Councillor Debbie Wilcox is the leader of Newport City Council. Cllr Wilcox is a rising star in the Welsh Labour Party and she also has many interesting anecdotes. Reporter TOMOS POVEY sat down with her

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“I WAS born in the Rhondda and brought up in the next village down in Pontygwaith.

I was an only child.

My father mainly worked in the car industry and my mother was a clerk typist.

My mother’s claim to fame was her working in a factory in Treforest, where she was very friendly with Melinda Woodward. You may have known her as Tom Jones’ wife.

My mother was the wage’s clerk at that time and she actually gave Tom a £5 sub out of Melinda’s wages so he could get to London to record It’s Not Unusual.

With my father's job, I used to go to the open days and I actually sat in a range rover before they went out into production. I am a great enthusiast of cars because of him I think.

Growing up in the valleys as a child was a great time in many ways in the ‘60s and ‘70s because you felt you could do anything. I was really interested for example in media and, as a child, I became the editor of a school magazine.

I am also one of the last of the grammar school girls.

I enjoyed my time at primary school a lot more than at grammar school. It was a tight focussed and old-fashioned academic place. I was creative and so found grammar school restricting.

I managed to do OK and got through my exams and went to London. I found my creativity again when I went to the Central School for Speech and Drama.

I was at drama school with French and Saunders. I knew Jennifer Saunders better. The last time I saw Jennifer was in 2006.

I do not know what happened to them but I am leader of Newport council.

I had a much closer friendship with Victoria Wood. It will be the anniversary of her death next month. We were not close friends but we would send Christmas cards. And if she were in Cardiff or Newport I would go backstage and chat with her. She was great and I am so sad that she died young.

In my spare time I go to watch the theatre. I also love films and reading – especially political biographies. I have just finished reading Hillary Clinton’s recent book.

One of the most charming books I have read was Rhodri Morgan. You can actually hear him through the words on the pages.

After drama school I trained to become a teacher.

I started in South London and then my first full time job was at Priory Park School. When I worked there I was with children from all parts of the world.

But the pull of home gets you and my mother was not too well so I needed to come back to Wales. I got myself a job in Nantyglo.

It was the location that brought me to Newport. I did not want to locate to Nantyglo because I wanted to be on the M4 corridor to go to the theatre in Bristol, Cardiff and London. So it was location, really.

Over the years I have taught drama, media studies and English.

I did enjoy teaching. I really felt as if I was performing a public service.

My first political awakening was during the 1980s with the mining strikes. My step-father was a miner and I became involved in that struggle.

I had been a student member of the Labour Party and then I kind of let my membership slip because I got on with building a career.

I was successful in building a career and at one stage I was the principal examiner for A-level drama for the UK.

With the new Labour government in 1997, I thought that I really needed to put my money where my mouth was and needed to stop complaining but needed to take an active part. So towards the end of the 1990s I re-joined the Labour Party and five years later became councillor.

I first became elected in 2004 in the Gaer ward and I was able to combine being a teacher and councillor. As a backbencher you can manage to do that. But 10 years later when I was invited into the cabinet that is a much bigger role and it became increasingly more difficult to combine both jobs. So when I became cabinet member for education I had to say ‘I’m sorry I have to hang up the chalk’ and do it full-time.

Later I became leader of the council and it is seven days a week.

As the first woman leader of Newport council and the Welsh Local Government Association I have always been putting local government at the forefront.

I talk about the triangular governance – Westminster, Cardiff bay and local government – all the time. We are inextricable.

Look at what has happened over the last few days with this snow crisis. Where would you be without local government – who has cleared the roads etc. We are absolutely intrinsically part of this society and should have the respect that is deserved.

I am in a meeting relating to the role or the Civic Centre every day of the week.

I also work at the weekend. My PA cannot believe how much work I do on the weekend - but that is politics.

I think my biggest achievement is yet to come.

I am certainly very pleased that I took over at the end of a five-year term from my predecessor. Last year we fought a straightforward campaign and it paid off. We won 31 out of 50 seats.

I want to leave Newport a better place than I found it. We are on the verge of really moving this great city forward in so many ways.

It is my job to represent Newport. Clearly I understand people have different political views but it is my job to represent everyone. That is why I do not like to get involved in political mudslinging. I do not think people like it and I think people are fed up of that nonsense.

I do not have a plan for myself. What I do have though is great enthusiasm for this job.

As long as I get the support to remain in the post I will continue to do this. I feel I am mid-career at the moment and have a long way to go."