Lecky as Gigi the BBC's 'Wild Cherry'. BBC/Firebird/Natalie Seery Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Nicôle Lecky is going from strength to strength. The British writer-actress is best known for starring in and creating BBC Three musical drama Mood - based on her one-woman play Superhoe - which swiftly landed her a BAFTA for best miniseries in 2023. Lecky was soon signed by UTA and nabbed a role in Sky's dark comedy Sweetpea opposite Ella Purnell. In 2025, she comes to the fore with two major projects to unpack: Lecky plays George Clooney's celebrity stylist in Noah Baumbach's awards contender Jay Kelly (in her feature film debut, no less) and life coach Gigi in BBC One's Wild Cherry, which she also created. Related Stories Movies 'The Stories' Director Abu Bakr Shawky Says His Film, Inspired by How His Egyptian Dad and Austrian Mother Started off as Pen Pals, Is About "Worlds Meeting" TV 'Last Samurai Standing' Star Junichi Okada On Making of Netflix Series That's a "Mixture of 'Squid Games' and 'Shogun'" Wild Cherry, now streaming on BBC iPlayer, is a six-part thriller set in an ultra-wealthy U.K. community. Lorna (The Penguin's Carmen Ejogo) is a self-made, successful, Black businesswoman from north west London who has worked hard to be where she is. Her best friend Juliet (Eve Best, star of House of the Dragon) is a woman born into the privileged gated community, Richford Lake, they both call home. Lorna's daughter Grace (Imogen Faires) and Eve's daughter Allegra (Amelia May) are also best friends, and live a life other teenagers can only dream of. Until, that is, Grace and Allegra are implicated in a shocking scandal at their exclusive private school and Juliet and Lorna are forced to take sides, pushing their friendship to breaking point. Toxicity triumphs as the idyllic facade of Richford Lake begins to crumble. "I was reading a lot of articles and things coming out about... pressures on teenagers but specifically teenage girls," Lecky tells The Hollywood Reporter about the show's inspiration. "I really thought about this idea of the gulf between women and teenager-hood. How do you parent teenage girls when you have grown up in such a different time without social media? [At] my age, I sit in the middle of these two ages," she continues, "I really wanted to explore it through teenagers, but I also wanted to see how it affected women and mothers." The show is also a product of Lecky's own experience getting a glimpse at how the extravagantly rich live in Britain - a story she thinks is long overdue. "I thought that I hadn't seen that wealth - on British television, at least - in a very specific, nuanced way," Lecky says. "So I wanted to set something there." Below, Lecky catches up with THR about Jay Kelly and Wild Cherry. She discusses comparisons to HBO's Big Little Lies, why audiences are so enamored with shows about the mega-wealthy, and getting to hang around George Clooney and Adam Sandler on a Noah Baumbach set: "I think that out of everything I've done, my family might be the most proud of this." I loved Mood so much. Was the success of the show a big confidence boost for you and your career? In some ways, it was a confidence boost. But also, I think, like most creatives, you try and live in the moment, but you're always thinking about what's next. So I did try and take in the success, but probably not that much. [Laughs.] And then you think, 'What am I doing next?' And you jump on to the next thing... You just [have to] live in your own bubble and you have to see the negative and the positive and try and stay in the middle - not hear too much of the noise. So how did we land at Wild Cherry? What inspired this story? Well, it was twofold really. One was I stumbled upon this gated community in the home counties just outside of London. And I thought that I hadn't seen that wealth - on British television, at least - in a very specific, nuanced way. So I wanted to set something there. At the same time, I was reading a lot of articles and things coming out about... pressures on teenagers but specifically teenage girls. I really thought about this idea of the gulf between women and teenager-hood. How do you parent teenage girls when you have grown up in such a different time without social media? [At] my age, I sit in the middle of these two ages. And yeah, I think that was the jump off for me. I really wanted to explore it through teenagers, but I also wanted to see how it affected women and mothers. Eve Best (left) and Carmen Ejogo in 'Wild Cherry'. BBC/Firebird/Natalie Seery I read elsewhere that you described this show as a bit Big Little Lies, but in a British setting. We've seen this trend a lot recently - the drama-filled lives of society's wealthiest, I think of Succession too - why do you think there's an