Aimee-Ffion Edwards had to convince herself she was not actually jumping right before filming a balcony leap for the spy drama Slow Horses. The 38-year-old actor noted that while she was securely harnessed, executing the stunt in front of 200 onlookers made it feel entirely surreal. Her character, the intense and traumatized MI5 agent Shirley Dander, tackles the drop without hesitation to tackle a suspect below.
Despite colliding hard with a stuntman during the sequence, Edwards completed the balcony jump five or six times. She attributes her resilience to her athletic background, recalling how she played rugby in a boys’ team and even represented Wales in a match before turning her focus to acting. Today, she maintains her fitness primarily through swimming and running due to erratic filming schedules.
Based in Newport, the fluent Welsh speaker continues to live in her hometown and frequently commutes to London. She appreciates that her character’s Welsh background in Slow Horses is normalized without being treated as a quirky plot point. Previously, she adopted a Brummie accent for Peaky Blinders and a southern accent for Wolf Hall, but recent projects like the film Mr Burton and the series allow her to use her natural voice.
Expanding her voice work, Edwards is set to voice Princess Leia in the first-ever Welsh-language dub of the 1977 blockbuster Star Wars, slated for broadcast on Christmas Day alongside Matthew Rhys as Han Solo. Reflecting on the project, she expressed amazement at stepping into the recording booth.
In the upcoming sixth season of Slow Horses on Apple TV, Shirley deals with lingering grief and anger following the death of her colleague Marcus, played by Kadiff Kirwan. Edwards admitted that losing her on-screen partner made filming previous seasons a lonely experience, though the emotional weight provides rich material for her character’s fierce and unpredictable nature.
Describing Shirley as liberating to play, Edwards enjoys exploring the contradictions of fierce yet vulnerable characters. Off-screen, the actor maintains a private life, steers clear of social media aside from carpentry videos, and enjoys building wooden furniture in her garage. Despite local recognition in Newport, residents often mistake her for an old school acquaintance rather than a television star, a reality she happily embraces. The report also notes that obviously, you know you’re harnessed in, but you’re also going, ‘This is mad. The report also notes that she laughs. “I couldn’t feel my fingers for a second. The report also notes that then says: “But there were 200 people stood there watching, she sucks in her breath. The report also notes that though, Shirley Dander – the tough, traumatised, cocaine-snorting MI5 agent Edwards plays – does not hesitate, leaping from the balcony to land on a suspect, in the scene that we see. The report also notes that at 38, Edwards knew she’d feel it the next day, that collision (on a stuntman) was no soft landing either and. The report also notes that smart navy trousers and gold hoop earrings, edwards is wearing an elegant sleeveless blouse. The report also notes that she does not, as she sits there sipping a flat white in London’s Soho Hotel, look much like a rugby player.
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