The second season of the BBC series Ludwig has returned to BBC One, with actress Sian Clifford joining the cast as MP Joanne Kemper. The 44-year-old actress, known for her role as Claire in the BBC comedy-drama Fleabag, takes on an antagonist role in the new season.
Clifford said of joining the show: "The second I started watching it, I was hooked. I just thought it was wonderful, such an amazing team of people." She added: "I was chomping at the bit to be a part of it. The scripts and the character were just too good an opportunity to say no to."
Family Life and Early Acting Career
Clifford grew up in Ealing and has two brothers, Alex and Elliot, and a sister, Natalie, who is an art dealer in New York City. She began taking part in youth theatre at the age of six.
She told The Guardian in April 2022: "It's funny, I would say my sister is the performer in the family; I'm much more introverted." Watching her sister act inspired Clifford to continue, as she explained: "I had a knowing that I was meant to be there and not here."
Friendship with Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Clifford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge first met at drama school in 2003 and made a pact that if one became successful first, they would help the other. Clifford revealed that she was almost not cast in Fleabag because she was not well-known at the time. During an appearance on Channel 4's Sunday Brunch, she said Waller-Bridge had to push producers to cast her as Claire.
Explaining how her friend fought for her, Clifford said: "[Phoebe] sort of said, 'The rapport that you'll get between us – because we are like sisters – you can't get that with another actor. And I want her to do it'."
'Incredibly Upsetting' Role in Life After Life
In 2022, Clifford starred in the BBC adaptation of Kate Atkinson's novel Life After Life, playing Sylvia, the mother of the protagonist, Ursula Todd. The narrative repeatedly looped back in time, with Sylvia living out several scenarios.
Clifford told The Guardian of the impact the role had on her: "It was life-changing actually performing those scenes and demanded more courage from me than I've ever had to call on before in a role." In one scenario, baby Ursula was stillborn, and acting out the scene was particularly difficult. Clifford said: "It was incredibly upsetting. John [Crowley, director] didn't tell me we were just going to keep rolling. I just had to keep going, because they weren't calling 'cut'."
Side Venture: Still Space
Away from TV, Clifford runs Still Space, a platform "dedicated to conscious living, mindfulness, and self-discovery." She explained on her website: "At its heart, Still Space has always been about connecting to ourselves in deeper and more meaningful ways." She added: "Still Space is ultimately a philosophical, evolutionary and exploratory space for myself through long-form writing but it is my intention to create offerings each week that speak to and from my soul as a conscious living practitioner and thus trust that they will be enjoyed and discovered by the people that are called to read them."
Ludwig premieres on BBC One tonight, August 20, at 9pm.
