The actress has had some forgotten roles and filming struggles
The actress has had some forgotten roles and filming struggles
Gripping crime drama This City Is Ours returned to our screens tonight for another episode. Viewers tuned in to the BBC programme as the romantic tale of Michael Kavanagh, brought to life by James Nelson-Joyce, and his love interest Diana, played by Hannah Onslow, continued to flourish.
Now, halfway through the series, tensions brewed as Michael assumed leadership of the gang world, and in his personal life, his and Diana’s IVF journey proved successful. Hannah recently 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’.
She said: “Scousers will always tell you the truth. It also helped just being in Liverpool and soaking it all up. It’s an amazing city.”
Born in 1998, the 26-year-old actress is a BRIT School alumna and a 2019 graduate of the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). She first graced television screens in a 2020 episode of Call the Midwife, portraying Connie Blair.
In her debut episode, Connie Blair, confined to bed rest, exhibited snobbish behaviour and looked down on nurse Lucille Anderson, portrayed by Leonie Elliott.
It was later uncovered that her hostility was rooted in her vulnerability and lack of control within the hospital setting, coupled with a strained relationship with her mother.
After her one-off appearance, Onslow’s career trajectory soared with roles in Ridley Road, This Is Going to Hurt and The Doll Factory. Her most recent venture saw her star as Emily Dunn in Belgravia: The Next Chapter.
Onslow’s big-screen break came in 2022 with Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light, sharing the screen with renowned actors like Micheal Ward and Olivia Colman.
The actress has expressed her awe at working alongside such big names, especially during her stint on Belgravia: The Next Chapter.
She said: “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 quite amusing 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. Working with Sophie [Thompson] was hard sometimes because she will make me laugh when I need to hold it together.”
“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.”
Hannah’s latest series, This City is Ours is set in Merseyside and is filmed across the region. Film crews were spotted across Merseyside in the summer of 2024, and during episode one, locals could spot locations from all over the city, leaving fans “gripped”.
Stars of the show have opened up about the challenges of mastering Scouse accents for the BBC series. Shetland star Julie Graham and This Is Going to Hurt star Hannah Onslow recently opened up to the press at a Q&A about the difficulties of mastering a Liverpool accent for the show.
Hanna said: “If I was having a bit of a dodgy day accent-wise, some of the crew would just avoid eye contact. I also watched Love Island clips, that was helpful as well.”