When Allo Allo finished I knew I'd be type cast to a degree and needed another string to my bow. I thought of Trading Faces because I'd done personal appearances as Yvette and knew the business. It was a bit daunting at first. Instead of people ringing to offer me corporate work, I was ringing them about artists on my books. I invested my money from Allo Allo in my company and opened an office in Soho. But I was being offered loads of acting work. Suddenly, I was doing the summer season in Bournemouth and looking after my baby daughter as well. I had a secretary in London and was tying up deals from Bournemouth. I was a mum all day and working every night. I was trying to kill myself basically. But I carried on for 3 years, acting the whole time. I realised it was too much and asked my sisters to be directors. We work well, you can trust your sisters. Ann is an actress and writer and Suzie used to be a model and now writes. They often create scripts for the corporate events we organise worldwide.

It wasn't hard to get artists on the books. I had worked with so many and had lots of friends in the business. If a client rings up and asks, say, for a performer to appeal to the 20 - 40 age group then we'd make a start doing the casting. Some times we provide a complete act, sometimes motivational speakers or hi'tech experts. Sir Ranulph Fiennes has done a lot for us. People love him. Tom Farmer, the owner of Kwik Fit, is a terrific motivational speaker. We suggest people then the company comes back with the three top choices. Next we check their availability. We use actors, presenters, magicians, comedians and politicians like Michael Heseltine or Archie Norman. Terry Venables has done a few talks for us. We also have chefs, including Anthony Worrall Thompson. We know what the clients budget is and try to work with it. Sometimes, if the firm had gone straight to the stars agent, they would be told the fee was £20,000. If their budget won't stretch to that, the client goes away and doesn't ask for that celebrity again. I can go directly to the star and say "this is what they've got - do you want it?" They often do.  I would be very miffed if I'd lost a job for the sake of a slight cut in my fee. The money a star

can  expect  can  vary,  depending on whether or not they are on TV. I can quote the usual price but because the celebrity has a new TV series, their fee goes up. Problems? Well, very rarely an artist arrives late. But we have mobile phones, cabs on hand, and sort it all out fast. Another problem is if a company is not happy with the performance. Then they stop using you and you have to win it back. More juggling. I love the business. Its exciting. I like talking to business men to see how their brains work. Where I think in thousands, they think in millions. Being famous has helped with Trading Faces as people know what I look like when we speak on the phone. Working with my sisters has meant we can juggle our lives. One of our strengths is that we are fun and people enjoy working with us. As for the future, I want to grow as actress and to grow as a business woman.