Online Adaptation, Night Out At The Darts (But In) & Meeting The Midnight Dancer!

Hello world! Welcome back to another blog. After ending the week badly with a cold, the start of the new week was abit rough, but I managed to work through with it, ending on a high by seeing a Strictly Come Dancing rising star! So without further ado, here is what I got up to on the week commencing 10th March 2025!

Professional:

Acting jobs:

This week I got accepted an offer for two acting jobs. Both are unpaid but they’ll give me some good experience and the characters I can relate to massively. Whilst one is still in the process of rescheduling, the other one I can’t wait to film! Keep an eye out on my Instagram page @theautisticactress to see how I’ve been getting on! 

Acting class:

This week in my acting class, we looked at a scene my teacher did with some university students. It was really interesting to see everyone’s interpretations of it, and despite running over everyone else had really gave it their all in it. And I also found out it was originally a comedy scene, so it would be interesting to see the original version of it. My teacher also mentioned it some future scenes to do, and so I made the decision to send in the scene I had in mind in the hope it’ll be part of those scenes he sends out. 

Content filming:

This week I managed to get some more content filmed for a new sketch. Now all I need to do is edit it together to post next week. As mentioned before I was struggling to get newfound inspiration, but after turning a quarter of a century, I think it’s helped with that inspiration, and I can’t wait for you all to see. 

Actors Pro Expo:

This week I started to catch up on one of the Actors Pro Expo podcasts! This one was with Casting Director Gabby King, who worked with Shaheen Baig on many shows including Peaky Blinders. This one was the one I was eager to watch the most, and I’m glad I did as I learnt so much from her and how her casting process works. I won’t reveal all, but let’s just say that I managed to get alot of information that I will take on board when I next email her. 

Passion show:

This week I had to make a big adjustment to my Passion show, which threw a spanner in the works. I’ll mention more on how it’s affected me, but the thing I’ll have learnt from this week fits in perfectly with this scenario. And as you can see below, this adaptation may be the way to still do what I want to do, but people outside of the uk tuning in from the comfort of their own home.

Access All Areas:

This week I listened to an online seminar which also took place in Manchester from a company called access all areas. This was really interesting, as a regular in Eastenders gained support from this community. I won’t reveal all but let’s just say they’re worth looking at. All in all a really great session on how to make the industry accessible to disabled and autistic artists.

Act On This Podcast:

This week I managed to watch a podcast with a casting director who I haven’t heard of before but gained a lot of information from it. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers, but let’s just say that his background before casting was very different, he was vey honest about his journey and a tip he gave to everyone listening really put things into perspective for me. But it was a really good session and there were definitely some takeaways I could use! 

Coronation Street:

This week I caught up from 5th march. I loved how this episode was directed, showing snippets of what’s to come. But it doesn’t go unnoticed by David’s family, who before the “accident”, everyone following maxs sentencing (which may also be paddy beavers last appearance, so I wish him the best of luck in his next adventure), noticed he seemed abit off. I actually don’t know if he pulls through or not, but let’s just hope that Harvey will be off his back for good. But he’s not the only one in danger. The truth about the father of daisys baby was finally revealed, which obviously left Daniel fuming. But Daisy was also caught in David’s plan which resulted in the possibility of losing her baby. I do get why Kit may not be feeling anything following the truth and also because of what happened between him and Bernie, but Daniel also has a point that it’s normal to not know what to feel. I also watched the show from 7th March following the explosive episode. I’m slightly conscious of Brodys motives when Dylan helped him with a job and make a joke. Carla, who decided to be civil with Bobby, was also on edge after a break in at the flat, but it’s a good job we all need someone like Lisa. But despite Betsy not listening to her, she still went out, but it looks like she might be in danger. Eileen was also annoyed about Julie, little knowing what’s actually happening to her which George and Todd know about. Alya also made the brave decision to leave her job after a case brings up old memories for her, and I do get Adams views on why working with him may not be the best idea. Ima soo glad that she’s happy for Yasmeen who decided to move to London after accepting a new job there. Finally, the truth about the “hit and run” is finally revealed, and it led Shona to getting the money from Daisy. But she has a trauma of her own after losing her baby, which Daniel clearly seems to have forgotten about already. Even though I don’t know what it’s like to loose a child, I do get her grieving for someone she loves. I wonder how this will affect their relationship? 

