Oscar-winning actress Jessie Buckley is taking over our cinema screens. From Hamnet to The Bride!, Buckley is proving there’s no role she can’t tackle. But while this might look like her big break, she’s actually been quietly carving out a place in the entertainment industry for almost two decades.
Long before awards buzz and headline roles, Buckley was already performing for a national audience. In 2008, she first appeared on television as a contestant on the BBC talent series I'd Do Anything. The show, created by theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber, set out to find a young performer to star as Nancy in a West End revival of Oliver!.
Proving she was a triple threat from the start, Buckley entered the competition at just 17 years old.
Jessie Buckley competed in I'd Do Anything
In 2008, the BBC held open auditions for I’d Do Anything, a televised competition created to find performers for a West End revival of Oliver!, led by theatre heavyweights Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh.
It was commissioned after the success of the two similar BBC series, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do. While the series followed the same format to find a new, unknown lead, it was on the lookout for two roles rather than just one: the leads Nancy and Oliver.
Buckley auditioned on a whim and quickly secured a place in the competition. She progressed through the show’s weekly challenges and ultimately finished as the runner-up, losing the final public vote to Jodie Prenger, of Coronation Street.
Despite making it all the way to the finale, Buckley chose not to follow the path the show laid out for her. She declined the opportunity to serve as Prenger’s understudy in the West End production and instead decided to build her career step by step in theatre.
Buckley later built her career in theatre and film, earning two Oscar nominations and widespread acclaim for her performances in The Lost Daughter and Hamnet
Now, clips of Buckley during the competition are resurfacing on TikTok and Instagram, giving fans a glimpse of a side of the actor many hadn’t seen before.
The show included “a lot of body shaming”
Although she didn’t win the role, the show introduced Buckley to a national audience and gave her a first taste of just how demanding the entertainment industry could be.
Buckley recently reflected on the experience in an interview with Vogue.
“I look back at it, and I feel like, ‘God, you’re so brave,’” she said. “I don’t know if I’d have that courage now. And I don’t know if that was kind of innocence or ignorance.”
Vogue also noted that Buckley faced criticism for her appearance and posture on the show, with one choreographer reportedly telling her she needed to be “much more ladylike”.
Speaking candidly about that time, Buckley admitted she struggled with the pressures of the competition. “There was a lot that was really messed up,” she said, adding that she felt “depressed” and “not well fully” during the experience.
She also recalled feeling that the environment involved “a lot of body shaming and bringing me to femininity school,” at a time when she was still figuring out who she was.
“I was growing into my body,” she explained. “I was 17. I was in a moment of discovery. As women, it’s such unfair objectification.”
In response to Buckley’s Vogue interview, the BBC shared a statement pointing to its “duty of care” policies, which it said have been “strengthened over decades.” The broadcaster added that any complaints or concerns are treated with “the utmost care and seriousness.”
