In this year’s 1950s-set family film Flavia, Tallulah Conabeare played Daphne De Luce alongside her on-screen sisters Molly Belle Wright as Flavia and Ariella Glaser as Ophelia and her on-screen father Martin Freeman as Havilland, and the film premiered in the UK on Sky Cinema and will be releasing in US cinemas in December, and is a screen adaptation of Alan Bradley’s book series. Tallulah played Holly in the 2023 one-off hour-long special of BBC series There She Goes, and she played Svetlana in Series 2 and 3 of The Great with Elle Fanning, Young Margaret (Dolly Wells) in Series 1 of The Outlaw and Simmi Jacobs in short film Pops with Samantha Spiro and Nigel Lindsay. With Julia Donaldson’s Princess Mirror-Belle books being adapted for CBBC, Tallulah starred as Ellen/Princess Mirror-Belle, and has voiced Candy Cat in Peppa Pig for a number of years. Also having commercial experience, early in Tallulah’s career, she was often recognised for playing the girl in the popular NatWest MoneySense commercial. We recently spoke to Tallulah about playing Daphne De Luce in this year’s family film Flavia, working on There She Goes, The Great and The Outlaws and starring as Ellen/Princess Mirror-Belle in CBBC’s Princess Mirror-Belle.
How was it getting into character as Daphne De Luce in this year’s family film Flavia and working on a story set in the 1950s?
Daphne De Luce was so much fun because she’s quite a different character than anything I’d experienced before. She’s a complete bookworm, incredibly intelligent and quite serious. It was interesting balancing her intelligent side with her childish banter and sometimes meanness to her sister Flavia, as well as the camaraderie she had with her older sister Ophelia. I also did some research into the 1950s and how a family of their social class would have spoken and held themselves at the time (they’re rather posh), and I really enjoyed having those period details to think about.
Can you tell us about the film and your character, and how does it feel now the film has premiered in the UK on Sky Cinema?
Flavia is a family adventure and mystery centred around solving a murder found in the De Luce household. I play Flavia’s older sister Daphne, the bookworm of the De Luce family, who can often be found teasing Flavia alongside Ophelia.
It was really great to have a film premiering in the UK, and it’s also my first live-action film. The film is also going to be released in cinemas in the US this Christmas, which is very exciting.
What was it like having Molly Belle Wright (Flavia), Ariella Glaser (Ophelia) and Martin Freeman (Havilland) play your on-screen sisters and father, and how was your time on set of Flavia?
I adored working with my on-screen family. Molly, Ariella and I hit if off instantly and became really good friends. We had a lot of fun on set. Martin Freeman was fantastic, and we had some really interesting chats when the cameras weren’t rolling. I’d watched him whilst I was growing up in Nativity!, so it was quite strange to then have him playing my dad. I learnt a lot from him. He’s such a wonderful, down-to-earth actor who put me at ease straight away, and I really enjoyed playing his daughter.
The whole set was a brilliant experience. One of my favourite things about acting is that you find yourself working alongside people you’ve watched for years, and then, between takes, you’re just sitting together having a completely normal conversation.
Were you familiar with Alan Bradley’s book series before auditioning for Daphne, and how was it helping bring the franchise to screens?
I hadn’t read the books before my original audition, but I researched the story and familiarised myself with the world before doing my self-tape. After I got the role, I immediately went and read the first book, which I found to be a fabulous ‘whodunnit’. After reading, I made sure to take into account lots of little details I could use. Daphne is described as always having her nose in her book, and I wanted to make her vast intake of vocabulary clear in the way she speaks.
Funnily enough, I initially went for the part of Flavia, but the film took another couple of years before it was made. By then, I was 14 and invited to audition for Flavia’s older sister Daphne, and thankfully I landed the role.
In the 2023 one-off hour-long special of the BBC series There She Goes, you played Holly; how was it joining the cast for the special episode?
I really identified with the character of Holly being a teenager. We also related in our tendency to go off on tangents about subjects, so it was great being able to lean into that funny trait. I made sure to watch the series so I knew the show that I was joining, which was a pleasure. David Tennant, Miley Locke and Jessica Hynes are brilliant in this show and were very welcoming.
Do you remember how you felt finding out you’d be starring as Ellen/Princess Mirror-Belle in the CBBC adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s Princess Mirror-Belle, and how did you prepare for filming?
I was thrilled to get this role. I remember I had just finished my favourite Year 5 after-school club and was delighted to be met by my mum’s beaming smile, who said – “Guess what, you got it!”.
It’s the best feeling in the world when lots of preparation and many rounds of auditions not only pay off, but pay off in double. Then I had to start thinking about how I was going to learn all of the lines – double the workload!
How different were Ellen and Princess Mirror-Belle to play and what was it like filming as two lead characters in one TV show?
I’ve always described the characters of Ellen and Princess Mirror-Belle as two sides of the same coin. Ellen is kind, quite timid, and in certain situations people could take advantage of this – like Seraphina. This was when Princess Mirror-Belle could be really useful, as she’s such a free spirit. She’s outgoing and confident.
Although the workload was double, I got rather good at switching my mindset from one character to the other almost instantly because I knew them so well.
Did you have any favourite scenes to film, and what are some of your stand-out memories from your time on set of Princess Mirror-Belle?
My favourite scenes to film, I think, were initially in Into the Woods. This was the first episode we filmed, and we were all new and getting to know each other. We were in these woods and we had such a fun time, and filming the scenes twice made it even more fun as we got to spend twice as long with each other.
Also, The Golden Goose was great fun, as there was lots of green screen and special effects, something that was completely new to me. The giant objects were hilarious. I also loved the musical episode Frog Prince. Recording the songs in the studios and singing on stage was just the best.
