This City Is Ours star Hannah Onslow has taken the BBC by storm as she stars alongside James Nelson-Joyce in the gang drama set in Liverpool
This City Is Ours star Hannah Onslow has taken the BBC by storm as she stars alongside James Nelson-Joyce in the gang drama set in Liverpool
The gritty gang drama, This City Is Ours, is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. The series tells the love story of Michael Kavanagh, played by James Nelson-Joyce, and his partner Diana, portrayed by Havering-born actress Hannah Onslow.
Born in 1998, the 26 year old star attended the BRIT School before graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 2019. She made her TV debut in a 2020 episode of Call the Midwife, where she played the character Connie Blair.
In the episode, Connie Blair, a patient on bed rest, displayed rude behaviour and a superior attitude towards nurse Lucille Anderson, played by Leonie Elliott. It was later revealed that her unpleasantness stemmed from feeling unsafe and out of control at the hospital, as well as a troubled relationship with her mother.
Following her guest role, Onslow went on to star in Ridley Road, This Is Going to Hurt, and The Doll Factory. Most recently, she took on the leading role of Emily Dunn in Belgravia: The Next Chapter.
In 2022, Onslow made her feature film debut in Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light, where she starred alongside big names like Micheal Ward and Olivia Colman. The actress has been candid about being starstruck when working with other famous faces, particularly during her time on Belgravia: The Next Chapter, reports the Mirror.
She described working with her co-stars as incredible, saying: “Working with the rest of the cast has been amazing.”
Most of my scenes are with Sophie [Thompson], Harriet [Slater], and Toby [Regbo]. It was really funny when I first met Harriet because we said to each other, ‘You look more like my sister than my real sister does!’
“Then obviously we just fell in love with Sophie Thompson because she’s one of the most brilliant people I’ve met in a long time – she’s hilarious! I’ve learned so much from her.
“And Toby is very easy to fall in love with because he’s so gorgeous – he’s the perfect James.”
Speaking about the familial connection, she elaborated: “Working with Sophie [Thompson] was hard sometimes because she will make me laugh when I need to hold it together.”
Sharing the bond between her fellow actresses, she revealed, “Harriet, Sophie and I together really do feel like a little trio – two daughters and a mum. It was such a special dynamic and it really did feel like family.”
Discussing her role in This City Is Ours, she admitted that mastering the Scouse accent was a hurdle and she “did a lot of work” with vocal coach Helen Ashton to nail the ‘specificities’.
“Scousers will always tell you the truth,” she admitted. “It also helped just being in Liverpool and soaking it all up. It’s an amazing city.”
This City Is Ours is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
