Real drama for Jo

Jo Brand argued with real council employees while filming C4 comedy drama Damned, in which she and Alan Davies play social workers. The show was filmed at council offices in Broxbourne, Herts, and Jo says, ‘I disagreed with the staff over Brexit. There were rows and tension between us. So that was exciting…’

Who spends longest in the make-up chair on Poldark? Surprisingly, it’s Beatie Edney, who plays housekeeper Prudie. ‘I’m there for two hours every day, which is longer than the beautiful people on the show,’ says Beatie. ‘I do some of it myself, I mix brown make-up with body lotion to give my hands the look of ground-in dirt.’

Michelle Keegan felt at home as Tina Moore, wife of former West Ham and England skipper Bobby, in Tina And Bobby (right), due on ITV next year. Her hubby Mark Wright is a West Ham fan and they live near Bobby’s old Essex home. She says, ‘It helped me embrace the role.’

Julie Walters says travelling the world with her husband Grant Roffey is one of the top perks of her job. The star of C4’s National Treasure, who’s just signed up to front a new show on the channel called Britain’s Coastal Railways, says, ‘There are places I’d never have been if not for work. Being taken there and looked after makes a difference.’