An Interview with Mollie Gallagher
Best known as Coronation Street’s Nina Lucas, Mollie Gallagher won viewers’ hearts with her part in the soap’s moving Seb Franklin storyline before embracing the live-performance thrills of Dancing on Ice. Now she is making her professional stage debut as FBI trainee Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs. Ahead of the production’s arrival in Hull, she talks to Roger Crow about leaving the cobbles for the stage.
The Seb storyline in Coronation Street was so moving. I thought you all did a brilliant job. Was it a draining experience?
It was, because we did it during Covid, and I think that definitely changed the experience. With social distancing, life was very different for everyone, wasn’t it? You couldn’t go out at the weekend, have a breather and see friends. It was an isolating time for everybody, so I think not having that release made it tricky.
Was your time on Corrie a great experience overall?
Yes, it was amazing. I’d always loved Corrie growing up, so in a way that made starting even more nerve-racking. I naturally knew everyone’s real names because I was such a Corrie fan, so at least I didn’t have the issue of slipping up and calling them their character names!
When I found out about The Silence of the Lambs, I was so excited. How familiar were you with the film and the book before taking on the role?
I can’t remember when I first saw the film. When the audition came through, I needed to refresh my memory. You know when you haven’t watched a film for a while and can’t quite remember the details? It was that sort of situation. Our play is based on the novel, so there are some differences. It’s such a brilliant story, and it translates onto the stage really well. We’ve had Nikolai Foster directing, who is absolutely brilliant. It’s crazy to think we had about 20 days to create this show. It was four weeks, but without weekends, so we literally had 20 days to put together something brand new that hadn’t been done before.
Mollie Gallagher as Clarice Starling in the stage adaptation of Silence of the Lambs
“Fast-paced”
Had you done much stage work, or was this quite new for you?
No, this is my debut. Obviously, I trained in theatre at drama school, but it’s different, especially because I’ve been doing television for the last seven years. There’s lots to learn, even just stagecraft: not blocking the lighting, the positioning of your body when you’re working with somebody — all those little things you forget are really important. It’s so great to be constantly learning. I get very lucky with the people I work with. In Corrie, I had David Neilson and all the other greats. Then I’ve come to this and got John Partridge and Olly Farnworth. They’re both absolutely brilliant actors, and it’s lovely to learn from them. They’re so helpful and very kind actors. I’m very lucky.”
Given how little time you have to do a scene on Corrie, it must be fantastic training for theatre. How does learning the material compare?
With Corrie, because it’s so fast-paced, it’s always in your short-term memory. You might get a script two weeks before, but you could be working every day, so you have to find the right time to learn it. Learning a whole play goes into your long-term memory. It’s different, but that’s a good job if you’re doing it for a year!
What has been the most memorable part of working on The Silence of the Lambs? It’s such a dark story, yet so compelling.
I loved the rehearsal process. I didn’t know what I was going into because it was brand new for me, but I just loved it. I always say to the cast, ‘Oh my God, I miss Leicester!’ I’m nostalgic for that process, because we opened in Leicester as well. It was about finding the character, and even now we’re on tour, you’re constantly finding new things. That’s the beauty of such a long tour: you can keep discovering things.
What’s it been like working with John Partridge? I saw him in Chicago years ago, and even with laryngitis he was word-perfect.
He’s unreal. I love him so much. He really can do anything, can’t he?
What was Dancing on Ice like?
That was amazing as well. It was a great experience, and I miss it. It was nice being in front of a live audience for the first time. I wasn’t necessarily acting, but I was performing, and even then I loved that live-audience buzz. I do love live performance. I guess I’m a bit of a thrill-seeker. You get that adrenaline buzz from a live audience every night, don’t you? It probably fits my personality quite well.”
Mollie with co-star John Partridge
“More pressure”
Is that buzz part of what brings theatre alive for you?
Yes, I love it. I love an adrenaline rush.
Have you got a dream role, whether in a film, a musical or a comedy?
If I could sing! Unfortunately, I’m not a singer. I know you can learn, but I don’t know if that will ever be for me. I would love to do Sally Bowles in Cabaret. Unfortunately, I can’t sing!”
What about Strictly? Having done Dancing on Ice, would that be relatively easy by comparison?
Everyone thinks that, but I think there’s more pressure. On Dancing on Ice, you have an excuse if you’re not great. You can say, ‘Well, I am on ice!’ With Strictly, you don’t quite have the same excuse if you’re not very good. I think I would love dancing, but I’m not the fastest at picking things up. Even with Dancing on Ice, you get a couple of days to learn a whole new routine. I think learning it is the hardest part, especially with something like Strictly, where you’ve got all those details and such a short time. If I were faster at learning things, I think I would absolutely love dancing. It just feels like a bit of a barrier, but hey-ho!
I’m really looking forward to seeing you at Hull New Theatre. As a Corrie fan, I was thrilled when you landed this part. It felt like a great opportunity to spread your wings.
It’s one of those roles where I’d have been so sad if I hadn’t been able to do it. I’m so glad it worked out, being able to tell the story of this brilliant character. I’m really, really loving the experience. And I do actually really like touring life. I enjoy seeing all these different cities — and the chaos!”
The Silence of the Lambs comes to Hull New Theatre from Monday 2 to Saturday 7 November 2026. Mollie Gallagher stars alongside John Partridge as Hannibal Lecter in Gina Gionfriddo’s adaptation of Thomas Harris’s novel, directed by Nikolai Foster. Evening performances begin at 7.30pm, with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.
The full version of this interview can be found here podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/nostalgiahhh
images: Matt Crockett
Adopted Yorkshireman Roger Crow developed a passion for film and TV in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been a published film and TV reviewer since the 1990s; a world travel and restaurant critic since the noughties, and for the past decade has assessed the pros and cons of live gigs and theatre productions around the UK. His ideal day would involve reviewing a performance of Bat Out of Hell, followed by a Pad Thai while being serenaded by Texas on a cruise around Europe.
crowsfeat.com; nostalgiahhh film podcast
