Samantha Womack has said she felt “emotional” reading the Dear England script ahead of starring in the play.
The former EastEnders star, 52, who described taking time off work after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022, will soon portray the team psychologist, Pippa Grange, in a nationwide tour across England of James Graham’s award-winning play.
The play follows former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate as he navigates the pressures of the team – and the nation.
Speaking to the PA news Agency about the role, Womack described Ms Grange as “wonderful”, despite not meeting her in person yet.
She added: “I hadn’t really appreciated Pippa’s position in that whole transformation of culture, not just football.
“This introduction of this woman, this kind of culture coach and watching some of her YouTube videos, and her warmth, her ability to speak to people in a way that is completely leftfield, but also to be tackling that predominantly male environment, quite incredible.
“And the kind of marrying of her and Gareth (Southgate) with his experience, I just thought was a fantastic way to tell a story.
“I found myself really emotional reading it, which I just didn’t expect, I didn’t expect at all and then all the humour and the pulling focus on the various different worlds, commenting on the football but also commenting again on failure.
“I just thought, what an incredible piece of work. I just immediately said, please, I’d love to do this.
“(It will be) my first National Theatre collaboration, so I’m excited about that. I’m excited to be doing a play and it will just be great for me to get back to work.”
The play had a sell-out run at the National Theatre before it transferred to the West End in 2023, securing best new play at the Olivier Awards in 2024.
Womack will be joined by English actor David Sturzaker, who will take on the role of Sir Gareth for its 16-venue tour.
The production will start in Plymouth on September 15 before stopping in major cities including Newcastle, Liverpool and Birmingham, until the tour comes to a close on March 14 2026.
Speaking about the play, Womack added: “I think we all can empathise with that feeling of pressure, that feeling of failure, that feeling of kind of being alienated and set loose from the pack. We as humans function like that.
“We want very much to be accepted and to be loved and I think that’s quite a difficult thing to feel in this world. It’s complicated, isn’t it?
“The football world becoming a metaphor for what it feels like to walk into an arena of expectation.
“We often see footballers, particularly these kind of young kids, these kind of shiny, faultless rich people who are winners in life, and to actually see that mask dropped and how these human beings feel in that world, and the pressures of that, whether you’re a black player or a white player, for different reasons, that pressure and the conflict of what that might feel like, I think it’s so important.
“With the Lionesses now we’ve got this wonderful world of female football capturing the nation’s imagination. But I think looking into that predominantly male world, it’s a really good thing to show what’s going on backstage.”
Dear England received nine Olivier Award nominations last year, winning best new play and best actor in a supporting role for Will Close for his turn as Harry Kane.
It was later announced the play would be adapted into a four-part BBC TV drama, with Joseph Fiennes reprising his starring role as Sir Gareth and Doctor Who star, Jodie Whittaker, taking on the role of Pippa Grange.
Sir Gareth ended an eight-year stint as the national team boss in the wake of the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain and the play has been updated to reflect his final chapter as England manager.
