Twink has been left devastated after her beloved parrot of 26 years, Timby, was tragically killed during rehearsals for her new pantomime show.
Twink pictured with her adorable dog Tayto and bird Timberlake who will be appearing with her in the show (Image: Rob Kennedy Photography)
Legendary panto star Adele King aka Twink is devastated after her pet parrot Timby was killed during rehearsals for her new show.
She said: “I have lost my best friend for 26 years, I am broken. He was my constant companion.”
Her parrot who slept in her bed with her every night was due to star with her in Virgin Media star Alan Hughes and his partner Karl Broderick’s annual Christmas pantomime Cinderella at the National Stadium, Dublin which opened this week.
Twink had agreed to come out of retirement to play the Queen of the Fairies in a pre-recorded video link and be shown on the big screen as part of the panto every day.
But Timby lost his life during rehearsals three weeks ago, in an accident the day before filming, and Twink is still too upset to talk about how it happened.
She was so heartbroken and upset she considered quitting the panto but decided “the show must go on” because she did not want to let the punters down.
Johnny Ward as Barbie, Alan Hughes as Sammy Sausages and Rob Murphy as Buffy and the panto cast pictured with Adele King as Queen of the Fairies on the big screen ahead of the opening of the Stadium Panto ‘Cinderella with Sammy and Buffy’ at the National Stadium,Dublin.(Image: Brian McEvoy)
A deeply emotional Twink, a lifelong animal lover, told of her horror at Timby’s death. She revealed: “At some stage weeks ago during rehearsals, the day before filming, my beloved bird Timberlake, who you all know has been on my shoulder for 26 years, was killed tragically at rehearsals and that was the end of me, a huge part of me died that night.
“I came home broken, a soulless, mindless person. No daughters, nobody there. I sat in the house that night after a horrendous journey to two vets, Coolock Vets and a lovely man called Turlough McNulty in the veterinary island in Summerhill, and his three assistants, Rozalia, Claudia and Ana who did everything they could to save his life.
“I haven’t been able to talk about it yet. My daughters have asked me what happened and I said I haven’t been able to talk about it yet. I went into total silence for a week.
“I texted my girlfriends and told them what happened, and I said; I love you all, and I know you are broken hearted for me but please don’t ring me I can’t talk, don’t text I can’t answer, I haven’t coped with it yet, I was so broken.”
But the next day things nearly got worse after she narrowly avoided an accidnet herself on a road in Summerhill, County Meath.
Twink (Adele King) pictured with her adorable dog Tayto and bird Timberlake who will be appearing with her in the show (Image: Rob Kennedy Photography)
She said: “We were coming around a bend and a big juggernaut came around the far side of the road and forced us into the ditch. I thought the bird was gone and so was the bloody guest star at this stage, it was harrowing and I got home that night and couldn’t talk to anyone.
“I will say in fairness to Alan and Karl which I thought was very decent of them, they did offer if I wanted to step down, at that stage because no one thought how I could do the filming without Timby who had lines in the show. The filming was the next day, and we now had no birdey to bounce lines off etc.
“My children and a lot of friends thought I should not do it and step down. I was amazed so many people were willing to quit. I had a think about it after all the shock and I thought to myself, well now I have never let a show, down in my life. I have gone on with broken legs, injuries, the show must go on, that’s the school I grew up in. I thought about it and I said I am going to do it. My daughters said, ‘Mum really’?”
Twink felt Alan and Karl were good enough to ask her to come out of retirement and star in the show and despite Timby’s death she didn’t want to let any of them down. Her role was to be included via a filmed cameo because she would no longer have the mental strength to appear in person on the stage twice a day for the whole pantomime season.
Twink (Adele King) pictured here with her beloved dogs including her adorable dog Tayto and bird Timberlake who will be appearing with her in the show(Image: Rob Kennedy Photography)
She added: “I don’t let people down and they were good enough to ask me, I don’t let punters down, that’s my big thing and at that stage people had already bought tickets.
“I also didn’t want to let Timby down. I didn’t want him to think, god help him, to think he was responsible for letting the whole show, for letting the country, the punters down.
“There is also another part of me which people don’t understand, you need to be in this business, I’m an entertainer. I don’t let people down”.
The 74 year old star had to stand on a small two foot by two box in her panto dress and heels for five hours during filming.
Asked how she is coping without her beloved parrot Twink replied: “Desperately. I haven’t had time to grieve, I haven’t had time to cope. When I do come to grips with it, I am hoping that enough time will have passed to ease the pain a bit, The nights are the worst when I come home and I miss him shouting, getting him his dinner. He went everywhere.
“I rescued him from a pet shop out in the Naul direction. Timby was given three months to live by a vet and he lived for 26 years. He never lived in a cage, he lived here, in the seat behind me in the car, the pillow behind me in the bed, he went where he jolly well liked actually in the house, it was his house too.
“He was constantly talking, it was constant companionship.His English was great. His understanding of life, it was the happiest of lives, he had the best food, the best trips.
“I’ve lost my best friend quite frankly and I am in pain. He was to be in the pantomime, he had lines and everything. We had some wonderful funny lines for him.”
The star told how her Alan Hughes and panto writer Karl have been friends for years. When they asked her to come out of retirement and appear in the show she knew it might be difficult because for the first time in her life the panto queen would not be boss of the show.
However she made a pact with the lads that they would not fall out no matter what rows or incidents along the way, and remain friends.
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