Leanne Best stars in The Bay (Image: ITV)
ITV’s The Bay is back on screens, featuring Leanne Best as Julie Ashworth, a mother devastated by the murder of her daughter Hannah. Marsha Thomason, who plays Jenn Townsend, lauded Leanne’s performance in an exclusive interview with Reach titles. She recalled: “One of the scenes that comes to mind is when Jenn goes to tell Julie [played by Leanne Best] that her daughter is dead. We rehearsed it, Leanne is incredible in this series, but my gosh in this rehearsal, she just… it was unbelievable. I couldn’t hold it together and I was just balling my eyes out.”
Liverpool-born Leanne, 44, trained at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and now resides in southwest London. After graduating, she moved to London where she juggled waitressing and shop work before making her TV debut in Casualty (1986) in 2004.
Her career includes roles in Ripper Street, Home Fires and Line of Duty, stage performances in Macbeth, A Streetcar Named Desire and Educating Rita, and film roles including The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death and Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. She lives in London with her Jack Russell cross dog, Ted, and hails from a famous family, being the niece of Pete Best, the original drummer for The Beatles. In a conversation with the Daily Mail, she expressed: “He was a phenomenal musician. The word Merseybeat actually came from Pete’s style of drumming.”
Leanne Best comes from a famous family (Image: Liverpool Echo)
Leanne’s father, Roag Best, who is Pete’s half-brother, operates the Magical History Museum on Liverpool’s Mathew Street.
She also happens to be a grandchild of Neil Aspinall, a renowned producer and director known for his work on Hendrix: Band of Gypsys, The Beatles Anthology and The Beatles: Something (1969).
Neil was a schoolmate of Paul McCartney and George Harrison at Liverpool Institute before he became their driver and road manager during The Beatles’ touring days. Regarding her personal life, as of 2019, she was single and resided in a one-bedroom flat.
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Leanne Best as Julie Ashworth (Image: ITV)
“I want a big love if it turns up, but I’m not prepared to hand over huge pieces of my territory and independence to have that,” she declared.
The star has several award wins to her name, including the Best Actress accolade at The Monthly Film Festival in 2018 for her performance in Cotton Wool.
The Bay continues on ITV at 9pm