Death Valley star: At school, teachers told me I was lazy

Gwyneth Keyworth on ‘carrying the shame' of her undiagnosed ADHD and why, now she understands her condition, it is her superpower as she appears alongside acting royalty Timothy Spall in the Sunday night hit

- By Tim Oglethorpe

ONE of the breakout stars of Sunday night TV, Gwyneth Keyworth has helped make the BBC's detective drama Death Valley a runaway success.

It's arguably the Welsh actress's performance as DS Janie Mallowan - a mixture of high energy, comic timing and fantastic facial expressions which has made the show fizz so agreeably.

And it's no accident the character of Janie is so in tune with Gwyneth, who was involved in the production of Death Valley a year in advance of it being filmed time enough for the show's creator Paul Doolan to make the character more like the actress who was going to be playing her. Not that there weren't similarities already.

"When I first read the script, I remember thinking, 'Have they written this for me?'" she admits today of her role opposite Timothy Spall. "The dipsiness of the character, her over-excitement - I have those traits.

"But as the series developed, I could feel her moving even closer to some of my own rhythms and traits."

Some of the changes made to Janie reflected Gwyneth's ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), a condition the actress only recently sought a precise diagnosis for after years of being dismissed as “lazy”. She discovered she has type 2, which is associated with inattentiveness and is more common in women.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Express, Gwyneth now says she is armed with the information that will make it easier for her in the future, especially when it comes to talking to producers and directors.

"I wanted a diagnosis so that I have the right terminology when I meet employers, it gives me the chance to advocate for myself, help people understand why, for example, I am hyperfocusing on this one thing and appear not to be listening to what they are saying the kind of thing that meant I was labelled a daydreamer," she explains.