Monday, 14 June 2010
Twelve years before the Liverpudlian actress was taken to the nation’s heart (or possibly not) in ‘I’m a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!’ I’d photographed her as a 19 year old model in New York. I had the idea to photograph her in the ‘Meat District’ on the lower West Side, due to the fact that’s it’s very grungy and, in the daytime, fairly deserted. Save for all the other photographers and camera crews with the same idea. Things were going great until a pickup truck with three tough-looking guys in it pulled up to watch. From a distance of about five feet. They didn’t say anything. They just sat there quietly watching. Phina was completely spooked. And since there was only the two of us there, no big crew or team of bodyguards, we decided to move on. Loaded never ran any of the photos anyway.