Killing Eve and Fleabag star Fiona Shaw has admitted she fantasises about being Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s mother.
The actress plays Carolyn Marten in the spy drama, which was developed by the writer for the screen, and made a cameo appearance as the therapist in Fleabag, which was written by and starred Waller-Bridge.
She told The Big Issue: “I fantasise about being Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s mother. But that is a vanity. You just want some of her to rub off on you because she leaves gold dust in her wake.
“Phoebe is a force. When you are in the same room you feel her vibrancy. She has light beaming out of her.
“I don’t know her psyche, but there must be a deep seam of pain and sorrow, because you can’t write as well as she can without it.”
Penning a letter to her younger self in the magazine, Shaw also spoke of her shock at realising she was gay.
She said: “I wasn’t in any way gay until I was. One goes on developing. As a teenager, I was very modest in my romantic life.
“I had this wonderful boyfriend, then another, then later I became gay. It was a shock.
“I was full of self-hatred and thought I would come back into the fold shortly. But I just didn’t.
“I would tell my younger self you must be very gentle on yourself, you are not in control of those aspects of yourself and you mustn’t try to be.”
The full interview is in the new edition of The Big Issue, out now.