Sunday Mirror

CORRIE STAR’S Christmas Day TV drama is right up Phoebe’s Street...

- BY RICHARD SIMPSON Scoops@sundaymirr­or.co.uk

A NEW acting Dyn-asty is upon us this Christmas… as soap star Sally Dynevor’s daughter Phoebe joins the small-screen big league.

The 25-year-old is the leading lady in new Netflix period drama Bridgerton, an eight-parter starting on December 25.

Mum Sally, 57, will also be on our screens on Christmas Day, in an hourlong Coronation Street special.

And she is thrilled to be sharing the limelight with her talented daughter, who started out with low-profile roles in the likes of Waterloo Road and, more recently, the US series Younger.

Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Sally told of her happiness and added: “I just want to say I’m very proud of Phoebe and as a family, we are so excited to see Bridgerton on Christmas Day.”

In the show, Phoebe plays Daphne Bridgerton, one of eight siblings caught up in a world of wealth, lust and betrayal.

She is made for the part, with her striking red hair and ethereal skin perfect for Georgian England – 1813 to be precise.

But Sally, who plays Corrie’s Sally Metcalfe, isn’t at all surprised by her daughter’s breakthrou­gh and revealed that years of ambition and hard work have helped her to find fame.

She said previously : “Phoebe decided she wanted to act when she was 12 or 13.

“My mother-in-law Shirley said to me, ‘ You mustn’t dissuade her. Actors are the most wonderful people in the world and the most fun’.

I’m proud of Phoebe and we are so excited to see her on TV at Xmas SALLY DYNEVOR MUM AND STAR OF CORRIE

NERVOUS

“I thought, ‘She’s absolutely right’. And even if it’s very difficult, she’s going to have a great time. I was probably more nervous watching her in something than I’d ever been for me, but she’s doing OK.

“I am always telling her if you want to survive in this business, you have to have discipline – and set aside days and nights to learn lines.”

Clearly, the advice seems to be working. As well as having an actress for a mother, Phoebe’s dad Tim is a Bafta- nominated scriptwrit­er for soap opera Emmerdale.

Phoebe was raised in Manchester and has two siblings – brother Sam, 23, and sister Hattie, 17.

Her career began in earnest in 2009 when she was cast as Siobhan in TV school drama Waterloo Road.

But that same year, Sally found a cancerous lump while researchin­g a traumatic plot for her television namesake.

Sally said: “If I had not been researchin­g this storyline, I may not have discovered the lump in my breast.”

It was a hard year for the family and they endured emotional ups and downs.

Soap fans did too – willing Sally to get well in real-life and on screen.

Thankfully, both Sallys came through. And in real life, it inspired the family to raise money for cancer-related charities.

With her mum’s health scare behind

DIDDY DYN YN Baby Phoebe ebe & proud Sally ally them, Phoebe could focus again on n acting.

In 2015 5 she was Martha Cratchit ratchit in A Christmas s Carol – as reimagined d in the BBC1 series Dickensian. nsian.

She went on to play namesake ke Phoebe Rundle in TV drama The Village ge and was Lotti in a small-screen version on of Guy Ritchie’s crime caper Snatch.

But her latest role has catapulted pulted her to even greater prominence.

The Netflix series is based d on the Bridgerton books written by the he American author Julia Quinn.

It follows the escapades of a rich family and their tumultuous social ocial lives full of scandal, gossip and affairs. fairs. It is

brilliantl­y narrated by screen and music veteran

Julie Andrews, 85, and co-stars include Ben Miller, 54.

The first episode sees Daphne “coming out” on the social scene as prime marriage material.

But all is not as it seems when she apparently falls for hot suitor Simon Basset, the 10th Duke of Hastings – played by Zimbabwean actor Regé-Jean Page, 30.

Other familiar faces in the ensemble include Nicola Coughlan, 33, one of the breakout comedy stars of recent years after her performanc­es as Clare Devlin in Derry Girls.

Miller stars as the laid-back

Lord Feathering­ton Featherin – a velvet- clad aristocrat looking to marry ma off his three daughters. daughter

Full of glamorous glamo outfits and corseted d debauchery, Bridgerton is billed as the perfect telly antidote for festive lockdown lockd blues.

And Phoebe’s Pho character is at the centre of the p plot. As the eldest daughter d of a powerful powerfu family, she is a prize pri catch on Regency Regenc London’s competitiv­e comp marriage market.

Hoping to follo follow in her parents’ footsteps and find a match sparked by true love, Daphne’s prospects initially seem to be unrivalled.

But as her older brother begins to rule out her potential suitors, a high society scandal sheet – written by the mysterious Lady Whistledow­n and voiced by Julie Andrews – casts aspersions on Daphne.

SPARKS

Enter the highly desirable and rebellious Duke of Hastings, a committed bachelor and the catch of the season.

Despite proclaimin­g that they want nothing the other has to offer, sparks fly as Hastings and Daphne engage in a battle of wits while navigating society’s expectatio­ns for their future.

Show creator Chris Van Dusen recognised the on-screen chemistry between the actors playing the pair.

He said: “When Phoebe and Regé read together, we knew we had something really special.

“Phoebe has this special spirit about her.

“As Daphne, she’s a picture- perfect debutante – wide-eyed and innocent.

“Yet there’s something really vulnerable about Phoebe’s performanc­e, which works so incredibly well.”

Speaking about the show, Phoebe said: “Reading the scripts was quite overwhelmi­ng because I could tell that it was going to be a huge production. I had a really good idea of who Daphne was and I could relate to her in so many ways.

“I also knew there were things I would have to learn because Daphne had to horse ride, dance and play piano.

“It was quite epic and I was super excited.”

With good reason. The previews have wowed the critics.

And with Sally in Corrie at 7pm, Phoebe’s drama will make it a double treat. Christmas Dyn-ner is well and truly sorted!

I could tell this was going to be quite epic ...I’m super excited! PHOEBE DYNEVOR ON LANDING NETFLIX ROLE

MORE than half of us think sending Christmas cards is more important than ever after a turbulent 2020, a Royal Mail survey found.

 ??  ?? SAL & HER GAL Soap star and Phoebe at TV awardsds
SAL & HER GAL Soap star and Phoebe at TV awardsds
 ??  ?? ROAD TO FAME As TV pupil Siobhan
ROAD TO FAME As TV pupil Siobhan
 ??  ?? GLAMTASTIC
FLIXATED WithW Netflix co-ststar Regé-Jean PPage
GLAMTASTIC FLIXATED WithW Netflix co-ststar Regé-Jean PPage
 ??  ?? STAR Phoebe in Bridgerton
STAR Phoebe in Bridgerton

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