Iam two mouthfuls into my avocado toast when I realise what it is about Nicôle Lecky, the actor, writer and singer-songwriter at the centre of BBC Three’s new musical drama Mood, that has her so tipped for stardom. She’s cool. Not just in the conventional, strong-looks-and-swagger way, or because her affable yet direct personality makes her uniquely easy to connect with (“Nobody is too old for Ibiza,” she offers when I share my latest holiday anxiety). But it’s in the forensic way she talks about her work, detailed but never dispassionate – the sign of an artist in full control of their vision.
For Mood – based on Superhoe, her 2019 one-woman stage play – Lecky is very much in charge. She plays the lead. The script is hers. Many of the lyrics are hers (and usually sung by her, too). It’s executive produced by her, and nearly every character is one she has performed in the stage version. When we meet for breakfast in London, she’s on her way to the editing suite. “We started shooting in March. The cast and choreographer have all finished and moved on,” she says. “But I’m still here.”
