{"id":16857,"date":"2022-06-13T17:56:41","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T15:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1661596"},"modified":"2022-06-13T18:18:12","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T16:18:12","slug":"lesley-manville-filmed-sherwood-while-on-call-for-the-crown","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/lesley-manville-filmed-sherwood-while-on-call-for-the-crown\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesley Manville filmed Sherwood while \u2018on call\u2019 for The Crown"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Laura Denby\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 13 June 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Lesley Manville has revealed that she was on standby for filming on Netflix\u2019s The Crown<\/a> while shooting new BBC drama Sherwood<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Manville plays Julie Jackson in the series, wife of Gary (Alun Armstrong) who is murdered. Gary was a miner who joined the strike in the 1980s, and as shown in the series, he makes sure everyone knows it. His death comes after he discovers a shocking betrayal within the community.<\/p>\n

Julie\u2019s loyalty towards her husband has led to an estrangement from her sister Cathy (played by Claire Rushbrook), whose own husband was on the other side of the picket line.<\/p>\n

Speaking about taking on her latest role, Manville showed her appreciation for the team behind Sherwood, who supported her commitment to both of her ongoing projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cast that they were assembling was amazing, really \u2013 really amazing,\u201d she explains. \u201cI didn\u2019t know Lewis (Arnold) our director but I\u2019d watched Time<\/a>, <\/i>which is extraordinary. Full marks to them, they hung out for me because I was on first call to <\/span>The Crown<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Lesley Manville as Julie Jackson in Sherwood. House Productions\/Matt Squire<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The actress explained that the nature of the pandemic, and filming schedules for The Crown \u2013 in which she will play Princess Margaret in the season 5 \u2013 meant that she could have had to drop out of shooting for Sherwood at short notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving me do it came with a massive risk for the team because they knew that any day, especially in the COVID climate, I could ring and say, \u2018Oh I can\u2019t get there tomorrow, <\/span>The Crown <\/span>need me\u2019. It was a great act of faith.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Asked what inspired her to take on the character of Julie, Manville explained: \u201cThe script. It\u2019s always script, script, script. However great the team might be, if the scripts are turkey you\u2019re never going to be able to make a silk purse out of a sow\u2019s ear. Also, I know and love James\u2019s [Graham, Sherwood\u2019s creator and Executive Producer] work.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cPlus, I was doing <\/span>The Crown<\/span>, playing Princess Margaret. I\u2019d done <\/span>Magpie Murders<\/span><\/a>, playing a nice, middle-class woman and I thought that this was the time to play somebody who\u2019s not just a socially different class, but somebody who\u2019s got a kind of unashamed rawness about her. Somebody who is just very open and honest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Lesley Manville and Claire Rushbrook in Sherwood.<\/span><\/figcaption> House Productions \/ Matt Squire \/ BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Sherwood is set in Nottinghamshire, and is inspired by real events<\/a>. Discussing Sherwood\u2019s backdrop of the miners\u2019 strike, Manville recalled that she witnessed the era first-hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cAround the time of the strike in the \u201980s, I was asked to join a group of writers and actresses, all women, to workshop a play for the Royal Court Theatre in London about the women behind pit closures,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I actually went to Barnsley age 23. We got up and went to a picket line. It was horses and riot shields and police screaming and shouting miners. I\u2019m not good with any sort of aggression and confrontation and potential violence; I can argue, but as soon as things become physical, something shuts down in me. When we went to this picket line, it was serious. I really lost my bottle and I had to leave.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I suppose, because of that experience when I was in my twenties with the strike, I thought that I know this world a little bit, and what a challenge it will be to play [Julie].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n