22 S MAGAZINE ★ 25 AUGUST 2019
Kate’s
expectations
With Peaky Blinders and the new Downton Abbey movie on her CV,
the sky’s the limit for actress Kate Phillips Words by Kirsten Jones
“I
t’s amazing to have the words of
someone else in your mouth and be
able to speak these clever, funny,
witty lines in a way you couldn’t in
day-to-day life. Actors say they feel
safe and happy when they play a
character. It’s something I feel, too.”
Kate Phillips is fresh off the set of
Miss Scarlet And The Duke, a new British
crime drama with a headstrong and
determined young woman at the helm.
Kate plays Eliza, a quick and curious
detective who, in a man’s world, battles
to solve crime in Victorian London.
“I adore Eliza,” says Kate. “She’s no
superhero and is constantly getting it
wrong, but she surprises people with
her brilliance. She’s amazing and I get
to play her every day. That’s the biggest
joy of the job, really.”
Kate’s success, however, has been
no surprise. At 25, the British actress
was named one of 2014’s Screen Stars
of Tomorrow alongside Rocketman’s
Taron Egerton and Poldark’s Eleanor
Tomlinson – and she has lived up
to expectations.
Fresh out of the Guildhall School of
Music & Drama, Kate bagged the role
of Jane Seymour – Henry Vlll’s third wife- in the BBC2 adaptation of Hilary
Mantell’s Man Booker Prize-winning
novel Wolf Hall.
With Claire Foy and Damian Lewis,
the series saw Thomas Cromwell,
played by Mark Rylance, rise from
blacksmith’s son to Henry’s chief
minister amid the power struggles of
the Tudor Court – and the king’s
unfortunate wives.
The six-part drama led Kate to the
heights of Hollywood and back with
roles in The Aftermath, with Keira
Knightley, The Crown and The Alienist,
War & Peace and the show everyone is
talking about, Peaky Blinders.
“It’s a bit feast and famine in a job
like this and I’ve been really spoilt,”admits Kate, now 30. “I’ve seen the
level of detail and thought that goes
into creating these worlds. It is
incredible. Every brushstroke is
considered. It’s really kind of magical.”
This year alone she is filming A+E
Network’s Miss Scarlet and a Netflix
show, The English Game, about the
origins of football. She will also appear
in the Downton Abbey film and invite us
back to Birmingham to catch up with
Tommy Shelby and his gang in PeakyBlinders. For those yet to watch the
BBC drama, it follows a gangster family
in the aftermath of the First World War.
Fresh from the battlefield, Tommy and
his crew make dirty money and control
the city through fear. But as their power
grows, enemies surface.
Kate is best known for her role as
the show’s God-fearing Linda Shelby,
wife of the ringleader’s unpredictable
brother, Arthur, who tries to guide him
on to a more righteous path. “Fans
always recognise me as Linda, well,
the actress that looks like Linda,”
she laughs. “It happened when I nipped
out to a café in full Miss Scarlet
costume. They don’t like Linda too
much. They’ll say, ‘Oh I know who you
are. I hate you.’”
At the end of season four Tommy
becomes a crooked MP, while Arthur
fakes his death and gets the chance of
a new start with Linda and their son,
Billy. But Small Heath is too tempting
and, broken down by her family, Linda
works as a bookie, drinking, swearing
and snorting cocaine.
“Linda is forever changing,” says
Kate. “I’m never quite sure what
she’s going to do or how she will react.
Now she has to change her game
plan. She must effect change from
within and that means getting hold of- and undermining – Tommy, who has
the most power.
“It’s what drives Linda that I find
most interesting. She’s got a darker
side,” she adds. “She fell in love with
“It’s a bit feast
and famine in
a job like this,
and I’ve been
really spoilt”
ALISA CONNAN / CAMERA PRESS