Lydia West

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.

Lydia West
Born
Lydia Dorothy West

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

Early life

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

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

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

Television
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
TBA Big Mood Eddie Upcoming six-part comedy series[19]

Audio
Year Title Role Notes
2020 Doctor Who: The Sorcerer of Albion Vivien Big Finish: Donna Noble: Kidnapped![20]
2020 The Wizard of Oz Dorothy Gale Audible[21]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2021 Monte-Carlo Television Festival Best Actress It's a Sin Won [22]
2022 BPG Awards Best Actress Nominated [23]
Breakthrough Award[lower-alpha 1] Nominated
British Academy Television Awards Best Actress Nominated [24]

Notes
  1. Shared.

References
  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. 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. "Channel 4 reveal first look and announce the cast joining Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West on comedy series Big Mood (w/t)". channel4.com/press. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  20. "Lydia West - Contributions". Big Finish. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  21. "The Wizard of Oz". Bafflegab. 19 April 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  22. Pedersen, Erik (22 June 2021). "Monte-Carlo TV Festival Winners: 'Uncle Frank' & 'It's A Sin' Dominate Fiction Field". Deadline. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  23. Douglas, Torin (12 March 2022). "BPG Awards 2022: Television And Streaming Nominations". Broadcasting Press Guild.
  24. 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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