Pat Parnell
INTRODUCTION
Q: What were you hoping for when you signed up for Masters & Servants?
A: I saw the ad in Country Life. I thought we were going to get a top butler from London. We didn't get any inclination what was really going to happen.
Q: Which bits of Masters & Servants did you enjoy?
A: The whole thing was a massive experience. It was so intense. My adrenaline was running really fast the whole time.
Q: Which bits of Masters & Servants did you hate?
A: It was a real shock when the Stowells arrived. No one was a trained servant. They had a five-year-old and two-year-old running about. It was a total shock.
BEING A MASTER
Q: Was it difficult ordering servants around?
A: If I'd had proper butlers and maids, I would have been fine. Having a whole family land on our doorstep was really difficult. But towards the end of the week we began to find a routine that worked for everyone.
Q: Do you think you could get used to having staff?
A: You can't ask that question. Everyone would love a perfect servant, but Masters & Servants wasn't about that at all.
BEING A SERVANT
Q: Did you find it hard to take orders?
A: No, I didn't find taking orders hard. I did find the whole situation hard because we were so tired and because the caravan was too small.
But I knew that it wasn't real life and that I had promised to be a servant, so I just got on with it.
Q: What was the worst thing about your masters?
A: Everyone was thrown together really quickly. It was hard for Janet to keep control of everything.
Q: What was the job you really hated doing?
A: There wasn't anything I really hated. I'm used to doing everyday chores: ironing, cooking and cleaning.
But I was so tired, I became a zombie and made a few mistakes. I didn't get enough roast potatoes and that led to a row.
CONCLUSION
Q: Did you learn anything from doing Masters & Servants?
A: I was proud of the way my twin boys worked. I liked the way that my husband and I worked as a team. It was an amazing thing to do with my family and that's a memory that I'll always treasure.
Q: Do you think you are more cut out to be a master or a servant?
A: I can't answer that, because people will assume that I think I should be a master. I did prefer being a master, but that was because I was on my own territory.
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Janet Stowell
INTRODUCTION
Q: What were you hoping for when you signed up for Masters & Servants?
A: We just did it for fun. I was bored and I saw an advert in a magazine. I thought I'd phone it up, then we had the producer on the phone and they wanted to come down and meet us.
Q: Which bits of Masters & Servants did you enjoy?
A: I enjoyed the whole time. The crew were a right laugh.
Q: Which bits of Masters & Servants did you hate?
A: Being tired and hungry and freezing cold in the caravan. There were two days when we weren't given enough money to eat properly. We were starving.
I didn't like the way Pat spoke to us. It was degrading the way she wanted to show us off to her friends.
BEING A MASTER
Q: Was it difficult ordering servants around?
A: Yeah, I don't like ordering people round. But it never got that far. Pat didn't want to do anything so we didn't bother her. The boys just got on with doing things.
Q: Do you think you could get used to having staff?
A: No, I wouldn't. Our family just muck in. Having servants is more hassle than it is worth.
BEING A SERVANT
Q: Did you find it hard to take orders?
A: No, we just got on and did our best. We knew they were coming back to our house so we wanted to do a good job. But after a while they forgot that we were human. We had to remind that that we weren't real servants, that it was just a game.
Q: What was the worst thing about your masters?
A: Pat wasn't prepared for the give and take. Her attitude was: 'my way or no way'. She loved ordering people round.
Q: What was the job you really hated doing?
A: I think the whole thing was a bit unfair. They swap people with big houses for people with little houses. In our house they had half the work that we had in theirs.
CONCLUSION
Q: Did you learn anything from doing Masters & Servants?
A: I learnt that you could have all the money in the world, but it won't buy you love.
Q: Do you think you are more cut out to be a master or a servant?
A: I don't know really. With good masters we could be excellent servants. But as for having servants, that's not us.
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