Anna Maxwell Martin: Yorkshire Motherland actress fronts new charity Christmas film
A little gift in the festive season can go a long way to making a small child's day, and especially so if it might be the only one they receive this year.
Yorkshire actress Anna Maxwell Martin, best known from hit show Motherland, today fronts a new short film to help spread the magic of Christmas.
With one in three children living in poverty across the UK, she is urging people to join her in becoming a Secret Santa to those most in need.
“For many, Christmas is just another day of empty cupboards and wondering why their friend got presents and they didn’t," she said.
“Childhood is short. Children only get a few chances to make magical memories. That’s why we need your support now.”
Ms Martin, known for playing Julia in The BBC comedy series Motherland, was born and brought up in Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire where she went to school.
She describes her own childhood as very ordinary, born to a research scientist as a mother and a father who was the managing director of a pharmaceutical company.
They were "baffled", she once said, by her acting ambitions. The star now, an ambassador for charity Action for Children, calls on communities to step forward.
The new short film, released today, is called Santaland and is set in a makeshift grotto.
Ms Martin plays a busy elf at the end of her shift who is unexpectedly stopped by a curious six-year-old girl, Lily, who has missed the chance to visit Santa in person.
The girl bombards the elf with some big questions about Santa, and what might stop him from making the trip to deliver a present on Christmas Eve.
But what begins as a heartwarming exchange becomes achingly sad as the elf begins to understand that Lily’s family can’t afford to celebrate Christmas.
There are around 4.5m children in the UK growing up in poverty, the charity outlines, the highest number since records began.
The film asks people today to become a Secret Santa to a child in need by giving a gift for Christmas. Donations could help secure warm clothes, a hot meal, or a Christmas present.
Ms Martin said she wanted to share how shocking levels of poverty across the UK are shattering childhoods. With a small gift, it's possible to change that.
“It’s easy to think that poverty happens elsewhere," she said.
"But it’s affecting children in every community; a child that’s going without breakfast or dinner, without a warm coat or might be feeling a lot of shame."
Locks Farmer, managing director for income and engagement for Action for Children, added her thanks.
“At Christmas, our frontline workers witness children sleeping on cold, hard floors with only a blanket, and they take calls from desperate parents in tears because they’ve skipped meals so their children can eat,” she said.
“Action for Children is often the last lifeline for families with nowhere else to turn, and without the generosity of public donations, we simply couldn’t continue this vital work.”