Brave, clever (and incredibly stupid at times), as Annika returns Nicola Walker ... trends now
Nicola Walker has got used to strangers shouting at her in the street.
They’re drawn to the myriad characters she’s portrayed on TV who’ve captured their imagination, from spy Ruth in Spooks to divorce lawyer Hannah in The Split and now boat-based crime-buster Annika.
‘When I was on Spooks they’d sidle up to me on the Tube and say, “The package will be released at midnight,”’ laughs Nicola, 53.
‘With The Split I had a woman shout at me across the platform at Baker Street, “I wish you’d been my lawyer!” so I shouted back, “I’d have got you a good deal!” It’s fabulous.’
What about Annika, the head of Scotland’s Marine Homicide Unit in the acclaimed Alibi drama that was recently shown on BBC1 and returns to Alibi for a second series this week?
Actress Nicola Walker, from London, plays Annika Strandhed, a brilliant but quirky detective of Norwegian descent who's been made head of Scotland's Marine Homicide Unit
‘I got cornered in a supermarket by a woman who was very keen to learn whether I was actually driving the boat,’ says Nicola, talking about the RIB (rigid inflatable boat) Annika uses to zip across lochs in search of villains and dead bodies.
‘We had a long chat about boats and how I really did get the qualification to drive it. I’m not sure why people talk to me,’ she shrugs. ‘It must be something about my face.’
Nicola’s face is certainly one of TV’s most familiar following acclaimed performances in hits including Last Tango In Halifax and Unforgotten.
When I say she’s really hit her stride in her 40s and 50s, she laughs and recalls a warning she was given early in her career.
‘When I was 21 I was told by a very famous older
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