Monica Dolan, The First Actress This Decade To Be Nommed For Two TV BAFTAs In One Year, Says Industry Is “Plagued By Fear”

EXCLUSIVE: Monica Dolan, the double-BAFTA-nominated star of Mr Bates vs the Post Office, has raised concerns that the TV industry is “plagued by fear” due to the drama funding crisis.

Dolan, who last Thursday became the first actress this decade to be nominated for two TV BAFTAs in one year, said “creativity has to come from risk, belief and bravery” as she reflected on the outsized success of local stories like ITV’s six-time BAFTA-nommed Mr Bates.

“I think really what we are plagued by is fear and unfortunately in a lot of rooms that are supposed to be creative there’s talk that we’re scared of it being this or that or don’t want it to be X, Y or Z,” she told Deadline. “But if you are starting from a place of fear then you might as well forget about it really.”

Dolan stressed that the “fear is understandable in a climate where funding has shrunk because everyone is worried about losing money” but countered that in a risky business, TV gatekeepers have to “go for it, because that is where the biggest rewards are.”

The rewards have certainly been flowing in for Mr Bates, in which Dolan played Jo Hamilton, a former subpostmaster and campaigner who was wrongly prosecuted for financial shortfalls caused by faulty Post Office software, which was the spark for one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British history.

Dolan, who is still in contact with the real-life Hamilton, said a show about the British Post Office and an admin fault may have been deemed “not very interesting” by commissioners but “being specific is better because the audience likes to learn and listen to particular worlds.” “I believe that with a story you can be as specific as you like,” she added. “Something can resonate with someone in Africa or Canada. There will be aspects of specificity that people are keen to learn about and can keep them listening.”

“Transformative acting”

Dolan is BAFTA nominated for Mr Bates in Leading Actress and also received a Supporting Actress nod for her role as terrifying matriarch Ann Branson in James Graham’s Sherwood. The last actress to have received a double TV nom was Keeley Hawes for Bodyguard and Mrs Wilson in 2019, and the feat has only been achieved four times since 2010, according to BAFTA.

Dolan said she “absolutely” never expected to reach this point in her career, adding that she was “elated” simply to have got into drama school.

Her characters in Mr Bates and Sherwood, along with her turn as the deranged Janet McCardle in Black Mirror, are poles apart but Dolan stressed the main challenge here pertains to logistics – she was filming Mr Bates and Sherwood at virtually the same time – and mastering two different accents.

“I know transformative acting isn’t exactly de rigueur at the moment but I think the really important thing to remember is your character is not you,” she added. “They are very different people with different priorities. In a way if [the two characters] were more similar it might be more confusing.”