Stefanie: I won’t crumble as tough cookie Tennison

WHEN Prime Suspect returns to TV tonight, all eyes will be on the young actress stepping into Helen Mirren’s shoes — and she knows it.

But Stefanie Martini has declared she’s determined not to ‘crumble’ under the pressure of living up to Dame Helen’s turn as tough detective Jane Tennison in the iconic 1990s show.

In fact, it wasn’t until the rising star started watching the original that it dawned on her ‘what a big deal it was’ to be asked to play a young Jane in the 1973-set reboot.

But the 26-year-old — who was only a baby when the original aired — has found a way to deal with the pressure.

‘I have to see it as a separate thing, appreciate and take what I can from [Dame Helen’s] performance,’ she said.

‘But then I also have to kind of let that go and treat it as my own interpretation, not crumble under that pressure or see it as something bigger than me.’

And she reckons Dame Helen would be supportive of the project.

Asked in a BBC interview whether they had spoken, she joked: ‘I love it when people ask me that — like I’ve got her phone number!

‘She’s supportive of the project, I think, and I haven’t spoken to her, but if I met her in the future I’d probably be a bit speechless and wouldn’t know what to say.’

Prime Suspect 1973 starts on Thursday at 9pm on ITV

Author: Anna Thomson