'LIFE IS PRECIOUS'

The actress Jill Halfpenny opens up about overcoming sudden loss – and how it's inspired her to grab new opportunities with both hands

- INTERVIEW: NICKY MORRIS

Jill Halfpenny no longer worries about what people think of her. The star, whose partner, Matt, died suddenly of a heart attack in 2017, says that her experience of loss has made her “care less about what people think”, while also renewing her appreciation for life.

“It makes you understand that life is precious, and that it really can end at any moment,” says the Olivier Award-winning actress, 50, who also lost her father to a heart attack when she was four years old.

“Certainly with my experiences of loss, where they’ve been very sudden, it makes you think about living for today.”

Loss is one of the central themes of Jill’s latest thriller, Girl Taken. A six-part Paramount+ series based on Hollie Overton's novel Baby Doll, it follows twin sisters whose family’s lives are shattered when one of them is abducted by a local school teacher from their quiet, rural town.

Jill, who has been a regular fixture on our TV screens since landing her breakout role at the age of 14 in the teen drama Byker Grove, plays the twins’ mother, Eve, while the Game of Thrones star Alfie Allen portrays the teacher, Rick. In real life, Jill is a mum to son Harvey.