Hollyoaks:

This week in Chester, we saw new romances, lies and a new and hard to watch storyline, all directed by the talented Sean Glynn (who I had the pleasure of meeting twice in person). Mondays episode saw Arlo stirring the pot. First with him mentioning Diane’s accident and then at the end when Ro lied to Diane about what actually happened. But I hope that a potential romance with Kathleen-Angel will take his mind off of things. Joel was also there to support Cleo at her interview after she suffers a panic attack following the appearance of Mercedes, but Leela has every right to be suspicious when she spots the two of them together. Red meanwhile is also trying to get into Ste’s good books, but whether what he said about how he’s good with the babies is real or not, Lucas is definitely not happy about it, especially after seeing Dillon in the new car Rex got him. And sienna is also right when telling Jeremy that he needs to get to know John-Paul. But something tells me he has other ideas. Tuesdays episode saw John Paul furious at Jez for suggesting a matching tattoo. But that’s not the only drama to unfold. Diane was honest with Rob about how she really fell, but Arlo continues to stir trouble when Ro tries to defend himself. Lucas is also still understandably mad at ste for his relationship with Rex, knowing his dodgy past but without revealing what’s going on with Dillon. Even though Grace is not happy, I wonder if Rex is actually having doubts about their scheme? But I think Rex giving Lucas a real talking to has worked. Finally, Leela is also understandably mad at Joel for lying of his whereabouts. But a trip to her therapists made things only more awkward when he made a move on her (and I do wonder if it’ll lead to something more dark). But both Joel and Sienna poured their hearts out or her, so I would see who she’ll choose? Wednesdays episode (along with a beautiful tribute to the late Diane Langston aka mamma McQueen), saw just that, as she chose the beautiful sienna. I get her reason as to why she wants to take it slow, but I’m glad that after everything they’ve both been through, they deserve happiness. Jeremy also opened up to Tommy on his past troubles, but Tommy had other thoughts running through his brain (which I’ll get to in just a moment). But this sparked Jez to make a big gesture to John-Paul, who needed abit of good news after a emotional visit to see Mercedes, who explained emotionally why she didn’t want people visiting her. Also Tommy is starting to reveal is true colours, as he’s clearly stalking over Leela, and I have a feeling of her video of Abe being shared on the internet May have something to do with him. I guess time will tell. 

Eastenders:

