My boyfriend, Pawlo, wakes me up at 5.30 and I mumble a few bleary-eyed words before he leaves for work and I fall back to sleep. Pawlo’s a TV art director, and we’ve been friends for years. As I was constantly up and down to London, filming programmes like Shameless and Dinnerladies, I couldn’t commit to a relationship. But then I moved back to Manchester permanently and I had no excuse, so we began dating 18 months ago.
We live in an old terraced cottage in Salford, not far from where I was born, in Bolton. And it isn’t a classic terrace like the ones in Coronation Street, so I don’t own a “donkey stone” cleaning block, for scrubbing the doorstep. Once I’m up, I pop the radio on and make porridge listening to the Today programme or BBC6 Music. I love my food, so I’m the sort of person who’s already thinking about dinner before I’ve finished my breakfast.
I was actually quite a big lass when I was a teenager. I even played rugby league for Wigan Ladies. When I was 24, playing Twinkle in Dinnerladies, Victoria Wood kindly took me to one side and suggested I lose weight to avoid being offered only fat parts. So I took her advice, signed up for WeightWatchers, and ended up losing five stone: I went from 15 stone down to 10.
I don’t own a posh car; I drive a battered old Ford Ka, called Derek. But he needs a little tlc after I reversed him into a wall
I don’t own a posh car; I drive a battered old Ford Ka, called Derek. But he needs a little tlc at the moment after I reversed him into a wall a while ago. So I’m currently getting around on a Pashley racing bike. I love cycling around the city but I need to sort myself out with a proper helmet — I’ve been fooling myself into thinking that a big woolly hat does the same job.
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If I’m out and about, I might have sushi for lunch.
I try to keep things pretty healthy so I try not to have too many sweet things.
Having said that, I’m obsessed with crumpets topped with goat’s cheese and chutney and I like the odd Tunnock’s Tea Cake in the afternoon. In fact, the fridge is usually full of them.
Sometimes I’m recognised by fans of Silk, but people up here are far more interested in what it was like working on Coronation Street than a drama about snooty barristers set in London’s law courts.
I’m very proud of my northern roots, but ironically I was rejected by every drama group in the region when I was a teenager. Then I applied for Rada in London, just for a laugh, and was stunned to be offered a scholarship!
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I’ve recently finished a short run at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, and while I was doing it I loved being able to just cycle to rehearsals, instead of commuting to London for TV work. I think it drives my agent mad because he might line up a high-profile TV job for me and I’ll say I’m off to do a play in Manchester.
I’ve actually been very lucky with TV roles in recent years: Myra Hindley, John Prescott’s mistress Tracey Temple, John Le Mesurier’s wife, who had an affair with Tony Hancock. Next I’m playing the prostitute Doll Tearsheet in the BBC1’s new adaption of Henry IV. It’s got a brilliant cast, including Julie Walters and Jeremy Irons, and it’s part of the BBC’s screening of Shakespeare’s history plays.
If I’m not working, I might go for a walk in the countryside or spend the afternoon with my granddad, Jim. I lived with him for a couple of years when I was in my teens. He was a communist and he really opened my eyes to the world. He’s my biggest mentor.
If Pawlo and I are both at home in the evening, we might have something like vegetable lasagne for dinner. Then we often just sit in our outhouse, which is crammed with overgrown plants, and read. I find learning my lines quite hard, so I love it when I can relax with a good book. At the moment it’s Derek Raymond’s He Died with His Eyes Open.
I’m usually ready for bed by 10.30, but I often have trouble switching off. I also tend to dream a lot. Pawlo often turns to me in the morning and says: “Crikey! What were you dreaming about last night?” Usually, I can’t remember, but maybe the crumpets and goat’s cheese are to blame.
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Silk is on BBC1, Tuesdays at 9pm. Henry IV, part 1 & 2 are on BBC1 on July 7 and 14