Jenny Agutter OBE: ‘Every small thing we do for someone who needs help has repercussions’

Jenny Agutter OBE has been on our screens for almost 60 years, but it’s her charity work that’s changing lives. She tells Attivo Life Magazine how she continues to make ripples in the world of fundraising.

On the day of Jenny Agutter’s interview for Attivo Life Magazine, she is getting ready for the annual Action for Children sleep-out. She may be a 69-year-old grandmother and a national treasure to boot, but while she is well enough, she is happy to sleep in the streets for one night a year to help promote the charity’s work. It’s something she has been doing for more than 20 years.

The actress has been famous for most of our lives. Her first role was in 1964 at the age of 12 in East of Sudan and by the age of 18 she had already been in her first Disney film, Ballerina. However, she is probably still best known for her roles in The Railway Children, An American Werewolf in London, Logan’s Run Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Since 2012, the divine Sister Julienne in Call the Midwife.

But she’s one of the unstarriest stars you’ll ever meet. She’s been in showbusiness too long – seen all of its ups and downs – to ever believe any hype. She’s deliciously informal (she sends me things she forgot to say by WhatsApp) and she is completely modest. She’s also one of the kindest, gentlest people you will ever meet; you leave a meeting with her wanting to be a better person.

It’s easy to be cynical about celebrities flying the charity flag. But for Jenny, it is almost always personal, usually ‘unfashionable’ causes. And she doesn’t want to take any credit. I just see myself as a facilitator,’ she says. ‘I am lucky that I’m in a position to raise awareness, but it is everyone else who is doing all the work.’

Jenny started sleeping out with Action for Children just before the millennium and is passionate about the charity because ‘I appreciate how lucky I am to have had a loving family’. Born to a father in the military, she married Swedish hotelier Johan Tham in 1990, with their doctor son, Jonathan, born later that same year.

Family connections – the Cystic Fibrosis Trust

However, it’s the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to which she is most closely associated – a link that goes back to the birth of her beloved 42-year-old niece Rachel, who was the first in her extended family diagnosed with the genetic disorder. Both Jenny and her brother – Rachel’s father – are carriers of the gene that causes cystic fibrosis (CF) and they now believe that two younger siblings who died probably had it too – even though, at the time, it wasn’t diagnosed.

Around 11,000 people in the UK have CF, with one in 25 carrying the gene. It’s a disorder that changes the movement of salt and water in and out of the lungs, causing a build-up of thick, sticky mucus around the body’s organs.

A few years ago, Jenny’s on- and off-screen worlds collided when, after much discussion with Call the Midwife creator Heidi Thomas, a CF storyline was written into the hit BBC1 show. Thankfully, it was a move that led to a huge amount of interest in the disease, much to Jenny’s delight.

How charity work makes such a difference

She is equally happy that she has witnessed many positive changes in the 40-plus years since she began campaigning for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Originally Rachel’s parents were warned that their daughter may not survive past her 10th birthday. However, improvements in medication mean that not only is she alive and well but, thanks to recently licensed drugs, she is feeling positive about the future, too.

‘I remember campaigning very hard to make sure that prescriptions were free for those with CF because, as more and more people were surviving, they needed the medication, as well as for a CF test once a baby was born,’ recalls Jenny. ‘But the thing that has made the biggest change is the money that has gone into research.’

‘The small gestures are as important as the grand, wonderful ones, such as running a marathon’

Jenny’s brother’s grandson Albie – Rachel’s nephew – is four and was also born with CF. He is facing a different life from Rachel, who has had to fight for survival, undergoing daily physio to clear her lungs. Today, someone born with CF is expected to live well into their 40s.

‘The research is ongoing, and it also crosses into other genetic diseases and lung problems – it is an interesting time and it’s getting better and better,’ she adds.

Another project in which Jenny is personally invested is the St Giles Trust charity, which has its base near her Camberwell home. She got involved simply because of a letter dropped through her door inviting her to come and see them in action.

‘It is a charity for many people who others want to turn their back on; people who have been in prison, have had drug issues, come out of mental hospitals or have been homeless,’ says Jenny. ‘They pick them up and help them get their lives back on track. Unfortunately, with the growing cost of living, the need is ever more important; so many people suffer from food poverty.

‘They’ve set up a scheme which is a bit like a food bank but is called The Pantry. People pay £3.50 and for that they can go in and pick up the foods they want. Much of it is nutritious and there are a variety of different things you can take. It doesn’t feel like charity because they are paying for the service. It is dignified.

‘The people I’ve met through the charity are incredible. One man was present at a murder and ended up serving a jail sentence. He went through training at the trust, talks in schools about his experiences, and explains how gang culture isn’t glamorous. Many of the people working there have been through their own trials, and the energy is amazing.’

Jenny’s other work involves supporting the Graeae Theatre company, which is led by people with disabilities. She was first introduced to it when she was campaigning to improve disability access in theatres because her mother was in a wheelchair – and she loved it so much she’s been a patron ever since. She also recently helped The Royal Naval Benevolent Trust, which was in the strange position of being a charity in need of projects to spend money on, because her aunt is in one of its homes.

Celebrity can bring attention to great causes

As we talk, more and more of the projects she is involved with come tumbling out: she got involved with an ovarian cancer charity after her son’s classmate’s mother died of the disease. It is little wonder she received an OBE for her charity work, although she insists the real honour is in being able to do her bit – however little.

‘The small gestures are as important as the grand, wonderful ones, such as running a marathon,’ she says. ‘Every small thing we do for someone who needs help has repercussions. It can make a difference to both the helper and the helped. There are times when all of us will need help; it is good to know that human nature will provide.

‘I’ll never forget meeting a very successful businessman at one of the sleep-out nights. He told me he had hit a low in his life and had ended up homeless. He was able to struggle back from the bottom and wanted to ensure others had the same opportunity.’

‘There are times when all of us will need help; it is good to know that human nature will provide’

Jenny does, of course, also have a day job and when we chat, she is back working on the new series of Call the Midwife. A plan to make a documentary about the carnival in Tobago (where she has a holiday home) and merging it with Shakespeare’s comedy The Tempest is also in the works.

While Jenny gets gratification from the people in the street who stop her to say they love her acting work, she admits it is seeing a difference in the charities she works for that gives her the most satisfaction. ‘I get a real buzz seeing the work being done at the St Giles Trust or knowing that the future is brighter for kids such as Albie. I think we, as a nation, have got some difficult times ahead, but we have also got some amazing people who are working on it.

‘The least I can do is bring attention to the people who work so hard to bring about changes for good. The differences they make to the world we live in is immeasurable.’

Useful resources

For more about Cystic Fibrosis Trust go to cysticfibrosis.org.uk; St Giles Trust: stgilestrust.org.uk; Action for Children: actionforchildren.org.uk; Graeae Theatre Company: graeae.org; Royal Naval Benevolent Trust: rnbt.org.uk; Ovarian Cancer Action: ovarian.org.uk.

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