The main events that happened this week featured Tommys heartbreaking secret, a shocking Mitchell revelation and the start of a passionate affair. Mondays episode saw Bianca worry for Sonia, and especially when she heads out for ages. After revealing that she had a call from the undertakers on Reiss’ funeral, it looks like she’s struggling with the aftermath of his and martins death much harder than she thought. I also think that Jean is being abit silly now as Harvey is only trying to help grieve Martin. And if she’s not careful, she’ll end up loosing him for good in the form of Kathy. There’s also some progress between Kat and Tommy after he talks to her about his feelings. But despite Kat assuming something when Tommy I’d left alone with the twins (when really he was apologising to them, and I don’t blame Tommy for getting annoyed with Kat), things may be finally back on track. But I wonder who this new friend of his is? And let’s just say that you don’t want to mess with Nicola Mitchell, as after a failed attempt for a family holiday, Zack was in the firing like after standing up to her. Tuesdays episode saw Nicola and Sharon clash after she and penny suspect that Nicola may have given Zack a telling off. And even though teddy is on her side (given him knowing what Nicola is like), he won’t be for long when Barney reveals Sharon’s dirty secret. Kat is also worried for Tommy and his obsession with his console, with a surprising revelation on Matt’s identity. But his reasons for why he turns to the game and no one else is literally heartbreaking, but if it helps him then that’s all that matters. But I just hope that he doesn’t get too sucked up into it. And Kathy had the most generous idea to help Harvey, Howie and Billy. This uncles a tradition which Martin used to do, which was very thoughtful of her. But I feel that she has stuff going on herself as she went to visit someone she cared about but hasn’t changed their habits. I have a feeling as well that this’ll make Harvey drift further away from Jean and closer to Kathy in the process. Wednesdays episode followed on from Barney revealing the truth about Sharon and Grant. Obviously as you can imagine this would upset teddy, and I get Sharon was feeling vulnerable but that’s not an excuse to justify her actions. But teddy’s upset when Sharon revealed she was feeling it soon turned into anger at Zack and Nicola who also knew about it. But Barney witnessing teddy seeing red was the last thing he wanted to see. And a shocking secret from Nicola about teddy’s past and why this would ruin everything if Zack told him the truth about Barney changed everything. I wonder what will happen now? Sonia is also feeling guilty about her being with Reiss, but a visit from Debbie’s mum put things into perspective for her. And Harvey suggesting Kathy to do the catering at martins funeral backfired when Jean (who’s getting on my nerves at this point) mentioned it’s been sorted. But this didn’t stop him from doing a good deed for Kathy, which then led to another romantic moment between the two. Oh dear… also Tommy showing lily how he copes with things grows more concern for Kat. I know she’s using her motherly instincts and I get if tommys not careful he’ll push everyone away, but I hope it get don’t go back to square one. Finally, Thursdays episode saw Sonia and Bianca attend Reiss’ funeral. I get whey Sonia feels insecure, and people looking weren’t helping. But biancas idea for Sonia we very thoughtful, but good on Sonia for standing up to Nicola after she gossips about it. And despite Bisma throwing up in Reiss’ trombone (which was quite funny), the my can finally move on with their lives. I also wished that Tommy could see it was avani that knew the truth about his AI friend and that lily wasn’t the one to gossip about it. Zack is also still adamant that he should tell the truth to Barney, but Sharon was still cautious of what this might do to teddy, and Penny was also there for Zack when he needed it the most. And Harvey has had enough of Jean after a kind gesture going bad again (and you know what I don’t blame him for getting frustrated). But all I can say is for people like Harvey and Kathy, go on the pair of them for still having passion at the ages they are. But I can only imagine that this will end in disaster. 

Big Boys:

This week I stared watching the final series of this brilliant sitcom based on true life stories. In episode 1 “My Big Fat Gay Geek Holiday”, the gang spent their summer in Greece after Shannon won the lottery. But it didn’t come with abit of drama. Danny’s good deed for Corinne left him abit insecure with who she hung out with, and Peggy’s fear of her new man Russell left he curious and decided to share her photos publicly. Jack also had a disastrous encounter when trying to chat up lads in a gay bar. But this then led to him and Yemi having a first proper encounter. And it can’t be a holiday without some magic mushrooms lol. And the end with George Michael tweeting his post was brilliant. In episode 2, “Happy Anniversary You Silly Billy”, the gang had their meetings to discuss their dissertations, which Jack's featuring his sexy lecturer Tim. Jack also supported Yemi when he made the decision to leave university, after sharing his experience on leaving home and why Jack decided to do it in the first place. There was also romance in the air despite some initial setbacks. Danny and Corinne said the L word despite taking out his stress on her (but Corinne made it clear on how a couple should behave), Shannon and Tariq discover that they have more in common than they thought, and Peggy and Russell definitely had a "cosy" night in. Although I wouldn’t want my gran encouraging me through a baby monitor to go for it and eavesdropping my date lol. 

Waterloo Road:

