15.07.2025
We were thrilled to welcome back the brilliant Tuppence Middleton (BA Acting 2008), on Saturday 28 June, for an unforgettable In Conversation With event, hosted by her best friend and fellow 2008 alumna, Georgina Hope.
Since graduating from ArtsEd, Tuppence’s career has flourished across stage and screen, with acclaimed performances in BBC’s War and Peace, The Imitation Game, Sense8, and the Downton Abbey films. More recently, she’s captivated West End audiences as Elizabeth Taylor in The Motive and the Cue and in The Years.
During the event, Tuppence spoke about her journey through the industry, sharing invaluable insights into navigating challenges, including living and working with OCD, and the importance of breaking down stigma around mental health. Her openness and honesty resonated deeply with our audience.
Tuppence, an intelligent, articulate and deeply creative artist, as demonstrated in her memoir in Scorpions, treated us to an exclusive reading of excerpts from the book, offering an intimate glimpse into her life and creative process.
She generously answered thoughtful questions from our students, speaking about the importance of self-advocacy, staying true to yourself and finding the courage to be open about mental health. It was heartening to hear how living authentically has been transformative for her, both personally and professionally.
Our students were inspired by her stories of resilience, and took away valuable advice on navigating the industry, from dealing with rejection to embracing their own unique journeys.
Before the talk, Tuppence and Georgina enjoyed a tour of the school and, afterwards, joined our community for a warm reception. Tuppence kindly signed copies of her book, answered more questions and mingled with students, alumni and guests. It was wonderful to see alumni from across the years reconnecting, sharing memories, and celebrating the community of ArtsEd together.
To close the event, our Head of Development, Susie Butt, reminded us why these events matter: to build a strong, supportive community, to inspire the next generation through the stories and experiences of our alumni, and to raise vital funds for our bursary and hardship support. The demand for our hardship fund has more than doubled in the past year. In today’s climate, the cost of living and training are real barriers for many talented young people, so every bit of support makes a real difference.
“It was wonderful to hear Tuppence reflect on her training at Arts Ed. She is a wonderful advocate for artistic excellence, and compassion in arts environments and spoke eloquently about mental health and neurodivergence. Her advice to our students was, likewise, thoughtfully provided and she offered real insight into navigating those first steps into industry. I really look forward to meeting more alumni and future events.”
Professor Louise Jackson, Principal, ArtsEd
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Tuppence and Georgina for their time, warmth and generosity in sharing their stories and inspiring our students. And thank you to our dedicated staff and teams across ArtsEd who make events like this possible.
If you’d like to find out more about how you can support our students and help ensure that talent, not circumstance, determines who trains at ArtsEd, please click here.
