Model, actor, DJ, presenter, lawyer, singer, businesswoman – Catherine McQueen has had an unusually glamorous life.
But now the 38-year-old, who appeared in Bond flick Die Another Day in 2002, is applying for a job not necessarily known for its glitz and pizazz: Conservative councillor for Camden Town.
She says she was pushed over the edge and into politics by an “escalation of problems” in the area, including a murder in Camden High Street last year.
Her other worries include dirty air, anti-social behaviour and cuts to bin collections – all of which she thinks can be fixed if people “come together a bit”.
Ms McQueen, who has lived in Camden Town since 1999 bar a three-year stay in the USA between 2007–10, told the Ham&High: “I’ve become much more involved in the community – I’ve got a young son and that changes things. “I think it’s worse here now. I know people who’ve been mugged all over.”
She added: “Another thing is the noise and anti-social behaviour because of the night-time economy. It’s attracted a lot of unsavoury people, some selling drugs. It’s not great if you have kids.
“It’s not just a going-out area – it’s a residential area.”
She also said Camden Council’s decision to reduce bin collections in the north of the borough was going to “make things worse” and warned of consequences.
“The rats and foxes will be a massive problem, but the smell is another part of it,” she said.
“I also think we have to do something about the air quality – I got a text from my son’s school recently saying he couldn’t play outside because of the air. That really bothers me and I want to make it better.”
A proud Remainer – and Edinburgh-born unionist – Ms McQueen believes people are better off when they come together.
But she added: “Obviously not everyone agrees with me. And that’s democracy.”
She also said her modelling career is not something she is proud of, branding it a “mistake”.
“I’ve grown up now – I run a successful property company, I have an MBA, I’ve trained as a lawyer,” she said.
“But it’s just unfortunate that I grew up in the public eye.”
She added: “I’m not proud of it, but I’m not going to hide from it. It is what it is.
“I was basically an extra in a Bond film and I ended up getting a bit carried away with it.”
Referring to the inevitable regurgitation of pictures of her in a bikini that have recently appeared in the tabloid press, she said: “I’m really surprised by that – it’s weird to have these pictures from 15, 20 years ago dug up and thrown back in your face.
“But I don’t think there’s any chance of me being treated as though I were unserious.”
Ms McQueen was announced as a candidate for Camden Conservatives on Saturday. She will stand for election in 2018.
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