Hollywood actress Emily Watson has revealed that her parents unwittingly placed her in harm's way due to their devotion to a religious charity often compared to a cult. Her father, Richard, and mother, Katharine, were followers of the School of Economic Science (SES), which critics have likened to a cult. In 2020, two schools established by SES paid nearly £1 million in compensation to 45 former pupils who were physically assaulted between 1975 and 1992.
Watson's Reflections on Her Childhood
In an interview with Desert Island Discs, airing on Sunday on BBC Radio 4, Watson, now 59, expressed confusion about why her loving parents exposed her and her elder sister Harriet to the charity. She said: 'They obviously loved us so much but they did, I think, unwittingly put us potentially in harm's way. We were OK because we had them.'
The Hamnet star added: 'I did see some of [the violence]. I think I navigated it by keeping my head down and being a good girl for as long as I could stomach that.'
The School of Economic Science
SES is influenced by Hinduism and offers instruction in the works of Western and Indian philosophers. Watson described the philosophy at its core as 'a beautiful thing,' akin to 'spiritual communism.' However, she noted that for children, the experience was different: 'It was very repressive to women and young girls, and destructive in some ways.'
Watson explained that there was an expectation for women to become wives, mothers, or teachers, and that independence was discouraged. By the time she attended the University of Bristol, she began to question everything, feeling she was leading a double life—enjoying typical youthful activities while returning weekly to SES sessions that no longer made sense to her.
Breaking Away from SES
Watson's break from SES began when she landed a role in the sexually explicit 1996 film Breaking the Waves. The charity told her to 'go on her undignified way.' She admitted that it still took time to fully extricate herself, as the fear of leaving was deeply ingrained. However, acting became her salvation: 'I felt like I was in freefall and the thing that caught me was this part, acting… If being on a religious path is about a search for meaning, this feels more alive and more full of meaning than I have ever felt.'
Desert Island Discs airs on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday at 10 am and is also available on BBC Sounds.
