Daniela Nardini, the actress who famously portrayed the hard-nosed, highly sexed, and fiercely independent Anna Forbes in the era-defining BBC drama This Life, has turned her back on acting to pursue a career as a therapist. Nardini, now 58 and a mother of one, works from her ground-floor flat in Glasgow's West End, counselling a predominantly female client base.
From Stardom to a Sedate Life
Nardini shot to fame playing Scottish lawyer Anna Forbes in Amy Jenkins' landmark series about the messy lives of five trainee solicitors in London. Premiering in 1996 against the backdrop of Cool Britannia, This Life became a cultural phenomenon, attracting over 3.5 million viewers at its peak and turning co-stars Andrew Lincoln and Jack Davenport into household names. However, unlike her peers, Nardini chose a different path. 'It was crazy, really, because This Life was such an instant success,' she told The Guardian. 'It provided me with lots of opportunities. But at the time, I had moved down [to London] from Scotland and I found it all quite overwhelming. I'm a family girl and I missed everyone back home.'
A Promising Career Hampered
After This Life, which ran for two series and a 2007 reunion special, Nardini landed other TV roles but found herself typecast as versions of Anna. She won a BAFTA and a Scottish BAFTA for the role, and a second Scottish BAFTA in 2009 for This Town. However, a turbulent decade including a breast cancer diagnosis prompted her to step back from acting. 'Therapy has always been something I've been interested in, and, well … actors always lie about their age,' she said of her 2019 decision to train as a counsellor. 'My younger brother says he gets confused about what age he is, because I've always taken a couple of years off mine. I'm having a big birthday next weekend and I'm glad to just admit I'm going to be 60, and leave the past decade behind. Quite a lot happened in my 50s.'
Breast Cancer and Personal Loss
In 2018, Nardini was diagnosed with breast cancer after a routine NHS mammogram and underwent a mastectomy. She was supported by her ex-husband Ivan Stein, an Oxford-educated former civil servant turned chef. They were together for 13 years, living in London and later Glasgow, where Stein co-owns the acclaimed restaurant The Gannet. They split after the death of her father Aldo, 80, in 2015, which left her unable to cope with a failing marriage. 'When I was diagnosed, I felt it had happened because my heart was broken,' she said. 'I felt it came from an emotional place. I knew quite quickly that it wasn't going to kill me and I was going to be OK. But once it was done and I'd been through this treatment, I felt it had been dealt with physically, but not emotionally.' She added: 'As a woman, to lose your breast is a very profound thing. The way I'd previously been recognised by the public, it was very sexualised. Then suddenly to lose that part of yourself is very challenging. It changes your relationship with yourself, and not in a negative way.'
A New Path as a Therapist
Nardini's transition to therapy was delayed by the pandemic and further losses: her mother died in 2022, followed by a close aunt. She finally gained her counselling qualifications in 2024. 'Because I'd been hit with a further emotional onslaught, training took me a while,' she said. 'If you've lived a life and you've been through stuff yourself, you are going to have more empathy for people who are going through similar things.'
