Entertainment

PBS Has Some 'Game of Thrones' Mojo

by Jess Goodwin

Obsessed with The Bletchley Circle's Millie? You're not alone — between the wardrobe and her hardcore sass, Millie is kind of the best. Sadly, the show won't be back for a third season, so we have to make the most of every moment — including all of Bletchley Circle star Rachael Stirling's.

Stirling plays the street-smart Millie, who works alongside her fellow 1950s murder mystery-solving codebreakers Susan, Lucy, and Jean. They didn't always solve crimes, though — originally they worked as codebreakers during World War II. After the war ended they went back to their everyday lives, until Susan got the gang back together to work through a murder.

Not that all the Bletchley ladies aren't great, but what with her fancy headscarves, raspy Kathleen Turner voice, and overall towering demeanor, it's safe to say Millie is the fabulous one. She even gets kidnapped in style, donning a curve-hugging, Joan Holloway-style burgundy dress.

But what do we know about the woman behind Millie? Probably not as much as we should. Just because The Bletchley Circle is about to end doesn't mean you shouldn't learn more about Stirling — especially since we get the feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of her in the future. Here are a few things about Stirling to get you started on a cyber-snooping spree:

She Has Theater Geek Roots

When she and fellow Brit Chiwetel Ejiofor were teenagers they starred in a production of Othello together; their performances got them both immediately signed by agents. Since then she's been nominated for two Laurence Olivier Awards.

Acting Is in Her Blood

If you watch Game of Thrones, you've seen Stirling's mother, Diana Rigg. She plays Margaery Tyrell's grandmother, the ferocious but unassuming Lady Olenna.

Funnily enough, both Rigg and Stirling have appeared in adaptations of Snow White. Rigg played the Evil Queen herself in the straight-to-video 1987 version, while Stirling appeared as Anna in Snow White and the Huntsmen, alongside Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth.

She and Rigg Are Mother and Daughter Off- and Onscreen

Despite their long acting careers, Rigg and Stirling never acted together — until 2013, when they played an evil mother and tortured daughter in the Doctor Who episode "The Crimson Horror," which was written specially for them by Sherlock star and Game of Thrones newcomer Mark Gatiss.

She Appeared Nude in Tipping the Velvet — and It Messed Up Her Career for Eight Months

Stirling was followed around by photographers in a "flash of fame — or rather, notoriety" after miniseries Tipping the Velvet, in which she played an occasionally-nude Victorian lesbian, aired. She once told a reporter, "It was horrendous after I appeared in Tipping the Velvet. I didn't work for eight months because I kept being sent scripts, the details of which I'll spare you."

Images: PBS; HBO; BBC