'It feels like Stephen is in the room with us when the four of us are together'

19th December 2009

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/it-feels-like-stephen-is-in-the-room-with-us-when-the-four-of-us-are-together-1981629.html

At the end of his toughest year, Keith Duffy talks frankly to Declan Cashin about the death of his Boyzone bandmate, coping with his daughter's autism and having to confront grief again on his return to Coronation Street

Keith Duffy is a busy man. He has just wrapped a long day of filming -- more of that anon -- and manages to squeeze in a chat with Weekend before making a Home Alone-esque dash to Manchester airport to catch the last flight home to Dublin that night.

Others might moan about stress or complain of tiredness, but, by his own admission, the 35-year-old Boyzone star prefers to approach his career and life with a positive mental attitude, and to make the best of everything he does. Such an outlook has hitherto stood Keith in good stead, and it's fair to say that he relied on it heavily -- with varying degrees of success -- to get through the most difficult and emotionally draining year of his life.

It might explain why Keith is so happy to surround himself with the familiar right now: eschewing the regular festive family holiday abroad to spend an intimate Christmas with his close relatives and best friends, and also making a welcome return to the first TV acting role that brought him a whole new legion of fans, Coronation Street.

Keith is back on television's most famous cobbled street as barman and lady-killer Ciaran McCarthy, a role he originated back in 2003, and left behind some two years later. "I can't believe how I've adjusted back in -- it's like I never left," he reveals, laughing softly. "I was a bit wary walking back into the green room on the first day, but the cast and crew have been so welcoming and made me feel like part of the family again.

"I can't talk about the upcoming storylines, but I will say that Ciaran is brought back to the Street by his old pal Peter Barlow. Ciaran was a womanising cheeky charmer before and that person is back, up to his old tricks. My first scenes will be screened in February."

The door was always left open for Keith to return, but it was only towards the end of this year that the timing was right for his Corrie comeback. For the past two-and-a-half-years, his time was completely occupied by the Boyzone reunion tour, and indeed it was during the band's headline act at the MEN Arena in Manchester last year that the seeds for Keith's return were planted.

"I always wanted to come back to Corrie and I was in contact with the producers all the time,"
he says. "I invited the cast and crew to our show in MEN and quite a few came along. We met up afterwards, and that's when we started talking seriously about it."

Keith's first week back on the set was tinged by sadness, however, due to the death of the great Maggie Jones, who played acid-tongued harridan Blanche Hunt. "Maggie was an absolute lady, and so distant from the character of Blanche that it shows how brilliant an actress she was," Keith recalls.

"Everyone in the cast was always jealous of her one-liners. I was lucky to work with her many times when I was on the show before. Chris [Gascoyne], who plays Peter Barlow, has been really cut up since. The whole cast are very upset. But because I'd been through everything with Stephen [Gately], I could really empathise with people here. I find that what I've gone through has helped these guys a little bit, and I try to keep their spirits up."

That's the first time in our conversation that Keith mentions his late friend and bandmate Stephen Gately, who died suddenly in October aged just 33. Keith talks about Stephen freely, and with evident affection, but several times it sounds as if he needs to concentrate to keep his voice steady. The shock hasn't really worn off. The reality of the loss is still only sinking in.

"When I'm in here working on Corrie, and keeping myself busy, I'm fine," he says. "But when I have moments on my own, I can't help but think about it, and those moments can be very difficult. Initially it was non-stop: constantly going over everything in my head, emotions running wild and feeling very sad all the time.

"Now that's not as often, but you have waves of emotion that hit you when you're not expecting it during the day, and it knocks you off your feet. I don't think any of us have come even close to dealing with it.

"He was so young, and we looked out for him like a little brother," he continues. "It's absolutely devastating. But we have to pick up the pieces and move on; that's what Stephen would have wanted. He wouldn't want us to be down. He was a very happy person and he always brought out the best in us, so we have to use those memories to bring out the best in ourselves now."

