Take Two (A psychological thriller)

Half a dozen girls with orange fake tans and silicon-enhanced breasts tottered onto the stage and made a series of embarrassing speeches, punctuated with loud whoops.

‘Do you think there’s going to be an award for worst tan?’ asked Seb.

‘And most silicon,’ laughed Andrea.

The girls were ushered off the stage, still whooping and yelping like overexcited puppies.

The award for Best Newcomer was next, and it was taken by Mr Sexiest Male.  He went back up on stage to rapturous applause and screams from the TOWIE table.

‘So who did he have to sleep with to get two awards?’ scowled Seb.

‘Anybody he wants to. I’m guessing,’ said Phillippa. ‘I’m going to have to start watching Emmerdale more.’

Mr Sexiest Male and Best Newcomer made quite a sweet speech thanking his agent and his mother and everyone there for making him feel so loved.

‘Sweet,’ said Carolyn, and she actually meant it.  Like Phillippa, she decided to make more of an effort to watch Emmerdale.

EastEnders picked up the next three awards – Best Comedy performance, Best Villain and Best Storyline, then Coronation Street won the award for Best Single Episode.

‘This isn’t looking good,’ Carolyn said to Harrington.

‘I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Best British Soap,’ he said. ‘And my toes.’

Ricky Gervais announced the contenders for the Best Actress. Andrea was one of the four names and she beamed as a TV crew moved in for a close-up. It was the killer moment at any awards ceremony. If you won, it was important to look surprised and humble. If you lost, it was just as vital to look as if you were thrilled for the winner. The camera was unforgiving and would pick up the slightest hint of jealousy or bitterness, so smiles had to be broad and eyes wide. Andrea sat with her back ramrod straight, her head up and a slight smile on her face as she listened to the comedian announce the winner.

Carolyn’s jaw dropped when she heard him call Andrea’s name. ‘Oh, my God!’ she said. Then she realised a television camera was pointing in her direction so she changed her look of surprise into admiration and started to clap.

The full range of emotions was flashing across Andrea’s face. Surprise. Amazement. Delight. She stood up and allowed Day, Harrington and Seb to embrace her, then she headed for the stage. ‘Did you know she’d won?’ Carolyn asked Day as he sat down again.

The producer shook his head. ‘They played their cards close to their chest.’

‘But you must have put her up for it?’

‘The network did,’ said Day. ‘They didn’t even ask me.’

‘The green-eyed God rearing its ugly head, darling?’ teased Seb.

‘Don’t be silly, Andrea’s a sweetie, and one hell of an actress,’ said Carolyn. She looked over at the network table and saw Sally and Lisa standing as they applauded Andrea on her walk to the stage. Carolyn drained her glass and held it out for Day to refill.

Andrea’s speech was clearly rehearsed and Carolyn wondered if she had known about the award in advance. A TV crew began filming the Rags To Riches table and she smiled supportively and increased her clapping rate.

Best Actor went to Chris Gascoyne of Coronation Street, which Carolyn figured was well-deserved as she’d seen several performances of his that were as good as anything she’d seen on the London stage.

‘What’s he got that I haven’t?’ asked Seb, only half-joking.

‘An award, for a start,’ laughed Carolyn.

‘Seriously,’ said Seb.

‘He’s a good actor, a real pro,’ said Carolyn. She raised her glass to Seb. ‘But he’s nowhere as good-looking or charming as you are, darling.’

Seb grinned and clinked his glass against hers.

The two presenters took it in turns to announce the contenders for Best British Soap – Coronation Street, Doctors, EastEnders, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Rags To Riches.  They showed clips of each show and Carolyn was pleased to see she was in the Rags To Riches selection, a three-hander with Seb and Andrea.

Dawn French opened a gold envelope, paused theatrically, and announced the winner. EastEnders. Carolyn clapped enthusiastically, as did everyone else on the Rags To Riches table. The camera covering their table was pointed at Seb and Andrea and they both did a great job of portraying rapt enthusiasm.

The EastEnders cast made their way up to the stage, flanked by the producers and two of the directors. Sixteen people in all. One of the producers accepted the award and made a short speech.  Carolyn couldn’t help but notice one group he didn’t thank was the poor licence payer who funded their extravagant salaries. It always seemed unfair to her that the BBC should pay for a soap opera because they were never constrained by the same budget restraints as the independently-produced shows.

Carolyn looked over at Day and saw the look of disappointment on his face. Unlike the actors, Day wasn’t great at hiding his true feelings. He caught her looking at him and he forced a smile. ‘There’s always next year,’ he said.