Cel : Searching For The Spellman
Cel Spellman is spoilt for choice when it comes to filling in the 'occupation' section of his passport with countless creative pies that his ring-adorned fingers are firmly wedged in...From acting in Waterloo Road and hosting CBBC’s Friday Download as a tween to recently starring as one of the leads in Netflix’s White Lines and being a big part of the Cold Feet family for the last few years, Cel has now been on our screens for almost two decades… and that’s just the acting part! The 25-year old then went on to present his own show on BBC Radio 1 for four years and is also an ambassador for The Young People’s Trust For the Environment & WWF, who he partnered with to launch a wonderful new podcast series, Call Of The Wild. Like we said, many pies.
In 2018 I sent my first email to Cel, asking whether he would be up for being interviewed for this ‘new magazine thing’ I was starting up, after seeing him work his magic at a YPTE event. Sweetly, he agreed and a faint plan was hatched to get together a few weeks later. As our busy weeks turned into even busier months, short emails turned into short stories and before long a hilarious pen-pal relationship had blossomed... Signing off all of his emails with ‘Peace & Love’, his motto gives you an idea of the kind of person Cel is.
Jump to three years and countless lockdowns later and we are finally sat in my little bookshop laughing about our string of monthly drawn-out life updates.
We dove into all aspects of Cel’s career thus far from raving in ‘beefa and Benidorm to interviewing legends such as Stormzy and the mighty Sir David Attenborough…
LB: Was acting what you wanted to do from a young age or something you fell into?
CS: It’s all I’ve ever known really… From the age of five/six I loved drama and got my first job at the age of seven, I played Chip in a touring production of Beauty & The Beast in Manchester at the Palace. That really set me on the road that I’m on now! It’s what I love and I feel very grateful that I’ve had supportive parents that have enabled me to do that.
Take the iconic British TV shows that you’ve been in and add some sex, raving and lots of drugs and you have White Lines which was the perfect lockdown binge. Was it as fun to film as it was for us to watch?
That is a fantastic way of describing the show, absolutely nailed it! It was the job of dreams. It’s been a year since it came out which really trips me out… which was the same as filming actually, just felt like one big trip… we had the most incredible cast from all over the world and we all seemed to really click straight away, which I think is a really important element of any job. We all became this White Lines family. Getting to film in beautiful locations also, going between Madrid, Mallorca and Ibiza was just so fun. Everything you saw on screen was exactly what was going on in real life and we just had a summer of love really. Given the time that it came out, I think it really did provide that perfect escapism and made us all long for being able to enjoy moments like that again.
You were in a Nothing But Thieves music video! How was this experience?
I had the most amazing experience doing that because it was so raw. There was a tiny crew and very small budget. Our director, Ivana Bopic, had this wonderful vision of this vampire trying to have a normal holiday in somewhere like Benidorm. I was really blown away by how it turned out, if I may say without sounding too arrogant, I thought it was really cool! And made me look well cooler than I am so that’s always a plus…
What have you been watching throughout the year? What should be next on our binge list?
Okay I’ve got a few for you… the classics like Queens Gambit, which was exquisite in every area. I Know This Much Is True with Mark Ruffalo was also brilliant so implore everyone to go and watch it if you haven’t yet. Ozarc has just kept at this elite level of quality since series 1 so would definitely recommend that. Oh! Of course, sorry. Above all of them - It’s A Sin. One of the greatest television masterpieces of our time, for me. Wow, what a journey and story. Everything about that show was just amazing and I haven’t had a series leave that affect on me for a while. A lot of the praise has to go towards Russell T. Davies who is one of the greatest writers of our time as well, so no surprise. That would shift up to the top of the list for me.
Would you rather live with permanent Cold Feet, re-live your Waterloo Road school days or live as White Lines’ Marcus does with no days off?
Lily, this is genuinely one of the best questions I have ever been asked in my career. So good! It’s tough, very tough… I think I’d go for Waterloo Road school days! I would of course love to be caught up in Ibiza, owning super clubs, putting on nights and being a Rockstar however getting caught up in a murder doesn’t sound too appealing and I’m not sure if it’s all worth it. I think we all long for those school days and would love the chance to go back and appreciate it that little bit more, and Waterloo Road was very much like a secondary school experience for me.
We first heard about you through your involvement with YPTE and now you’re an ambassador for WWF. Where did your passion for protecting our natural world come from?
It’s interesting, I don’t actually know. I’ve always had this connection, love and passion for wildlife. That’s where it started, being about six or seven and seeing a TV advert for the WDCS saying that fishing and the state of the seas was having an effect on their numbers. I remember really wanting to help so I adopted a dolphin called Lightning for 4 years. That was one of my first memories of having an interest in the wildlife. As my knowledge about the environment grew through school, that fueled my passion to try and do something about it and not feel so powerless. I’ve been afforded a small platform and I just want to use that to talk about things that I’m passionate about and things that I think people should be talking about.
