AS television’s The Nanny, she’s the tart with heart, but in reality Fran Drescher should be called the broad with brains! Along with the quick wit and telltale voice, Fran has an astute mind and a keen grasp of how to make a buck. Such is her head for business, Fran and her producer husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, have come from working-class obscurity to begin building a showbusiness empire to rival the legendary Desilu Productions founded by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Unlike Desilu, Fran and Peter are determined not to come unstuck by booze, fights and divorce."We’re going to therapy, so that should help a lot," Fran says, in her best New York accent. "I don’t think Lucy and Desi did." Despite the demands of her success, and the fact she and Peter are both business and marital partners, Fran does not foresee any relationship difficulties. "I don’t find it to be really problematic," she says. "I think that The Nanny project is such an enormous one that if it didn’t involve the two of us, it would be difficult to find time to connect with each other. "The way it is now, we work at the same place, we talk about the show a lot, it’s a full-time job. I think The Nanny is a bonder if anything."While Fran, 38, can afford to throw herself into her favourite pastime - shopping - and tour the world promoting the show, she says she does not take her success for granted. "We are so appreciative, but we have worked very hard for it, and feel we deserve it," she says. "I have always had the same ambition and talent, it’s just that they came together and worked for us. We are very lucky. Because through the course of our lives we have been poor, we have respect for the money we are making."The success of The Nanny is definitely a case of our dreams beginning to be realised. We have a lot of ambitions, we are now developing and going to produce feature films, and I have a book coming out soon, so we are very busy. "The thing is we don’t want to do anything that will take away from The Nanny, because it is our Starship Galactica."For those of you wondering how much of Fran Fine is in Fran Drescher, the answer is heaps! Fran describes her on-screen character as being, "Full of life, eating and talking with gusto." She says things that only other people think, and I think a lot of her is in me, and we have a good alter ego relationship."The Nanny star says her trip to Australia has been beneficial. "It’s nice to meet the people who are adoring the show and supporting it," she says. "It’s also good for me to develop myself as an international star, because the day will come when the series won’t be around anymore. I think the whole world is my oyster and I can probably get work anywhere. "These tours are also good for The Nanny. If we don’t get outside the studio and throw ourselves into life, then the show won’t remain fresh and we’ll get stale."Fran also hints there may be some funny episodes filmed in Australia. "You’ll soon be seeing episodes where The Nanny takes the family to a kibbutz in Israel, and on safari in South Africa! So who knows where we’ll end up! "She is such a fish out of water, she could be funny anywhere."Despite The Nanny being such a distinctive character, Fran says she’s not worried about typecasting. "It doesn’t worry me," she says with a dismissive wave of her hand. "It’s my intention to play versions of this character for the next few years, even in films. "I don’t want to shock my audience and force them to accept me in a way they haven’t become used to seeing me. I’d like to dimensionalise the character more. You can do that in movies."For those who can’t get enough of Fran and The Nanny, her book, Enter Whining, will be published in February. "It’s about my travels through showbiz," she says proudly. "It’s the story of an ordinary girl in extraordinary situations. "It’s not a kiss and tell book. It’s a funny book about me being my own fish out of water in life. I like to call it Alice In Wonderlandstein!"By Glen Williams Australian TV Week, 13/01/1996
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