Rita, Sue & Bob Too drama star Lesley Sharp to play head of MI5 in new ITV thriller

  • Granada Reports Entertainment Correspondent Caroline Whitmore sat down with Lesley Sharp to chat about her new drama.

The Manchester-born actor Lesley Sharp has been reflecting on some of the 'incredible' writers she has been lucky to work with as a new drama gets underway on ITV.

Sharp stars in Red Eye, which launches on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 21 April, 2024.

She is one of the best and busiest British acting talents, with a career spanning almost 40 years.

Her big breakthrough was in the 1980s film Rita, Sue & Bob Too. She has starred in many other roles - another notable success being The Full Monty.

In Red Eye, Sharp plays Madeline Delaney, the head of MI5, who finds herself embroiled in a major incident.

Lesley Sharp as MI5 chief Madeline Delaney Credit: BMG Productions

Sharp explains: "Hannah Lee and Dr Matthew Nolan are unfortunate colleagues headed back to Beijing on a flight that starts to go very badly wrong.

"Word gets back to MI5 that there's trouble in the air, so Madeleine Delaney, on her first day back at work after a 13-month absence, has to figure out what is going on.

"It doesn't help the situation that there's been a murder on board and the murderer is still on the flight."

For Sharp, it is a strong female role - something she has made a speciality, in TV dramas like Scott and Bailey.

Lesley Sharp and Suranne Jones in Scott and Bailey Credit: ITV

"I think the thing is that everything is always determined by the quality of the writing," says Sharp.

"I definitely think the associations that I made with writers like Russell T Davies and Jim Cartwright have shaped my career.

"It's more to do with the fact that I feel very grateful to have worked with some really incredible writers.

"I feel very lucky."

Reflecting on detective duo series Scott and Bailey, shot entirely in her native North West, Sharp says returning to film in the north still gives her a thrill.

"I was born in Manchester and I'm a northerner that moved to London to go to drama school," she says.

"And so I've ended up living in London, but I've still got family who live in the north. So I often jump on a train every couple of weeks to see them.

"I love working in Manchester, you know, it's like coming home.

"I feel like I've come home when I get off at Manchester Piccadilly station I'm not going to lie."

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