Actress Sheridan Smith on The Moorside: The story is fascinating
AWARD-winning actress Sheridan Smith stars in a new drama about the search for kidnapped schoolgirl Shannon Matthews.
She’s received countless accolades for her down-to-earth nature and ability to empathise with those she meets, so it’s little wonder that Sheridan Smith formed an instant bond when she met the woman she was to portray in the gritty new BBC drama The Moorside.
Based on the shocking true story of the 2008 “kidnapping” of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews, the two-parter examines how a group of Yorkshire women, led by Sheridan’s character Julie Bushby, rallied the community to try to find the missing nine year old.
The themes of faith and trust in human nature really inspired me
It charts their search and devastation when it is revealed that Shannon’s 24-day disappearance was a hoax kidnapping, organised by her own mother Karen.
Sheridan, 35, says, “The story is a fascinating mix of what I thought I knew and a whole lot more that I had no idea about. The themes of faith and trust in human nature really inspired me.
“That seems to have got lost in all the headlines, but it shows how much good there was on that estate. And how much people cared about that little girl.”
Straight-talking shop-worker Julie was head of the residents’ association on Dewsbury’s Moorside estate and a friend and neighbour of Karen Matthews. Under the gaze of the media spotlight she helped organise teams who handed out posters and scoured the nearby area.
Before filming began, Sheridan travelled to Yorkshire to meet her and, despite their very different lifestyles, the two women had an instant rapport.
“Playing Julie meant a lot to me,” Sheridan admits. “I have such admiration for the courage and strength of the community and the way they came together at a time of need. Particularly the women and especially Julie, who refused to give up despite adversity.”
Neil McKay, who wrote the drama, was also aware of the connection between the two women. “Sheridan comes from quite a humble background, not too far away from the Moorside estate geographically,” he explains.
“The feeling that the stories of ordinary people matter is close to her heart and I suspect one of the reasons she was very keen to do it.
“She bonded with Julie, no question about it. They sat up some nights together I believe and Julie was on the set lots. It was lovely to see and I think Sheridan’s performance comes from the heart. I could see in her a sense that these were the kind of people she knew and grew up with.”
Filmed in Halifax last spring, The Moorside also features Game Of Thrones star Gemma Whelan as Shannon’s mother Karen Matthews, Happy Valley and Downton Abbey’s Siobhan Finneran as family liaison officer Christine Freeman, and Sherlock star Sian Brooke as Natalie Brown, the friend that Karen goes to stay with during the search for Shannon.
Having never worked with Sheridan before, Sian said filming together was a “brilliant” experience. “She’s at the top of her game; she’s a fantastic actress,” she smiles. “She’s also extremely down-to-earth and lovely to work with, so you just get on with the job in hand.”
After 24 days, Shannon was found less than a mile away under a bed inside the flat of her uncle Michael Donovan. Eventually it emerged that the kidnap was a hoax and that Karen was behind it. Both Karen and Michael Donovan were jailed for eight years for kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. After serving half of their eight-year sentences, they were released in 2012.
Writer Neil McKay, however, was determined not to focus on the crime itself. He explains: “It was a story that got under the skin of the nation at the time, but we don’t tell the story of Shannon Matthews, we tell the story of the women on the estate who came together to find her. We show how people who had nothing came together and gave everything for the sake of a child and how that played out.”
The part of Julie Bushby is the latest in a long line of powerful roles for Sheridan. Having shot to fame in comedies including Gavin & Stacey, Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps and Benidorm, the Lincolnshire-born actress has gone on to star in heavy-hitting dramas including Mrs Biggs, for which she won the BAFTA for Best Actress and Cilla, in which she played entertainer Cilla Black.
Sheridan Smith stars in new drama The Moorside
At the same time she has carved out a successful West End career, winning a Laurence Olivier award for Legally Blonde.
Yet her life has not been without heartache and last year she was forced to take two months leave from the West End show Funny Girl suffering from stress and exhaustion, after her beloved father Colin was diagnosed with cancer. He died in December but the actress will return to work shortly with a nationwide tour of Funny Girl.
Sheridan, who was awarded an OBE in 2015 for her services to drama, has also just been confirmed in the lead role of a new six-part ITV drama Clean Break, in which she plays hard-up mum Sam, who is drawn into the shady world of insider dealing while working as a cleaner in a City trading office.
As for The Moorside, Neil McKay reveals that the talented actress was always at the forefront of their mind for the lead role. “Jeff Pope, the executive producer and director Paul Whittington have a fantastic working relationship with her,” he explains. “She trusts them completely and so she certainly featured at an early stage in our thoughts.”
“I loved working with Paul Whittington again, after making Mrs Biggs and Cilla with him,” adds Sheridan. “This was such a different role but we have built a level of trust between us over the years and I knew as soon as he started talking to me about Julie that I wanted to play her.”
The Moorside, Tuesday, 9pm, BBC1