You recently interviewed Sir David Attenborough. How was this experience for you? Did he live up to your expectations?
I know the old saying goes ‘don’t meet your heroes’ but I can safely say that this isn’t always the case…
He exceeded all of my expectations. It was a dream come true. That man is everything you want him to be and more, and is just so magnetic! His voice, as we all know, is magical, you’re just so drawn into him. To speak to a man who really has seen the transformation of the natural world as we know it was just… If you've not seen David Attenborough : Life on Our Planet on Netflix, there's another one of my recommendations. He has given a voice to the natural world in a way that no other person has. So for myself it was incredible to have that time with him and be able to ask some questions that I've always wanted to.
I think education and conversation are major ways in which we can start to try to reverse the effects of 'Climate Change'. Where do you think the focus should be put right now?
Well, I totally agree, I think that the two things you've said there around education and conversation definitely are where the focus should be. I think that's how we learn and how we grow. I think conversation is actually dying out a little bit and is something we really need to fight for.
I've found, through doing the podcast, the focus should be on remembering that we all have a voice and we should be using it, whether that's writing to your MP, (and I know people go ‘does that actually work?’ Yes, it does.) We can also use our voice by how we spend our money, that is a big, big way in which we can let businesses, corporations, governments know who we support and what we believe in.
For people reading this and wanting to help out but not sure how, what do you recommend? Recycling? Ted Talks? Going vegan?
We must focus on what our governments and big corporations are doing because greenwashing is very much a thing. As much as we all do have an individual responsibility to do something, the big responsibility is going to come from legislation, and it's going to come from big businesses stepping up to the plate, and acting in a more green and fairer way with our planet.
Another really important focus is on the indigenous communities around the world, and the more marginalised communities because it will come as no surprise that it's these communities that are on the front line, and feeling the worst of the impacts of this ever changing climate. It's these people we need to be protecting. It's these voices that we need to be amplifying.
Where to start?
I think the first thing that we should all try and do individually is reconnecting with nature. You know, go out and spend time in it, find that love, find that appreciation for everything it has to offer. I think that's a really special place to start. If you want to know the easiest and simplest way to try and help reverse the effects of climate change, it’s moving towards a more plant based diet. It is one of the things you can do straight away that will have a massive, massive impact and make a real positive difference. Now, if you can go full vegan, amazing, but I don't think that's the point. I think the point is, we have to be more conscious of how we're spending our money, what we're buying and what are we eating.
Presenting on Radio 1 must be pretty nerve-wrecking, at least at the start of your career, yet you seem to be such a confident speaker. How do you tackle nerves?
I mean it probably took me a good year to really settle into the flow of doing radio. I pretty much learnt live on air. Nerves are a funny one… I always think they’re a good thing, they show that you care but they also keep you on your toes and make sure that you’re performing to the best of your ability. If you can accept them and lean into them a little bit, they aren’t always a bad thing. I guess it’s all about trying to re-centre again, feel your feet on the floor and breathe, just trying to come back to the present moment. I always get very very nervous and always have since I was young, and I’m not sure I’ve totally learnt how to tackle them, I just accept that they’re a part of me and work with them.
Do you get starstruck?
It’s a funny word. I’ll be honest, I don’t really tend to get starstruck. I think at the end of the day, if we cut ourselves we’re all going to bleed blood, we all need the toilet, we’re all the same, it just so happens that there are certain jobs that are looked at in a slightly different way. One of my favourite interviews I did on the radio however was with Stormzy a few years ago. He was incredible. We spoke about everything from his music to what he was trying to do with Merky to visual representation to institutional racism, it was just a wonderful conversation.
Who have you been listening to recently?
I’m always listening to some form of reggae. I’ve also been listening to a little bit of Paolo Nutini - that Sunny Side Up record is is one of my favourites of all time.
A Tribe Called Quest are just banging, I got their album on vinyl - People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm - so that has been playing out quite a lot. Also, Nick Drake has been on the playlist a lot.
Where is the first place you’re running to once final restrictions are totally lifted? And what are you doing?
Wow. I mean, we kind of already arrived at that moment. I'm never good at really making plans. I'm just always open for whatever, wherever, whenever. I’m of the belief that the night out isn’t where you're at, it’s who you’re with. So I guess I am with some of my best friends and we are off to have a good time, forget the real world and boogie the night away. So, as long as there is a dance floor, and I've got my best friends with me, I'll be happy wherever we are. I also wouldn’t mind going to have a little dance in Ibiza, possibly at some point. That would be nice, wouldn't it?
What do you listen to on the Last Bus home?
I think this is probably one of my favourite questions. For a bit of a wind down, there’s this remixed version of Walk on the Wild Side from DJ Disse, that is a lovely wind-down tune.
Catch Cel in White Lines on Netflix for that little hit of summer vibrations and find all episodes of Call of the Wild here.