This hit new series really went off with a bang. Episode 1 really started off strong, as new headteacher Dame Stella Drake caused an uproar when it came to access needs. And as you can imagine, it didn’t go down well with the students, with Tonya getting extreme pains following her possible endometriosis case last series and forest having a panic attack. And it was kind of hard to watch, and already I don’t like the new head (although that’s when you know they play the villain well). New student Ashton has also caused quite the stir, with Dwayne falling victim when Ashton tried to help him woo aleena (who rejected Dwayne after knowing what he did was not him). But thankfully Donte was able to stop him, with Ashton revealing why he can’t get kicked out from the school. But with his former flame in the form of ashtons mum retiring to the scene, and his fling with Miss Martinez happening (which as you can imagine for Nicky, it’s hard to find out), he has really got himself in quite the situation. Jared has also been on a mission to impress mr Guthrie, who tells Libby to focus on her studies. And it seemed to have paid off so far, but after seeing spoilers, something tells me that it is not what it’s cracked up to be. Episode 2 saw a secret connection between Donte and ashtons mum Celine (which I was not expecting). But after celine initially thinking it was a bad idea, Donte managed to persuade her to let Ashton stay, knowing how he’ll be if he does move again. Schuey was also seeing red following Billy’s sentencing (where all Billy did was tell the truth which did help in getting a shorter sentence). But fellow student Agnes sees the fury of hate in schuey, and her inviting him to the youth club may be the thing he needs to get him back on the path of redemption. Aleena is also having a hard time when something from her past comes back to haunt her, and the assembly Stella did I feel made matters worse, which Coral agreed on. But Alleena chatting to coral and Stace and Lois showing her support I think is enough to know that she’s not alone. And even Stella was also right about corals doubts about the assembly, and thought she’d make a brilliant head. But coral has a shock of her own when she finds out she’s pregnant. Neil is understandably also in shock, but a chat from Libby put things into perspectives. Finally the ECTs had a mad first day, but Stella gave Ms Jas in particular a real eye opener on how to get through to the children. But a secret between her and miss Martinez was something I was not expecting. Episode 3 saw Donte spend time with ETC Jas showing her the ropes, and even spending time after with her after work. After he reveals the secret linking to Ashton (who with abit of encouragement from Donte is accepted into the Mathylimpics), saw a moment between him and Jas. but I wonder how miss Chandra will feel about it? After seeing spoilers of Jared’s controlling behaviour, I feel this episode was starting to show, after guilt trilling Libby into cancelling the concert tickets after her sister Cat comes to visit and plans a family meal. And it showed during the school lockdown as well. Tonya is also desperate to make her pains go away, and Coral had a scare after a kerfuffle at registration, which thankfully was okay (and also a strange hairdo which wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea). Stace was the main subject of the episode though, wither her lashing out at her mum and pushing Noel away when he was only trying to help. It didn’t also help when Stella brought Stace in for isolation even though she didn’t do anything. But when Staces mum came, the drama really kicked off, after Lois sends her a message of what’s going on. But Kudos to Stace for doing the right thing and telling the police the truth when Stella gets seriously injured by her mum, sending the school into emergency lockdown, and on her birthday of all days, but also revealing her pst. But it was nice to know that she had the support of Wendy (who had her own grieving to do), and it made Stella realise that her old ways of teaching aren’t always the best ways.

Boarders:

I’m so glad this show was back, as after seeing clips on Gogglebox, it made me desperate to go back to this series. The gang even had my mouth dropped when Carol revealed the shocking outcome of the scholarships at the end of term, so they should be worried. But already the cracks are starting to show, as even though Femi is desperate to keep his place, Toby’s idea for him to let loose backfired when his posh friends had a go at him for being tight. But the drama group didn’t exactly go to plan, and him speaking the truth to Toby had a knock on affect. I’m also glad that after last series, Leah and Abby have made up, but her relationship with Toby is still fractured, and just as they might get things back on track, an all important job (which may be a crucial part to the series) understandably made Toby upset. But him nearly revealing he wants more than a sexual connection just shows that they can’t keep away from each other. I wish I could say the same for Jaheim, who after getting frisky with Beatrix, his problems with malachi and his estranged mother has affected his relationship. But after malachi turns up at the school (with an embarrassing phone call from earlier), I wonder what he will find out? Omar also found a shocking secret linking to Dilton from the secret society, thinking he would “do the deed” with him, and Leah is really not afraid to stand down from a fight, and new student Devon'ye gave her some words of encouragement! Florence is also feeling the pressure from Carol after lying about Rupert’s whereabouts. Episode 2 saw Jaheim resort to drastic actions to keep malachi a secret whilst also helping his brother and grandma, restoring into getting a job. But Malachi actually made a good point when he told Jaheim to stop stressing himself out. I can imagine the shock when he bumps into Beatrix at his job (where the boss seemed abit stressed himself) and they got a glimpse of stuff they hasn’t have know whilst they were together. And it’s obvious they still like each other, but she may have some competition in bestie Florence. But Jaheim has bigger problems when Gus checks in on them followed by his grandma stating his brothers whereabouts. Toby was also keen to help Devon'ye with the sleepover for change, which annoyed Leah knowing she had ideas of her own. But I knew it was to make Abby jealous, but now it looks like he’s back to square one when Devon'ye reveals she dates girls. And I don’t really know if her poem is meant to be good or not. Femi is also in hot water with Carol following his grades and vows to work harder. And he got a taste of his own medicine when he returns to the drama society, but then ends up having to lie to his “posh friends” on his whereabouts to do a good job in the showcase. Omar is also nervous about Dilton’s secret, and Leah does make a good point on not having much experience being a bad thing (although saying it out loud and in the wrong class didn’t help). But Omar has bigger things on his mind when he sees Rupert, and in some ways Rupert actually helped him out with his problem, but it came at a price when Carol forbids him to go to the sleepover and stay in detention, ruining his chances with dilton again. But Omar is right to say that Rupert being alone won’t solve anything, but I dread to think where it’ll lead to next when he returns or if he returns to the school.

