17.05.12

She’s been a hooker, a brothel-keeper and served time in prison for grevious assault, but now Charlie Daniels, who has Belfast roots, wants to save girls from life on the streets. Jane Hardy reports

The wit and wisdom of Charlie Daniels would make a sizeable book. The woman from the (very) mean streets of the north of England trots out aphorisms and bons mots as we talk in the reception area of Belfast’s Ramada Encore Hotel like a seasoned stand-up. It has to be said that this middle-aged woman, who is in Northern Ireland on a search for her roots in the Shankill area of the city, but has a back story involving prostitution, living in care and writing a book on her experience, has pretty good material.

She recalls one television appearance: “Philip Scofield leant forward when I was on This Morning and said ‘Charlie, you must hate men.’ I leant forward and said ‘No, Philip I love men and I love sex’. I went on TV to talk about swinging and was pitched against an Archdeacon. In the green room, he said to me ‘I really like swingers — you know, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.’ I had 30 seconds to put him right and he was so grateful, we got on much better on air than the producer wanted, with me saying ‘The couple that plays together, stays together.’ and him quoting the bible.

Source: Belfast Telegraph