13 11 APRIL 2024 FOOD BITES been there for years, is family run and they serve beautiful, seasonal French food in a relaxed setting. Food that reminds you of childhood? Sta ordshire oatcakes. Where I’m from, an oatcake is not a biscuit, it’s more like a savoury pancake sandwich. I was also brought up on pork scratchings at my gran’s – not like the ones in pubs. These were the real deal. What did you have for dinner last night? A chilli con carne, which I’d made and put in the freezer. I’ve got into batch cooking. I love food – me and my husband probably got together over food, music and wine. I used to cook a lot more, but when you’ve got two kids and are both busy working, you have to be practical. Favourite restaurant? The French Table, not far from where we live in Surbiton [Surrey]. It’s DINE OUT The French Table’s beetroot cured chalk stream trout (right) ‘I’ve been lucky, I’ve worked with phenomenal people and been able to stretch my muscles in different directions’ SIREN CALL Siân as constable Grace Ellis in Blue Lights (above); with her husband Bill Buckhurst (below left) decide which part they want me to play.’ Then it was revealed they wanted me to play all of them. It was incredible to play opposite Ben again, because obviously I knew him by then, and to be playing his sister. It was such a gift of a role.” If Grace from Blue Lights exudes warmth and humanity, Eurus Holmes – who’s so dangerous she has to be caged in a maximum security facility on an island in the North Sea – is a character entirely lacking in such virtues as compassion or guilt. “To play someone who has no empathy whatsoever is di cult,” admits Siân, of her terrifying performance. “As an actor, you’re always trying to put yourself in the character’s shoes and feel what they feel. So that was tricky – but also really enjoyable,” she laughs. “What does that say about me?” Cumberbatch and his Sherlock costar Martin Freeman were both international stars by that point, whereas Siân had managed to carve out a highly successful career without ever becoming a public property. Is that a sweet spot for an actor to be in? “I think so,” she reflects. “With Sherlock, I was in various forms of disguise, and a lot of the jobs I’ve done have been so di erent – not always in a wig, but di erent enough for me to go under the radar a bit, and be able to nip down to the shop for a pint of milk looking wretched, without anyone noticing.” Might Blue Lights change that? “Maybe. Someone did come up and ask me about Blue Lights in the supermarket recently, while I was in the middle of trying to reprimand my son. That was a bit embarrassing.” Grace isn’t Siân’s first police rodeo – in 2021, she played former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick in ITV drama Stephen, about the fight for justice of murder victim Stephen Lawrence’s family. “I’ve played a few real people and it’s definitely a di erent process,” she says. “As people, they’re already fully formed to an extent.” Other highlights of an impressive screen CV include playing the mother of the Antichrist in Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens, Mark Bonnar’s wife Claire in BBC hit Guilt and Queen Aemma in House of the Dragon. The latter saw her making an early – and harrowing – exit in the first episode, dying in blood-soaked agony during childbirth when Paddy Considine’s King Viserys chose to save his child over his wife. It was traumatic to watch, so we can only imagine what it was like to film. “So many people have said that to me,” smiles Siân. “It was very intense – two days of lying on a bed, screaming, with your legs akimbo.” Presumably, that’s where her training comes in, that ability to lose all inhibition? “Yeah, totally,” she nods. “And vocally, I was screaming for two days, so thank God I started in the theatre and could keep it up.” In recent years, TV has kept Siân away from the stage, but reading Dame Judi Dench’s memoir has left her pining to go back, she says. Another book she’s enjoyed recently is Dying of Politeness by Geena Davis, in which the Hollywood actress calls out the treatment of women in the industry. Did she find that relatable? “It’s something I empathise with,” she nods. “It’s really evolved over the past eight or nine years, since #MeToo. It’s put our industry under the microscope and things have changed. But yes, that book did chime with me. “As a younger actress, I maybe didn’t feel like I could put my hand up. Whereas now I see younger actresses who are much more confident, in terms of their participation. There’s still a long way to go – we’re not there yet. But I can see it happening. When I was starting out, I was possibly just sort of… grateful to be there.” Those concerns aside, it’s clearly been good to her, this actor’s life? “I’ve been lucky,” she says. “I’ve worked with some phenomenal people and been able to stretch my muscles in di erent directions. I’m not great at looking back and taking stock, but as I’m talking to you, I think: ‘I’ve worked with all these amazing people, like Mike Leigh, Franco Ze relli, Steven Mo at and Mark Gatiss.’” And they’ve worked with you... “I just have to laugh at that,” she says, with the modesty of someone who appears to have never considered the fact she might be one of Britain’s best actors. As for her dad, does he have any regrets that she’s only pretending to be a police o cer? Absolutely not, she says. “I think my dad would definitely prefer me just to pretend.” Blue Lights series 2 is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm from Monday 15 April
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