Lesley Manville, 65, stars in the latest drama adapted from Anthony Horovitz’s book Magpie Murders, and revealed she based her character on BBC journalist Emily Maitlis. Lesley plays Susan Ryeland, an editor at a publishing company, and hopes that the Newsnight star would be “pleased”.
She made the admission in a new interview with Radio Times, explaining why she decided to channel Emily into her portrayal of Susan.
“Emily Maitlis kept coming to my mind,” she smiled.
“It would be easy to imagine that highly intelligent women with important jobs just don’t worry about clothes, but I just thought, ‘No, come on, I’m going to rock this one!'”
She added: “I remember seeing Emily walking across the foyer of BBC TV Centre and, while obviously the mind is brilliant, she was looking fabulous in really high heels.
READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson fumes at having to fork out £8,000 extra for used car
“I’m terrible at it,” she laughed.
“I get confused!
“I don’t watch a lot of crime drama, and I had to work hard on Magpie Murders to remember what was going on.
“I don’t have that brain, although I’ve caught out a few boyfriends in the past – they didn’t get away with much, I can tell you!
“So perhaps you could say: Lesley Manville, mild detective skills.”
Lesley’s full interview is available to read now in Radio Times.
For all the latest Entertainment News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
