Pure charisma – that’s the best way to describe Sharon D Clarke. As she has her picture taken, she fills the room with easy laughter, dancing along to Bob Marley. At 58 years old, the Londoner is one of Britain’s most commanding performers. During a three-decade career she has lit up the West End (winning three Olivier awards) and become a household name (as the formidable Lola Griffin in Holby City). Last year, she also starred as DCI Ellis in the Channel 5/Acorn TV crime drama Ellis, and brought sparkling levity to the National Theatre’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest, alongside Ncuti Gatwa. Now, Clarke has earned her first Bafta TV nomination for her searing performance in Mr Loverman, the BBC adaptation of Bernardine Evaristo’s novel, in which she plays Carmel, the wife of Barrington, a closeted Caribbean man grappling with his sexuality late in life, played by Lennie James.
You’re nominated for a Bafta for Mr Loverman. What was it like working on the show?
I had a blast. I could not be more proud of it. And it’s the only show I have worked on in my whole television career that has been truly diverse, top to bottom. I’ve been on so many sets where I’m the only person of colour.
