GOFISH - Amazon S3...ing celebrities, but then, it’s not every day you get to meet the most famous ... who are hoping the star’s endorse - ment of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton

I’m on my way to a fancy hotel in central London and I’m panicking. My heart is racing, my fingertips are sweaty and I feel kind of dizzy. Did I pick the right outfit? Is my hair ok? I’m not normally this anxious about meet-ing celebrities, but then, it’s not every day you get to meet the most famous lesbian in the world. This might just be the biggest moment of my career.

Ellen DeGeneres in the flesh is everything you’d expect her to be. The 58-year-old doesn’t walk so much as glide into a room, and I feel utterly mesmerised as she sits down inches from me in the Rosewood Hotel’s Grand Ballroom. When her eyes meet mine, they twinkle in a way I could swear is CGI’d, and it’s only after we’ve finished talking that I realise I was so transfixed by her presence that I have no idea what she said. Thank goodness for dictaphones.

It’s the day after the London premiere of her new film Finding Dory, and despite a promo schedule full to bursting, the talk show host and all round entertainment darling has still managed to find time for an “unfor-gettable” trip to Wimbledon’s centre court to see Andy Murray dispose of Milos Raonic in straight sets to lift his second Wimbledon title.

“The premiere could not have worked out better timewise because Portia and I have always dreamed of going to Wimbledon” she says. “It worked out perfectly.” A visit to SW19 is the kind of trip most of us can only dream of giving our other half, but

then it would have to be, for the cou-ple who have everything. “I can’t buy Portia more than I’ve ever bought her,” Ellen laughs. “I can give her love and I can make her things. Oh, but I could buy her another horse. I think that’s what she would most like!”

If Ellen’s feeling worn out by the Dory promotional juggernaut, she shows no sign of fatigue. Her smile is bright, her skin glowing, and she looks the definition of cool in a short-sleeved paisley shirt buttoned to the neck, black skinny jeans and whiter-than-white high-tops. I feel overdressed. And more than a little sweaty.

It’s no wonder she’s so cheerful. This moment has been a long time coming for DeGeneres, who has been campaigning vociferously for a sequel to Finding Nemo since its release in 2003. Despite Nemo writer Andrew Stanton’s firm refusal to consider it, Ellen kept badgering (or should that fishing?) for another film and eventu-ally wore him down.

“It really just became content for show; it was a joke,” she says. “For 13 years, I’ve watched every other Pixar movie get a sequel. Toy Story, Shrek, Cars. Every sequel that came out for every movie, I was like, ‘Are you kidding me!?’ And then, my joke was ruined, because he did a movie. So now I’ve got no more jokes,” she chuckles.

The sequel that DeGeneres longed for, though, was very different to the one now playing in cinemas. “I was interested to know more about Marlin and Nemo and Dory but I never

thought a movie focusing on Dory was ever in the pipeline. But I’m very happy it turned out that way.”

It’s no secret that Nemo revitalised the star’s career. Sure, she might be bezzie mates with everyone from Jus-tin Bieber to the Obamas now – “They invited me to their last dance party before he leaves the White House” – , but back in the early noughties, Ellen couldn’t catch a break. A successful comedy career skidded to an abrupt halt in 1997 after she came out, and her sitcom was cancelled the following year with many suggesting its declin-ing ratings were linked to discomfort about her sexuality, particularly from TV executives who felt DeGeneres was no longer family friendly.

So there was no question that when Stanton called to offer her the voice of Dory, an adorable Blue Tang with short-term memory loss, DeGeneres would say yes. “I had no job offers at the time. I had no work in three years. So I was thrilled that someone called me for anything,” she laughs. “I was about to work at Olive Garden! I couldn’t believe I was being offered anything, much less a part in a Pixar film. It was amazing.”

Stanton, Ellen believes, was una-ware of what she playfully calls her “situation” – “I wasn’t desirable”, she says – and while she laughs about it now, it’s clear that the writer pulled her out of a very dark time with his job offer, and DeGeneres admits that Nemo “saved my life in many ways”.

