Hannah Walters is striding towards me, her coiffed blonde head cocked to the side and arms wide open. “I’m a hugger!” she declares. “Is that alright?” Before I can respond, I’m pulled into an embrace. The hug is good. She’s definitely had a lot of practice.
I meet the This Is England and Time star – and wife of world-famous Scouser Stephen Graham – in a crowded room at the British Film Institute. The place is full of her co-stars in Boiling Point, BBC One’s TV spinoff of the Bafta-nominated one-shot film, which takes viewers inside the pressure-cooker kitchen of a swanky Dalston restaurant. Everyone looks a lot glossier than they do in the chef’s whites of the show. It’s a few hours before the Boiling Point premiere, and Walters is wearing a silky red dress and a blue shirt with tropical flowers all over it. She’s enjoying the glamour of it all. “We’re going to go a little bit smoky here tonight,” the 49-year-old says in her warm Midlands accent, gesturing at her eyes. “I’m making the most of it. I’m milking it for what I can. Give me the attention!”
