Aisling Jarrett-Gavin

Aisling Jarrett-Gavin is an English actress of Irish descent. She grew up in the London Borough of Camden but also often travelled to Dublin. Wanting to act from a young age, Jarrett-Gavin first acted in a commercial at the age of eight and had her secondary education at the Sylvia Young Theatre School but lost interest in acting after leaving school at 16. After working in Harrods, she did a degree at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and then was signed onto an agent. The actress' acting credits include the online web series Freak and the second series of Meet the Parents, alongside minor roles in other productions, such as Game of Thrones. Jarrett-Gavin portrayed regular character Darcy Wilde in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks from 2017 to 2018, and the actress credited the experience as changing her life. Since leaving the soap, the actress had a guest role in The War of the Worlds. Jarrett-Gavin has also had several other jobs in addition to acting during her career.

Early life

"I'd be walking along the street, and people would be offering me weed from age 10, and I'd be like, 'I'm ok, thanks...' I've never had that urge to go backpacking, because I got a lot of that experience from just growing up in a place with so much stimulation."

— Jarrett-Gavin on growing up in Camden (2018) She then appeared in adverts for BT and portrayed the role of "Sister" in the second series of the E4 comedy show Meet the Parents. She then portrayed Hayley in 2016 Derren Brown Presents Twisted Tales, presented by Derren Brown. Jarrett-Gavin has said that she wants to be the female version of Timothy Spall and play "little old ladies, character parts". Darcy was introduced as the presumed dead former fiancée Adam Donovan (Jimmy Essex) as part of an "explosive" storyline. The actress described Darcy as scheming, insecure, clever and a "nightmare ex", and she did not think that there were many similarities between them other than some of their style choices and both being from London. The actress preferred portraying Darcy's vulnerable side rather than her usual "bitchy stuff" as she believed that it showed the "true Darcy".

Jarrett-Gavin became good friends with her Hollyoaks colleague Nikki Sanderson (pictured).

During the actress' time on the soap, Darcy's storylines included her attempts to win Adam back, lying about the paternity of her son, Toby Wilde (Lucas Haywood), feuds with Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson), Tracey Donovan (Lisa Maxwell) and others, dating Adam's brother Jesse Donovan (Luke Jerdy), attempting to con Jack Osborne (Jimmy McKenna) out of his money and accidentally poisoning Esther Bloom (Jazmine Franks). Jarrett-Gavin called the soap an "amazing platform" that had changed her life, but she found the recognition from so many fans strange and admitted that she did not get a sense of purpose from it. Jerdy's girlfriend, Daisy Wood-Davis, who plays Kim Butterfield on the soap, said that she found it a bit strange when she would see Jerdy and Jarrett-Gavin kiss in scenes as she is friends with Jarrett-Gavin. Jarrett-Gavin also praised Haywood, calling him "talented", and said they had a great relationship. Following her exit, the actress called her time on the soap "incredible" and thanked Hollyoaks fans for "watching, supporting, hating, loving and enjoying the character"; she added that whilst she was happy that some viewers loved Darcy, the fact that other viewers hated the character was a good thing as it meant that she had "done [her] job right". She also said that working with McKenna and Essex was one of her favourites in the soap; she called McKenna "funny" and kind to work with, and joked that she kept hearing that he was in the movie Highlander, and she revealed that she and Essex went to the same school. Following her departure, Jarrett-Gavin said that she wanted to do theatre work and potentially move out of London.

Outside of acting, Jarrett-Gavin is also part of Architects Benevolent Society, a charity that offers support to the architectural community and their families. The actress has described the charity's support as "incredible" and a "lifeline". She also has a job where she teaches three-year-old children. The actress also does work for the animal charity "All Dogs Matter"; she has said that she tries to use her following "to do positive things, no matter how small, to make a difference. Especially in such a self-indulgent profession like this one, it's nice to do something for others". She has struggled with her mental health during periods of her life. Jarrett-Gavin is married and they split their Christmas holidays with both of their families. Jarrett-Gavin said in a 2018 interview that she has sausage dog called Mildred, who she considers her best friend, and that she is passionate about animals. She sometimes practises lines with Mildred. Jarrett-Gavin is a fan of the film La La Land and has said that she would enjoy to be in a similar musical film herself; she also praised actress Emma Stone, calling her "talented".

Filmography + List of acting roles Year(s) Title Role Notes 2002 King Street Junior Revisited Child 1 episode ("Oh No It Isn't") 2009 Freak Kelly Online web series 2011 We Need to Talk About Kieran Ebony Film 2012 Meet the Parents Sister Series 2 2013 Game of Thrones Margaery's handmaiden 1 episode ("Valar Dohaeris") 2014 Our Zoo Harriet Guest role (1 episode) 2016 Derren Brown Presents Twisted Tales Hayley Halloween Special 2017–18 Hollyoaks Darcy Wilde Regular role 2019 The War of the Worlds Lucy Guest role (1 episode)