Oh! What a lovely ‘whore’

From her portrayal of a surprisingly flirtatious Margaret Thatcher to an aristocratic girl who is swept up in the ferment of the English Civil War, Andrea Riseborough is fast becoming the go-to young actress for historical character roles. An A-level dropout from Newcastle, who fought her way to RADA via working in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant, Riseborough, 26, demonstrated many of the self-sufficient qualities that she brought to the former PM she played in The Long Walk to Finchley.

An Ian Charleson award winner in 2006 for Miss Julie, she has never been out of work.

Angelica Fanshawe, the antimonarchist character she plays in The Devil’s Whore, which is being screened on Channel 4 tonight, is the product of detailed research.

Angelica is “unapologetically brave and sexual and forward-thinking and ballsy” – which may apply to the actress, too.

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