Twiggy on Ken Russell, and Kötting's Hallucinated Worlds: What Shapes an Icon?

March 24, 2026·42 min·3 clips

Twiggy recounts how Ken Russell fought for a year to cast her in 'The Boy Friend' after a champagne-fueled idea.

This episode features film critic Mark Kermode in conversation with artist-filmmaker Andrew Kötting and cultural icon Dame Twiggy Lawson, recorded live at the BFI IMAX. Kötting discusses his unique body of work and a new VR exhibition, while Twiggy reflects on her documentary and career. Kötting explains his VR project is a "memory hovel" based on a Pyrenean farmhouse, created using photogrammetry and containing elements from past works like his film *Gallivant*. He describes his filmmaking origins in performance art and documenting encounters, such as the dynamic between his grandmother Gladys and his daughter Eden in *Gallivant*. Kötting cites Sergei Parajanov's *The Colour of Pomegranates* as an inspirational text for its non-narrative, image-driven power. He characterizes his own work as "slightly shoddy" and tactile, driven by autobiography and collaboration with his daughter, whom he calls a "conjoined muse." Kötting states he is uninterested in conventional narrative, instead seeking an "alchemy of real life" through happenstance and serendipity. Twiggy recounts how director Ken Russell changed her life by educating her in film and later casting her in *The Boyfriend* after a two-year friendship. She shares the story of hearing David Bowie sing her name in "Drive-In Saturday" and her subsequent meeting with her hero, Fred Astaire, in Los Angeles. Twiggy reveals she never saw her brief, costumed appearance in Ken Russell's controversial film *The Devils*. She discusses launching her podcast, *Tea with Twiggy*, during COVID, aiming for a friendly, conversational style that elicits personal stories from guests. The tone is conversational, educational, and warmly appreciative, with Kermode acting as an enthusiastic fan and interviewer. Listeners interested in avant-garde, tactile filmmaking and personal artistic processes will enjoy the Kötting segment. Fans of 1960s cultural history, iconic figures, and behind-the-scenes showbiz stories will appreciate Twiggy's recollections.

As heard by us

A live BFI IMAX double bill that moves from Cotting's recursive self-revision to Twiggy's career-spanning conversation.

Mark Kermode's live BFI IMAX episode opens up into two distinct conversations: one with filmmaker and artist Andrew Cotting, whose work, new VR project, and Every World exhibition are traced through a looping, self-revisiting line of thought; the other with Dame Twiggy Lawson,…

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Press play for a live BFI IMAX film session that moves from Andrew Cotting's films and VR project to Twiggy Lawson's career story.

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