‘My lockdown 50th was my best BIRTHDAY!'

Nicola Walker opens up on having become one of the most sought-after actresses later in life

- VICKI POWER

The past five years have seen Nicola Walker become TV’s go-to actress for gritty roles in some of its biggest dramas. In Last Tango in Halifax, Nicola plays the aggressive farmer Gillian; in BBC1’s The Split, she’s high-powered lawyer Hannah Stern, and in ITV’s crime saga Unforgotten, she plays the sleuth who gets overly involved in investigating cold murder cases.

In other words, Nicola, who turned 50 last year, has bucked the trend of most actresses – her career has only improved with age.

‘I don’t think anyone’s more surprised than me, really!’ laughs Nicola. ‘A couple of years ago, I got to do this play on Broadway, and a TV show I was in was on back here at the same time, and my dad phoned me in New York laughing his head off saying, “Apparently, you’re an overnight success!” I was already 46 at the time.’

She continues, ‘As a parent, he’d been there all the way through, whenever I would moan about not working. But getting those great roles was very, very unexpected and I think it’s because of the writers – those shows keep coming back because of the quality of the writing and I’m basically just hanging onto their coat-tails with deep, deep gratitude.’