The best part of getting a job is getting a job ... the worst part is then having to do the job!
SHE WON OVER AUDIENCES AS MARVEL’S BRILLIANT AGENT PEGGY CARTER. NOW HAYLEY ATWELL IS STEERING HER CAREER IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION WITH HER FIRST ‘BADDIE’ ROLE IN A MAJOR BBC DRAMA. GEMMA DUNN FINDS OUT MORE
revolutionise the plantation once order has been restored. But could this be a turning point for Caroline? That would be telling – but the joy comes from playing a character who is intrinsically hard to like, Hayley insists. “I didn’t like her, but I loved her, and I found her dark side to be an opportunity to explore the damage done to the human psyche when you inflict damage on someone else,” she says. “She knows she’s stupid – and I say that in a sense that she has no kind of real self-awareness and also no position within this circumstance to actually have any true power,” she explains. “She doesn’t own the land because she’s a woman, so she has nothing, and she has no one apart from July.”
Smiling, she adds: “It’s quite obvious how much I enjoyed being her.
“Mahalia (Belo) was so wonderful as a director because she gave us (free) rein to try things – and because I felt safe, it meant that I could take things really far just to find out where the line was.
“Yes, I get to play a ridiculous character, but I was not ashamed to be doing it!” she adds. “I felt very relaxed – and you’ve seen so many of my ugly sides (so now) I feel free.”
It’s a fulfilling moment for the star, who trained alongside the likes of Jodie Whittaker and Michelle Dockery at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
“I think, because I’m proud of it, I
STRICTLY COME DANCING: THE FINAL
Tonight, BBC1, 6.30pm ONLY four of the 15 couples remain and they will battle it out tonight for the coveted glitter ball. Favourites Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton; alongside Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev; Joe Sugg and Dianne Buswell and Faye Tozer and Giovanni Pernice will face three challenges – a routine of their own choosing, one set by the judges and finally, a show dance. But it is up to the viewers to decide who is their Strictly winner. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will host the proceedings.
SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR 2018
Tomorrow, BBC1, 7pm THIS year, for the first time in its can now say it has been my most liberating role,” muses Hayley, who is also known for her stage work in such productions as Lindsay Posner’s revival of A View From The Bridge.
“It paid off to be able to steer the trajectory of what I’ve been doing, and what I’ve done before, into new territory,” she says.
“At this stage in my career, this has
history, the 12 individuals in contention for the SPOTY award will be revealed on the night. But although we don’t know who has been nominated, we can still take a punt on the main contenders in what has been a memorable year for sport. With England making it all the way to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup, captain Harry Kane is bound to be in the mix, as is cyclist Geraint Thomas, who became the first Welshman to triumph at the Tour de France. Gary Lineker, Clare Balding and Gabby Logan host live from Birmingham’s Genting Arena. been a necessary tool for me. I have more ownership of the parts I take, and therefore I can deliver the audience something that they will enjoy watching.”
A rarely acknowledged part of British colonial history, however, how well does the series present the shameful subject of slavery to a modern-day audience?