As for the Sussexes, “I don’t think it’s changed how we view race in this country,” she says. “Who knows the actual ins and outs of that story. But I think that there is a structure that [Prince] Harry was within, which has never had to publicly address having a family member of colour or how anything might need to shift. You see the enormous shifts that Harry’s made in his understanding and appreciation of conversations around race.
“And, you know, he’s a young 21st-century boy; imagine if you’re an older early-20th-century person, having to try and make those imaginative leaps, when it’s never been in your social groupings, beyond going, ‘How marvellous, we’re going to visit these wonderful countries,’ or meeting dignitaries. It’s not the same as having this person in your circle. So I think there have been some missteps.”
On the subject of imaginative leaps, what does Andoh think of the prospect of her former Bridgerton co-star Regé-Jean Page being cast as the next James Bond? (He is currently about 6-1 in the betting.) “I think Regé may want to do his own version of that somewhere else,” she says. “You know, for years it’s been like, ‘Oh, please can we have a black Bond? Please?’ And then people are like, do you know what, I’m just going to tell my stories.”
One filmmaker who has done exactly that is Noel Clarke, with whom Andoh has worked several times. They appeared together in Casualty and Doctor Who and she played his mother in the films Adulthood and Brotherhood, which Clarke also wrote and directed. He has since been accused by multiple women of sexual harassment, which he denies. Andoh – who says she has had “nothing but happy experiences” working with Clarke – tells me that she is “incredibly sad about all of this… I’m sad because I was so proud of him, the inroads that he made into this industry, the stories he told, which were resonating with lots of children and young adults whose stories are never seen.”
She has to get back to Shakespeare. She’s fascinated by the “collateral damage of ambition”, she says. “Children, especially in this play, are absolutely thrown under the bus for people’s ambition, not just by Richard.”
I want to quickly ask her about her other life as a lay reader. She trained for three years at Southwark Cathedral and was licensed by the Bishop. Is it harder these days for an actor to be devoutly Christian? “‘Devoutly Christian’ has got a slightly sanctimonious whiff about it,” she says. “I’m a sweary, socialist, feminist, punk rocker reader in the Church of England. It’s niche, but I’m there.”
Richard III is at the Liverpool Playhouse (everymanplayhouse.com) from April 6-22, then at the Rose Theatre, Kingston (rosetheatre.org), from April 26-May 13. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is on Netflix from May 4