Maggie Steed, 75, has admitted she feels “vulnerable” to age-related criticism, but that she accepts it as part of the job. Maggie, who plays talent agency founder Stella in the Amazon Prime series Ten Percent, is determined to keep “doing what’s necessary” to remain in the game.
I don’t think there’s any shame in doing what’s necessary
Maggie Steed
Recalling an uncomfortable moment during a heart-to-heart with her agent, she explained: “She said to me, ‘Darling, you’re going to have to have your eyes done.’”
She exclaimed: “I was so shocked that I nearly fell off my chair.”
However the actress – known for roles in EastEnders, Coronation Street, Elizabeth is Missing and Harvey Moon, didn’t take offence.
She shrugged off the criticism and decided: “I realised that they were right.
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“My eyes had fallen so much that the cameramen were struggling to find them to put some light into them, so I had them done.”
The star also confided that she understood the concept of acting as a “market” and approached the prospect of getting work done on herself in a business-like way.
“I don’t think there’s any shame in doing what’s necessary,” she asserted.
“We work in an industry that’s an incredible mixture of artistry, heart and hard-talking money [but] we mustn’t forget it’s a market.”
Ironically, 10 Percent is a series that tackles ageism and the pressure placed on those working in the entertainment industry to maintain their youth and beauty.
The topic is something Maggie relates to completely.
“[The request to get my eyes done] was very painful to hear — especially as I was never a dolly bird anyway,” she admitted to the Radio Times.
However she conceded: “As you get older, you become more vulnerable to that sort of criticism and more fragile.
“You have to make sure you have other tools in your kitbag to get [you] through.”
However, she “professionally responded” and opted to do what her agent recommended.
Maggie had previously talked of how it was more difficult for her in the earlier years of acting to get the roles she sought as she was considered “not conventionally pretty enough”.
However, in spite of that, her career saw her achieve parts in two major primetime TV soaps – EastEnders and Coronation Street.
In Walford, she played Joyce Murray, whereas in Corrie’s Weatherfield, she took on the role of Ellen Smith.
She also appeared in family favourite movies such as Paddington 2, in which she played Gertrude Biggleswade.
However, it’s her role as Stella in 10 Percent – a remake of the original French series Call My Agent – that she’s been discussing more recently.
According to Maggie, her character is “loyal, loving [and] very witty” – and above all, “she takes no prisoners”.
The full interview runs in the upcoming issue of the Radio Times.
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