Sian Clifford has discussed her first BAFTA win after scooping a gong at the 2020 Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards last month.
The Fleabag star, 38, took home the Best Female Performance In A Comedy Programme and even beat her co-star and show creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
During a new interview with Grazia magazine, Sian also joked that Normal People hunk Paul Mescal is ‘absolutely dreamy’ as she discussed the popular series.
Amazing! Sian Clifford has discussed her first BAFTA win after scooping a gong at the 2020 Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards last month
Last month, Sian broke down in tears after winning her first BAFTA for her role as Claire and even said in her acceptance speech via Zoom: ‘Sorry, this is so unexpected!’
Talking to Grazia about the milestone, she admitted: ‘I mean, amazing. I am still reverberating, honestly.’
And despite things appearing smooth on-screen during the first ever virtual award ceremony, Sian admitted that it was chaotic behind-the-scenes.
She told the magazine: ‘The whole thing was so Fleabag. When Phoebe and I are together, things like this often happen.’
Incredible: The Fleabag star, 38, took home the Best Female Performance In A Comedy Programme and even beat her co-star and show creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Sian revealed that the duo were going to spend the evening in Phoebe’s garden with vegan burgers to enjoy after the ceremony. They play on-screen sisters, Fleabag and Claire, in the award-winning series.
Yet technical support revealed that they couldn’t both appear via Zoom from Phoebe’s home due to feedback issues.
Sian joked: ‘So, we tried it to try and disprove them and of course they were right. Then we tried with me sitting inside and Phoebe outside and the lighting was just terrible.
‘Then she remembered our friend Josh was on holiday from down the road and she said, ‘I’ve got his key!’
Cheeky! During a new interview with Grazia magazine, Sian also joked that Normal People hunk Paul Mescal is ‘absolutely dreamy’ as she discussed the popular series
Yet this sparked even more chaos as they didn’t have his Wi-Fi password, she continued: ‘We had to try and get his Wi-Fi password, while he’s up a mountain in Skye.
‘It was absolute chaos, and this was five minutes before it began. Phoebe wasn’t dressed and I said, ‘You know it starts in, like, a minute?’ I’d showed up ready and she was like, ‘Whaaaat?”
As well as her BAFTA win, Sian also praised the popular TV series, Normal People, adapted from Sally Rooney’s 2018 novel of the same name.
The actress even called the show’s leads Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, who play star-crossed lovers Marianne and Connell, ‘superstars’.
‘You beat Phoebe!’ Last month, Sian broke down in tears after winning her first BAFTA for her role as Claire and even said in her acceptance speech via Zoom: ‘Sorry, this is so unexpected!’
Sian said: ‘It absolutely contorted me in every direction. I felt so deeply for them. I resonated with that story deeply. I was someone who had a really tough time at High School. It shattered me.
‘I’ve never been in more pain with something than watching that show. Paul Mescal, Daisy Edgar Jones, their performances are extraordinary.’
Talking about Irish actor Paul, 24, she joked: ‘I met Paul recently and he is absolutely dreamy. Superstars, both of them.’
Sian went on to talk about her work since Fleabag, which include Diana Ingram in the ITV drama Quiz based on the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? cheating scandal and her new role as Maisie Williams’ on-screen mother, Tina, in Two Weeks To Live.
Close: Sian revealed that the duo were going to spend the evening in Phoebe’s garden with vegan burgers to enjoy after the ceremony but it proved to be too chaotic. They play on-screen sisters, Fleabag and Claire, in the award-winning series (pictured in show still)
Talking about her confidence as an actress, she said: ‘Confidence comes from working a lot, from flexing your muscles more and more. So that’s the gift I’ve been granted.
‘It’s sort of reminded me of the actor I was before I left drama school. I was a huge risk taker. That was all I knew.’
Talking about past TV limitations, she continued: ‘I came into the industry and was inevitably stifled by it, put into various pigeon holes. That changes you. I’d sort of forgotten my confidence, the boldness that I had.
‘That was the gift of Claire. You stay the same but people’s perception of you changes. People treat me very differently. I’ll always remember who was kind to me, always. And who wasn’t.’
Praise! As well as her BAFTA win, Sian also praised the popular TV series, Normal People, adapted from Sally Rooney’s 2018 novel of the same name (Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones pictured in January)
Sian finished her interview by discussing the coronavirus lockdown and pandemic, she said: ‘That initial period, when this was so completely new and alien to us, was the most arresting moment I’ve ever experienced in my life
‘It was completely beyond our control. I’ve never felt more connected to every being on this planet than I did right at the beginning of this. It’s not just Covid, it’s the Black Lives Matter movement gathering momentum too.
‘Everything seems to be imploding. It’s very easy to feel quite powerless right now.’
Iconic: Sian went on to talk about her work since Fleabag, which include Diana Ingram in the ITV drama Quiz based on the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? cheating scandal
She added: ‘I don’t know how we resolve this. But I do think it means dismantling existing systems in a very dramatic way. We are being called to quit our judgement of one another. It’s time to examine ourselves.’
GRAZIA, on sale today (Tuesday 8 September). GRAZIA print editions are on sale now on newsstands, or by subscription with FREE UK delivery from Greatmagazines.co.uk.
Digital Editions are available to download from iOS or Android app stores, Apple News+, Kindle Fire or from the Amazon Newsstand.
New role! Her new role is as Maisie Williams’ on-screen mother, Tina, in Two Weeks To Live