From patrolling the streets as Honey Harman in The Bill to stepping into the world of Hollyoaks, Slow Horses and now playing an arms-dealing gangster granny, Kim Tiddy has built a career defined by variety.
Joining Terry Stone on the Tales From the Trap Podcast, Kim looked back at the highs, lows and unexpected turns of her acting career, while also revealing how she landed one of her most unusual roles yet in Tales From the Trap.
It is a journey that has taken her from drama school and international-level basketball to some of British television’s best-known programmes, all while navigating rejection, family life and the constantly changing entertainment industry.
How Kim Tiddy Discovered Acting
Long before becoming a familiar face on television, Kim grew up in Surrey in a close family and discovered a passion for performing while at school.
Excellent drama teachers introduced her to theatre, different acting techniques and the process of becoming a character. Watching professional theatre only strengthened that interest, and Kim quickly realised that acting was something she wanted to pursue seriously.
There was, however, another path available to her.
As a teenager, Kim was also an extremely talented basketball player. She represented England and there was even discussion of a potential scholarship in America.
Ultimately, acting won.
Kim chose to stay in the UK and pursue drama school, eventually studying at the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester.
Drama training brought with it some memorable experiences, including physical theatre sessions, character exercises and the slightly unusual task of pretending to be animals. While not every exercise seemed immediately useful, Kim believes drama school helped actors develop their imagination, emotions and ability to commit completely to a role.
Breaking Into Television With The Bill
After graduating from drama school, Kim secured an agent through her showcase and began auditioning.
Like almost every actor starting out, success did not arrive immediately.
She regularly found herself getting close to roles only to hear that producers had decided to go in “another direction”. It was an early lesson in just how much resilience is required to survive in the acting industry.
Then came The Bill.
After auditioning and waiting around three weeks to hear the result, Kim discovered she had landed the role of PC Honey Harman.
It became her major television breakthrough.
Kim remained on The Bill for four years, working alongside an established cast and learning the technical side of television production on the job.
For an actor still relatively early in her career, working on a programme with such demanding schedules was an incredible education. Scripts could arrive at short notice, meaning actors had to quickly learn pages of dialogue while preparing for filming.
Kim eventually chose to leave the programme because she wanted to explore different characters and avoid being associated with one role forever.
Looking back, she admits people around her encouraged her to reconsider. A regular role on one of Britain’s biggest television shows offered security that very few actors experience.
But Kim wanted something new.
Life After The Bill
Leaving a long-running television programme brought a completely different reality.
Kim went directly from a successful television production into touring theatre, where she suddenly found herself organising her own travel and accommodation while moving around the country.
It was a dramatic lifestyle change.
However, it was also part of the unpredictability of being a professional actor.
Kim continued appearing in television and theatre before eventually landing another major role in Hollyoaks.
She played Heidi Costello, taking her career from policewoman to footballer’s wife and once again becoming a recognisable face on British television.
Her time on Hollyoaks lasted around a year and a half before a change in production resulted in her character’s family leaving the programme.
Kim then continued working across independent film and theatre, including touring productions and even appearing opposite David Hasselhoff.
Working on Slow Horses
More recently, Kim appeared in the acclaimed television series Slow Horses.
Although it was a short filming commitment, the role was particularly important because it marked Kim’s return to acting after having her second child.
Being part of such a major production gave her the opportunity to work within an extremely polished television environment alongside performers including Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden.
The audition process was also different from many traditional castings.
Rather than receiving a complete scripted scene, Kim was asked to improvise during her self-tape, giving her the opportunity to interpret the character herself.
The experience highlighted just how much auditioning has changed during her career.
Where actors once regularly entered casting rooms and performed in front of directors and producers, much of the early casting process is now completed through self-tapes.
Kim admits that learning the technical side of self-taping was initially another challenge, from lighting and sound to positioning and deciding which take to submit.
Becoming the Gangster Granny in Tales From the Trap
Kim’s latest role arrived in circumstances that could almost be a film storyline itself.
Tales From the Trap suddenly needed somebody to play its gangster granny after the original actress became unavailable shortly before filming.
Through a mutual friend, Terry Stone contacted Kim and asked whether she would consider the role.
After reading the script, she agreed.
Despite not being what audiences might traditionally imagine when hearing the phrase “gangster granny”, Kim had to make the character genuinely intimidating.
The character may not have the biggest role in the movie, but Terry explained that her presence is important. The audience needs to believe she belongs in the dangerous criminal world surrounding the story.
For Kim, it also provided an opportunity to play something completely different from many of the characters audiences already associate with her.
From police officer to footballer’s wife and now gangster granny, it is another transformation in an already varied career.
Tales From the Trap and the Reality Behind the Story
The conversation also explored some of the themes behind Tales From the Trap, particularly gang culture, vulnerable young people and the cycle of crime.
Kim described it as a world she personally knows very little about, but one she recognises exists around communities across Britain.
The film explores those environments through storytelling rather than pretending there are simple answers to complicated social problems.
For Terry, part of the inspiration behind the project comes from the constantly evolving nature of street culture and organised crime.
The ambition is not simply to create one film, but to build a wider universe around Tales From the Trap, incorporating the stories, personalities, music and culture surrounding that world.
Balancing Acting and Motherhood
Kim’s priorities have also changed significantly throughout her career.
After becoming a mother, she found that the intense hunger she once had to secure every possible acting job changed.
Family became the priority.
That does not mean leaving acting behind. Instead, Kim now hopes to find the balance between continuing to perform and being present for her children.
She spoke openly about the realities facing working parents in demanding careers, particularly productions where long filming days, early starts and weekend preparation can consume huge amounts of time.
The ideal future is simple: continue doing the job she loves without sacrificing the family life that matters just as much.
Kim Tiddy’s Advice for Aspiring Actors
After decades in an unpredictable industry, Kim’s biggest piece of advice is confidence.
Actors will experience rejection. They will lose roles without knowing why. They may spend years auditioning without receiving the breakthrough they expect.
The key is believing you deserve to be in the room.
Kim admits that earlier in her career she often questioned whether she was good enough, despite having already achieved things that proved she belonged.
Her advice to younger performers is to prepare properly, believe in themselves and stop allowing other people’s opinions to dictate their confidence.
Preparation creates confidence.
Know the material. Do the work. Arrive ready.
Then, whatever the outcome, you know you gave the opportunity everything you had.
A Career That Keeps Reinventing Itself
Kim Tiddy’s career is a reminder that there is rarely a straightforward path through the entertainment industry.
From basketball courts and drama school to The Bill, Hollyoaks, touring theatre, Slow Horses and now Tales From the Trap, every stage has brought something different.
There have been major television roles, difficult periods, rejection, family changes and unexpected opportunities.
And now, audiences are about to see another completely different version of Kim Tiddy.
This time, she is the gangster granny.
Watch the full conversation on the Tales From the Trap Podcast to hear Kim discuss her acting journey, life behind some of British television’s biggest shows and what audiences can expect from Tales From the Trap.