Personal:

Midnight Dancer:

This ties in with both professional (as it’s always important to watch stuff) and personal (as it was also a present for my Nans 80th birthday) but on the Sunday I went to watch Midnight Dancer, which was Nikita Kuzmins first solo tour. This, along with a tasty strawberries and cream Frappuccino from Starbucks, was a night out well needed, and whilst I don’t normally understand dance shows, watching Strictly Come Dancing again from 2023 and him being mine and my nans favourite dancer had drawn me to this show. I’ll be doing a full review of the show in a future blog, but all I can say is that it featured lots of catchy tunes, amazing costumes, some funny moments and also some vulnerability. But it was definitely worth a watch, and it’s safe to say my Nan also enjoyed it.

Exercise:

This week was abit tough exercise wise because of my cold towards the end of last week. Because of this I only went to the gym twice a week, but I managed to complete the 10km mark on the bike in 15mins 23secs on Tuesday and 14mins 46secs on Saturday. Have a look at how much I've done within the 20min mark on both of those days, but I think I've gradually found my strength back!

Darts:

This week I managed to get some practice in. Although I didn’t hit any trebles or doubles, it definitely helped take the edge after my big adaptation to my passion show (which I’ll also mention in the hard times of this blog at the end of this blog). But at least I got some practice in, which for me is a win. 

Premier League coming to Nottingham:

This week me and my dad watched the darts love from Nottingham at home whilst having a Chinese from Marks and Spencer’s. This was an epic night, as it had high checkouts, neck and neck matches and it was all in all a brilliant night despite some technical issues with the channel itself. I wasn’t too pleased with one match, but all I can say is Luke Littler really is a force to be reckoned with. 

Gogglebox:

This week the watchers really had a jam packed episode. Their reaction was the same as mine when a yoga instructor nearly killed Simon Cowell on BGT, and whilst the meals in “Inside the Four Seasons at Park Lane” look visually pleasing, it may be abit overpowering for me for obvious reasons. So like them, I’d stick to what I know. I was also with them during “Chess Masters: the endgame” as it all seemed abit complicated, and I also laughed with them when Tom Hanks described a type of bird in “The Americas”, and how they find love in the wild. I wouldn’t also go to all that trouble to make decorations for guests after them watching “With Love, Meghan”, and it was interesting to see the how goggleboxers do their laundry after watching “The Morning”. Finally, “Married at First sight” saw a bride being very picky (which is me but I wouldn’t lost EVERYTHING on the big day) and the groom dropping the bride, which he was not keen about, and in “The Au Pair”, I’m with them and want to know why the French lady is targeting a certain British family?

Hard times:

This weeks hard times include still having a cold from last week, which as you can imagine zapped away some of my energy. But towards the end of the week I felt a million times better! Another hard moment would be that I had to change up my passion show for autism acceptance week. With it being so close you can imagine how hard it must be for me, particularly because change is like going into a fight with Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. But as mentioned before, every cloud has a silver lining, as in a world where all things are digital, it’s a good way to spread awareness from around the world whilst being at the comfort of your own home. And plus as always, my dog Margo managed to cheer me up by just looking insanely cute.

What have I learnt this week? Yes I can allow myself to feel emotions if things get tough, but if I want something, I’ll find a way. If I don’t I’ll find an excuse. And after changing the format of my passion show, I think I may have found a way to still raise awareness but also make it accessible to all!

See you soon for another blog. Until next time…

This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)