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Lydia West

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Lydia West
Born
Lydia Dorothy West

(1993-06-24) 24 June 1993 (age 31)
Islington, London, England
Alma materIdentity School of Acting
OccupationActress
Years active2019–present
Children1

Lydia Dorothy West (born 24 June 1993[1][2]) is a British actress. She is known for her roles in the BBC One series Years and Years and the Channel 4 series It's a Sin,[3] the latter of which earned her a BAFTA nomination.

Early life

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West is from London. Her maternal grandparents are Irish, and her father is from Montserrat.[4] Her mother is a nurse and her father works in charity. She has an older sister and an older brother.[5][6][7]

West trained in ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary dance as a teenager, but quit after a foot injury. After graduating from university with a degree in business, she worked as a personal assistant and trained part-time at Identity School of Acting.[8][9][10]

Career

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Post graduation from IDSA, West was cast as Bethany Bisme-Lyons in Russell T Davies' 2019 BBC One and HBO series Years and Years.[11][12] She starred in the 2021 Channel 4 series It's A Sin, also by Davies. She played Jill Baxter, who is loosely based on one of Davies' friends (Jill Nalder).[8][13] Davies called her character "the heart of the story", a view echoed by Jack King of I-D who described the character as the "de facto matriarch".[14][15] Her performance was described as a "standout" one by i.[16]

In 2022, West appeared as Monique Thompson in the Apple TV+ series Suspicion and Reilly Clayton in Mike Myers' Netflix comedy The Pentaverate. She has roles in the films Love Again and Coffee Wars,[8][17] as well as the series Inside Man and Gray.[18]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2023 Love Again Lisa Scott
TBA Coffee Wars Bridget Upcoming

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2019 Years and Years Bethany Bisme-Lyons All 6 episodes
2020 Dracula Lucy Westenra Episode: "The Dark Compass"
2021 It's a Sin Jill Baxter All 5 episodes
2022 Suspicion Monique Thompson 4 episodes
The Pentaverate Reilly Clayton All 6 episodes
Inside Man Beth Davenport
2023 Gray Sara Beckham
2024 Big Mood Eddie All 6 episodes

Audio

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Year Title Role Notes
2020 Doctor Who: The Sorcerer of Albion Vivien Big Finish: Donna Noble: Kidnapped![19]
2020 The Wizard of Oz Dorothy Gale Audible[20]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2021 Monte-Carlo Television Festival Best Actress It's a Sin Won [21]
2022 BPG Awards Best Actress Nominated [22]
Breakthrough Award[a] Nominated
British Academy Television Awards Best Actress Nominated [23]

Notes

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  1. ^ Shared.

References

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  1. ^ Hattersley, Giles (11 January 2021). "Meet The Exuberant Young Stars Of Russell T Davies's New '80s-Set Drama, 'It's A Sin'". British Vogue. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  2. ^ Lydia West (19 April 2020). "My middle name is Dorothy and I got to play her in the Wizard of Oz for audible..." Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021 – via Instagram.
  3. ^ "Olly Alexander on 'It's A Sin': "There's not been a British Aids drama on this scale ever"". NME. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  4. ^ "S11 Ep 8: Lydia West". Table Manners with Jessie Ware (Podcast). 2 March 2021. Event occurs at 14:00. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  5. ^ Blair, Olivia (22 January 2021). "Lydia West On 'It's A Sin', Michaela Coel Knowing Her Name And The 'Sex And The City' Reboot". Elle. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  6. ^ Ross Grant (24 May 2019). "PREVIEW: Finding YOUR OWN Way Into Acting - With 'Years And Years' Actress Lydia West!". Act on This (Podcast). Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  7. ^ Mukbtar, Amel (May 2020). "Vogue Darling: Lydia West". British Vogue. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Mclaren, Bonnie (21 January 2020). "Meet Lydia West, One Of It's A Sin's Breakout Stars". Grazia. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  9. ^ Russell, Scarlett (31 January 2021). "It's a Sin star Lydia West on the hit Channel 4 drama: 'It's a celebration of life'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  10. ^ Llewellyn Smith, Julia (14 February 2021). "The ones to watch: meet the next generation of megastars". You. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  11. ^ Knight, Lewis (25 January 2021). "It's A Sin's Lydia West talks with real-life Jill about AIDS activism in 1980s". mirror. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  12. ^ "10 Home Upgrades From The 'Queer Eye' Collection At Walmart". Bustle. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  13. ^ Carr, Flora (12 January 2021). "It's A Sin star Lydia West says her character is based on "inspiring" real-life person". Radio Times. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  14. ^ Lobb, Adrian (22 January 2021). "Seven reasons why It's A Sin is the most important drama of 2021". The Big Issue. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  15. ^ King, Jack (21 January 2021). "Why art teaches us more about AIDS than school ever will". I-D. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  16. ^ Myers, Justin (14 January 2021). "Russell T Davies' It's a Sin is a stark reminder that everything, yet nothing, has changed". i. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  17. ^ Ramsden, Sam (19 January 2021). "Here's Why You Recognise It's A Sin's Jill". Bustle. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  18. ^ Grater, Tom (7 April 2022). "'It's A Sin's Lydia West Joins Patricia Clarkson In Espionage Series 'Gray' For AGC Studios". Deadline. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  19. ^ "Lydia West - Contributions". Big Finish. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  20. ^ "The Wizard of Oz". Bafflegab. 19 April 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  21. ^ Pedersen, Erik (22 June 2021). "Monte-Carlo TV Festival Winners: 'Uncle Frank' & 'It's A Sin' Dominate Fiction Field". Deadline. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  22. ^ Douglas, Torin (12 March 2022). "BPG Awards 2022: Television And Streaming Nominations". Broadcasting Press Guild.
  23. ^ Ritman, Alex (30 March 2022). "BAFTA TV Awards: Russell T. Davies' 'It's a Sin' Dominates Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
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