Two weeks ago, the four remaining members of the band met in London to work together for the first time since their friend's passing. "Stephen had put vocals down on a couple of tracks and there's one song in particular that he loved," Keith says.

"We've just recorded the video for this song, and it was very difficult. Stephen's vocals are magnificent on it and the video is a memorial to him." Boyzone's album, tentatively entitled Together & Forever, will be released in March, and the single should be out in January.

Right after our interview, Keith is making his way home to Ireland to host the Masquerade Ball at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, along with wife Lisa, son Jordan (13) and daughter Mia (nine), in aid of Irish Autism Action. Over the past seven years he has worked tirelessly to build up and develop the charity, which provides support and education to children and families affected by autism.

It's a cause dear to Keith's heart: his daughter was diagnosed with the disability at age two. It was a difficult process for the Duffys to even get a diagnosis, and Keith has said they were shocked by the inadequacy of the services provided for, and lack of information about, children with autism. This is what propelled him into action with the organisation.

"Mia is 10 in March and she's doing great -- so fantastic from where we started," he says. "She spent five years in ABACAS [Applied Behaviour Analysis Centre for Autism Schooling] in Kilbarrack, which gave her one-to-one education, and she responded really well to that. We've done everything we can to help Mia to reach her own potential.

"That's what we try to do for all the kids through the charity -- to reach their potential. In the past there were misdiagnoses, and kids not getting the appropriate early intervention. Mia is now in her third year in mainstream school, albeit from time to time with a special needs assistant in the classroom, but the majority of the time, she's standing on her own two feet."

Autism is a complex condition, and every child affected by it is affected differently. "With Mia, her socialising skills weren't very good," Keith explains. "She spent a lot of time on her own. She likes her own company a great deal. Because of that she wasn't making friends, and having an ordinary little girl's life.

"Then there were academic and concentration problems, and sensory issues, which is why an ordinary classroom setting is often not sufficient for kids with autism. That's why it's important to put kids into a one-to-one environment where they can concentrate and get that attention."

Through her education in school and at home, Mia has mastered her verbal skills and her socialising capabilities have improved immensely. "To give you an idea, when Mia was seven she wanted a ballet party for her birthday," Keith says. "It came close to me wearing a tutu myself because she really didn't have that many friends to invite. We had her 9th birthday in March this year and we had 14 children over in Hamley's in Dundrum for a birthday party, which was a huge change. We were so happy for her."

Keith was due back on the Corrie set the day after the Dublin fundraiser. "It's tough at the minute, but it's tougher on my family than it is on me," he concedes. "My son Jay [Jordan] is missing me a lot. He's had me home for the past few years and he's a teenager now, so he likes having his dad around the place. We both have Skype so we chat on our computers at night to try to make it a bit easier."

Luckily, the Corrie filming schedule gives Keith two full weeks off for Christmas, before he returns to Manchester for another six months in the New Year.

"For the past few years we've been going away for Christmas because I've been so busy, and so has Lisa for that matter," he says. "With me being away so much, Lisa is run ragged between school runs with the kids and all their extra curricular activities, such as football, rugby, ballet, drama, and piano lessons.

"This year, I just want to stay at home. The year that we've had, I want to be close to the other boys. So I'm spending Christmas Day with Ronan [Keating] and his family. Ronan's kids and my kids get on like a house on fire, and all our families are coming too.

"We're staying in the one place for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner. Then on St Stephen's Day, appropriately enough, we're having a party for Stephen in his memory. It's just going to be all the lads from the band, their families and good friends, and we're going to celebrate Stephen. Andrew, Stephen's husband, is invited too, but he has his own family so I'm not sure if he'll make it.

"I'm really looking forward to that. When the four of us guys are together, we have great strength. It just feels like Stephen is in the room with us when we're together."

Samuel L Jackson will co-host the Night Of Love Ball with Keith Duffy, on Saturday 13th February in the O'Reilly Hall, UCD. For more details see www.autimsmireland.ie