Saturday, September 16, 2023

Peter Jukes: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

20 questions with author, screenwriter, playwright and literary critic Peter Jukes

 

The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?

‘Duende’. Sounds pretentious I know, but it basically means follow things, people, events that have ‘soul’.

 

“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

You must change your life.

 

Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2013?

The obsession with personality politics –which always leads to the politics of personal destruction.

 

Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?

Tony Judt. A great historian who died of motor neuron disease three years ago. He had an opinion about everything, and I could never guess in advance what it would be.

 

What might you swap all your wealth for?

I have. Already. For a song.

 

Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the banking crisis?

It’s the end of the Reagan-Thatcher era – thirty years on. Oddly it’s revived my interest in Adam Smith and free and open markets. The world of finance isn’t competitive: it’s a modal monopoly: “too big to fail”.

 

What phrase or word do you most loathe?

“Too big to fail” – especially since I’ve just used it.

 

In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?

I’m still a director of an orphanage in Kenya but don’t do much these days. I do donate to mental health charities though as there is so much stigma attached to these conditions.

 

The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?

They should all be pulverized and put into landfill. They’ve ruined thriller writing. Imagine Hitchcock with mobile phones. None of his plots would work.

 

Peter Jukes
Peter Jukes

 

If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?

The original cast of Hamlet circa 1600 (Shakespeare probably played the ghost).

 

If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?

Confit de canard in a Cathar castle in Languedoc (with an escape helicopter on standby).

 

What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?

When you meet someone acceptable.

 

A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

A Negroni – but a ‘broken’ Negroni (sbagliato) on a hot day.

 

Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

The unexpected ones, late at night, with a guitar (see Duende above).

 

Who is the most positive person you know?

My composer co-writer Marcos D’Cruze – him of the flamenco Duende.

 

What’s your most guilty pleasure?

Invading Poland in PC strategy games (or repelling invasions).

 

If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?

It would be an invisible tattoo – but would glow in the dark when women are around.

 

If you were a car, what marque would you be?

A BMW 7 Series circa 1990 – when they were still cool.

 

Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.

I currently smoke a pipe. And I’ve personally got to like some tabloid journalists in the last year.

 

What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

I don’t have a mantelpiece. Jeez. That makes all my answers here either mendacious or redundant.

 

Peter Jukes is a British author, screenwriter, playwright, literary critic and blogger. He is best known for having devised and written In Deep starring Nick Berry and Stephen Tompkinson, two episodes of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and Burn Out, the two-hour first episode of the Emmy Award winning Waking the Dead series. His most recent book, The Fall of the House of Murdoch, was published in August 2012.

 

To read Peter Jukes’ blog here and to learn about his new musical, Mrs Gucci, premiering next year, click here.

 

Read Jukes’ column on The Daily Beast by clicking here and follow him on Twitter here.

 

 

Subscribe to our free once daily email newsletter here.

The Steeple Times
The Steeple Times
We research and background check our articles. If you believe we have made and error in some detail please get in touch, we seek always to write the truth and stand against a press owned by a self selected few. Please help us, we will accept all your likes, subscriptions and anonymous suport. The Editor and his team at the Steeple Times.

1 COMMENT

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

£1 per week Supports The Steeple Times

Help journalism to remain honest & independent. You can make a difference to the world today.

3,573FansLike
2,068FollowersFollow
16,682FollowersFollow
4,962SubscribersSubscribe

Subscribe For DAILY NEWS

Please subscribe, like and share this unique site, it helps us tremendously. The Steeple Times in return will send you an email at noon each and everyday, that we sincerely hope you will enjoy & look forward to seeing in your inbox.

AD
Advertisement

Trending Now

‘Comeback King’ Kevin Spacey – Actor Seeks To “Leave The Nonsense Behind”

As Kevin Spacey’s eccentric ‘friend’ Geoffrey Mark claims the “exonerated” actor will now “leave the nonsense behind” and begin his comeback, we remind of his friendships with ‘curious sorts’ including Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein.

Summer Silly Season Stories 2023 – ‘The Steeple Times’ Is Back

Matthew Steeples highlights the stories he’s been following during the ‘silly season’ summer of 2023 – amongst them matters Ghislaine Maxwell and Rudy Giuliani and podcasts about ‘true crime’ as a genre.

Most Popular Articles

Was Mucky Minx Meghan Markle A ‘Yacht Girl’ For ‘Randy Andy’?

As author Kirby Sommers suggests that the then Meghan Markle likely spent time with Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein before she met Prince Harry, we again highlight the mucky, murkiness and mendacious manner of this alleged “yacht girl.”

Most Liked...

Big Zuu (Birth Name – Zuhair Hassan)

Big Zuu Zuhair Hassan
A rapper and grime MC turned TV star of ‘Big Zuu’s Big Eats,’ Zuhair Hassan is an example of a youngster with infectious positivity and great talent. A modern-day Keith Floyd in the making.

Nasty NestSeekers

Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in Sag Harbor during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.

SW3’s Smallest – Smallest Stand-Alone House In Chelsea For Sale For...

SW3’s Smallest – Smallest Stand-Alone House In Chelsea For Sale For Staggering Sum
Smallest stand-alone house in Chelsea for sale for 100% more than it was offered for in 2017; there’s barely room to swing a cat.

Cut The Conspiracy Claptrap – Crazy Theories About The Deaths Of...

Cut The Conspiracy Claptrap
Matthew Steeples suggests that the crazy conspiracy claptrap that has followed in the wake of the death of Her Majesty The Queen and the ongoing nonsense that circulates online about Jeffrey Epstein is exactly that; crazy claptrap.

Five of the Worst 2022 – Murder Houses Currently For Sale

Murder Houses Currently For Sale 2
‘The Steeple Times’ selects five houses currently for sale that previously were decked out with “police line do not cross” tape after murders occurred there.