6 minute read
STAR OF THE SCREEN
You may recognise actor Erin Shanagher from her developing role in ITV’s The Bay, set in Morecambe, but her ambition began further down the coast in Blackpool, writes Emma Brereton
Growing up close to the bright lights and vibrancy Blackpool is famous for, Erin Shanagher, youngest of four, was the spirited sibling in an already lively household. Influenced by her older brothers’ interests in martial arts and all things action, it was Friday night trips to the video shop with her dad that opened up her eyes to the world of acting and kick-started her dream of pursuing a career in the arts.
“My sister is the eldest and was usually doing her own thing on a Friday night so me and my two bothers would go to the video shop and pick out a film,” recalls Erin.
“It had to be something we all agreed on, so it was usually action-adventure like The Goonies, Big Trouble in Little China and Top Gun. We would rewind and rewatch the same film over and over until it had to be back. Film was sheer escapism for me.”
As a child Erin never made the connection that the people in the films were acting and that it was their job but once she realised that it could be something you do for a living, she couldn’t get it out of her head: “I have a distinct memory from when I was 14 when I was in my guidance and career class and I wrote down in a notebook, ‘I am going to be an actor,’ and I had blind faith that I would be.”
Erin explains she had no idea how she would accomplish her goal. There weren’t any performers in her family, she didn’t know anyone in the industry and she didn’t have anyone she could turn to for advice – as a schoolgirl living in Marton, she just knew it was what she wanted to do. It was when she left St Mary’s Catholic High School and auditioned to study drama at Blackpool and the Fylde College that her dream really started to take shape.
“Most of my friends were staying on at the school’s sixth form, I left everything I knew, I didn’t know anyone at Blackpool and the Fylde College but it was the only drama college in the area, so I went there.
“Audition day was like a scene from Fame. I felt so out of my depth having had no experience apart from taking part in the odd school play. I had no idea what to do, I didn’t have a monologue or a song but I loved poetry, so I performed ‘Phenomenal Woman’ by Maya Angelou. I was 16, performing Maya Angelou poetry! Who did I think I was? I looked the audition panel dead in the eye and gave it my all.”
It was a winning performance because it secured her place, which turned out to be two of the best years of her life. So much so, that Erin has stayed in touch with the college and is now a patron, inspiring other students looking to start their career in acting.
“My days at Blackpool and the Fylde College, which is now Blackpool School of Arts, were wonderful. It was mostly practical work and so interesting. When I finished studying there, I took a year out before I applied to study Media and Performance at Salford University.”
The course at Salford put Erin through her paces but it was here she secured her first agent and for the next 10 years built up her acting resumé playing small parts in a number of television dramas, soaps and theatre. You name it, Erin has probably appeared in it – Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Casualty, Scott & Bailey the list goes on!
More recently, Erin memorably played a grieving mother in Peaky Blinders, whose son was killed by Arthur Shelby in a boxing match and it was this casting that was one of her break-through moments.
“I am so grateful for the work I have done over the years. I’ve been very lucky – you never think an opportunity like Peaky Blinders will come along. The number of times I have had a casting director say: ‘Just you wait. When this airs, the phone will be ringing and ringing.’
“And I will be sat there looking at my phone and nothing comes through. So, to now be part of the main cast in The Bay is a real, ‘pinch me’ moment.”
During those quieter times Erin has supplemented her salary with teaching. She was a lecturer for 14 years and she explains it’s more than likely she will have to do it again at some point as that’s just the way the industry is. However, the success of recent years, have allowed Erin to focus on her acting career full time.
“When I was a teenager of course I had dreams of making it on the silver screen and who knows, that may happen one day but for now the dream has changed. To be able to work with an incredible cast in the north of the country close to family and friends, it honestly feels like I have won the lottery.”
It’s Erin’s strong northern ties that makes her proud to contribute towards our northern powerhouse of actors. She is also passionate about where she is from and very politically aware and has regularly joined demonstrations against fracking on the Fylde coast.
Over the last two years the actor has also spent Christmas running a charity campaign that donates food hampers to vulnerable children across Greater Manchester. It is a project she cares deeply about and intends to continue as long as possible.
Erin adds: “Over the years my dreams have shifted. Now it’s about being able to do great work and have the financial security that allows me to focus on my charity work. That’s the dream.”
Erin has played Karen Hobson in ITV’s The Bay since 2019 with her part growing over each series. Now one of the show’s main detectives, alongside Marsha Thomason, the pair are set to appear on our screens again in the New Year and we can’t wait to see what unfolds in the next coastal-set mystery. •
