Often, there would be male makeup people, as there should be, but you wouldn’t really see women apart from the actors. And now with [Seven Dials], we had a female grip. She was amazing. And a lot of women on the camera crew.
Mia: It’s a lot less male-dominated now.
Helena: Totally. And it’s diverse across the board, which is great… You want to have good stories, and they’re quite hard to come by for older people, whether you are female or male. But things are getting better, especially with the proliferation of telly, which means you get these stories which are character-led.
Glamour: What makes you both feel empowered?
Helena: A really good pair of shoes. These make me feel quite grounded and powerful because they’ve given me about four inches, but I still feel balanced. But on a pair of high heels, I wouldn’t.
Mia: That’s genius. That was another thing Helena taught me earlier on.
Helena: Shoes.
Mia: You said always have good shoes.
Helena: Be self-sufficient. Find your own shoes. And once you’ve got a good pair of period shoes, keep them. And snacks. Always have your own snacks. And basically, you’re responsible for yourself. Don’t expect somebody else to get you the coffee that you need for this take. You’ve got to bring it yourself.
Netflix
Glamour: What do you hope audiences take from watching Seven Dials?
Helena: I hope it makes them feel … There’s a Christie cosiness, but then there’s real Christie danger. So it’s those two. And hopefully people will go watch it and have that whodunnit, can’t predict it [feel].
Mia: I hope it invites a new audience into Christie as well, because I think for me, I was always someone who felt a bit intimidated by Agatha Christie… I didn’t do it at school or anything. I didn’t really know how to approach a book.