Darci Shaw hails from Liverpool — she cut her teeth playing a young Judy Garland, cast when she was only 15. Hannah Walters is a Leicestershire girl — one that you’ll likely know as This Is England’s Trudy. The character, a promiscuous (and hilarious) shoe shop assistant, is so good that what started as a bit part became a regular fixture of the spin-off series. Shaw and Walters are 22 and 51, respectively. They’re not an obvious duo, but from my short time with them on Zoom, it’s clear their chemistry on-screen in A Thousand Blows is mirrored IRL. They spend a decent chunk of the interview, as Darci puts it, “just gassing each other up”.
Even I find myself getting a bit emotional hearing their loving back and forth. Shaw and Walters play members of the Forty Elephants in the latest creation from Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders). The notorious, all-female gang of shoplifters were, of course, real people, and like the whole collection of historical figures in the show, they’re ones who have been scrubbed from the narrative until now. A Thousand Blows is not just TV at its best (“Every episode feels like a film,” Shaw says) but something that feels acutely aware of its broader social impact. Walters probably puts it best: “There’s such a plethora of working-class stories that aren’t based around stereotypes.”
This excerpt was taken from HUNGER Issue 34: Fight Back. Stay tuned for the full story.
- PhotographerCharlotte Patmore
- StylistElena Garcia
- WriterAmber Rawlings
