ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Kirsty Mitchell has played Faith in Casualty for nearly seven years. Before that she trained as a ballet dancer from the age of 15, acted opposite Robert Duvall and played the warrior queen Boudica, and then she lost her mum.
In this episode of Talking to the Living, Stuart Michael sits down with Kirsty Mitchell to trace a life that runs from a one-room flat in Possilpark to ballet school in London, Hollywood and the cast of Casualty. Kirsty talks about the brutal years of dance training, the mystery illness that cost her three years when no doctor would believe her and the role she landed just two days after deciding to come home. Then the conversation turns to grief. Both she and Stuart lost their mums, and they talk about how that loss changed them and why Kirsty stopped being a skeptic.
If you've ever followed Faith through Casualty and wondered about the woman who plays her, or lost someone and quietly hoped they were still close, this one is for you.
CHAPTERS
(00:00:00) Cold open: ballet school, and meeting the actress behind Faith in Casualty
(00:01:41) How Kirsty found Stuart: a lost dog and a message that landed
(00:04:16) Growing up in Glasgow: a one-room flat, and a dad at the BBC
(00:05:55) Ballet school at 15: brutal, lonely and far from home
(00:13:03) From dancer to actress: quitting modelling and landing Small Faces
(00:18:28) Robert Duvall, A Shot at Glory and a fearless audition
(00:22:00) Hollywood, Attila and starting over in LA
(00:26:34) Three years lost to a mystery illness no one would believe
(00:29:20) Two days, one audition: how Faith and Casualty happened
(00:32:53) Why life experience beat drama school
(00:35:37) Her fierce streak, and standing up to a brutal industry
(00:43:12) Playing Boudica: channelling a warrior queen's courage
(00:50:08) What's next: writing, producing and a farm full of dogs
(00:52:09) Grief, and why Stuart won't let his shows be only about loss
(00:55:13) Losing her mum, and going from skeptic to believer
(01:00:28) Quick-fire: thrillers, dogs and will they meet again
GUEST
Kirsty Mitchell, Actress (Faith Cadogan in Casualty)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirstymitchell/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KirstyMitchellOfficial/
LISTEN
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@StuartMichaelPsychic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033cMvcyuZIDuS6xRqhdPH
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-to-the-living/id1896608417
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