An eye test made Joanna Page realise she had to reignite the acting career she’d paused for almost a decade to be a full-time mum. ‘I’d thought, “I don’t want to do any acting, I don’t want to be taken away from the family,” but when the optician asked me to read the beginning of a chapter from a book, I went off on one. I found myself going, “It was a dark night, he looked through the window and he saw her,”’ explains Joanna, 46, dramatically reciting the words.
‘I didn’t need to commit to it that much, but I really enjoyed it. I thought, “Jesus, I think I need to go and do a bit of acting!”’
Shortly after leaving London’s prestigious drama school RADA, the West Glamorgan-born actress was cast alongside Johnny Depp in his 2001 movie From Hell. Two years later, she joined the all-star British blockbuster Love Actually, then in 2007 became leading Welsh lass Stacey Shipman in James Corden and Ruth Jones’ hit comedy series Gavin & Stacey, the show that made her a star.
But 10 years ago, after starting a family with her former--actor husband, James Thornton, 47, Joanna felt a deep urge to invest all into family life.
