Annabel Scholey on roles and recognition
Actor Annabel Scholey has expressed her awareness of the resemblance fans often draw between her and Kate Middleton, particularly when clips of her work circulate online. This phenomenon has led many to comment on her striking similarity to the Princess of Wales, reports BritPanorama.
“Oh, I am aware,” Scholey states when these comments are mentioned. “Even my mum goes, ‘Definitely can see it.’” Notably, she auditioned to portray the Princess in Mike Bartlett’s speculative play King Charles III in 2014, though the role ultimately went to another actress. “Obviously, somebody looked more like her,” she remarks with a playful smirk.
Speaking from her home in the southwest of England, a recently renovated Georgian country house, Scholey shares her life with husband Jim, seven-year-old daughter Marnie, and miniature schnauzer Betty.
Scholey’s signature dark bob with a blunt fringe and her pearl accessories echo both her English rose beauty and the edgier roles she has chosen. This autumn, she takes on the role of a spiky police detective in ITV’s procedural Winter and returns to her role as Beattie Johnson in Jilly Cooper’s Rivals. Despite entering her forties, she refuses to be typecast, tackling a variety of challenging characters.
Born in Wakefield to a firefighter father and a nurse mother, Scholey discovered her passion for acting early, playing a Von Trapp in a local production of The Sound of Music. This led to a career steeped in theatre and later, various television roles. Her portrayal of divorce lawyer Nina in The Split struck a chord with audiences and elevated her professional profile significantly.
The success of The Split has had a lasting effect on Scholey’s career, with the show being a turning point. “It only took 15 years,” she quips. Recently, she completed filming the Netflix adaptation of The Lord’s Day, a project that stemmed from her visibility owing to the success of The Split.
In her experience, the standards for female characters have improved, with fewer instances of superficial roles. “I would say the percentage of bad scripts is very small. It now is less common to find: ‘30, beautiful, size 10’… which, thank God, is brilliant,” she observes. However, she acknowledges there are still stories where women aren’t fully fleshed out, emphasizing the ongoing need for nuanced roles.
Scholey is drawn to Winter, a crime drama adapted from the French show Balthazar, noting the importance of the chemistry between the leads. “When I first worked with Richard Armitage, I felt there was a natural chemistry,” she recalls. Both characters in Winter are complex; her character, DI Lauren Bell, is navigating a male-dominated field and grappling with her father’s legacy.
In contrast, filming obligations for Winter often take her away from her daughter. Scholey reflects on the challenges of co-parenting post-divorce, noting how her daughter has become more aware of their separations. “She’s so good at telling me how she’s feeling,” Scholey says, understating the emotional depth of their mother-daughter connection.
On her role in Rivals, Scholey is excited about the complex narrative unfolding this season. She plays a character embroiled in double-crossing schemes, showcasing her flair for melodrama. The series promises “big party scenes, more levity, and lots more drama,” much to Scholey’s enthusiasm.
As the storyline progresses, tension heightens with a significant plot twist involving her character. “She gets hold of a piece of information that is a grenade, and she decides to stir the pot first, and then throw it,” she reveals.
The forthcoming episodes of Rivals, set to return on 11 November, are expected to deepen the intrigue established in previous storylines, as Scholey’s character continues to navigate her ambitions against formidable opposition.
All episodes of Winter are now available to stream on ITVX, while Rivals returns to Disney+ soon.
