From her early roles in The Royle Family and Spaced, to monstrous PR Siobhan Sharpe in Twenty Twelve and W1A, Jessica Hynes has established herself as a comic actress.
But in recent years her focus has turned more to drama – most notably her BAFTA-winning role as a mother facing life with a learning disabled child in There She Goes, and a key character in Russell T Davies’ stunning dystopian series Years and Years, which should sweep the board at the next round of television awards.
Similarly her directorial debut – the self-penned The Fight – is a naturalistic tale focusing on the stresses faced in modern family life. The film may be set in Jessica’s adopted hometown of Folkestone, but her Brighton childhood played an important role in getting her career underway. “I had a great drama teacher, Jenny Leworthy, who ran a class in Hove Town Hall which I went to every Saturday,” she recalls. “It changed my life. We used to do Victoria Wood monologues and put on shows at the Brighthelm Centre – it built up my confidence.
“There was also a primary school teacher at St Luke’s, Pat Holford, who would put on these incredible productions with music from Liz Taylor. They were unique and special people – they helped me and gave me my life. I can’t imagine doing what I do now without them.”
Denne historien er fra October 2019-utgaven av Sussex Life.
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Denne historien er fra October 2019-utgaven av Sussex Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
TAKE YOUR TIME
Dean Edwards’ new cookbook features delectable recipes that you can slow cook or stick in the oven. Here’s a selection of the best
Decorative art
Not simply functional, treat your walls like an extension of your personality
ON THE FRONT FOOT
The rugby legend took the reins at Sussex County Cricket Club in 2017, rekindling his love for a sport that first won his heart on the village cricket fields of North Yorkshire
NAKED AMBITION
In the 1980s, Christine and Jennifer Binnie partied with Boy George and Marilyn and bared all as performance art collective The Neo-Naturists. Now they are working together to gain the recognition they feel they deserve
ROCKET MAN
Astronaut Tim Peake has come a long way since growing up in Westbourne and attending Chichester High School for Boys: 248 miles above Earth, to be precise. But, he says, life on the International Space Station has a lot in common with family caravanning holidays
Revolution man
Lewes’ most famous resident Thomas Paine may be the greatest propagandist who ever lived. But how did a humble customs and excise officer ignite the touchpaper for revolution in not one but two countries?
THE DIARY
17 exciting things to do this month in East and West Sussex
All in a day's work
Meet Tim Dummer, who has helped keep Midhurst’s Cowdray Estate shipshape for an impressive five decades
My favourite Sussex
Bruce Fogle is an author and a vet with a practice in London who has lived in West Sussex with his wife, the actress Julia Foster, since 1989. He recently became president of RSPCA Mount Noddy near Chichester
10 OF THE BEST Meat-free restaurants in Brighton and Hove
Brighton is often rated one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the UK. What these restaurants prove is that plant-based food doesn’t have to be puritanical – at all of these places you’ll find big flavours and a desire to push the envelope
