Felicity Jones is back in her old role as Ethel. Fliss Jones (Fliss is rumoured to be her nickname) was born around
1985, and started off her acting career at the tender age of 11 when she appeared in the 1996 adaptation of "The Treasure
Seekers," a novel by E. Nesbitt. At the age she was also enrolled in the Carlton Junior Drama Workshop, based in
Birmingham.
In 1998 she was chosen to play Ethel Hallow in The Worst Witch, and did that excellently untill 1999 and the second series,
when for some unknown reason she left the show and was replaced by Katy Allen. After that I spotted her in a terribly
annoying "Clean and Clear" commerical, and although it was nice to see her again, I was glad when that advert stopped being
shown.
In 2001 Felicity reappeared in Weirdsister College looking great, and played Ethel to perfection (in my opinion).
Sadly, we shall not be seeing her as this character again, as another series of WSC has not been comissioned.
A year later she is back on our screens as Grace May, a character in "Servants," a light-hearted BBC period drama which
I enjoyed very much. As far as I know, Felicity is still playing Emma Carter in the longest-running radio soap ever,
The Archers. She plans to take a gap year to travel, before reading English at University and taking a post-graduate
course in Drama.
[25th May 2006] - Felicity Jones has been at Wadham College, Oxford University since 2003, reading English, and is a
member of the Oxford University Drama Society. She is due to graduate this year.
An
Interview with Felicity Jones
with
apologies to the owner of the fantastic site http://www.servants.bravehost.com/, where this interview comes from.
Beautiful,
clever and sharp, Grace May is practical, resilient and determined. She understands the ambitions and ruthlessness of the
servants around her, but she has always believed that there is more to life than the daily drudge and acquisition of power
and money.
Nineteen-year-old actress Felicity Jones is no stranger to working in country houses. As Emma Carter in
the world’s longest-running radio drama, Radio 4’s The Archers, she works in the shop at Loxley Hall. In fact,
explains Jones, Emma Carter’s accent helped her gain the role of Grace May. "Luckily for me, the production team wasn’t
looking for pronounced olde-worlde accents – they were after something much softer.
"Apparently, in those days,
the servants came from all over the country, so below stairs would be a melting-pot of accents and dialects. Accents probably
wouldn’t have stayed really strong and must have merged a bit and, fortunately, Emma’s West Country accent fits
the bill."
The young, gently spoken actress is clearly thrilled to have landed the part of Grace and has conscientiously
researched the period in which the drama is set. "I’ve really enjoyed reading about lives back then, and our historical
advisor Pamela Sambrook’s book, The Country House Servant, is full of wonderful insights. What really comes through
is how little we’ve changed and I think Lucy really captures that brilliantly in her scripts."
Jones’s enthusiasm for drama began at an early age and was consolidated when she joined the Carlton Television
Junior workshop in her hometown of Birmingham.
Her first break came as a schoolgirl, when she played Alice Bastable in The Treasure Seekers,
but her best-known role from her school days was as Ethel Hallow in The Worst Witch and its sequel, Weirdsister
College, both successful television adaptations of Jill Murphy’s
children’s books. But juggling a burgeoning acting career with school work caused few problems for the talented Jones,
who has always kept up with her local friends and enjoyed a good social life. She does admit, however, that it has been stressful
from time to time. "I suppose it’s wanting everything and learning how to balance responsibilities and fun without letting
anyone down," she says with a maturity that belies her years. Jones is full of admiration for her character. "I don’t
think I could do what she does – having to get up at 4am to light all the household
fires and coping with the loss of her position as nursemaid. Sometimes, acting feels like really long hours but then you look
at the length of the servant’s day and it’s humble pie time. "We’ve all had great fun making this drama
– I’ll be sorry when filming ends. I’ve even got used to wearing a corset 10 hours a day. I
shall miss all the fun and games we’ve had on and off set."
Short Excerpt about Felicity from "Archer's Addicts"
The delicious Felicity Jones has been acting since the age of 11 when she joined the Carlton Junior Drama Workshop
based in Birmingham. From there she landed roles in The Treasure Seekers and the naughty Ethel Hallow
in The Worst Witch. Felicity likes Emma; she reckons she's had a lot to put up with at the hands of Ed Grundy and that William
is more her kind of fella. While Emma is preoccupied with getting qualified Felicity is planning a gap year to travel before
reading English at university and then a post graduate course at drama school. "But I definitely want to stick with acting
- I love it, it makes my heart beat!"
Click here for Felicity's IMDb entry: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0428065/
Wikipedia Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicity_Jones
A Felicity Jones fansite: http://www.geocities.com/felicity_jones_site/
