10 September 2023 , 06:00
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She’s one of Britain’s best-loved actresses, so when Angela Griffin reveals that she suffers from imposter syndrome, we can barely believe our ears.
Despite launching her career with a six-year stint as Coronation Street hairdresser Fiona Middleton and starring in dramas such as Cutting It and Holby City, Angela, 47, says she still has days when she suffers a crisis of confidence. “I’ve 100% got imposter syndrome, but I’m learning to fight it,” she admits as we chat over Zoom.
“I have a whole thing about class and about where I come from. You can’t help it when you’re from a working class background, because you get told and shown where you’re supposed to go in life. For a really long time there weren’t people who sounded like me or looked like me [on TV].”
Perhaps it’s because of this imposter syndrome that Angela struggles to say no when work offers come in. “After Covid, my working class survival mode kicked in, but now I’ve got myself to a point where I’m doing five things at once,” says the actress. “I’ve realised there’s no point working and doing all that if you’re not actually going to get to spend time with people you care about, so I have to learn to unwind.”
Angela says she has imposter syndrome (Instagram/theangelagriffin)Three of those people she cares about most are her actor husband Jason Milligan and their daughters Tallulah, 19, and Melissa, 16. After growing up on the Cottingley Estate in Leeds, Angela is aware of how privileged her children are in comparison. While Melissa is set to follow in her footsteps by studying acting at college, Tallulah is studying modern history at the University of St Andrews, which is famously where the Prince and Princess of Wales met.
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It’s a world away from her time at the “University of Coronation Street”, jokes Angela, who was 16 when she joined the soap. “I try really hard to show them how utterly privileged they are,” she says, adding that both have part-time jobs – one in a shop, one in a pub – to help them pay their way. "While I’m trying to relax with the work a bit, I certainly don’t sit and coast in life. It doesn’t matter where you get to, you’ve got to appreciate where you are.”
Gratitude is important to Angela – a trait she puts down to her upbringing and the fact nothing has been handed to her on a plate. But while her strong work ethic has helped her keep in near constant employment for the past three decades, she admits working so hard has come at a price.
“I’ve booked holidays that I’ve not gone on because another job has come up,” she recalls. “I’m literally about to say no to something and I can’t believe it because it’s a really classy job that could potentially further my career. But I’ve booked a holiday in the October half-term and it would mean I couldn’t go on it, so I’m going to say no.”
One thing she’s thrilled she didn’t turn down was the offer of a switch from television to radio, taking on her own late night show, Radio 2 Unwinds With Angela Griffin. While hosting a night slot might be unappealing to some, Angela says it suits her because she’s “not a morning person”. And landing a regular radio gig also helped tackle that aforementioned imposter syndrome.
“The show allows me to think, ‘I don’t have to worry that I’m never going to work again’, because I already know I am,” she says. It also gives her access-all-areas pass to next weekend’s BBC Radio 2 In The Park, where she’ll be appearing onstage with Trevor Nelson.
“Beverley Knight is No1 on my list to see because I absolutely adore her,” she says. And presumably she will be taking full advantage of her VIP pass… “No, I’ll be out and about with everybody else,” she says. “The VIP bits are really nice when you need to use the loos, but other than that I’ll be with everybody else.”
While she’s managing to find the time to unwind – which includes dog walks with friend and former Holby City co-star Lisa Faulkner – it comes after two busy years which saw her appear in ITV drama The Suspect alongside Aidan Turner, Amazon Prime film Your Christmas Or Mine? and revive her Waterloo Road character Kim Campbell in the show’s new reboot.
For Angela, stepping back into Kim’s shoes was a no-brainer, especially as her character had been promoted to headteacher. “To show that I come from the same place as so many of those cast members is amazing,” she says. “I’m northern, I’m working class and none of my family were in the industry. I can show them that this is where I started and this is where I’ve got to and I’ve done it without being a nasty person. I love the fact that I might influence the next generation.”
Radio 2 In The Park is in Victoria Park, Leicester, on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September. Listen live on Radio 2 and BBC Sounds or watch on BBC iPlayer