Lydia West on Inside Man, It’s a Sin besties and candlelit R&R

‘Tis the season, people. Not the one with all the sleigh bells and stuff – we’re talking about that special time of year when you start to cancel all your plans in favour of staying indoors and plonking yourself in front of the telly. And if there’s one genre of TV that’s tailor-made for the first days of autumn, it’s the BBC’s drama-thriller output.

Enter: Inside Man, a new series set to keep the nation on the edge of our sofas for the next few weeks. But as one of the show’s stars, Lydia West, will tell you, the plot is pretty hard to define without giving the whole thing away. The general gist? Er, well, there’s a vicar (David Tennant), a maths tutor (Dolly Wells), a journalist (West) and a murderer on death row in the US (Stanley Tucci), ​“and somehow all four of these worlds collide,” as West puts it.

“It will leave you questioning the whole time,” continues the 29 year old over Zoom. ​“It’s suspenseful, it’s dramatic. It’s hard to place.” Here’s your last hint at the plot, via the show’s own tagline: ​“everyone’s a murderer – you just have to meet the right person.” Hmmm.

For West, Inside Man marked her grand return to acting post-Covid, reuniting with the show’s writer Steven Moffat and director Paul McGuigan, who she’d previously worked with on BBC’s Dracula. ​“It was like coming home,” she says. ​“The whole atmosphere on set was amazing. I’d worked with Dolly before, and Stanley and David were such gems. Everyone was just so brilliant.”

And West is no stranger to blockbuster British TV moments. Back in 2021, she starred in Russell T Davies’ groundbreaking HIV/​AIDs crisis-set drama It’s A Sin, and went on to scoop a Best Actress BAFTA nomination for her role as Jill. ​“That’s one of those jobs that will always have such a place in my heart for being so beautiful and so open and welcoming,” she says. ​“You were sad at the end of the day when you had to go home.”

Cute, right? Well, it turns out Lydia West has plenty more wholesome tales and tidbits from her career journey to share. From not-so embarrassing auditions to sweaty prosthetics, get stuck into her best insider industry goss.

The actor that made me want to get into the industry is…

Viola Davis. Seeing her be so visceral and nuanced was so inspiring for me. I always watched her and thought, ​“Wow, that is truth.” If I can resemble that a little bit in my work, I’ll be very happy.

My most embarrassing audition moment was…

I don’t actually think I’ve had an embarrassing audition… Or maybe I’ve blocked it out. I think auditions are just generally quite nerve-wracking and weird, so they’re all a little bit embarrassing, because you’re just trying to impress and do the right thing.

The funniest thing that happened on set to me was…

When I was filming Dracula, it was during the summer of 2019 and there was a terrible heatwave. We didn’t have air conditioning in the studio and I was in full, head-to-toe latex prosthetics for the final look. When I took it off at the end of the day, it was absolutely drenched. And I also developed a heat rash. I looked basically just as bad as the prosthetics when I took it off.

My foolproof trick for memorising lines is…

I don’t really have a trick. I work with an assistant and we sing the lines to each other, and we will go over them and over them and over them, again and again. I think for me it’s just repetition and advance prep.

The actor that taught me the most about acting is…

I get so inspired just working with amazing actors. In this project, working with Dolly, David, Stanley – just seeing how they listen and talk to you. From previous projects, I love Rory Kinnear and T’Nia Miller, they taught me a lot. I just kept trying to take nuggets to them. And also, some of these actors are so kind and respectful to the crew and other cast members, and I think that is an amazing lesson – when you’re on set, you will become a sort of family and it is a team. So you have to treat everyone kindly and with respect.

I also have two amazing mentors: Will Poulter and Suranne Jones. They’re brilliant and so, so great at what they do. I really respect them and admire their work.

My best mate in the industry is…

I have two best friends: Callum [Scott] Howells and Omari Douglas, who I filmed It’s a Sin with. We speak every single day and I just love them so much. We obviously developed such a bond on set. From that, we’ve become best friends for life. We send each other jokes and memes every single day.

One item that travels everywhere with me is…

A candle, because when I’m staying in hotel rooms, I like to nest and make everything very cosy, to give the impression that I’m at home. So I bring a candle, number one, and my speakers, number two, and then various products and whatnot. I’m currently burning a Diptyque rose-scented candle as we speak, but I’m not too picky. Just give me any candle.

The best piece of advice I got in the industry was…

When I was filming It’s a Sin, Omari Douglas said to me that his acting teacher at drama school told him, ​“your job as an actor is to make everyone else look good. And the moment you make everyone else look good, you’ll also look good.” I think that goes a long way. It’s not really about yourself, so trying to make everyone else look good by listening, by just being there, being present, I think is just such amazing advice to live by. Then you can remove all ego and vanity involved in the project and just focus on what you’re saying in the present moment.

My dream role is…

I’ve always said I’d like to be part of a biopic. I like the idea of playing someone who has played a role in history. And then it also becomes a different skill, kind of impersonating. I think that would be really fun. Someone iconic, maybe Angela Davis.

When I’m not acting, I’m…

Burning candles?! [Laughs] I have so many hobbies that are ever-changing. I recently got into gardening and I love yoga. Some pre-existing hobbies include boxing, swimming, running and then the normal things like cooking and seeing friends. But I guess I find real peace in learning new sports and challenging myself. That’s how I switch off and get back to Lydia.