Daniela Nardini (born 26 April 1968,

Largs Largs () is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town markets itself on its histor ...

) is a Scottish actress who played Anna Forbes in the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

series '' This Life''. The role earned her a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Best Actress award in 1998 and also earned her a Scottish

. She won a second Scottish

in 2009 for her role in Annie Griffin's ''New Town''.

Early life and education

Nardini was educated at St Mary's Primary School in Largs, a Catholic primary school; her secondary school was Largs Academy, the local mixed-religion comprehensive. She then trained as an actress at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Her parents managed Nardini's, an ice cream parlour and restaurant in

. This was mentioned on the BBC lexicographical programme '' Balderdash and Piffle''. She spoke about her family in the context of the mysterious history of the 99 Flake

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

. When she was 16, Nardini's elder brother was killed in a car accident. She was on the point of giving up acting and training to become a drama teacher when she was offered the part of Anna in ''This Life''.

Career

She played ruthless estate agent, Meredith McIlvanney, in the Annie Griffin comedy-drama ''New Town'', shown on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in February 2009, for which she won a Scottish

. Other television appearances include '' Reckless'' (1997); ''Big Women'' (1998); ''Undercover Heart'' (1998); ''Love in the 21st Century'' (1999); ''Tube Tales'' (1999); ''Rough Treatment'' (2000); '' Sirens'' (2002); ''Outside the Rules'' (2002) and '' Quite Ugly One Morning'' (2004). She appeared as Lady Huntly in the four-hour BBC epic ''Gunpowder, Treason & Plot'' in 2004, and played a shopaholic in ''Shiny, Shiny Bright New Hole in My Heart'', again for the BBC, in 2006. Also in 2006, she reprised the role of Anna Forbes for the 10th anniversary reunion episode of ''This Life'' (''This Life +10''), which was shown on

in January 2007, and in November 2007, she read a story for ''Junior

Jackanory ''Jackanory'' was a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in Reading (activity), reading. The programme was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the ...

'' on

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...

. She appeared in an episode of the ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' spin-off series '' Lewis'' in 2008. She has appeared in several films, including ''Elephant Juice'' (1999), written by ''This Life'' creator Amy Jenkins; ''

Cargo In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in cas ...

'' (2004), and ''

Festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

'' (2005), a film comedy about the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

. Although the film was not well received by critics and performed poorly at the box office, it was nominated for six Scottish

s. She also has extensive stage experience including the lead role in David McVicar's production of '' Camille'' at the Lyric, Hammersmith in 2003; '' Top Girls'' at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow (2004) and ''Cue Deadly'' at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the north bank of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having opened in May 1976, th ...

(2004). In 2005, Nardini appeared in the title role in '' Etta Jenks'' at the

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Between July and October 2009, she appeared in ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

'' at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

in London. In 2007 Nardini played

Servalan This is a list of characters from ''Blake's 7'', a media franchise created by Terry Nation. Kerr Avon Kerr Avon is a fictional character from the British science fiction television series ''Blake's 7'', played by Paul Darrow (who was recreat ...

in B7 Productions ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four series of thirteen 50-minute episodes were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first series, prod ...

'' Audio adventures. In late November 2012, Nardini joined the cast of

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

's drama '' Waterloo Road'' for the third instalment of its eighth series, filming on location in Greenock, Scotland. Her character, Esther Fairclough, is a passionate, driven but maverick science teacher who has an unconventional approach to inspiring her pupils. Nardini says: "Esther is mildly dangerous with the potential to get more so. She is passionate about her cause but unfortunately doesn't know how to encourage and promote her views without getting carried away." Nardini plays Chris Guthrie's mother in the 2015 film '' Sunset Song''. In 2025, ''Psychology Today'' listed Nardini as a qualified and practicing psychotherapist.

Personal life

In an interview in June 2020, Nardini said she lived in

with her daughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nardini, Daniela 1968 births Living people Best Actress BAFTA Award (television) winners People from Largs People educated at Largs Academy Scottish people of Italian descent Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Scottish film actresses Scottish television actresses Scottish stage actresses Actresses from North Ayrshire