Anna Maxwell Martin, best known for her role in the comedy series Motherland, has expressed a desire to retrain as a teaching assistant (TA) in the future. The 49-year-old actress has become a prominent advocate for children and families, particularly regarding special educational needs (SEND) systems in schools.
Challenges with the Education System
Maxwell Martin described the struggle to secure appropriate educational support for her two children as “soul-destroying.” Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs with Lauren Laverne, she said: “After Roger, trying to get the girls’ needs met in the education system, especially for my younger one, was exceptionally difficult, head-banging, mental-making, exhausting, soul-destroying. I don’t use those terms lightly.”
She acknowledged that while many caregivers in schools were wonderful, her younger daughter faced a different, more challenging experience. One meeting about her daughter’s education was described as “heartbreaking and humiliating” due to a suggestion that she might be excluded from school.
Call to Ban Exclusions
The actress is now campaigning for a ban on school exclusions in the UK, arguing that they disproportionately affect the most vulnerable children. “Exclusion is something I will battle against forever, and it’s something I want banned from schools because it affects our most vulnerable children in the worst ways,” she stated.
Maxwell Martin praised the work of teachers and TAs, calling their roles “the most difficult jobs, undervalued, underpaid.” She added: “I wish we had more TAs. They are exceptional. For me, it’s not about SEND – which is special educational needs – it is about meeting all children’s needs at the point of need. This is my dream.”
Aspiring to Be a TA
“I’d love to one day retrain as a TA. I’d love to mentor young people. They probably wouldn’t want me, but if they did, I’d love to do something much more practical,” she said.
Versatile Acting Career
Beyond her advocacy, Maxwell Martin is renowned for her versatile acting roles, from Detective Patricia Carmichael in Line of Duty to Elizabeth Bennet in Death Comes to Pemberley, and from the frazzled Julia in Motherland to the determined Lucy in Ludwig. She credits her ability to avoid typecasting to saying no “a lot.”
“What happens is you do get offered the same thing over and over again, and so you have to be willing to sit at home and just say no, and say ‘I’ve done that, I don’t want to do it again’,” she explained. “But I don’t think it’s about boredom; it’s also partly to do with ambition, and also the people I looked up to, and the type of actor I want to be and my interest in the profession. I just want to do all the things.”
Influence of Julie Walters
Maxwell Martin cited actress Julie Walters as a major influence, having worked with her on the 2007 film Becoming Jane. She described Walters as her “hero” and “apex predator,” noting that Walters’ ability to play diverse roles shaped her own approach. “She has always been my hero, because Julia has done exactly that: she’s always played all the things and she’s incredible. I think also she influenced a lot of how I work.”
She added: “I think people think I sort of muck around and I don’t take it very seriously, but it’s not that at all. I do all the work and I prepare and I research and I think I feel I know my character better than anybody when I get onto the set, but then I want to let go of all that and just listen and also, most of all, just have a nice day. And I think that’s what I saw Julie doing.”
Awards and Achievements
Maxwell Martin won her first BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for Bleak House in 2006 and a second in 2009 for Poppy Shakespeare. Last year, she earned the BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actress for Until I Kill You. Her other credits include A Spy Among Friends and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
The full interview with Anna Maxwell Martin will air on Desert Island Discs on Sunday, June 14, at 10am on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
