Interview: Marika Tsircou Talks Beverly Hills Nannies

Interview: Marika Tsircou Talks Beverly Hills Nannies, Written by: Karen Benardello With the success of such popular reality shows as ‘The Real Housewives of…’ and ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians,’ and America’s obsession with the rich and famous, similar series are appearing on television much more frequently. From the producers of ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ and ‘The Real Housewives of Orange County’ comes the latest similarly-themed show, ABC Family’s ‘Beverly Hills Nannies.’ ‘Beverly Hills Nannies,’ which airs on Wednesday nights at 9pm/8pm PT, follows the unconventional lives of nannies and mannies who take care of children in the world’s most famous zip code. The nannies must contend with the demands of the rich and famous families they work for. Beverly Hills native and painter and photographer, Marika Tsircou, who lives with her attorney husband Kyri and their 11-month-old son Xander, is just one of the families to be featured on the show. Tsircou generously took the time to speak with us over the phone recently about filming the ABC Family reality show. Among other things, the painter and photographer discussed why she decided to feature her family on the show, how her series differentiates from ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ and the close friendships she has formed with her co-stars. ShockYa (SY): Along with your husband, Kyri, and your son, Xander, you are one of the families featured on ABC Family’s new reality series, ‘Beverly Hills Nannies.’ Why did you decide to be a part of the show, and feature your life on television? Marika Tsircou (MT): Well, I did not look for this. The producers knew who I was, and they called me in September. They said, we think you’d be perfect for the show. I said, absolutely not, I have a one-month old baby, and I’m breast-feeding every two hours. I’m exhausted, and I gained 65 pounds. I said, I’m fat and boring and tired, so there’s no way. I kept saying no, and they kept calling me, saying we really think you’d be perfect. So eventually, they convinced me to do the pilot, and we shot it in November. I didn’t think it would even be picked up, and totally forgot about it. Months later, they called me back, and said it got picked up, and we would love for you to do it. In the end, we decided to do it, because we thought this is an opportunity that came to us, and not something we went after. I knew myself and my personality, I would have always wondered what could have or would been, had I not done it. SY: What was the transition process like when you first began shooting the season? How did you and your family adjust to having the cameras following you? MT: The cameras were here two to three days a week, so it wasn’t like they were here every day. I did tell them from the beginning, I have a baby. He’s not a toddler or a child, he’s just a little baby. When we started filming, he was eight-and-a-half months old, and he’s 11-months-old now. So I told them I was never going to leave my baby alone with this nanny, or anybody. So I was here the whole time with him, and I was on the show too, of course. I’m breast-feeding and nursing him every few hours. The crew was really amazing. The producer that was at the house, the field producer was just wonderful. We became friends. You have two cameramen, one sound person and the producer, so that was four people in your home. Plus, of course, the nanny, who was filming with us. It wasn’t that overwhelming. I think had they been in the house five, six days a week, it would have been too much. But they made it very manageable, being here two to three days a week. Since the crew was so wonderful and friendly and nice, I welcomed them into my home as a house guest. They acted just like a house guest. It wasn’t that bad. You eventually get used to the cameras being there. The baby really loved the cameras. (laughs) He would always smile with them and crawl up to them. He was very intrigued by them. To continue reading this interview, please click here.