BBC EastEnders’ Cindy Williams star Mimi Keene terrified over filming with Hollywood icon
Starring in Towards Zero alongside Anjelica Huston, former EastEnders star Mimi Keene was overwhelmed with stage fright when filming with the Hollywood legend.
After shooting to fame in EastEnders and Sex Education, Mimi Keene stars in a captivating three-part series with a Hollywood legend (Image: BBC/Mammoth Screen/James Pardon)
After making waves in Walford and Moordale for Netflix’s Sex Education, Mimi Keene embarked on a new project with Anjelica Huston – but she admits she was wracked with nerves when first meeting the star.
Mimi Keene, 26, first shot to fame as Cindy Williams Jr. in EastEnders from 2013 to 2015. She now stars as Kay Strange in the BBC adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel Towards Zero, the new bride of tennis player Nevile Strange (portrayed by Oliver Jackson-Cohen).
Anjelica, 73, on the other hand, portrays the domineering Lady Camilla Tressilian – Nevile’s aunt and the centrepiece of Christie’s murder mystery.
Production took place on the coast of Devon and Mimi admits she didn’t know what to expect when first meeting the Hollywood legend. But Anjelica quickly made her feel at ease.
“I was a bit nervous but once we got started, I was watching her thinking she was good,” Mimi says, “As soon as we started she made me feel so relaxed. So I was able to do my job.”
The actress was just as delightful once the cameras were switched off, treating her co-stars Mimi, Oliver and Ella Lily Hyland (who plays Nevile’s jilted ex-wife Audrey) to lunch. Oliver is just as awe-struck as Mimi when speaking about Anjelica.
Anjelica Huston stars in the BBC adaptation of Towards Zero – and Mimi Keene was nervous to exchange lines with her ( Image: BBC/Mammoth Screen/Justin Downing)
“There’s a reason why some people are icons. The work she’s done over the years is impeccable,” he says. “She came in unbelievably prepared, gracious and kind.”
Anjelica Huston was delighted to make her British TV debut in Towards Zero – because she could film most of her scenes in bed. “Bed is one of my favourite places to be, so I was immediately happy with that,” she says.
“It’s not often one is called onto a film and placed in bed. Usually it’s the other way around. So I appreciated all my moments in bed. I’m in a nightie and a dressing gown.”
Towards Zero follows the downfall of tennis player Neville Strange. The sportsman is a household name of his time. But his personal life is in freefall. He’s just endured a very public divorce from his wife Audrey when his aunt, Lady Tressilian invites him and his new wife Kay to Gull’s Point.
Oliver says he and co-star Ella approached the messy breakup with a little old Hollywood inspiration from Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Oliver Jackson-Cohen and co-star Ella Lily Hyland were both inspired by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton for the portrayal of their messy on-screen breakup ( Image: BBC/Mammoth Screen/ACL//James Pardon)
“They just kept coming back to each other,” Oliver says. “There was so much love there but it raises all these other questions – was it even love?”
Much like Taylor and Burton, Nevile and Audrey remain in each other’s orbit and tension is bubbling after he hastily marries his lover Kay before bringing her to Gull’s Point for their honeymoon.
The move is brutal for Audrey as she’s forced to accept being replaced by another woman in her childhood home. “Audrey moved to Gull’s Point when she was a kid because she was an orphan,” Ella says. “Her and Nevile were together from a really early age – a sibling relationship that turned into something romantic.”
It’s only a matter of time before murder makes its grand entrance. When Lady Tressilian is found bludgeoned to death in her bed, Inspector Leach (Matthew Rhys) is called in to unravel the truth as Nevile comes under intense scrutiny.
Packed with twists and turns, complez relationships and simmering tensions, the three-part series will air on Sunday, March 2 at 9pm on BBC One.
