The actress, who is starring in ITV’s thriller Red Eye, talks about water-cooler TV and her pride in being a northerner
WORDS: ALISON JAMES
● I love playing complex, three-dimensional women. In Red Eye, I play a formidable character called Madelaine Delaney who’s head of MI5. She’s an incredible woman at the top of her game. Other people are vying for her job and she’s fighting fires on several fronts in a really controlled, mindful way. She’s not someone who loses it easily, she’s very good at keeping it together.
● It is amazing to play people who have exactly the right riposte at the right moment, or make the right decision, or even just manage to take a breath before they respond. Don’t we all wish that we could be like that? She’s also a good person. I love her.
● The Secret Services fascinate me. Every time I drive over Vauxhall Bridge, I have a look at that MI6 building and I wonder what’s going on in there. I love John le Carre’s Smiley books, Slow Horses on Apple TV… I’m really heavily invested in that genre. I was super happy to be asked to play the Head of MI5 in Red Eye. What can I say? It’s a dream come true!
● I hope Red Eye is water cooler TV magic. The visual equivalent of a cracking good page turner. At the end of every episode, I hope people say, “Oh my God, what’s going to happen next?” And then either head straight for ITVX to binge it all in one go, or look forward to the next episode like we all used to.
Life-Changing
Enid Blyton and all her amazing books… as a child, they opened my eyes to a bunch of kids who were living a life that was so far away from mine.
On Acting...
