Honeysuckle Weeks

Honeysuckle Hero Susan Weeks (born 1 August 1979) is a British actress known for her starring role as Samantha Stewart (later Samantha Wainwright) in the ITV wartime drama series Foyle's War beginning in 2002.

This article is about the British actress. For The Submarines' album, see Honeysuckle Weeks (album).

Honeysuckle Weeks
Honeysuckle Weeks
Born
Honeysuckle Hero Susan Weeks

(1979-08-01) 1 August 1979
Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Alma materPembroke College, Oxford
OccupationActress
Years active1993–present
Spouse(s)
Lorne Stormonth-Darling
(
m. 2007)
Children1
RelativesPerdita Weeks (sister)
Rollo Weeks (brother)

Early life

Weeks was born in Cardiff, Wales,[1][2] to Robin and Susan (née Wade) Weeks (who have since divorced), and grew up in Chichester and Petworth (both in England). Her parents named her after the plant honeysuckle because they were in bloom when she was born.[3] She has a younger sister Perdita and brother Rollo, both of whom have also pursued careers in acting.

Weeks was educated at Great Ballard School,[4] Sussex, Roedean School and Pembroke College, Oxford, where she read English (graduating with upper-second class honours).[5] She also spent time studying art on the John Hall Pre-university Course in Venice, Italy. As a child she was a member of the Chichester Festival Theatre. From the age of nine, Weeks studied at the Sylvia Young Theatre School at the weekends.

Aged 11, Weeks was flown to the United States and cast in the Walt Disney Pictures feature A Far Off Place being directed by Steven Spielberg.[6] However, when Spielberg dropped out of the project, Weeks' role was re-cast with Reese Witherspoon.[7]

Acting career

Television

Weeks' acting career began with the juvenile lead in a television series, an adaptation of Anne Fine's Goggle-Eyes (1993), along with her sister Perdita. Since then she has appeared in many programmes, including the children's series, The Queens Shilling, The Wild House and the long-running series Midsomer Murders and Poirot. In 1995, she played a kidnap victim in a feature-length episode of The Bill, with David Tennant as her abductor.

In 1997 Honeysuckle and Perdita were both in Catherine Cookson's The Rag Nymph, wherein Perdita played the younger version of her sister's character. She starred again in The Bill in 2009 as Julie Nowak.

She has starred in The Five, created by best-selling thriller writer Harlan Coben. She is known for her parts in three television series: Close Relations (1998), Ladies & Their Gentlemen (2002–2006), and Foyle's War (2002–2010, 2013, 2015). In the last, a BAFTA Award–winning detective series set in Hastings during and just after World War II, she starred opposite Michael Kitchen.

In 2007, Weeks starred in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries as Tania Thompson, a character based on the Canadian serial killer Karla Homolka. In 2008, she appeared as Harriet Pringle in the Radio 4 adaptation of Fortunes of War. In 2012, she played a small part as Mrs Beeton in an episode of the BBC educational programme The Charles Dickens Show.[8]

In 2015 she appeared as Mae Harmer in the BBC TV series Death in Paradise (series 4). In May 2015 she portrayed a wartime letter writer at VE Day 70: A Party to Remember in Horse Guards Parade, London that was broadcast live on BBC1. She also appeared in the ITV series Lewis episode "Magnum Opus".

Film

Weeks' film roles include Annie Ridd in Lorna Doone (2000) and Sarah in My Brother Tom (2001).

She has appeared in the films My Brother Tom, Red Mercury and The Wicker Tree (the "spiritual successor" to The Wicker Man).[9]

Stage acting

In early 2010, Weeks appeared as "Sarah Prentice" in a production of the Agatha Christie play A Daughter's A Daughter at London's Trafalgar Studios.[10] Later that year, Weeks appeared as Eliza Doolittle in a production of Pygmalion at the Chichester Festival Theatre in West Sussex.

She starred in the UK premiere of Melanie Marnich's play These Shining Lives from 8 May to 9 June 2013.[11]

In 2018, she starred as Mabel Cantwell in Gore Vidal's play The Best Man on the West End.[12]

Personal life

Weeks was engaged to the poet and musician Anno Birkin for a short period before his death, at age 20, in a car crash in Italy in 2001. She married hypnotherapist Lorne Stormonth-Darling in an impromptu Buddhist wedding ceremony while on holiday in the Himalayas in 2005, followed by a London wedding in July 2007.[13] The couple have one child born in 2011, and live in Petworth.[13]

In August 2015, Weeks was caught speeding on the A3 in south-west London. It later emerged that she was already banned from driving under the totting-up scheme (due to points violations), and in early 2016 was ordered to wear an electronic tag as a consequence when the court imposed a four-week night time curfew on her.[14]

In July 2016, it was reported that Weeks had gone missing, with relatives said to be concerned for her welfare.[14] However, she was later found safe and well and remained with police late that night before being returned to West Sussex.[15][16]

Awards and nominations

In 2004, Weeks was nominated in the Most Popular Newcomer category at the National Television Awards.

