Actress and singer Sheridan Smith returns to her home town of Doncaster for the first time since her father's death to perform a one-night gig
Sheridan Smith became one of Britain’s best-loved actresses thanks to roles in Mrs Biggs, Cilla and The Moorside.
But it’s no secret that, in 2016, she was hit hard by the death of her father and took a step back from TV work.
Fortunately, it now seems Sheridan’s back to her best. In this one-off documentary, cameras follow the actress and singer as she returns to her hometown of Doncaster to perform an emotional one-off gig on the stage where she sang as a child with dad Colin and mum Marilyn.
Along the way, she addresses her personal battles, her love for her family and her passion for music.
Sheridan is incredibly candid about the impact that her father’s death, back in 2016, had on her career.
‘I kind of lost it a bit after Dad died – I had a massive meltdown,’ she says. ‘I just didn’t want to go back. I got on the train to do Funny Girl and I thought, “I can’t do it.”
It just felt so weird – how can I be here taking applause? I thought, “I want to be sat with my Dad on his chair cuddling him.” So I ran away from the situation.’
On the day of her big performance at Bentley Top Club, Sheridan admits she was nervous, but she had an emotional message for all the family and friends who came to see her special show.
‘I say to them, “To be back here, in Dad’s club, it means so much that you’ve all come out tonight. I’m going to come and kiss and hug every single one of you. You can’t get rid of me – I’ll be like a limpet. This is home.”’
Welcome back, Sheridan, we’ve missed you!
The full interview is in this week's TV Times, on sale 30 October.
TV Times rating: ****
