“Will you just tap the f***ing table?”: Cheryl talks ghosts and gays – Gay Times Magazine
“I just said, ‘If you’re here, just tap the fucking table! Let’s cut the bullshit.’ And it did!” Cheryl laughs as she reminisces on Ghost Hunting with Girls Aloud, a seminal work of horror that has since been praised as one of the most iconic hours in British television (by Gay Twitter). We’re discussing the paranormal series as Cheryl makes her debut as a leading actor in 2:22 A Ghost Story, Danny Robin’s acclaimed West End play about a woman who is convinced her home has been infiltrated by a supernatural presence.
As a result of the community’s strong connection to the theatre, pop artists and the horror genre, Cheryl’s involvement with the play elicited a passionate response from the LGBT’s. She tells GAY TIMES: “When I’ve been out and about, the amount of the gay community that have come up and went, ‘We’re coming to the show. We’re coming in February.’ It’s unreal, I don’t think I’ve actually heard that from any straight people.”
Read ahead for our incredibly camp interview with Cheryl, where she discusses her new role in 2:22 A Ghost Story (for which she has received overwhelming praise from critics), her own personal experiences with paranormal phenomena and why, “Without the LGBTQ+ community, we wouldn’t have been Girls Aloud. I wouldn’t have gone on to be me, either.”
Cheryl, I’m so excited to watch you in 2:22 A Ghost Story.
I’m glad! Are you gonna come, then?
Absolutely. I love horror, pop stars and the theatre, so…
Match made in heaven. You’re gonna love it. I won’t give anything away, obviously, but it all came around in an unusual way. I was in a meeting with the writer of the play for a completely separate issue. I went from the meeting to watch 2:22 and that morning, me manager texts us and says, ‘You won’t believe this. The guy we’re meeting today wrote the play we’re seeing tonight.’ When we were in the meeting I say to him, ‘We’re going to see 2:22 tonight, I had no idea you’d written that,’ and he said, ‘While you’re there, why don’t you check it out and see if you feel like it’s something you’d like to be a part of.’ I did exactly that and as I was watching it I thought, ‘I’d love to do this, and I would enjoy doing it. It’s something new and different and exciting for me to get me teeth into.’
How eerie! Spooky instances occurred before you even signed up to the play.
Isn’t it? Exactly. That’s how I felt. I felt like it was meant to be.
You play Jenny. Do you identify with the character at all?
I weirdly do. Another strange thing, the writer is from Newcastle. Because it’s written by a Geordie, it has a weirdly familiar tone throughout it. I could relate to her a lot because she’s a new mother. She’s quite a fixer. Whenever someone has an issue in the play, she’s the one that’s making sure everyone is okay and has what they need. There’s little personality traits that I relate with that I didn’t know until I got into it. I’ve never been through what she’s going through in the play, but there are personality traits I can relate with, which is helpful. I wouldn’t have said yes to it, had I not felt that way.
How have rehearsals gone so far?
I’ve really enjoyed it, weirdly so. It’s like being back at school for me, the feeling I get from learning monologues and acting them out. I barely leave the stage! I’m there for most of it. I’ll leave for 30, 40 seconds maximum. Then, I’ve got a lot of shouting to do and a lot of swearing. If you’re into horror, you’re going to love it. I think it’s genius.
I recently read an article about all the freaky incidents that have happened on film sets from Annabelle to The Exorcist…
I know! I saw a clip on TikTok of the woman that was in The Exorcist saying all these crazy stories that were really happening. But you’re summoning that energy really, aren’t you? Also, if you believe in manifestation and all that stuff the new-agers talk about, then you’re literally manifesting this mental energy that you’re summoning everyday on set. That’s creepy.
Have you summoned any of that energy on set?
When I get home and I hear the floorboards creep I’m a bit like, ‘Ooh! What was that?’ I am a bit more paranoid, I guess.
I have a kitchen knife under my bed in case of any danger.
I don’t blame you, but what are you gonna do with a ghost? Where are you gonna put that? It would go straight through it. A knife won’t help against a ghost.
You’re absolutely right. If a ghost haunted me, however, I’d just give up Cheryl. What am I gonna do against a ghost?
Exactly. Beam me up, Scotty! Also, someone once said they were groped by a ghost. Have you ever heard that? Isn’t that a scene in… what movie is that? You can see it touching her breast.
It happened in Scary Movie 2, right?
But this was real… Honestly, I’m telling you. A bit of grope-age going on.
As long as it’s consensual.
Exactly. We’re in 2023, we want consent.
If a ghost of a deceased sexy man is coming to grope me, by all means babe, go for it.
But if it’s an 1800’s ghost, they don’t know what consent is. You’ll need to educate them first.
True. Have you ever had any supernatural encounters? Besides Ghost Hunting with Girls Aloud…
I’ve had loads. I’ve had ones that I don’t feel like I can explain. More recently, a song started playing in me car without me car being switched onto bluetooth or plugged in, and it was a Girls Aloud song.
Stop it.
It was Hear Me Out by Girls Aloud, which is even more random because that song… I would have to search back God knows where, I wouldn’t know where to look for it at this point. But, it started playing as I got into the car to go on a long journey.
I’m done. That is so specific?!
Very specific, and Sarah [Harding] called her book Hear Me Out after that song, so I just knew it was from her. I’ve had a lot of occurrences similar to that over the years since I was a kid. The more you believe in that stuff, the more of it you will be sent. If you don’t believe it, you’re blissfully unaware of messages or signs. I get a lot of signs, a lot. I’ve had very deep spiritual experiences that, again, they’re not something you can say with words that will make you sound coherent. It’s like when you’re trying to tell your friend about your dream and they’re looking at you like, ‘Fuck sake, shut up.’
I am a believer, but I haven’t had a specific experience. I feel like I once felt the energy of my dad at home, but it was just an… energy. I feel like that’s the only word I can use?
A thousand percent. Totally. You just feel their presence. If you’re open-minded to it and you are asking for a sign, say if a family member passes and you want to hear from them, you will get signs. We’re not just these bodies. We are far more than this. I’m not talking about God or The Bible, I’m just saying there is more. There’s energies. I believe in the universe sending you on the right path, if you’re in alignment.