Filmography
Title Year Role Notes
Goggle-Eyes 1993 Kitty 4-part miniseries (appeared in all episodes)
A Dark-Adapted Eye 1994 Young Faith 2-part miniseries (appeared in Episode 1)
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries 1995 Young Petra Saunderton Series 8, episode 4 - "The Strawberry Tree: Part 1"
The Bill Lucy Dean Series 11, episode 128 - "Deadline"
1996 Deborah White Series 12, episode 64 - "Cuckoo"
Have Your Cake and Eat It 1997 Sophie Dawson 4-part miniseries (appeared in all episodes)
Rag Nymph Millie 3-part miniseries (appeared in all episodes)
The Wild House 1997-1998 Serena Wild Main role; Series 1 & 2 (18 episodes)
Close Relations 1998 Imogen 6-part miniseries (appeared in Episodes 1–5)
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries Jenny Series 11, episode 7 - "The Orchard Walls"
Midsomer Murders 1999 Fleur Bridges Series 2, episode 3 - "Blood Will Out"
Casualty 2000 Diane Gibson Series 15, episode 1 - "Phoenix"
Lorna Doone Annie Ridd Television film
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings Alice Cottisloe Christmas special
My Brother Tom 2001 Sarah Feature film
Red Mercury 2005 Clarissa Feature film
Agatha Christie's Poirot Rhoda Dawes Series 10, episode 2 - "Cards on the Table"
Where the Heart Is 2006 Carly Series 10, episode 7 - "Don't Look Back in Anger"
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries 2007 Tania Thompson Series 6, episode 2 - "Know Thine Enemy"
The Bill 2009 Julie Nowak Series 25, episodes 12 & 13 - "Righteous Kill" (Parts 1 & 2)
The Wicker Tree 2011 Lolly Feature film
The A to Z of Crime Herself 6-part series (appeared in 3 episodes)
The Charles Dickens Show 2012 Mrs. Beeton 4-part miniseries (appeared in Episode 3 - "Christmas")
Foyle's War 2002-2015 Samantha Stewart Main role; 8 series (28 episodes)
Death in Paradise 2015 Mae Harmer Series 4, episode 8 - "Unlike Father, Unlike Son"
Lewis Carina Beskin Series 9, episodes 3 & 4 - "Magnum Opus" (Parts 1 & 2)
The Five 2016 Laura Marshall Series 1 (4 episodes)
Frankie Drake Mysteries 2019 Agatha Christie[17] "No Friends Like Old Friends"

References
  1. "Character: Samantha Stewart". Foyle's War.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  2. General Records Office - Birth registration index
  3. Cripps, Charlotte (12 May 2013). "Honeysuckle Weeks: A new battle for a Shining star". The Independent. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  4. "Interview: Honeysuckle Weeks is more than over the moon at her Chichester return". Bognor Regis Observer. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2012. She grew up just near Petworth, went to school at Great Ballard and started her acting career with Chichester Festival Youth Theatre in 1988.
  5. "Honeysuckle Weeks Video - Celebrity Interview and Paparazzi". OVGuide. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2012. Weeks was educated at Great Ballard School, Sussex, Roedean School and Pembroke College, Oxford
  6. "Craig Ferguson 5/28/14E Late Late Show Honeysuckle Weeks". YouTube.
  7. Frizzell, Nell (9 May 2013). "Honeysuckle Weeks on getting into character". Ideas Tap. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  8. "The Charles Dickens Show". BBC Two. 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  9. "The Wicker Tree". Moria. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  10. Gardner, Lyn (4 January 2010). "'A Daughter's A Daughter' Review". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  11. Hemley, Matthew (19 April 2013). "Honeysuckle Weeks to star in Melanie Marnich's These Shining Lives". The Stage. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  12. Billington, Michael (6 March 2018). "The Best Man review – Gore Vidal's brutal political dogfight". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  13. Joseph, Claudia (19 March 2013). "Foyle's War star Honeysuckle Weeks: I am not a bit like my character". Daily Express. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  14. "Honeysuckle Weeks: Fears grow for missing Foyle's War actress". BBC News Online. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  15. Rawlinson, Kevin (29 July 2016). "Actor Honeysuckle Weeks found 'safe and sound'". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  16. "Honeysuckle Weeks: Missing actress found 'safe'". BBC News Online. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  17. https://www.tvwise.co.uk/2019/05/frankie-drake-mysteries-heads-to-london-for-season-3-honeysuckle-weeks-to-guest-star/
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