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“I just happen to be one person who is openly gay”

CARRIE LYELL FINDS OUT HOW A FISH SAVED THE CAREER OF THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS LESBIAN

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like her character Dory and forget that time in her career ever happened? Ellen looks thoughtful. “This seems re-ally corny and clichéd to say, but every single thing that’s happened has either been a beautiful blessing or a lesson,” she tells me. “I look at everything as a guidepost, and even the most hor-rible things, or embarrassing things, are character forming. I’m grateful because they have made me a more compassionate person, and I’m happy for everything that has happened.”

Call it a coincidence, but it seems the success of Nemo (the film won an Academy Award and went on to become the highest-grossing animated film of the time, earning an eye-water-ing $867 million by the end of its the-atrical run) had more than a little to do with Ellen’s triumphant return to telly. Her eponymous daytime talk show launched the same year as the fishy tale hit theatres, and today boasts 55 Daytime Emmy award wins, 15 People’s Choice awards, two Producers Guild of America awards, and five Teen Choice awards. DeGeneres has also picked up a TV Land award, a GLAAD award, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humour and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She better have one hell of a mantelpiece.

The show’s mix of celebrity guests, hilarious skits and moving real-life sto-ries has been the perfect formula for success, and, 13 seasons later, it shows no signs of losing its appeal. Earlier this year, the show was renewed by NBC until 2020, and back in January, it was bought by ITV2, bringing Ellen to a whole new audience in the UK who are just as enamoured with the happy-go-lucky host as our pals over the pond.

It would be stretching it to hold an animated fish completely responsible for her success, but Ellen admits Dory’s optimism has definitely had an impact on her, both personally and profes-sionally. “Everybody relates to Dory, or wants to relate to her, because she is so optimistic. Because she has this supposed disability, she doesn’t really worry about the past or try to analyse the future. It doesn’t paralyse her to make decisions; she’s just spontane-ous and non-judgemental, and no

matter what mood somebody is in, it doesn’t impact her. She doesn’t take it personally. It reminds me of what I try to do every day and say on my show: be kind to one another. I think that’s what Dory does. The whole ‘just keep swimming’ from the first film, that is attached to my fish’s character, is a wonderful mantra that I didn’t know I had most of my life, most of my career. But I have applied it in my life.”

While some might draw parallels between Ellen’s phoenix-like rise from the ashes to the upper echelons of the entertainment industry and America’s journey towards acceptance of same-sex relationships, the star is reluc-tant to accept any of the credit, and doesn’t believe her status as a lesbian in the public eye has helped the US to become more accepting. “I just happen to be one person who is openly gay,” she shrugs. But there’s no denying the power that celebrities like her and wife Portia have to change hearts and minds just by being themselves, and with an average of 3.9 million viewers per episode, and eight billion hits on her YouTube channel, it’s highly likely that she’s played a part, however small, in shifting views towards LGBT people.

You can’t ignore the influence she has. And there will be many Ellen fans who are hoping the star’s endorse-ment of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton might just help halt Donald Trump’s seemingly unstoppable march towards the White House. On the pros-pect of the billionaire businessman winning the presidential election in November, Ellen shudders. “That would quite possibly be the worst thing to happen to our country in a long time,” she says. “Really, it would be a full-out disaster to place a bully in power. And that’s what he is, a bully. It’s a harsh word but it’s true.”

But does she think the former Secretary of State can win, despite the #Any-oneButHillary movement gaining momentum? “I’m fairly certain that the next president in the White House will be Hillary Clin-

ton,” Ellen says confidently. “She has to win. There are no two ways about it. She has to absolutely win or we’re in serious trouble. Hillary is perfectly suited to the job. She’s experienced, she has the knowledge, and the intel-ligence.”

So President DeGeneres isn’t a title she wants for herself? That, she says, would be a fate worse than Trump. “That will never ever ever happen.”

With those words, Ellen is gone, gliding out of the room like a fish through water. And as I make my way to the tube station, I think to myself: what can happen in my career that could possibly top making Ellen DeGeneres laugh? I guess I’ll just keep swimming until I find out.

Finding Dory is in cinemas now. Get your daily DeGeneres fix with The Ellen DeGeneres Show, weekdays at 1.45pm on ITV2.

“Be kind to one another. ‘Just keep swim-ming’ is a great mantra”

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