Hayley Mills is 73 next month, and she looks wonderful – slim, blonde and pretty.
Her beautifully modulated voice is sweet and unmistakably Hayley, the sound of which instantly transports us back to the fabulous films that made her an international star when she was in her early teens – classics such as Tiger Bay, Pollyanna, Whistle Down The Wind and Parent Trap.
In 1961 aged just 14, she even won a juvenile Oscar – the very last time it was awarded – for Pollyanna, although her parents, actor Sir John Mills and writer Mary Hayley Bell, chose not to tell her at the time.
‘My parents decided not to let me go to the ceremony, because I was very young,’ she explains.
‘It was part of their attitude towards me when I was a child, that I should be kept as unaffected by the world I was now moving in as possible.
'So I went off to school, then when I came back from making a movie in Hollywood, I’d go back to school.’
Gavin and Stacey cast members back together for a new comedy drama set in north Wales
Not that she resents this.
‘I think my parents were very wise,’ she says.
Besides she was indulged in some ways, like being shown around Disney World by Walt Disney himself.
‘It was magic for a child,’ she smiles.
‘I was so very lucky, wasn’t I? I loved making the films – it didn’t feel that very different from the imaginary games I played.
'I always felt very at home in front of a camera – kind of protected and safe.
'I never had any nerves or felt self-conscious.
'I was working with wonderful, sensitive and intelligent directors.
'And very experienced actors, one of whom was my father.
'He was an inspiration to me – everything about him, his whole approach to work, as well as his love, enthusiasm and respect for it and other people in the business, was inspiring.
'I was very lucky to have him as a role model.
'He was so full of energy and was a great one for making exciting plans.
'I’d come home from boarding school and never be quite sure about where we were living, because we’d have moved to a farm in the country.
'We moved so many times, I don’t know how my mother coped.’
This is perhaps one of the reasons why Hayley is very happy staying put at her home in south west London, which she shares with her partner, Indian-American actor Firdous Bamji.
'They have been together since 1997, but have never married. Do they have any plans to?
‘If it ain’t broken, why fix it?’ she quips.
‘We are as good as married and feel as married as we could ever be.
‘We’re completely committed to each other and very happy.
‘We’re a couple like any other – when we’re not working, we’re busy doing errands and daily maintenance stuff.
‘We share the chores.
'We like walking and travelling.
'We read, cook together… all the normal stuff.
‘And we see a lot of the boys and their families.’
‘The boys’ are musician and film producer Crispian Mills, 46, from Hayley’s seven-year marriage to film director Roy Boulting who Hayley met on the set of 1966 film The Family Way, and theatre director Jason Lawson, 41, the son she shares with writer and actor Leigh Lawson.
And Hayley is a glam gran. Crispian and his wife, Jo, have two sons, Keshava, 10, and Hari, seven, while Jason and wife Virginia are parents to Soloman, three, and Evalina, 18 months.
Hayley clearly adores being a grandma.
‘I’m so lucky in that they all live less than an hour away from us,’ she smiles.
‘They are such a joy and I take complete advantage of being a grandmother, and spoil them.
'They call me “Mayi”, which is an Indian word for nanny or grandma.’
Have any of them seen the films she made as a child?
She laughs.
‘I don’t nail them to the sofa and insist they watch them, if that’s what you mean.
'Kesh and Hari, being older, have seen a few.
'They enjoyed them and found them funny.
'I remember Kesh watching Pollyanna when he was about five.
'He turned to me with a very serious look on his face and said, “Good acting!”
'That meant a lot.
'The two little ones haven’t seen any yet – it’s too soon.
'But when they’re older we will sit down together and watch the Disney movies I made.
'There’s no worry about them seeing anything they shouldn’t.
'No nudity, violence or bad language.
'Nothing to scare them.
'I remember the first film of my father’s I saw was Great Expectations when I was about six.
'I was far too young and was haunted by those scary, opening graveyard scenes for years.’
Hayley is as close to her older sister Juliet and younger brother Jonathan as she was when they were children.
‘Juliet is my best friend,’ she says.
'‘We’re both actresses but there’s never been any professional rivalry between us.
'She’s the first person after Firdous, Crispian and Jason that I tell my news to – both good and bad.
'She lives in California so I don’t get to see her as much as I’d like, but right now she’s touring the UK with the play The Lady Vanishes so I’m able to catch up with her often.
'Jonathan lives in Tasmania – you couldn’t get much more geographically distant if you tried.
'But we do stay in touch.’
Hayley is still busy, starring in new BBC comedy drama Pitching In with Larry Lamb, which is set in stunning Anglesey in north Wales and is hitting our screens this week.
Despite being a homebody, she has no plans to retire.
‘I love working, but don’t like being away from home for long periods of time, so this was perfect as I was shooting for two weeks in a most beautiful part of the world.
'I don’t think I’ll ever retire.
'For me, the need to work is constantly there.’
And we certainly love seeing her on our screens.
HAYLEY ON BEING A MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER…
‘I never found it easy balancing career and motherhood, but family and the people you love are far and away the most important things in life.
Everything else pales by comparison.
And it’s such an amazing gift to have grandchildren.
You’re calmer, and when you’re with them, you’re a hundred per cent with them, rather than rushing off to work.’
HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR SUNDAY?
■ Lie-in or up with the lark?
Oh, there are absolutely no rules about this in our house.
We do what we feel like.
If I’m working, though, Sunday morning definitely means a lie-in.
■ Day with family or friends?
One or both of the boys usually comes over with their families.
If the weather’s good, we’ll go for a walk along the river.
■ Pub lunch or Sunday roast at home?
Lunch at home – but not a roast, as most of us are veggie and some are vegan.
Although pubs these days make much more provision for vegetarians than they did when I gave up eating meat about 30 years ago.
We all muck in and cook up a big feast.
■ Sunday evening at the cinema or watching telly?
I love watching films – especially in the cinema, where they’re meant to be seen.
It’s dark, the sound is amazing and there are no distractions, like people wandering in and out and getting up to make a cup of tea!
We’re lucky enough to live near a beautiful cinema that used to be a famous recording studio.
On the other hand, we have a massive TV screen, and if we dim the lights it’s like we have our own private cinema in our living room.
■ Sunday blues or looking forward to the week?
I never get Sunday blues.
I suppose it’s because I’ve never worked at any one thing long enough to start hating it.
I’m quite wild at heart and love the way that, as an actor, you get to work with different people.
– New daytime drama Pitching In starts on BBC1, Monday 1 April, 2.15pm