But my biggest memories are probably the friendships and the whole experience surrounding the show. I made some lifelong friends on Princess Mirror-Belle who I still see all the time. It’s a wonderful memory of my childhood that I’ll have forever.
My family and I moved to Glasgow, which gave me a love of Scotland and Scottish people, who are just the friendliest ever. Then, the following year, we lived and shot in Manchester. Being able to experience these cities with my mum and dad and brother Wilbur, who was also on the show as Cousin Anthony, was amazing. Princess Mirror-Belle will always hold a warm place in my heart.
What was it like being part of The Great as Svetlana in Series 2 and 3, and taking on the role of Young Margaret (Dolly Wells) in Series 1 of The Outlaws?
I felt I learnt so much on The Great, even though it was a relatively short shoot for me. The first series I shot, I was only 10 years old and filming Princess Mirror-Belle at the same time. I remember flying back to shoot on The Great for a few days and then flying back to Scotland. It was crazy, but a fantastic experience.
I also absolutely adored my dress. Sharon Long was the costume designer on The Great, and I had no idea then that, four years later, we’d end up working together again on Flavia. I love those strange little full-circle moments.
Elle Fanning was so inspirational on that show. It was the first time I realised that you could be an actor and also produce. She was only 24, but I remember being struck by how confident and in control she was. I remember saying to my mum that she seemed so cool and impressive. She really inspired me to want to produce, direct and act. Plus, she was also so kind to me and lovely.
The Outlaws was brilliant, and it was a very different character to play. Being Margaret, who grew up with a fraudster as a dad, was fab, as she was a bit cheeky but also sad in that she missed having her dad around. This character was so complex. Plus, working with the amazing directors Stephen Merchant and John Butler was a great learning curve, both brilliant.
Can you tell us about working on the short film Pops as Simmi Jacobs alongside Samantha Spiro and Nigel Lindsay?
I remember going to a house in North London and pulling up in the car to see lighting sets and cameras absolutely everywhere. It was all very exciting. Nigel Lindsay and Samantha Spiro were brilliant to work with, which made for a lovely shoot, but I didn’t like the pea soup that I had to eat during many takes.
This also ended up on Disney+, which was thrilling seeing my face promoting the show.
As the voice of Candy Cat in Peppa Pig, how was it reading the scripts to your episodes and staying in the role for a number of years?
I played Candy Cat from the age of eight until 15, and once I got to 15, I had to make sure my voice still sounded like it did when I was eight. I always loved reading the familiar scripts, and it was really nice coming back to Candy over such a long period because she became a very comforting character for me.
It’s quite fun pretending to be younger, plus Peppa Pig is a fantastic series to be a part of. Almost everyone knows who Peppa Pig is, and it’s always the thing that excites people when they ask you what you’ve done as an actor. If I mention Candy Cat in Peppa Pig, it always makes people smile.
I love that. I grew up with Candy in a way, and it’s very sweet knowing that she’s also been a tiny part of so many other people’s childhoods.
What do you remember most from working on the well-known NatWest MoneySense commercial and how was it having it shown numerous times on TV?
When we shot it, we had no idea how big it would be. I remember thinking that this is a really cool set to be on, and I loved working with the directors – The Bobbsey Twins. My favourite thing to do at that age was strutting around, so it was awesome having a camera follow me swaggering along and tossing the coin in the air. I got really good at that magic trick after lots of practice.
We heard the song This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan hundreds of times on playback as we filmed, so I will forever associate that song with the advert.
I’ve been recognised from that probably the most out of anything I’ve been in so far – at a car mechanics, on the Tube and on holiday in Corfu – “Are you the girl with the space buns and coin in the trolley advert?”. I still love that advert.
Have you been given any advice over your career so far that has stuck with you?
Martin Freeman told me not to over-worry about things too much because they normally work themselves out. I’m definitely still practising that one, having just finished my GCSEs!
Bharat Nalluri, the director of Flavia, said, especially if I wanted to be a director, to read as much as you can, as it’s so important. I’m actually quite a slow reader because whenever I read something, I picture absolutely everything in my head as if I’m watching a film – the locations, the people, the scenes, everything. He told me that this was because I had a wonderful imagination and was already thinking like a director, so now I feel a lot better about that one.
Do you have any favourite films and TV shows to watch?
My favourites change all the time, but right now I love Guardians of the Galaxy and the Marvel films in general. Also Avatar, Interstellar, The Odyssey and Christopher Nolan’s work. I’ll also never say no to watching a horror film, because I find good horror movies include the best filmography and acting. I’m really drawn to crazy, ambitious films that completely immerse you in another world.
With television, I’ve rewatched Bridgerton more times than I can count! I also love Black Mirror, particularly because of how conceptually experimental it can be and how every episode gets to create a completely different world. And I love The Inbetweeners because it’s super funny.
How do you like to spend your free time?
Acrylic painting and art is a big passion of mine. I will paint for days and days. I love incorporating my creativity into my acting and vice versa, which often results in a series of pieces that follow a very specific storyline.
I love creating things generally. Acting, art and filmmaking feel connected to me because they’re all different ways of learning about something new, telling stories and creating worlds.
What are you hoping the rest of the year brings you, and do you have any projects coming up that you can talk about?
I’ve now finished my GCSEs and I’m really excited to be able to work more. There are a couple of things coming up, which is exciting, but I can’t say too much.
The dream is to act, direct and produce. Working with people like Elle Fanning and watching brilliant directors on the sets I’ve been lucky enough to work on has made me realise how interested I am in the whole process – not just what happens in front of the camera, but behind it too.
I feel incredibly privileged to have had the acting experiences I’ve already had and to have worked with so many amazing people. I’ve made lifelong friends, travelled, played characters I’ve loved and learnt from people I really admire, and I’m only 16.
Follow Tallulah on: