The Express On Sunday
5 minutes with... Kyle Richards
She started off acting in Little House On The Prairie, now she's one of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills...
What's it like on Real Housewives? I don't take it that seriously. To be a housewife is the thing I love most and I take pride at being a mother and a wife. But now we are all businesswomen as well.
How were you approached to be on it? Casting producers came to me after something I did about my nieces Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.
Are you friends with the people in it? I brought my sister Kim in; a few were clients of my husband [Mauricio, a high-end estate agent] and a few were friends of friends. We were friendly but now we are friends. I talk to some of them all the time.
Is your day-to-day life really as it seems on screen? What you see is real but what you don't see is me getting up and getting my kids to school in my pyjamas. There are pieces of our lives that aren't covered, probably because they are so boring no one would care.
Do you have hair and make-up people? No. I do my own, though some of the others have "glam squads". It's reality TV, I would never have my hair and make-up done to go to a friend's house for dinner.
How do producers structure the show? When you start the season they see what is going on in your life. They will then ask to come with me to certain parties or dinners. They do this weekly. So you could film for two hours, or film all day.
How would you describe your role? I just play me, obviously. I am not a person who likes drama as I get anxiety. I try to keep the peace.
Do the arguments embarrass you? Unfortunately we don't have the say in what they show or don't show. You forget the cameras are there in a setting like at a dinner party. If there is an argument you often forget and you think: "Why did that happen?" Do you watch yourself on the show? We have to watch the show because we have no idea who said what about us. Then at the reunion at the end, it all kicks off again.
Do you watch reality TV and the Kardashians? I tune in now and again, but I don't watch reality TV and won't do it again after the Housewives.
Do your children like having the cameras around? They are not impressed by the cameras; I am lucky if they show up at all.