{"id":399593,"date":"2026-01-08T11:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T11:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/399593\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T11:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T11:07:10","slug":"jessie-buckley-claims-she-was-brutalised-on-bbc-talent-show-as-oscar-frontrunner-speaks-out-on-unfair-objectification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/399593\/","title":{"rendered":"Jessie Buckley claims she was ‘brutalised’ on BBC talent show as Oscar frontrunner speaks out on ‘unfair objectification’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jessie Buckley has spoken out about the damaging treatment she endured as a teenage contestant on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BBC talent competition I’d Do Anything.<\/p>\n

The Irish actress, now 36 and a leading contender for this year’s Academy Award, revealed she was subjected to body shaming and what she described as “unfair objectification” during the 2008 series.<\/p>\n

“I really hope that a 15, 17, whatever-age woman never has to be brutalised quite like what happened on that show,” Ms Buckley told Vogue magazine.<\/p>\n

The Killarney-born star was just 17 when she competed for the role of Nancy in a West End production of Oliver!, ultimately finishing as runner-up to Jodie Prenger.<\/p>\n

\"Jessie<\/p>\n

Jessie Buckley and Jodie Prenger on BBC I Do Anything, 2008<\/p>\n

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BBC<\/p>\n

“But I didn’t recognise it fully at the time. I just felt it, which was difficult,” she added.<\/p>\n

Ms Buckley disclosed that her mental health deteriorated significantly during filming, telling the magazine she was depressed and struggling to cope.<\/p>\n

“[I] was not well fully. I was depressed and I \u2013 just wasn’t well,” she said. “There was a lot that was really messed up.”<\/p>\n

The actress specifically highlighted being sent to what she called “femininity school” as particularly troubling, noting that she was still developing physically and emotionally at the time.<\/p>\n

\"\\u200bJessie<\/p>\n

Jessie Buckley<\/p>\n

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BBC<\/p>\n

“And bringing me to femininity school. And I was growing into my body,” she explained.<\/p>\n

According to Vogue, judges and other figures on the programme made comments about her appearance, with one choreographer reportedly urging her to be “more ladylike” and master dancing in six-inch heels.<\/p>\n

Ms Buckley reflected on her initial enthusiasm for the opportunity, recalling how thrilled she was to gain access to the entertainment world she had long aspired to join.<\/p>\n

“It’s bonkers, in hindsight. I was just like: ‘Oh my God. I get to peek behind this curtain already. I get to sing. I get to be part of this industry that I really was hoping I could be part of,'” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Jessie<\/p>\n

Jessie Buckley finished in second place (runner-up) on the 2008 BBC talent show I’d Do Anything<\/p>\n

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BBC<\/p>\n

Looking back nearly two decades later, the actress expressed admiration for her younger self’s bravery whilst questioning what drove her to participate.<\/p>\n

“And I look back at it and I feel like: ‘God, you’re so brave.’ I don’t know if I’d have that courage now. And I don’t know if that was kind of innocence or ignorance.”<\/p>\n

Following her second-place finish, Ms Buckley was presented with the opportunity to serve as Ms Prenger’s understudy in the West End production, an offer she firmly rejected.<\/p>\n

Rather than accepting through conventional channels, the young performer took matters into her own hands by marching directly to the offices of renowned theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh.<\/p>\n

“I walked to his office, rang the bell and said: ‘Is Cameron Mackintosh here? Thank you, but I won’t be taking that job,'” she recalled.<\/p>\n

The decision proved pivotal in shaping her career trajectory. Instead of remaining in the shadow of the competition winner, Ms Buckley carved her own path through London’s theatrical scene.<\/p>\n

She secured a role in Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory, performing alongside Maureen Lipman and Hannah Waddingham before completing her training at RADA in 2013.<\/p>\n

Ms Buckley’s revelations come as she stands on the cusp of major awards recognition, having claimed the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actress on Sunday for her performance in Chlo\u00e9 Zhao’s Hamnet.<\/p>\n

\"\\u200bJessie<\/p>\n

Jessie Buckley starred alongside Paul Mescal in the critically acclaimed film Hamnet<\/p>\n

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GETTY<\/p>\n

The film, adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, sees her portray Agnes Shakespeare opposite Paul Mescal as the playwright, exploring their grief following the death of their 11-year-old son.<\/p>\n

Oscar nominations are due to be announced on 22 January, with Ms Buckley widely tipped to secure a nod in the leading actress category.<\/p>\n

In response to her comments about I’d Do Anything, the BBC pointed to its duty of care policies, which it said had been strengthened over the decades.<\/p>\n

The corporation added that anyone raising complaints or concerns is treated with the utmost care and seriousness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jessie Buckley has spoken out about the damaging treatment she endured as a teenage contestant on Andrew Lloyd…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":399594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,480,134,44,13296],"class_list":{"0":"post-399593","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-celebrity","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-sgg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/399594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=399593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=399593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}