Playaway, BBC TV, 1981. Janine co-starred alongside Brian Cant as a performer/ presenter of this popular children s TV show. In one episode her alien character J9, a play on her name (Ja-nine) and the robotic dog K9 from Dr Who, boosted the ratings to 5.8 million viewers. It was and still is her ambition to become the first female incarnation of Dr Who, Russell T. Davies are you reading?
To see more of Janine on Play Away click HERE
Pentabus Theatre 1980 was Janine’s first professional job giving her, her long awaited Equity card. It was with this mad company that she learnt the most about comedy and that’s not all she learnt, she learnt to play the saxophone, the drums, to walk a tight rope and when the stakes slipped out of the ground a slack wire, to buffoon around in an acrobatic way, to breathe and blow fire and to endure pain and agony of pulled muscles. “I loved it though, the company were bonkers, and I was spoilt for a first job because we laughed so much. The physical stuff set me up for later on, and I still use their old gags in my productions now.”
