’ enthuses Gillian Anderson over Zoom from Marrakech, where she is enjoying a few days’ downtime after the BAFTAs. We’re talking about her new book,My Secret Garden: Women’s Sexual Fantasieswill be published later this year. ‘They are just a tiny cross-section we received from all over the world.’ It’s painful culling so many heartfelt missives, she admits, but, ‘I want women to be able to carry it around in their handbag and get it out on the train.
The film leans into the mythology around Maitlis – one of Britain’s most esteemed broadcasters. ‘Nobody has ever seen her eat, she’s superwoman,’ quips one producer in. ‘She was placed on a pedestal, to a degree,’ agrees Anderson, ‘a pedestal I think she deserved to be placed on – and you get a sense of that from how they talk about her. She’s their secret weapon, right? That interview is bloody serious. Emily is there for one reason and one reason only.
‘I feel I’ve been incredibly lucky . I could say that I am very specific about choices, but I’ve also done things that haven’t seen the light of day,’ she laughs. ‘I also think, early on in my career, I learned that where I feel like I’m doing important work is when I’m taking risks. There have been so many times when I’ve jumped into something and I’m terrified but I know I’ll be OK because of thetime I jumped into something scary. Whether it’s Blanche, Thatcher or Maitlis.