In December 2024, Ava McCarthy was seen as her first lead character playing Phoebe Robinson in the screen adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson’s The Primrose Railway Children for CBBC. Ava worked closely with her on-screen siblings Ida Brooke as Becks and Tylan Bailey as Perry, and alongside her co-stars, she was a guest on Saturday Mash-Up, with The Primrose Railway Children currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer. This June, Ava is set to appear in the John Wick spin-off Ballerina with Ana de Armas as Eve, Norman Reedus as Pine and Keanu Reeves as John Wick, which Ava filmed in Prague and Budapest, and marked her debut role as an actor. Another upcoming project for Ava is Series 2 of Andor, and she started in the industry as a model for high street brands including Marks & Spencer and John Lewis, before beginning work as an actor with her agency Kids London. Recently speaking with us, Ava chats about playing Phoebe Robinson in The Primrose Railway Children, being part of the John Wick spin-off Ballerina and how she got into acting.

Can you tell us about The Primrose Railway Children and your character Phoebe Robinson?

The Primrose Railway Children is a fun, unique family film that includes lots of adventures and mysteries. Phoebe is a cheeky, curious child and her mission is to find where her dad is and what happened to him.

What was Phoebe like to play and how did you prepare for taking on the character?

Playing Phoebe was an amazing opportunity to me. As soon as I read the character description for the audition, me and my parents said how similar I was to the character. So a lot of the time I was being Phoebe it felt quite natural playing her. The turnaround from the audition to getting the part was quite quick so we had to adapt kind of fast. But it definitely helped by being similar to the character I was playing. And everyone I worked with was fantastic. The hardest part for me was waking up so early in the morning. Lol!

How was it being part of a Jacqueline Wilson screen adaptation for CBBC and had you read the book before auditioning?

I was so happy when I found out that it was a Jacqueline Wilson adaption as I have heard lots of fun things about her books, so to get the chance to bring one to life was great. Especially playing the main character. I knew about her books but hadn’t had the chance to read any before the film. I now own my own copy, which is great, and have read it since.

What was it like filming with your on-screen siblings Ida Brooke and Tylan Bailey, who play Becks and Perry?

Filming with Ida and Tylan was one of the best things about filming, because we all just clicked right from the start and became like a little family. It’s great as we all still keep in touch now.

How did you feel booking Phoebe for your first main character?

It was amazing, as I said to my parents before I got the part or even the audition for it that I really wanted to be in a more family/children’s-type movie as some of things I filmed before were more adult-type. I was even happier landing a main character because this was also a big wish of mine!

Do you have any favourite highlights from your time on set of The Primrose Railway Children that you can share?

My biggest highlight was just being with everyone on set because we all just became one big family. I did have lots of fun filming the scene on the train at the end because I got to eat about 10 macaroons. Lol! Between myself, Ida and Tylan, we laughed and giggled so much together.

In December, you were a guest on Saturday Mash-Up alongside your The Primrose Railway Children co-stars, how did you find this experience?

It was amazing because when we were filming in Scotland we got to go to Saturday Mash-Up but only in the crowd, so to get asked to come back as a guest and take part was a great experience and lots of fun. It was cool to do it all live also.

We understand you have filmed for the upcoming Series 2 of Andor, what was this like to do?

Filming for Andor was a fun experience and I enjoyed running around with all the robots. It was only a small role but I enjoyed every minute of it. It’s great to get experience from different types of things.

You will also be seen in the June release of the John Wick spin-off Ballerina as Ella, which was your debut role, is there anything you can tell us about this?

I’m not quite sure how much I’m allowed to say just yet although the trailer is out now. But you can expect lots of action for sure. I loved filming with Ana (de Armas), Norman (Reedus) and some of the stunt doubles. We all made up our own handshake, which was cool. I spent a lot of time in Prague and Budapest filming, which was awesome. And they are both great places to visit during Christmastime. Everyone on set was very kind.

Do you have a process of learning your scripts and preparing for auditions?

Yes, I do. I like to highlight my lines in fun colours to make it more enjoyable. I also read it over a few times to try out different ways of saying the lines. Once I’ve got it memorised then most of the times I won’t forget them.

Where does your love of acting come from and how did you get into it?

I have always enjoyed role-playing and drama since I was a baby. I used to dress up and make up my own plays all the time. My mum and dad still have videos of me. I have also modelled since I was a baby and the acting kind of followed on from that. I started auditioning for roles and managed to land my first part in Ballerina. Everything has just led on from there since.

Can you say about some of the modelling work and commercials you’ve been involved with over recent years?

I have modelled for a lot of high street brands over the years since a young age from Monsoon, M&S, John Lewis and designers like Bora Aksu. All gave me good experience of being in front of the cameras.

I also did a Wilko advert just before I got into acting, which made me understand how a lot of things worked and how much goes into filming. It’s all thanks to my agency, Kids London!

How do you like to spend your free time?

I love to spend time with my family and friends. Just doing regular kids stuff lol. I really enjoy arts and crafts and creating things. My mind is always ticking as my dad tells me. I am really into making slime again lately and enjoy skating.

What are some of your favourite films and TV shows to watch?

One of my all-time favourite programmes is Stranger Things. Millie Bobby Brown is actually a big inspiration of mine. I like all types of different things really. From cartoony stuff to more serious things.

We recently watched the new film Wicked, which I really enjoyed.

Do you have any further projects coming up and what are you hoping 2025 brings for you?

I have auditioned for something quite big not too long ago but I am not allowed to say what. I would love to have the opportunity to be able to take part in this project but we will have to see.

‘Take each blessing as it comes’ is our motto.

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