My eldest son, Olly, has Down syndrome and autism and went through a period of going walkabout so often I had PC Christmas (really his name) on speed dial. You’re vulnerable if you have a learning disability — Olly’s been threatened online and in person and the police have been awesome.
Where do you let your hair down?
Start the evening with an Elf Lyons show. Her latest is Woman on the Edge and it’s guaranteed to inspire an evening of escapades.
Who do you call to have fun?
The zoologist and author Lucy Cooke can sniff out a good night from the other side of the world and turn what was just supposed to be a trip to the pub into an anecdote you’ll be telling years after.
What’s your biggest extravagance?
I spend quite a lot on my hair because left untended I look like Catweazle.
What’s your London secret?
The Brentford Penguins. Most of the Premier League clubs have their own Down syndrome teams and so do Brentford. They play every Sunday in Gunnersbury Park. There are more than 50 members. The youngest player is two and the oldest is 28.
What are you up to at the moment for work?
I’m in a new play, Relics, a dark-ish comedy by Ben Ockrent, at the Lyric Hammersmith. It should be a great night out with a moral dilemma at its heart and lots of laughs.
Who is your professional hero?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who I worked with on Veep. She didn’t settle for just “good” but was always reaching for something really hilarious.
Moomin mugs. I get one every time I go to Sweden.
Relics is at Lyric Hammersmith until July 18; lyric.co.uk. Sally Phillips is also in The Hairdresser Mysteries, coming soon to BBC One