Nancy
Played by Julie Hesmondhalgh
Best known for her award-winning portrayal of Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, Julie Hesmondhalgh has also starred in the likes of Doctor Who, Broadchurch, Happy Valley and Black Roses. Julie plays brewery worker Nancy in The Pact.
What is The Pact about?
Ooh it's got it all! It's a thriller, first and foremost. A twisty turny thriller that keeps you guessing to the very end. But it's also a story about friendship, family, marriage, love and betrayal.
The dramatic Welsh landscape plays an important role in the story. What locations did you film in?
We filmed in some completely beautiful places. The woods at Pontsticill are where a lot of the action takes place and you'll see that beautiful landscape in all climates. As did we! It's a stunning place. Our first location was Rhymney Brewery in the Valleys, right next to Big Pit and surrounded by mountains. It was the end of the summer then and absolutely boiling. It was a gorgeous drive to location every day from Cardiff. We also filmed around Usk which was a beautiful little town and at St Mary's Church in Marshfield, which I loved.
What attracted you to the series?
I'm a complete Welshophile. I got married in Wales and holiday here every year. My husband is a graduate of Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama too, so having the opportunity to work here was a massive bonus for me. And I loved that it was a woman-led drama, with four complex and flawed women at its heart.
Your character Nancy is a part of The Pact along with other members of the cast. Did you form any particular bonds with them off screen as well?
Hell, yes. These women will never get rid of me now. I really lucked out working with Laura, Eiry and Heledd: three brilliant actors and also three beautiful, funny and smart humans. We are The Pact Bitchezz (our Whatsapp group). But more widely, I also had a lot of scenes with Ade Edmondson and we had a wonderful time making what felt like a mini-film within the series: At Home with the Clarkes; and also with Mark Lewis Jones who is our own "hot priest." Jason Hughes plays Max, and I haven't seen him since drama school so it was lovely to catch up with him, and I'm an In My Skin superfan, so working with Gabi and Aled was just dreamy for me. Every single person who came in, even to do a couple of days, was insanely experienced and talented. And lovely. I think (hope) I have a proper friend for life in Pete, the writer, and in Nick, my lovely driver too. You always form bonds when you do a job, but this one really felt special. The cast and crew have really been through something together, this being, for all of us, our first experience of making telly in the time of Covid. I don't know what anyone looks like from the nose down of course, so if I bumped into any of them in the future, I wouldn't have a clue who any of them were!
Did you enjoy filming in Wales?
I know north Wales well, and Pembrokeshire is a very special place to me, as is the Gower, but I didn't know Cardiff well before I came to do The Pact. And I have loved it. I've taken full advantage of living next to Sofia Gardens and Bute Park, and have run or walked there most days, and my favourite thing to do has been hiring a bike and cycling down to the Bay or up to Castell Coch along the Taff Trail through Llandaff Fields. It's such a cycle-friendly city with unbelievable amounts of green space, that I could enjoy even in lockdown. I also managed to have a bit of an explore when we were filming around Merthyr Tydfil.
