Luckily we’re in an age where complex and engaging female characters are leading the bill in countless TV shows, and ITV’s newest true-crime drama is packed full of them. Fans of Game Of Thrones will recognise White House Farm’s Ann instantly, as the actor also played Yara in HBO’s famous fantasy series, but what else is there to know about Gemma Whelan and her role in White House Farm?
Although Whelan has been involved in a vast range of project, the biggest and baddest show you’ll probably know her from is Game Of Thrones, as previously mentioned. Whelan played queer feminist icon and war lord Yara Greyjoy, sister of Theon Greyjoy and member of the ruling family of the Iron Islands.
Obviously comfortable in costume, she recently starred in HBO and the BBC’s hit adaptation of Anne Lister’s life story, Gentleman Jack, where she played Lister’s younger sister Marian, a slightly more low-key sibling than Yara.
Speaking to TV & Satellite Week, Whelan explained that playing the less in-charge sibling was actually kind of great.
“It’s really fun to play the more meek half of a sibling set-up in Gentleman Jack, because Anne certainly is the more forward of the two,” she said, adding, “but then, it’s always nice to play a variety of roles.”
She’s also appearing in the hotly anticipated remake of Jane Austen’s Emma, according to Indie Wire, as Emma’s former governess Mrs Weston.
Whelan is a busy working mum and Indie Wire reports that she gained a lot of online attention after she shared a photo of herself breastfeeding her baby while in full costume as Yara. Speaking to Indie Wire, she said, “It had quite an impact that picture, I just put it up ’cause I thought it was fun, but if it helps to normalise things, that’s great.”
Whelan is currently starring in White House Farm, a true-crime drama set in 1985. The series is based on the horrifying real-life case in which five members of the Bamber family were found brutally murdered in their Essex farmhouse. Whelan plays Anne Eaton, a cousin of the Bamber family. Joining Whelan in the cast is Cressida Bonas, Freddie Fox, and fellow GoT alum, Alfie Allen.
Watch White House Farm on ITV on Jan. 8 at 9 p.m.
