Little Green Book: Emma Samms

Emma Samms is well known on both sides of the Atlantic. As a glamorous actor, she has recently returned to the States for a stint resuming her popular role as Holly Sutton on the American daytime soap General Hospital. And she still retains an incredibly loyal following from her 80s role as Fallon on the blockbuster TV drama Dynasty.

Nowadays, you’re more likely to find Emma searching out bargains at a local auction house – or relaxing with a coffee in Nailsworth – than at swanky London events. She and her husband, the journalist and news presenter Simon McCoy, love their Cotswold countryside home with its leafy, tree-filled grounds.

‘I moved here from LA in 1996 partly because of the area’s great communications; but I also fell in love with my house. It’s at least 300 years old - though it does have a ‘modern’ extension: the Victorians built it!’

Emma, what would be your ultimate Cotswold concierge service?

Now that’s easy. I’d have a full-time driver, and a nice car (a Bentley, maybe) with WiFi and snacks. (Not healthy snacks, either. I’d definitely be looking for high sugar and – for variety - high salt!)

Now this is highly embarrassing to confess: I do drive, but only an automatic. I learned to drive in America, where you can take a test in an automatic (the easiest car) and get a full licence… Unfortunately, back in the UK, they’re not quite as accommodating.

This has caused issues every time I’ve done a movie where my character is driving (which happens a lot). The trickiest was in Acapulco, when my role demanded they find me a vintage convertible Cadillac. To make things worse, I had to negotiate a very winding cliff-side road, with two passengers… who just happened to be my co-stars Peter Ustinov and Tony Curtis. For many reasons – including the fact that history would not have looked kindly on my killing them – I drove very, very carefully!

(Mistake number two was bringing my American car when I moved to the Cotswolds. It’s bad enough trying to overtake a tractor on a country lane when you’re in a British car. In a left-hand-drive, you might as well forget it.)

What would you be most likely to search for in Cotswold Cloche’s Little Green Book?

I would say coffee shops… except that I’m sorted. I couldn’t do better than the Canteen in Nailsworth. The food is always amazing; and, during lockdown, they constructed cosy outdoor cubicles, which have stayed, thanks to popular demand. I love them.

So, instead, I’ll be looking up restaurants serving seasonal, local food of any kind. I’m always interested in finding new ones - I really want to support that wonderful ethos. Added to which, it’s really useful to be able to filter dietary requirements: one of my friends is gluten-free and another is vegan.

What’s your favourite thing to do for free in the Cotswolds?

Wotton Auctions, viewing day. There’s always something ‘new’ to see (but old, of course!), different and quirky and beautiful and interesting. What’s more, there are excellent bacon sandwiches and cake. Sitting down while eating, and writing up the list of things I’m going to leave cheeky bids on, is about as good as it gets for me. Simon, my husband, calls it my happy place. Our home is almost entirely furnished by Wotton Auctions.

(One word of caution: whilst viewing day is free, you might not escape without spending some money (though it would be money well spent). A friend who came along just to accompany me was astonished to find herself the owner of 40 World War Two magazines, without quite understanding how it happened.) Best bargain ever is a 300-year-old wardrobe (pictured above) that I got for £350, which had sold at Christie’s 10 years previously for around £10,000.

Which Cotswold attraction would you recommend to visiting friends?

No one can fail to be impressed by Blenheim Palace [https://www.blenheimpalace.com], a World Heritage Site and the only non-royal, non-ecclesiastical palace in the UK. American friends love it, partly because of its connection to Consuelo Vanderbilt, who married the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1895. If it hadn’t been for her money, the palace probably would have fallen down by now.

I was lucky enough to be shown around by Jamie [Charles James Spencer-Churchill, now the 12th Duke]. He was absolutely charming. Even though he must have given the tour a million times, his enthusiasm for his family history and his home was captivating.

What’s more, Blenheim has hosted two fundraising balls for Starlight [https://www.starlight.org.uk/], the charity I co-founded in 1982. My brother died when he was eight, and I was a year older. Later in life, I found myself in the fortunate position of being able to raise funds and awareness for other families with a seriously or terminally ill child.

When you have friends over from other countries, what most surprises them or catches them out about the Cotswolds?

This is the perfect question. Every time I’ve driven American friends past a certain church, near my sister’s house in Oxfordshire, it’s guaranteed they’ll say, ‘That’s a lovely old church! Is it still used?’ and be shocked to hear that it very much is. I’ve heard of overseas tourists inadvertently peering into cottage windows because they think they’re part of a museum.

On the way to the Cotswolds along the M4, I’ll always point out Windsor Castle. Multiple of my American friends have said, ‘I can’t believe they built it so close to the freeway!’ I’ve made plenty of errors over there that they’ve forgiven, so I feel it’s OK to repeat that one. It certainly has made me laugh more than once.