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BONNIE LYTHGOE
HOW
BONNIE
GOT HER
GROOVE
BACK
Y
ou get the impression that
Bonnie Lythgoe is making
up for lost time. Her voice
comes down the phone line with equal
measures of energy and urgency as
if she’s excited to share her story but
needs to get it all out in a hurry. And
there’s certainly no shortage of story to
share.
Best known in Australia for three
seasons of playing ‘the nice judge’ on
popular TV competition So You Think
You Can Dance Australia, further afield
in her native London, Bonnie was, until
more recently, better known for her
role as ‘supportive wife’ to executive
producer and creator of the same show
– Nigel Lythgoe.
Having already successfully
commenced her career in
entertainment as a 15-year-old in the
1967 movie To Sir, With Love alongside
Sidney Poitier, Bonnie (then Bonita
Shawe) went on to become a well-loved
children’s program presenter before
nabbing a spot on the BBC’s Young
Generation dance troupe. It was at
that audition that she met her future
husband, Nigel who was, at that time, a
choreographer for the troupe.
Bonnie went on to choreograph,
produce and direct a number of
successful theatre productions in
London but, ultimately, forwent the
opportunity to plumb the depths of her
own career in favour of being a caring
and accommodating wife to Nigel, and
mother to sons Kristopher and Simon.
‘I used to call myself “Mrs Cellophane”
because you could look right through
me,’ Bonnie laughs, a tinge of
melancholy playing on her words. ‘I
would never take anything away from
anybody; if it’s someone’s moment, let
it be their moment; but I felt invisible
because Nigel was always in the
spotlight. I didn’t quite know what to do,
how to cope with it, so I always took a
step back.’
After more than 30 years together,
Bonnie made the decision to end her
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PERFORMER PROFILE
marriage to Nigel in 2007 and reclaim
the life that she’d put on hold for so
long.
‘When the opportunity is there to
flourish, you have to take it. I think,
really, it’s just about believing in yourself
and having the confidence to say, “Hey!
I’m good at what I do, I’m a good person
and I can give something back to the
world!”’ she says with such vehemence
that there’s no option but to believe her.
And flourish, Bonnie has. Currently
splitting her time between London,
Australia, Portugal, and LA, she runs
Lythgoe Family Productions and,
together with son Kristopher, has
introduced pantomime to Los Angeles,
to great acclaim. As she discusses
the preparations for the second run
of the hugely popular Snow White,
you can’t help but be swept up in the
magnitude of the zeal Bonnie has for
her work. ‘I have this passion for being
in the theatre. I don’t know what it is…
I walk into the theatre and I can forget
everything. I just get a tingle down my
spine. It’s dark, all you can see is the
stage and you know the performers are
about to come out. It’s just wonderful!’
Despite being back stage, Bonnie has
well and truly found herself smack-bang
in the middle of the limelight as the
star of the upcoming reality TV show
Opening Night.
‘I’ve had a camera stuck in my face for
six months!’ Bonnie exclaims. ‘They’ve
followed me right from the beginning
of auditions through rehearsals and
into opening night. It’s literally seeing
the real me as a director, with no make
up and not wearing my best clothes.
You get to see the ups and the downs
– where everything’s going wrong,
everybody’s fed up and tired and we
only have one more day before we
actually open.’
So, how does someone who travels so
much and works so tirelessly have such
energy and vibrancy (not to mention an
enviable physique!)?
‘I am one of those really fortunate
people who naturally eat well. I’m not a
fast food eater; I’m someone who eats
fish and salads. This may surprise you,
but I’ve never had a ‘flu in my life; I don’t
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I LOATHE SAME. I LOVE
A CHALLENGE AND
EVERY SINGLE DAY IS A NEW
CHALLENGE FOR ME.
remember having ever had a cold.’
‘I’ve always been a sporty person. I
love swimming and tennis. I play tennis
three times a week; even when I’m
working I sneak a game in.’ And with
tennis partners such as long time friend
Sir Cliff Richard just down the road from
her in Portugal, Bonnie has plenty of
high profile competition. ‘We played
last week and he absolutely bloody
slaughtered me! He’s so much better
than me it’s annoying! His serves are
just great!’ she enthuses.
While we may not be seeing her
at Wimbledon any time soon, sport
and dance prowess certainly flows in
Bonnie’s family – her granddaughter,
Dominie, was accepted by the
Australian Royal Ballet at the age of
nine and her niece, Charlotte Dujardin,
recently bagged two gold medals in
Equestrian for Team GB at the recent
Olympic Games.
‘We’re always very headstrong,
positive people,’ says Bonnie of the
ambition, drive and determination that
seems to be flowing through the veins
of the Lythgoe bloodline. When asked
where that drive will take her next, it’s
clear that, in Bonnie’s eyes, the only
option is onwards and upwards to even
bigger and better things.
‘I loathe same. I love a challenge and
every single day is a new challenge for
me,’ she says, with a confidence and
enthusiasm that is as infectious as it
is authentic. ‘You’ve got to like YOU.
Because when you like yourself you
become a much more positive person.’
ALISHA SMITH
Interview and article by Alisha Smith
([email protected])