Photos: Georgina Campbell at the 2018 British Academy Film Awards - Red Carpet Arrivals

Georgina Campbell attends the EE British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) gala dinner held at Grosvenor House, on February 18, 2018 in London, England.

Radio Times asked 9 inspiring women in TV and film to share their wit and wisdom on International Women’s Day

We asked 9 inspiring women in TV and film to share their wit and wisdom on International Women’s Day

Sharon Horgan, Georgina Campbell and Aisling Bea were among those to tell us their best advice and industry anecdotes

By Ellie Harrison

Thursday, 8th March 2018 at 10:45 am

We’re not even a quarter of the way through 2018 and already it’s been a momentous year for women in TV and film.

On 1st January, the Time’s Up movement was launched – an initiative designed to fight sexual harassment, assault and inequality in the workplace. The campaign has dominated awards season, all the way from the red carpet to the winners’ speeches on stage.

A wave of actresses speaking out against the gender pay gap has led to their male co-stars donating to the movement, and Greta Gerwig became the first woman to be nominated for Best Director at both the Baftas and the Oscars in years. Radio Times TV 100: the full list of the best talents on TV today

Meet the BAFTA Breakthrough Brits of 2017: the ones to watch in TV, film and gaming

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we spoke to nine inspiring women – both on-screen and behind the scenes – and asked them to share what they’ve learnt.

Our contributors are: Sharon Horgan, Georgina Campbell, Aisling Bea, Jennifer Kirby, Nicola Shindler, Pippa Harris, Annabel Scholey, Jane Ripley and Gaby Roslin. Scroll to the bottom of this article to read more about their work.

And soak up their wit and wisdom below…

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?

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“Write everything down – you think you’ll remember it but you won’t (*my mum).” – casting director Jane Ripley

“Oh, jeepers. I guess the best advice I was ever given was the worst piece of advice, that I decided not to take. Which was that I wasn’t really a writer and I should concentrate on being a producer. I remember that being quite a painful thing to hear but then deciding to ignore it.” – writer and actor Sharon Horgan

“Surround yourself with a supportive tribe. In the comedy world, I have a fantastic group of pals that I go to when I am worried or stressed about something and I would hope they come to me – this week alone, Roisin Conaty and Sarah Pascoe have counselled me through some internet trolling which got me a little low.” – actress, comedian and writer Aisling Bea

“I met Alan Rickman when I was 16, purely by chance. I mustered up all my courage, went up to him and told him I wanted to be an actor. He basically told me to ‘stop talking about acting and just DO it’ – so I did. I wish I could have met him again and told him what an affect he’d had on my life.” – actress Jennifer Kirby

Is there one thing you would do differently in your career if you could go back in time?

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“I would have been more selective of the people I worked with and made sure they were able to take care of me and the projects I was working on. I am half made of stone and the other half is an emotional marshmallow head, which can be quite impressionable.” – Aisling Bea

“I would spend less time worrying and comparing myself to other people.” – actress Annabel Scholey

“I would stop worrying so much and take more risks. I think a lot of actors (especially female ones) have that regret. We’re told that the best thing you can be as an actress is ‘easy to work with’. While this is of course a good quality, if I had my time again I’d stop worrying that I’m out of my depth and dive right in, easy to work with or no.” – Jennifer Kirby

If you could send a message to your younger self, what would it be?

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“Sleep more while you can!” – producer and executive Nicola Shindler

“Relax a little so you can fully experience the experience.” – Jane Ripley

“Just don’t stress it, you know? Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. I think I spent so many years not doing the thing I wanted to do because I was afraid that I didn’t have the skills or the talent, or that I didn’t deserve it. And I think a lot of women do that – they sort of hold themselves back by deciding that they have to have everything figured out before they move forward.” – Sharon Horgan

“Stop being so hard on yourself. Stop caring what everyone thinks of you. Stop trying to be something you’re not. (I still say these things to myself a lot).” – actress Georgina Campbell

“Don’t wear salmon and invest in bitcoin.” – Aisling Bea

“RELAX. Its all going to be ok and already is. Trust yourself and then let it go.” – Annabel Scholey

“Be good to yourself and stop every so often amidst the whirlwind to admire how lucky you are.” – Jennifer Kirby

“Stop being so self-conscious and shy. Although at times I still am.” – presenter Gaby Roslin

What is your most embarrassing work story or your funniest career anecdote?

Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, Oscars (Getty, EH)

“I had an audition for Doctor Who YEARS AGO, like one of my first ever auditions when I was still a teenager and I cried through the whole thing. No joke. My agent called me after and said, ‘Look, they thought you were great,’ so I was very lucky I had people straight up lying to me at the beginning to build my confidence rather than giving up at the first hurdle!” – Georgina Campbell

“I once got a surprise period whilst on a panel show and didn’t realise until I had sat back down after getting up to do a bit of physical clownery. This is why they shouldn’t let women on panel shows, we just bleed all over the expensive plastic chairs.” – Aisling Bea 

“Auditioning an actor and being so involved in the scene I was reading with them that I started to cry and then the actor cried and we were both left sobbing!” – Jane Ripley

“I’ve been lucky enough to work a fair bit with the Royal Shakespeare Company. On my first ever preview I did a rather impressive fall on stage and whacked my head. I was left with a bruise in the pattern of the floorboards on my cheek for weeks. And on my last performance there I cavorted a little too extravagantly in a tavern scene and broke my foot. I literally topped and tailed my time at the RSC with injuries.” – Jennifer Kirby

“There was a morning (during a live radio show) when we were talking about Never Mind The Buzzcocks, the TV show, and I said Never Mind The B***ocks (Sex pistols album) instead. I was mortified.” – Gaby Roslin

What would you change about the industry if you could?

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“The film and TV industries both on and off screen should represent contemporary Britain and at the moment they just don’t. We need more women and BAME writers, directors and heads of department. We also need proper on screen diversity with 50:50 portrayal of male and female characters. This isn’t about being politically correct, it’s about fairness and making sure film and TV remain enjoyable and relevant to the whole population and not just one segment.” – producer Pippa Harris

“Make it a lot less white and male… It shouldn’t matter how it’s done, it just needs to change. People need to see themselves reflected back at them. I mean, that’s our culture. That’s the kind of country we live in. It’s a mixed bag, and all the better for it.” – Sharon Horgan

“I would love to see some kind of mission statement for code of conduct in the entertainment workplace come about. Like you don’t just have to be talent, you also cannot behave like a c***. I think that with talent and power – in all jobs, but particularly in music, sport, art and entertainment – people get so dazzled by someone being famous or good at singing or acting or comedy that we can all get away with anything… There is nothing in place to say – be really funny and have great jokes on Twitter, but don’t shout at young assistants or be mean to people off stage or show your penis to young comedians in the green room.” – Aisling Bea

“I would make it easier for fresh talent to break through. The industry tends to stick to what they have tried and tested and sometimes I think a leap of faith is needed.”– Annabel Scholey

“Oh, so much! We’d all communicate better about what we want and what might get on screen. We would be more inclusive and better at training. We’d let people without loud voices have as much a say in the process as us big mouths. We would stop employing badly behaved people however good they are. We would stop bullying and bad behaviour!” – Nicola Shindler

Contributors

Sharon Horgan is the co-creator and star of the comedies Catastrophe and Pulling. Her writing credits also include Motherland and Divorce. Horgan has just made her Hollywood debut in the movie Game Night.

Georgina Campbell is an actress whose credits include Black Mirror, Murdered By My Boyfriend – for which she won a Bafta – Broadchurch and Flowers. She starred in the Guy Ritchie movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword in 2017 alongside Jude Law.

Aisling Bea is an actress, comedian and writer known for appearing in The Fall, Gap Year, Hard Sun and Trollied. In 2017 she became the first ever female captain of the panel show 8 Out Of 10 Cats.

Jennifer Kirby is an actress best known for her recurring role as nurse Valerie Dyer in Call the Midwife. She has also done plenty of work on stage.

Nicola Shindler is the founder of Red Production Company, and has brought series like Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax, Scott & Bailey and Trust Me to the small screen.

Pippa Harris co-founded Neal Street Productions and was the producer behind Call the Midwife, Penny Dreadul and The Hollow Crown, to name a few.

Annabel Scholey is an actress, known for her roles in Britannia and Being Human. She is also set to star in The Split later this year.

Gaby Roslin is a TV and radio presenter. She became a household name in the 90s when she presented The Big Breakfast on Channel 4 with Chris Evans.

Jane Ripley is the casting director behind Skins, This Country, Clique and Chewing Gum, to name a few. Her choices have sculpted the TV landscape as we see it today.

Photography in lead picture by Jeff Spicer, Tom Leishman and Anthony Woods.

Photos: Georgina Campbell at the Into Film Awards at BFI Southbank

Georgina Campbell attends the Into Film Awards at BFI Southbank on March 13, 2018 in London, England.

2014: INTERVIEW: GEORGINA CAMPBELL, MURDERED BY MY BOYFRIEND

INTERVIEW: GEORGINA CAMPBELL, MURDERED BY MY BOYFRIEND

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Over the past few days we’ve been going to town on BBC Three’s harrowing portrayal of domestic violence in the one-off drama, Murdered by My Boyfriend. In it we meet Ashley (played by Georgina Campbell) and Reece (Royce Pierreson), a young couple who meet in an entirely normal, conventional way and fall in love. But over the course of three years we see the relationship descend into a horrifying living hell of domestic violence, bullying and manipulation as Reece’s true, paranoid colours start to bleed through. Yesterday we talked to director Paul Andrew Williams, and today I was lucky enough to talk to Georgina, who does such a fine job in the lead role. (Remember, this is based on a true story, so there must have been extra pressure to put in a good performance.) After the jump you’ll hear from Georgina, who gave us all a real insight in what it’s like to act in an intense, tough drama like Murdered By My Boyfriend.

