Isabelle Amyes
Plays
Barbara Hunt
Isabelle believes “Barbara’s clothes are a good indication of her character, they are certainly much more conventional than my own - but not boring, and that’s Barbara… not boring. She’s certainly not a twin set and pearls like some other women of a certain age!”
Isabelle always speaks warmly of her character. “Barbara has quite a few set backs this series as we find out more about her past, where there are a few skeletons lurking – the words bigamist and millions spring to mind!
“Since being inside, she’s learnt to stand up for herself a lot more. She’s had to go through a steep learning curve and come out stronger the other side. She’s a survivor. Someone else of her age and background might not have coped with this huge trauma – being charged with murder and ending up in prison. She’s now living with women that she would never have even met on the outside, and discovering that they are not stereotypes: they are humans with emotions and feelings. She can relate to, and now has a standing within the community, alongside lesbians and psychotics - originally she had been terrified.
“She is a sweet woman with quite a backbone. I have great admiration for her bravery and I do like her. I find her fascinating and an exciting part to play. She has obviously found her feet in this strange world, as the bad girls support her, which is a revelation to her. What I love is that she sticks to her beliefs and principles even in an alien environment.”
Barbara’s mercy killing of her cancer-ridden husband makes Isabelle see her as “emotional and tragic. I don’t think she’s a bad person. What she did was done out of love. But now, knowing she was living with the secret of being a bigamist adds a whole new dimension to her.”
The viewers’ response to Barbara has been very positive and Isabelle has received many letters, “particularly after the fight with Shell, because Barbara fought back” – and hopefully we’ll be seeing more of that show of strength in series 3.
Coming from a theatrical background, Isabelle Amyes always knew she would become an actress. Her father was the actor turned director and Head of Drama for Granada Television, Julian Amyes, and her mother was the actress and writer Anne Allan. Isabelle worked with both her parents in the television play written by her mother A Wife Like The Moon - her father directed and she starred. Her television, film and theatre credits are numerous and include: Betsy in Ang Lees’ Sense and Sensibility, Anne Collingridge in House Of Cards and Fanny in Love In A Cold Climate.
Like her mother Isabelle also writes for television with her writing partner Peter Symonds, including: the animation series The Bamboo Bears, children’s series Chucklevision, and their first television film is due to go into production later this year.