Dazzling performer, brilliant writer, maddening perfectionist, Easter Egg hunt maestro … on the 10th anniversary of Wood’s death, those who knew her best celebrate the shy introvert who redefined comedy
Duncan Preston
I can still remember waiting to be introduced to Victoria at the Granada offices for her TV film, Happy Since I Met You. She’d been at lunch with Julie Walters and they hadn’t seen each other for quite some time. They were a little bit refreshed, you know what I mean? I can still hear the crash of a door in a corridor as they arrived, and when they came in it was like being hit by a firing squad. I said to my agent afterwards: “I don’t think I’d want that job.” And he said: “Well, they just offered you the part.”
I had planned to be a serious actor – do the classics – but becoming part of Victoria’s company for her sketch shows was the end of that. I used to take her to work in my Saab every day, because we lived less than a mile apart. She would joke: “I love Duncan’s soft top.” We became good friends – and Julie and I had a thing at the time – but it wasn’t all sweetness and light. Vic was a genius and not the easiest person to work with because she insisted that you do everything exactly as it was written. She would make you do it again and again and again, until you said the right words.
