Daisy Aitkens (born 25 March 1986) is an English actress, screenwriter and director best known for her role as Lucy Chadwick in the television series Fear, Stress & Anger, and sketch characters in Watson and Oliver. She wrote and directed the 2017 film You, Me and Him.
Early life
Aitkens was born in Sydney, Australia to British writer and actor Michael Aitkens, and grew up in London. She studied drama at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), and while acting became her focus, she was really excited by the idea of becoming a writer.[1]
Career
Acting
After graduating, and throughout her 20s, Aitkens acted in about 15 television commercials, as well as television guest roles such as Casualty, Wire in the Blood, The Bill and EastEnders, while trying to establish herself as a writer.
In 2007, Aitkens starred on short-lived sitcom Fear, Stress & Anger for six episodes, alongside Doctor Who alumni (and real life father and daughter) Peter Davison and Georgia Tennant. Her father Michael Aitkens was the creator of the series and it was loosely based on his life with his own family. Aitkens played Lucy Chadwick, the role based on her own real-life sister, while Tennant played Chloe Chadwick, the role based on Aitkens.[2]
From 2012 to 2013, Aitkens appeared as various characters on the sketch show Watson & Oliver. She has also appeared in several feature films, including Colin (2008), Nightshooters (2018), School of the Damned (2019) and Dune Drifter (2020) as well as film shorts.
As an actor, she has also toured with Alan Ayckbourn's theatre company,[3] on a 2011 production of Communicating Doors.
Writing / directing
A script (written in partnership with an actor alumnus from LAMDA) secured Aitkens her first job in a writer's room. After writing on the sitcoms My Family and Shelfstackers, she wrote and directed the short film, 96 Ways to Say I Love You (2014) and The Exit (2016), before directing and writing her debut feature film, You, Me and Him (starring Lucy Punch, Faye Marsay and David Tennant) in 2017.[4]
Aitkens has also written for numerous publications and websites including The Times, Stylebible, Save the Cat, and Huffington Post.[5]
Personal life
Together with producer husband Neil Andrews,[6] Aitkens has two daughters Elodie and Ada. Prior to having her children, she was diagnosed with Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) at the age of 21, and later found out she had an irregular shaped uterus, resulting in three miscarriages.[7]
Filmography
As actor
Television
Year | Title | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Life As We Know It | Anne | TV series, 1 episode |
2006 | Casualty | Laura | TV series, 1 episode |
2007 | Fear, Stress and Anger | Lucy Chadwick | TV series, 6 episodes |
2007 | Wire in the Blood | Sara Lloyd | TV series, 1 episode |
2005–2007 | The Bill | Lisa Holland / Joss Green | TV series, 2 episodes |
2008–2012 | Doctors | Jenny Whitaker / Jocasta Pennington / Laura Gerald | TV series, 3 episodes |
2013 | East Enders | Sophie | TV series, 1 episode |
2013–2013 | Watson and Oliver | Various characters | TV series, 10 episodes |
2013 | The Crazy Ones | Maid | TV series, 1 episode |
Film
Year | Title | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | The Cross of Joshua Home | Short film[8] | |
2008 | Colin | Linda (Colin's sister) | Feature film |
2011 | Showreel | Girl on Street | Feature film |
2013 | Manorexic | Jennifer | Short film |
2013 | Magpie | Emily | Feature film |
2014 | Meeting Mr. Reich | Kate | Short film |
2018 | Nightshooters | Gabi | Feature film |
2019 | School of the Damned | Murphy | Feature film |
2020 | Dune Drifter | Yaren | Feature film |
Theatre
Year | Title | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Communicating Doors | Jessica | Stephen Joseph Theatre, North Yorkshire, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, Cambridge Arts Theatre, Theatre Royal, Bath, Theatre Royal, Brighton, Gate Theatre, Durham, Oxford Playhouse, Richmond Theatre, London[9] |
2005 | The Woman in Black | Frinton Theatre | |
2005 | Relatively Speaking | Frinton Theatre | |
2005 | In Two Minds | Frinton Theatre | |
2005 | Life Time Three | Frinton Theatre | |
2005 | The Man of Destiny | Frinton Theatre | |
2005 | The Real Inspector Hound | Frinton Theatre | |
2005 | The Sneeze | Frinton Theatre | |
Lettice and Lovage | Frinton Theatre | ||
Ghosts | Frinton Theatre | ||
Family Circles | Frinton Theatre | ||
The Importance of Being Earnest | Frinton Theatre | ||
Dead of Night | Frinton Theatre | ||
Private Lives | Frinton Theatre | ||
Pains of Youth | Gate Theatre, Durham |
As writer / director
Television
Year | Title | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Shelfstackers | Writer | TV series, 2 episodes |
2009–2010 | My Family | Writer / Script Associate | TV series, 5 episodes |
2018 | Peel and Jones | Writer | TV pilot |
Film
Year | Title | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | 96 Ways to Say I Love You | Writer / Director | Short film |
2016 | The Exit | Writer / Director | Short film |
2017 | You, Me and Him | Writer / Director | Feature film[11] |
2018 | A Quiet Life | Writer | Feature film |
TBA | Memoirs of a Stalker | Writer | In development |
References
- ^ "Daisy Aitkens". directorsnow.com.
- ^ "Fear, Stress & Anger: Peter Davison and Georgia Tennant's lost sitcom". Radio Times. 27 September 2023.
- ^ "5 Ways Save the Cat!® Saved Me During the Writing (and Making) of My First Feature". savethecat.com. 16 June 2017.
- ^ "Daisy Aitkens". directorsnow.com.
- ^ "Daisy Aitkens". Baby Lifeline.
- ^ "Neil Andrews". neilandrews.uk.
- ^ "Eastenders star's traumatic-birth". mirror. 30 September 2023.
- ^ "Fear, Stress and Anger". BBC. 1 February 2007.
- ^ "Communicating Doors". Theatricalia.
- ^ "Fear, Stress and Anger". BBC. 1 February 2007.
- ^ Kay, Jeremy. "AFM: DDI boards David Tennant rom-com 'You, Me And Him'". screendaily.com. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
External links
- Daisy Aitkens at the Internet Movie Database
- Daisy Aitkens at the BBC Press Office
- Daisy Aitkens at The British Comedy Guide
- 96 Ways To Say I Love You at the Internet Movie Database