BBC's latest thriller TV series, Sherwood, has kept viewers glued to their screens with its storyline of a double killing in a town still scarred by the miners' strike.

Earlier this month, BBC viewers began tuning in to watch Sherwood, a drama which portrays two real-life murders that shook the Nottinghamshire mining village of Annesley Woodhouse back in 2004. The six-part drama looks at the murder cases which at the time, sparked a massive manhunt in Nottinghamshire.

Sherwood also looks at how the tragic killings threatened to inflame historic divisions triggered by the Miners' Strike three decades before.

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One of the stars of the series is Academy Award-nominated British actress Lesley Manville. She plays the role of Julie Jackson, the wife of Gary, a National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) stalwart who is found killed in the street by a crossbow.

The series has been highly praised for its writing and its stellar cast, which as well Manville includes David Morrisey and Kevin Doyle.

But who is Lesley Manville?

Early years

Lesley Ann Manville was born in Brighton on March 12 1956. She is the daughter of Jean, a former ballet dancer, and Ron Manville, a taxi driver and was one of three sisters.

She trained as a soprano singer from the age of eight and was twice the under-18 champion of Sussex before beginning acting when she was a teenager. She appeared in TV series such as King Cinder and at aged 15 she gained a place at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.

Harpal Hayer and Lesley Manville in Sherwood
Harpal Hayer and Lesley Manville in Sherwood

Rise to prominence

Manville turned down teacher and choreographer Arlene Phillips - who would go on to be a judge on Strictly Come Dancing - after she was invited to join her dance troupe Hot Gossip and instead went on to learn improvisation by Italia Conti teacher Julie Carey. She made her professional stage debut in the 1972 West End musical I and Albert before joining the cast of Emmerdale Farm for two years, during which she appeared in 80 episodes.

Theatre career

Manville would go on to build a career as a distinctive theatre actress, featuring in new plays at the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) Warehouse and the Royal Court Theatre from 1978. In the 1980s, her work for the Royal Court included Andrea Dunbar's Rita, Sue and Bob Too , which would go on to be made into a film, and Top Girls and Serious Money.

She also went on to star in The Cherry Orchard, which was directed by future James Bond director Sam Mendes, and in Three Sisters at the Royal Court in 1990.

She won the Laurence Olivier Award for her role in the 2013-2014 revival of the play Ghosts.

Academy Award nominee Lesley Manville has extensive credits including films Phantom Thread, Maleficent and sitcom Mum
Academy Award nominee Lesley Manville has extensive credits including films Phantom Thread, Maleficent and sitcom Mum

Film career and Mike Leigh collaborations

She met theatre and film director Mike Leigh in 1979, when he was looking for RSC actors who could improvise, and the two would go on to work together on numerous projects.

Manville has appeared in several of his films, including High Hopes (1988), Secrets and Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), Vera Drake (2004) and Mr Turner (2014). For her work in two Mike Leigh films - All or Nothing in 2002 and Another Year in 2010 - she won the London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year.

In 2011, Manville starred in Mike Leigh's play Grief at the National Theatre which earned her a nomination for the Best Actress Olivier Award.

Marriages and personal life

Manville married actor Gary Oldman in 1987 but the couple split in 1989, three months after their son Alfie was born.

Her second marriage was to actor Joe Dixon in 2000 but they divorced in 2004.

OBE and Academy Award nomination

Manville was appointed an OBE in the 2015 Birthday Honours list before receiving a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 New Years Honours list for her services to drama and charity.

In the 2017 period film Phantom Thread , Manville played Cyril Woodcock, the sister of the dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock, which was played by Daniel Day-Lewis. For her role, she was nominated for the Academy Award and and BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress.

Looking to the future

As well as her current role in Sherwood, Manville will play Princess Margaret in the final two series of the TV series about the Royal Family, The Crown .

The fifth episode of the series is set to air tonight (Monday) on BBC1 at 9pm and the sixth and final episode will be aired tomorrow evening at the same time.

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