Eileen Montesin: ‘I’m 100% fun when I’m drunk. But I usually regret it all the next day’

Household name Eileen Montesin is a staple of Maltese television and light entertainment, from her 1980s heyday to her unforgettable roles in Undercover and Dejjem Tieghek, Becky. She wrote and starred in the television series Déjà Vu, and has carved a place for herself in radio, where she hosts Club101 on NET FM weekdays

Eileen Montesin: Do not get too attached to anything in life. All material things can be replaced.
Eileen Montesin: Do not get too attached to anything in life. All material things can be replaced.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

I wash my teeth and clean my face, getting it ready to apply morning moisturiser which is a must, and has always been.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Not to get too attached to anything in life. All material things can be replaced.

What do you never leave the house without?

My sunglasses, even in the evenings (I carry them in my bag or on my head).

Pick three words that describe yourself

Unpredictable, positive and energetic.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Giving birth to my daughter. It seems I had a problem to get pregnant but I never gave up hope. And one day it happened (I owe it all to Dr Josie Muscat).

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Eating chocolate and all kinds of sweets.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

Think before you leap.

Property and cars aside, what’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought?

Tough one. I’m not into expensive things. But I think the most expensive venture I ever paid for was a first-class seat on my way to USA.

What is one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?

That you will actually get older one day. When I was a girl I wished to grow up as fast as possible. When I was a teenager I thought my teenage life would last forever. Well it didn’t!

Who’s your inspiration?

My husband Mark. He always has an answer to all my questions and a solution to all my problems.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Changing TV stations during my career. You never know how welcoming people are going to be, until you actually become one of them. And I have changed stations quite often.

If you weren’t in broadcasting what would you be doing?

I think I would have chosen to become a teacher.

Do you believe in God?

I surely do. I pray to Him every day. And I truly believe I have been protected by him many many times during my life.

If you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would it be?

Pierce Brosnan or John Travolta. My favourite two.

What’s your worst habit?

Obsession. I’m obsessed with switching off all the lights at home, even if my husband has only left the room for 10 seconds. But mostly, what we don’t agree upon is switching off the geyser! I say we should but he says we shouldn’t.

What are you like when you’re drunk?

Oh… I’m 100% fun when I’m drunk. But I usually regret it all the next day.

Who would you have play you in a film?

If it’s a local film, I think nobody can play me better than my daughter Christine. If it’s a foreign film, I think Julia Roberts would fit just right.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Double-faced people. Unfortunately, too many of them around.

What music would you have played at your funeral?

Any 70s music. I’m sure these songs would send me straight to heaven.

What is your most treasured material possession?

My wedding ring.

What is your earliest memory?

At 10 years of age, going from one place to another with my bicycle when we lived in Mosta. Worrying my mother quite a bit.

When did you last cry, and why?

I cry very often. But I think the last good cry was when David Cassidy died. It felt as if part of my teenage era had died too.

Who would you most like to meet?

I would like to meet Kim Kardashian and see why my daughter is so obsessed about her.

What’s your favourite food?

I love pasta. Any pasta. And I would not mind eating pasta everyday.

Who’s your favourite person on social media right now?

I don’t have a favourite.

If you could travel in time, where would you go?

I would go back to 1979. Starting my job with Xandir Malta and meeting my husband all over again.

What book are you reading right now?

I am not into books. I never was. I recall having to study all Reader’s Digest’s ‘Difficult Words’ by heart, to pass my English O-level (I got a B, so it worked).

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

I would control reckless drivers who ignore the other motorists, thinking they are the only ones on the road.

What’s one thing you want to do before you die?

My only wish, which has not come true yet, is going to Australia.

What music are you listening to at the moment?

I love 80s music. I listen to a UK station which plays 80s songs all day long.

In the shower or when you’re working out, what do you sing/listen to?

I listen to this same station because I carry the radio with me in every single room, even in the garden while gardening. But when it comes to singing I would choose a Drifters or ELO song for sure. My two favourite bands.