SianCliffordstillremembersthefirsttimeshereadthe
scriptforFleabag, thenightbeforethefirstread-through
oftheshow.‘I laughed,I criedandthenI sentPhoebe
a text,’shesays.‘I’vestillgotthemessageonmy
phone.It says,“ThatwasthebestthingI’veeverread!”’
Ofcourseit was.Thisis,afterall,thescriptthatwouldgo
on to gift Clifford, who played Fleabag’s uptight sister
Claire, lines such as ‘Get your hands off my miscarriage’ and ‘I look like a pencil’ (remember that haircut?).
And make her a global household name, with the Obamas and Taylor Swift among the show’s fans.
Clifford has just arrived back in London, her hometown. In person she’s a calmer, more confident
proposition than her hilariously jittery Fleabag persona. She’s spent the past month in the US receiving
gongs for the show at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild, and having shared a stage with
EthanHawkeandViggoMortensenatSundanceFilmFestival.‘It’sbeenrelentless...Justwavesand
wavesofoverwhelmingdelight,’the37-year-oldsmiles.‘WewenttoL A,hadtheAmericanFilmInstituteELLE.COM/UK May 2020 37
Opportunity knocks
RIGHT: SIAN CLIFFORD’S
BREAKTHROUGH ROLE WAS AS
FLEABAG’S SISTER CLAIRE.
NOW SHE’LL STAR AS A BRITISH
ARMY MAJOR’S WIFE IN
QUIZ AND MAISIE WILLIAMS’
MUM IN TWO WEEKS TO LIVEElle UPFRONT
All watching...SIAN CLIFFORD
SIAN CL IFFORD’S L IFE CAN BE SPL IT INTO T WO
ACTS: PRE A ND POST -Fl e ab a g. SO WHAT HAPPENS
NE X T? EL L E GE TS T HE LOWDOWN
WORDS by LENA DE CASPARIS PHOTOGRAPH by DAVID TITLOW