Categories Charity Feed NHS Interviews Print Media

Telegraph Interview: Isolated in Suffolk Put to Good Use

Isolated in Suffolk, TV’s First Couple Have Created a Scheme to Supply the NHS with Thousands of Meals

by Guy Kelly | The Telegraph | April 24, 2020

Spare a thought for celebrities at the moment. Forced into lockdown like the rest of the civilian population, and with unreliable Wi-Fi at their fourth homes, many have been unable to maintain their expensive round-the-clock PR advice.

That’s the only excuse I can think of for some recent announcements, anyway. Left unattended by people whose job it is to say, “That isn’t… the best look”, we have had the likes of billionaire Sir Richard Branson attempting to solicit mass public sympathy (and money) to help his struggling business. So, too, Victoria Beckham, who, from her Cotswolds mansion, has furloughed 25 employees rather than, say, dip into her estimated £360m fortune. Even Idris Elba, fresh from Covid-19, has drawn ire for his suggestion the “world should quarantine for a week every year to remember this time.”…

Fortunately, though, not all celebrities are quite so errant when left to their own devices. The Telegraph spoke to some who are putting their spare time to good use, beginning with actors Damian Lewis and Helen McCrory.

The couple, who have been married for almost 13 years, were working apart when lockdown neared in March. Lewis, star of Homeland, was in New York, filming the fifth series of Sky’s Billions, when the TV business started shutting down, forcing him to return to England.

McCrory, who was last seen in ITV’s Quiz, meanwhile, was closer to home, filming the sixth series of Peaky Blinders. Together with co-star Cillian Murphy and producers, it was her decision to tell the BBC she was “not comfortable doing this anymore” and request they pause production.

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Categories Print Media Quiz Reviews

Helen McCrory steals the show in the final episode of Quiz

The star was in the spotlight as the Ingrams’ barrister

by Rachel McGrath | April 16, 2020 | The Evening Standard

ITV / Left Bank Pictures

Michael Sheen, Matthew Macfadyen and Sian Clifford have all been praised for their stellar performances in Quiz – but one of their co-stars stole the show in Wednesday’s series finale.

After making brief appearances throughout the courtroom-meets-game show drama, Helen McCrory stepped into the spotlight as the Ingrams’ barrister, Sonia Woodley QC.

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Categories Print Media Quiz

Quiz Viewers Praise Helen McCrory’s Performance as Barrister

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Cheating Scandal

by Staff | Irish News | April 15, 2020

Viewers have praised Helen McCrory’s performance as a defense barrister in ITV drama Quiz, with one joking the actress “could tell me the Earth is flat and I would be convinced”. Quiz tells the story of the infamous Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? cheating scandal, in which an Army major and his wife were accused of using an elaborate coughing trick to win the cash prize. Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen played Charles Ingram, while Fleabag’s Sian Clifford starred as his wife, Diana. Michael Sheen transformed into host Chris Tarrant. The third and final part aired on Wednesday, with viewers watching the couple stand trial charged with deception while McCrory played their defense barrister, Sonia Woodley QC.

While the Ingrams were eventually convicted, serious doubts persists over their guilt and Quiz viewers said McCrory’s performance had convinced them a miscarriage of justice had taken place following the 2003 trial.

Continue reading Quiz Viewers Praise Helen McCrory’s Performance as Barrister

Categories Interviews Print Media

The Relatable Way Helen McCrory Deals with Coronavirus Anxiety

Celebrities Are Just Like Us

by Sarah Ilston | Red Online | April 13, 2020

Coronavirus-related anxiety is something that is currently plaguing most of us, if not all of the time, then some of the time; usually creeping up when we least expect it. A feeling Peaky Blinders star Helen McCrory is all too familiar with.

Even if you’re not a key worker, or have had loved ones directly affected by virus, you’re still probably experiencing high levels of anxiety, stress and fear at home, usually when you’re just meandering the house doing mundane tasks. In fact, leading anxiety charity Anxiety UK has recently reported a 364% increase in calls to it’s helpline over the past two weeks, proving that the coronavirus crisis is having a serious effect on our mental health.

We tend to think of celebrities as having a golden, protective shield around them, that protects them from experiencing the same everyday stresses as us, but if the current pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that vulnerability and fear can strike anyone during these uncertain times, and that those in the public eye are most definitely not immune.

Appearing on the BBC’s Coronavirus Newscast, alongside husband Damian Lewis, McCrory admitted to feeling ‘overwhelmed’ at various points over the recent ‘very surreal’ couple of weeks.

Continue reading The Relatable Way Helen McCrory Deals with Coronavirus Anxiety

Categories Damian Lewis Interviews Print Media Quiz

Helen McCrory shares her thoughts about love at first sight with husband Damian Lewis

We’re delighted to see Helen McCrory back on our screens again.

Last seen as Polly Gray, domineering matriarch of the Shelby family in BBC drama Peaky Blinders, , Helen McCrory claims her ongoing success is down to her ‘searing lack of ambition’.

Now Helen, 51, is to star as Major Charles Ingram’s defence lawyer, Sonia Woodley QC, in ITV’s Quiz – a three-part drama about the infamous Who Wants to be a Millionaire? coughing cheating scandal.

While many of us in 2001 were gripped by the real-life drama surrounding the major and his wife Diana, who allegedly cheated their way to winning £1 million on Chris Tarrant’s TV show, Helen confesses she ‘didn’t really have many memories of the drama at all’.

Continue reading Helen McCrory shares her thoughts about love at first sight with husband Damian Lewis