On A Role
THOMASIN McKENZIE IS JEAN PURDY
THE ACTOR PLAYS A PIONEERING BRITISH NURSE IN TRUE-TO-LIFE MEDICAL DRAMA JOY
WORDS OLLY RICHARDS
Nurse Jean Purdy (Thomasin McKenzie);
THOMASIN McKENZIE RAN into a significant problem when researching Jean Purdy. Although she was a real person —a nurse central to the scientific team that brought about the birth of the first IVF child —the film is in part about Purdy’s erasure from history. Only the men she worked with, scientist Robert Edwards (played in the dramatisation by James Norton) and surgeon Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy), were recognised, until very recently. “There wasn’t a lot of information available,” says McKenzie. “There were no books that I could find, but there were video clips. There was an interview she’d done with a couple of other nurses that helped with the birth of the first IVF baby.” Those gave some hints as to Purdy’s mannerisms, but also showed how underestimated she was. “In that interview, I could see there wasn’t any credit given to Jean, who’d contributed so much.”