‘I've come home'

Donna Air on how her first TV role in a decade has changed her life

- Victoria Wilson

THE SPLIT

LAST ONE TUE / BBC1 / 9PM (TIMES VARY) / EP 6 of 6 / DRAMA

Donna Air has quietly become the standout star in series two of BBC1’s legal drama The Split.

Her character, high-profile celebrity Fi Hansen, has been on quite a journey since she enlisted hotshot lawyer Hannah Stern (Nicola Walker) to start divorce proceedings against her abusive – and equally famous – husband, Richie (Ben Bailey Smith).

In this week’s finale, Fi’s petrified that Richie will take their kids away from her. But Hannah’s determined to turn the vicious media storm on its head and unmask Richie’s true colours…

When TV Times meets Donna during filming at London’s New Wimbledon Theatre – which doubles as the studio set of Fi and Richie’s talent show, I’m with the Band – she tells us she can relate to a life in the spotlight, having got her big break at the tender age of 10 in BBC1’s 90s teen drama Byker Grove alongside Ant and Dec (whatever happened to them?!).