Helen George, born on 19th June 1984, is best known for playing Nurse Trixie Franklin on BBC One’s Call The Midwife - but there’s a lot more to the vintage fashionista than you might realise…
Childhood dreams
Speaking to The Metro, Helen George revealed that she had dreams of becoming a ballerina when she grew up.
Well, a ballerina or the first female manager for Aston Villa football club!
She said: “I did lots of ballet when I was younger and thought I wanted to be a ballerina. I never went to see plays, I only went to see ballets. Then I saw Les Misérables when I was 15, which really changed things for me – I saw people talking on stage and went home and started singing the songs to myself and wanted to sing.
“Through that I discovered acting."
She continued: “I knew I wanted to perform but not in what aspect. I was quite a shy kid and didn’t do acting classes. But as a child I was also convinced I was going to be a long jumper and, because my dad is such a big Aston Villa fan, I had a phase when I thought I’d be Villa’s first female manager.”
Actress in training
Helen studied Musical Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music, before going on to the Birmingham School of Acting.
She gained her first role some two weeks after graduation in the play The Woman in White.
Working with Elton John
When Helen George was younger, one of her first jobs was performing as a backing singer for Elton John.
She told The Metro: “It was amazing but I was so young and arrogant at the time I was quite blasé about it all, and then we did the Royal Albert Hall and there were all these celebrities and powerful people in the audience and I was like: ‘Oh yeah, I’m doing the Albert Hall tonight.’
“You’re fearless when you’re that age because of that slight arrogance. I’m different now – I’m completely neurotic.”
Marriage
Helen met Oliver Boot during their time on Hotel Babylon together, but nothing romantic happened between her and the Holby City actor until a few years later.
They tied the knot in December 2012, at a fifties themed wedding.
She told the Daily Mail: “Our wedding wasn’t consciously ‘themed’, it was just that my hair was in a bob for Call the Midwife and Oliver had a Salvador Dalí-esque moustache because he was playing Captain Hook in the stage show Finding Neverland, so we thought we’d just run with it.
“Oliver wore a dark velvet suit and I wore a dress of pale-pink tulle with a sweetheart neckline and a 50s Dior train. It is definitely my Oscars frock if I ever win one – it just cries out for a red carpet moment.”
Call The Midwife
Helen George was cast in the role of Trixie on the BBC One series Call the Midwife, based on the book by Jennifer Worth.
Speaking about her on-screen persona, the vintage-loving actress told the Daily Mail: “Trixie is considered rather ‘fast’ because she dates men and likes to go dancing, but she doesn’t sleep around. Nowadays loose blondes are ten a penny, but she appears extraordinary because she’s outgoing, forthright and asserts herself, which women in those days weren’t encouraged to do.
“I’m really fond of her as a character, because she’s kind-hearted as well as a good-time girl. I also empathise with her because I like clothes and boys and gossip every bit as much as she does, so it’s a heavenly part.”
As part of the role, Helen was trained in the medical techniques of the 1950s, including how to deliver a baby. During the first series, she practiced this at home with Oliver taking the role of a pregnant woman, and her Yorkshire Terrier being the 'baby'.
“He would be on the sofa with our yorkshire terrier Lottie up his sweater and I would practise delivering her. Lottie enjoyed it because she was cosy and warm inside the jumper and Oliver enjoyed it because I was giving him lots of attention, too.”
Vintage fashionista
Helen is absolutely obsessed with vintage clothes and, thanks to Call the Midwife, has discovered a passion for feminine frocks.
She told The Mail online: “The costumes I wear on the show are a bit fiddly; old-fashioned suspenders, petticoats and conical bras that have to be stuffed with tissues to make them properly pointy, but the result is that I do feel very womanly and that’s rubbed off on my everyday look, too. Dresses are so easy to wear.”
She also let slip that she tends to favour designers such as Isabel Marant, APC, Acne and Liberty, not to mention a classic slick of red lipstick for that ultra glamorous look.
Animal lover
Helen owns two dogs; her yorkshire terrier, Lottie, and a jack russell named Charlie, whom she discovered living on the streets when he was six-months-old.
She said to the Daily Mail: “He was so filthy and forlorn that we thought he was really old, but once we took him home and gave him a bath he started bounding around with joy and we discovered he was a six-month-old puppy.
“Another lovely thing about Call the Midwife is that I can take the dogs to work; Jenny brings her dog and so does Pamela, and Judy is going to get one. There are open fields near the area where we film, so we can walk them.”
N'aww - a woman after our own heart!
Strictly Come Dancing
Helen’s appearance on Strictly Come Dancing was confirmed at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday 26 August by Charlotte Moore, Controller of BBC One.
Helen said: “I'm really excited to be joining Strictly.
"I know it's going to be a challenge and if I'm honest I'm slightly terrified, but I can't wait to get my tan and sequins on!”
Peter Andre, also appearing in the show, has already tipped Helen as the one to watch - high praise indeed!
Separation
On 1st September 2015, Helen’s spokesperson confirmed she was no longer with her husband.
“I can confirm that Helen separated from her husband some time ago,” they said.