As Jessie Buckley prepares to scoop up the 2026 Oscar for best actress, newfound fans have discovered her reality TV roots from almost 20 years ago.
The Irish actress, 36, has wowed audiences with her Hollywood star-making turn as Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, in the acclaimed movie adaptation of Hamnet, directed by Chloe Zhao.
Her gut-wrenching portrayal of a mother wracked by the grief of losing her young child has moved countless to tears and made her the only sure bet to win the Academy Award in an otherwise scattergun year.
Already with Bafta, Golden Globe and an Actor award in hand, she’s set to join a coveted group of women who have been handed the all-important golden statuette. The crowning glory of awards season.
If you’re wondering how the screen star made it here, however, then you need look no further, as the very beginning of her career is well-documented on the reality show, I’d Do Anything.
Cast your mind back to 2008.
Then a theatrically-talented 17-year-old, a young Jessie Buckley threw her hat in the ring for the televised competition in the hopes of being cast as Nancy in the West End revival of Oliver – a life-changing gig.
Hosted by Graham Norton and overseen by theatre legends Andrew Lloyd Webber and Andrew Mackintosh, the contestants had to prove their musical theatre prowess over a series of weeks.
The show became the breeding ground for some seriously wicked talent, including the intimitable Samantha Barks (who notably starred as Eponine in Les Misérables) and West End star Rachel Tucker, who has played iconic stage roles like Elphaba in Wicked and Persephone in Hadestown.
It also featured special guests to help the hopeful Nancy’s on their journey, including Liza Minnelli, John Barrowman and Denise Van Outen – who delivered harsh feedback.
Andrew was addressed as ‘my lord’ and there was lots of practicing for kissing scenes, as well singing showdowns – it was all very 00s British reality TV.
Jessie made it all the way to the final, but in a public vote, it was fellow finalist Jodie Prenger who was crowned victorious. After a lucrative stage career, Jodie is currently playing Glenda in Coronation Street.
With clips from her time on the show resurfacing, however, fans are taking a trip down memory lane.
‘The fact that Jessie Buckley started her career on a random reality show and is now one of the best actresses of the last 10 years is insane to me. Will watch anything she’s in,’ Fernando Valencia said.
‘Jessie Buckley’s Oscar acceptance speech should be an encore of her rendition of The Man Who Got Away from the 2008 hit BBC series I’d Do Anything,’ Just Jack declared.
‘Find it wild Jessie Buckley first got famous on I’d Do Anything, honestly. She wanted to be Nancy & now she’s getting Baftas (and probs Oscars) !!!’ rhys shared.
‘Shout out to the OG Jessie Buckley fans who’ve loved her since the I’d Do Anything show. We knew her talent! Shes amazing,’ Melanie added.
However, Jessie has also been candid about her time on the show and how gruelling the process actually was.
Earlier this year, she revealed she felt ‘bodyshamed’ and described the experience of being sent to femininity school as ‘messed up’.
She told Vogue: ‘I really hope that a 15, 17, whatever-age woman never has to be brutalised quite like what happened on that show. But I didn’t recognise it fully at the time. I just felt it, which was difficult.
‘I was depressed and I just wasn’t well. I was growing into my body. I was in a moment of discovery. As women, it’s such unfair objectification. I don’t know, I can only speak for myself, but at that point I was just trying to move into a space for myself.’
After the show, Jessie slowly built her screen and stage career, appearing in several Shakespeare plays, including a filmed National Theatre performance of Romeo and Juliet opposite Josh O’Connor.
Elsewhere, she landed an Olivier award for her stint in the West End Cabaret revival alongside Eddie Redmayne. On screen, she became widely recognised for her role in the 2018 musical film Wild Rose.
In 2022, she was Oscar-nominated for best supporting actress for The Lost Daughter.
Other appearances have included Chernobyl, Taboo, Women Talking and Wicked Little Letters, as well as, of course, Hamnet.
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