*triggers: contains description of physical assault
Emily Atack left school at 16, confident she wouldn’t need a GCSE for what she wanted to do: act. It turns out, she was correct. She starred as Charlotte Hinchcliffe in the smash-hit comedy The Inbetweeners when she was just 17 and is currently on our screens as Sarah Stratton in Disney+’s hit drama Rivals, as well as co-hosting a new ITV game show, Nobody’s Fool, with Danny Dyer.
But it hasn’t always been easy: she faced sexual harassment and abuse from the age of 10. We talk about the impact this has had on how she now understands her own capabilities and about how her unbreakable bond with her sister, Martha, has helped her survive the toughest challenges.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction to Emily
03:19 Learning Boundaries
05:33 Class and Growing Up
07:39 Paul McCartney Connection
10:00 Failing to Believe In Herself
14:58 Leaving Home at Sixteen
25:10 Inbetweeners Fame Fallout
30:18 Praise for Rivals
31:23 Earning Creative Trust
32:51 Emotional Regulation Struggles
35:40 Forgiveness and Loneliness
37:20 Childhood Trauma and Sex
41:35 Alistair and Finding Home
46:52 Motherhood and Body Image
55:19 Keeping Nice Things and Goodbye
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
So many people don’t take responsibility for their failures…. Which is why this podcast is so great.
Forgiveness is something you have to find in yourself
I hate being called fat - it hurts my feelings.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Emily hosts ‘Nobody’s Fool’, a brand new strategic quiz show with Danny Dyer, available to stream on ITVX, with the final three episodes airing on 30th, 31st May and the final on 1st June at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Katherine Parkinson - Fresh from her latest BAFTA win, Katherine Parkinson joined Elizabeth to discuss the self-doubt, trauma, humour and resilience that shaped her journey from awkward outsider to one of Britain’s most beloved actors: swap.fm/l/CplscDFzT9oyNGV1Oan0
Danny Dyer – the actor and national treasure on identity, anger, vulnerability and learning to break the patterns you were born into: swap.fm/l/L192dU5DZHQnCUjFWuX8
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👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth:
Instagram: @elizabday
TikTok: @howtofailpod
Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod
Website: www.elizabethday.org
Guest bookings for How To Fail only come from official @sonymusic.com emails
Elizabeth and Emily answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com
Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan
Engineer: Matias Torres
Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson
Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot
Executive Producer: Alex Lawless
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts
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