Fear and Fiction: An Interview with Presenter Yvette Fielding
As she approaches the release date of her new novel, I interview presenter and author Yvette Fielding about what fans can expect in the latest installment of her fictional paranormal series…
TV presenter Yvette Fielding has been one of Britain’s favourite stars since she embarked on her career back in the 80’s. Most would agree that there’s not much Fielding hasn’t put her hand to since she first hit our screens in 1987 as the face of classic children’s show, Blue Peter. Of course, many today will know her name from her long stint as the face of paranormal hit series, Most Haunted, which began in 2002 and is still going strong.
Not stopping with her popular roles on TV, the presenter soon turned to writing and has now released several books that touch upon the paranormal. Last year, Fielding released the first in her fictional Ghost Hunter Chronicles series and it is with excitement that the second instalment is set for release later this month.
The Ripper of Whitechapel (Andersen Press, 2022) follows the tale of a haunted London school and asks readers if the infamous Jack the Ripper could be behind the spooky drama…
I invited Fielding to discuss her upcoming release.
You have your new book coming out this September — The Ripper of Whitechapel. How are you feeling as release day approaches? Is it more nerves or excitement at this point?
I’m excited and yet nervous, so a bit of both! It’s lovely that people can soon go out and get it but there’s always that question over what their reaction will be. I had some lovely comments and reviews about the first book though, so that always helps.
Your novel obviously touches upon the subject of Jack the Ripper. Is this infamous case something that’s interested you for some time?
I’ve always been fascinated by Victorian England and the image of Jack the Ripper, the top hat and the cloak, all that imagery…as a child I found it so scary. There’s always been a huge mystery around the case, over who it could have been, and that adds to it. I did read a few things about the case but… never before bedtime, that would just freak me out!
Are you interested in true crime in general? Do you read a lot about it?
I do find that sort of thing interesting. If I was to watch it, I’d only ever watch it in the daytime. Karl (Karl Beattie is Yvette’s husband and a Most Haunted team member) is a criminologist, and he knows a lot about it. We have hangman’s nooses in the house and death masks! It’s very fascinating and I knew Karl would be on hand to help me when I had questions about Jack the Ripper.
I had to be careful about the way I wrote about it though, because of the victims and any distant relatives that might be out there today.
You’ve got a great cast of characters in your series — Eve, Tom, Clovis, Uncle Rufus and of course, Boris the dog amongst others. Do you have a favourite character in your series? If so, who and why?
Oh I love Eve, Clovis and Tom. And the Inspector. I wrote Inspector Rothurford based on Margaret Rothurford — I used her as a basis and inspiration for that character, the way she dresses and talks. It’s basically all her.
I think at the moment my favourite character is Anwaar — a mysterious ghost hunter that comes to the rescue. I like the fact that he’s got tattoos and he’s very intriguing and good looking. Eve is aware that he’s good looking — goes a bit red in the face when he looks at her! It’s fun character building and I really lose myself writing them and their story.
There are a few moments of great humour in the book- I’m guessing you intentionally wanted to break the tension for your readers? It reminded me of Most Haunted, even in some of the tensest episodes, there were often some really funny moments…
It came out naturally, but I always think about Most Haunted or Most Haunted events — times when we are all a bit scared and nervous and then somebody might say or do something, and everyone laughs and cracks up.
It gives you a bit of a breather and breaks the tension. I love those funny moments, it’s great for the audience too. I think they do this subtly in horror movies, where you get that moment to breathe and break out of the tension before you’re pulled back in.
How many more books will there be in the series, do you know that yet? Have you started working on others?
I’ve not thought that far ahead, to be honest. The third one is finished and the working title is The Rise of the Pendle Witches. As I’m writing it, there are more and more details revealed about the characters. Just a clue here, a l little teaser… in the third book it’s revealed that when Eve’s parents were killed on the train, that Eve was on the train and she was saved by someone mysterious. Who was this dark stranger? I go into that on the third book. I’ve really enjoyed writing that. It’s much longer than the others and I’ve really enjoyed seeing it expand.
Also, I must say, Andersen press are so lovely. It makes all the difference, having a group of people who believe in your work. They’ve even come to my house and done seances! It was amazing. We had two seances, actually, and it was marvellous to show them first-hand. We had some great activity.
When we spoke in our interview last year, you said you were writing an autobiography. Are you still working on it? How is that coming along?
Yes! Well I got halfway through it, but I got distracted with writing my fictional books and I also started a non-fiction series about haunted locations. I really got into that. So the autobiography was put on the back burner again. But I got in touch with a wonderful writer who has agreed to work with me on it.
It’s so hard writing about yourself; I’m not a vain person, I don’t like looking at myself on TV or reading about myself, so for me it makes more sense that someone I’ve known for years helps me write about my life.
I couldn’t end this without asking about Most Haunted. Will there be another series in the future?
Yes. We already started. We’ve recently filmed the first of the series which was at Bishton Hall. We had a great time, and I loved it. There was a small group of us in this small building, as soon as we got together and started calling out, weird stuff started happening! I can’t wait for people to see that when it airs. So yes, we’re in the process.
The show has been sold all over the world, including America. It is still very popular with the fans. The other day, I was talking to my daughter Mary, and she said she’d even be willing to do the show herself way off in the future, when me and Karl are getting too old for it. She’s really into the paranormal herself.
You can pre-order your copy of The Ripper of Whitechapel HERE
