SHERIDAN SMITH
 |
| As Rudi in Gavin & Stacey |
It seems there is no stopping Sheridan Smith. Every time you switch on the TV she's there. As Smithy's sister Rudi in
Gavin and Stacey, or Brandy in
Benidorm and as Janet in Two Pints of Lager and a Packets of Crisps.
Before Two Pints she played Emma, the girlfriend of Antony, Ralf Little's character, in
The Royle Family. All those roles were played for laughs, but this week she has appeared in two 'straight roles'. First was in the ITV1 film adaptation of
Daphne du Maurier's novel The Scapegoat and in the title role in 'Mrs Biggs', a five episode drama being shown Wednesday nights on ITV1.
 |
| As Charmian 'Mrs Biggs' |
Sheridan plays the part of Charmian, the wife of the great train robber Ronnie Biggs. A serious role she says was her toughest yet, and one that was so emotionally challenging she stopped partying to be one hundred percent focussed. In a recent interview, with
The Mirror newspaper, she said “It’s definitely the most challenging role of my career and I wanted to make sure I gave it everything. When you are playing a real-life character you have a responsibility because someone has really gone through all those things. That puts extra pressure on”. A role that will no doubt win her some serious awards.
 |
| As Elle Woods in Legally Blonde |
No stranger to awards, Sheridan has won two Laurence Olivier Awards in two consecutive years. In 2011, she won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for playing Elle Woods in
Legally Blonde. The
Daily Telegraph describing her as: "blessed with vitality, warmth, great comic timing and sudden moments of touching vulnerability. She is infinitely more likeable than
Reese Witherspoon in the film".
In 2012, she received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for her performance as Doris in the revival of Flare Path. Her road to becoming a critically acclaimed West End theatre actress goes back to her childhood where she studied dance with the Joyce Mason School of Dancing in Scunthorpe. She was first seen on our screens as a housemaid in 1999 in the mini-series Wives and Daughters and in a relatively short time has managed to establish herself as one of this country's finest actors.