The Killing Times: I’ve already seen Murdered By My Boyfriend. It’s brutal and difficult to watch, but everyone needs to see it. If I felt like that watching it, what on Earth was it like to work on?!Georgina Campbell: It was interesting because at the auditions I knew what it was going to be like; you don’t get to read much of the script but it was obvious. The director Paul Andrew Williams asked me right from the get-go, “are you up for doing this”. It was quite scary. The best thing was that me and Royce [Pierreson] got on so well, he’s such a lovely person. He’s just an amazing actor and a lovely, sweet, gentle person in real life so having his support… it was nice that he was there to have a hug and a chat. Paul Andrew Williams, although we were dealing with a heavy subject, always made sure it was calm and easy-going on set. We were all aware of how serious it was and we put all our effort into it. As soon as it cut and we were having moments alone, we didn’t stay too deeply in those emotions. We didn’t want to dwell.

TKT: You often hear actors and actresses who work on really intense projects say that the shooting experience was actually quite a laugh…
GC: Yeah, it’s strange when you watch it back, you’re like, “Oh my God” because it was horrible. It’s a completely true story because everything that happened in it happened in reality, which was quite a hard concept to get your head around.

TKT: Knowing that it was a true story, did you feel an extra weight of responsibility to tell this young woman’s story as best and as authentically as you could?
GC: The producers and researchers were really involved with the family but it never really came to that point where I was talking to them – it was all quite separate because they didn’t want their names to be used and they wanted to keep a distance from the actors. Knowing the things that happened to her, I definitely felt I had to step my game up. Knowing it was real just meant me and Royce had to step up. I think this is the first project where I feel like I’ve hit it and really gone for it.

TKT: Thinking about the process of getting mentally ready for the really intense violent scenes, as an actor, how do you and Royce prepare? There must be a lot of rehearsing and choreography…
GC: We had a lot of rehearsals with a stuntwoman. She was great. The more physical scenes takes more choreography. Those scenes are difficult. It’s almost like a dance routine, and you’re stopping and starting. The more emotional scenes, it was nice because me and Royce were well suited to those because we are similar in the way we prepare. I listened to music sometimes to get myself feeling sad and he’d do the same. We’d have a moment. I tend to think about the things that happened in my life where I felt vulnerable and really sad. That was a way I’d try and get into the mindset of a scene. Me and Royce, before some scenes, would do improv. There’s an intense scene in a bathroom, and we did improv for that. Some of the scenes require very high energy, and you’ve got to keep it up all the time, which can be quite difficult. Also, when you’re acting you’re away from home. I was staying in a hotel so it’s easier to disassociate yourself from your life. All these things I use to prepare and get into the whole thing.

TKT: How were you at the end of each day, did you need a glass of wine or are you ok with leaving things at work?
GC: The end sequence that we had to do was quite hard and you can’t help but take it back with you a bit. But generally you just have to try and leave it.

TKT: How do you feel about the real ‘Ashley’. Has your opinion of her changed since first reading the script?
GC: I think that hopefully it comes across that she was an intelligent person, she was very strong and that she was funny. Looking at the research and the things her family and friends said about her… that she was bubbly and very loving. I think that’s something I found interesting to fall into, the fact that she was really lovely and caring. I think that’s why she got herself caught in this trap with his man because she did really love him. She wanted to help him and be there for him and have a family with him, so I have a lot of love for her but I think it’s very sad. I think things needs to change. Women like this who are so caring and strong are being abused by their partners. It’s good to show that these people aren’t victims shuddering in a corner.

TKT: What did the family think of the finished version? Have they seen it yet? What feedback did they give you?
GC: I only heard what they said in the screening. To begin with ‘Ashley’s’ mother wasn’t interested in watching it. She was involved in the script but wanted to step away from the project, but I heard that she did watch it in the end. She obviously found it very difficult but was pleased, she felt that I captured her daughter well. The producer was always on set, making sure that there was someone speaking for the mother. She stepped in if there was a scene where she felt Ashley was being represented wrongly or if I was doing something in the scene and she thought that the family wouldn’t like. She would step in and suggest trying something in a different way, which I thought was great. It really needed to be for the family and friends first and then for everyone else. We needed to make sure they were comfortable and happy with the way we were representing her.

TKT: What would you hope someone at home would take away from this drama?
GC: I would hope that people now recognise the signs. This is aimed at young people and as a young person myself and having been in similar situations… not to the same extent of course, but for instance when girls and guys find that their partner cheated on their boyfriend or when their boyfriend gives them a slap or punches them. It’s very easy within peer groups who are immature and don’t know that much to not know what to do when domestic violence occurs. I hope that watching something like this will make people realise that it’s only really the start and that when you see these signs of someone controlling, even if there is no violence, you should get away from that relationship. I hope people will watch it and will be able to see the warning signs and make a change.

To see a trailer for Murdered By My Boyfriend, go here

To read an interview with Murdered By My Boyfriend’s director, Paul Andrew Williams, go here