I’m still a normal person and it’s all thanks to dad
Star of Normal People reveals advice from TV exec Philip set her on the right path in showbiz.. and she hasn’t looked back
BY RICK FULTON r.fulton@dailyrecord.co.uk name while remaining socially distant alongside boyfriend Tom Varey, who played Cley Cerwyn in Game of Thrones, in a London flat they share with two other people.
It might be just as well that she wasn’t able to watch Normal People with her dad Philip and mum Wendy given the amount of time on the show featuring sex scenes (41 minutes in 12 episodes, it’s been reported), including a rough sex scene with Marianne’s new boyfriend.
Daisy said: “My parents did watch it.
“I sent early copies to them – so they were well prepared for when it came out, they had at least an idea of what was coming up. And they just loved it.
“I think they got quite lost in the story and I think they forgot it was me, which is a really nice thing. It’s probably still a little bit strange.
“I thought more of my friends would be like, ‘That was a bit odd’, but most of them are, ‘I loved it! Those scenes were so beautiful.’ They don’t seem to think of it as me, which is a big relief.”
Many fans of Normal People claim the sex scenes seem very realistic and Daisy puts that down to having an intimacy co-ordinator, Ita O’Brien, who has also worked on Gentlemen Jack and Sex Education.
Daisy said: “It was really important that we were able to have someone like Ita to create a safe space for us to have an open dialogue about those scenes so that there was no kind of grey area.”
The sex scenes certainly changed Daisy, who had a low embarrassment threshold before filming. She said: “I no longer have an embarrassment threshold at all now but definitely at the start I did. We had to do this dance around the room and I hadn’t gone to drama school so I hadn’t had much experience with doing that and was getting all shy like trying to do my dance.”
As Marianne goes from school to college in the series, Daisy was made to look older. Her three different fringes also caused a sensation and Marianne’s fringe now has an Instagram account.
Daisy said: “It’s very surreal. I got my fringe kind of in response to not getting much work.
“I got really close to a part and I didn’t get it and I almost did that thing that you do when you break up with someone, where you get like a break-up haircut.”
Daisy was born in Islington and grew up in Muswell Hill, London.
While Philip is one of UK TV’s most influential taste-makers, her mum Wendy, who is from Northern Ireland, was a drama film editor who is now a property developer.
Her mum helped her with her Irish accent for Marianne. he said: “My dad’s Scottish and my mum’s from Northern Ireland so I’ve always had accents in my house.” Daisy’s first professional role when she was 17 was as Olivia Marsden in the Cold Feet reboot. She has been in Outnumbered, Silent Witness, Gentleman Jack and in an American version of War of the Worlds.
A second series of that has been given the go-ahead but, as yet, a much-wanted follow-up to Normal People has not.
Daisy, who with Paul will appear digitally at the Edinburgh TV Festival next month, would be up for it.
She said: “I’d be curious to see where they go, maybe in their 30s – but I’d love to explore two very different characters with Paul. I love working with him.” ●Normal People is available to download or buy digitally. The series will be on DVD later this year.
DAISY ON PALS’ VIEW OF SHOW’S INTIMACY