When lockdown hit I was preparing to play Judith Bliss in Noel Coward’s Hay Fever whilst my husband was due to perform on Broadway. Suddenly, overnight, we went from earning good wages to nothing. As actors we were ineligible for government assistance and after 30 years climbing the career ladder I was on minimum benefits. I don’t think the industry was prepared to still be shut a year later, but I had my own personal fears - even as we enjoyed the mini-holiday vibe of the first lockdown, lapping up the sunshine and indulging in evening cocktails. A year on we are preparing to move out of London to relieve the financial pressures. Actors are used to periods of inactivity, but that is very different from having no work and no income.