'Back to Life': Meet Daisy Haggard, the creator and lead actor of Showtime's new dark comedy
One of the more exciting shows -- albeit in the restrained 'British manner of excitement’ to arrive in November is ‘Back to Life’. The six-part BBC show that will premiere in the US on Showtime, has already been hailed as the perfect spiritual successor to the critically-acclaimed Phoebe Waller-Bridge series ‘Fleabag’.
“Back to Life’, like ‘Fleabag’ stars its writer, in this instance Daisy Haggard, who created and co-wrote the show with Laura Solon. The story follows Miri, a middle-aged woman who was released from prison after an 18-year sentence. She returns to her parents’ home in the small town she grew up in and where the crime occurred.
Post the success of ‘Fleabag’, Waller-Bridge, an already accomplished writer and actor, became an international icon. But not too many people know Haggard. Let’s change that.
The 41-year-old English actress and writer is best known for her roles in the BBC sitcoms ‘Uncle’ and ‘Episodes’. Haggard has also been featured other well-known shows like ‘Green Wing’, ‘The Lenny Henry Show’, ‘Black Mirror’, and even ‘Doctor Who’. In fact, as per Bustle, she even had a tiny role in the ‘Harry Potter’ film franchise: as the voice of the lift in the Ministry of Magic.
The knack for writing and show-business runs in her blood, for she is, as per The Guardian, the great-great-great niece of the writer H. Rider Haggard, granddaughter of the actor Stephen Haggard and daughter of filmmaker Piers Haggard. She told WhatsOnStage in an interview, “My dad is a director but he never wanted me to do any acting. He thought he had got away with it but then I came out, all singing, all dancing, doing terrible routines in front of the mirror and miming to Whitney Houston.”
She added, “I spent the next 18 years trying to battle him because he thought acting was a really hard life but I won the battle and now he's really glad. I always call him for advice.”
The ‘Back To Life’ creator, who is also a theater actor, in the same interview, said that that she is dyslexic. She said, “I struggled to get into any school plays because I'm quite dyslexic so I could never do the read-through. I didn't get into one until I was 16 when eventually I got to play Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’. I've given up on everything else I wasn't good at but with acting, I've never given up, I just keep going blindly. I had a sort of tenacity that I didn't have for maths or science so I always just assumed I was going to act despite endless setbacks.”
Speaking to The Guardian about ‘Back To Life’, Haggard said, “I’m fascinated by how we judge women who commit crimes or do anything bad, compared to how we judge men. I’ve also always adored stories about new beginnings.”
While not autobiographical, Haggard said that she shares similarities with the show’s protagonist, Miri. She said, “Well, I’m not too dissimilar to the heroine, Miri. I share her optimism. My dad’s eco-consciousness made it into the character of Miri’s dad.”
'Back To Life' premieres in the US on Showtime on November 10.