Jason Watkins and Clara Francis look back: ‘In a moment of madness, I rented a flat just so I could stand at the window and see if he walked by’

The performing couple discussing their daughter’s death, family relationships, and second chances

 

Jason Watkins, a Bafta-winning actor best known for his dramatic and comedic parts in TV successes including The Crown, W1A, and Line of Duty, was born in Albrighton, Shropshire, in 1962. In 1991, while backstage at a Timon of Athens performance, he got to know fellow performer Clara Francis.

The couple wed in 2014, and in 2023 they produced the documentary In Memory of Maudie, which is about their two-year-old daughter Maude, who passed away in 2011 from sepsis. O Pioneers is a fashion label that Francis co-founded. Coma, starring Watkins, is currently streaming on My5.

Jason

This picture was taken in Clara’s parents’ living room. I was meeting her family for the first time, and it was her 20th birthday. I appear a little taken aback. My family is divided and quiet, while Clara comes from a lively, chatty Jewish home in north London.

It’s a struggle to be heard at Clara’s; if you don’t hit on a headline or anything intriguing right immediately, no one will pay attention. I was quite silent that day.

I never would have thought to wear a blouse with a design of leaves and bananas. I had never worn anything like that.

At acting school, I didn’t belong to any one group; instead, I liked Thompson Twins and Everything But the Girl, which suggested Simply Red. I recall thinking, “I’ve got this so wrong,” as I looked down at the shirt.

Even though Clara and I were simply friends at the time, we were emotionally involved. When I was in Timon of Athens, she worked as my dresser at the Young Vic. However, I also had affection for Caroline [Harding], with whom I eventually got married and started a family.

Our two boys, who are now adults, were split up when they were small. However, Clara, Caroline, her new husband Chris, and their daughter Belle have a strong relationship. The fact that our extended family is happy is a wonderful gift in and of itself.

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Clara and I made plans to meet outside the Aldwych Theater in the West End ten years after we originally met. Even before I saw her, I sensed her presence; something felt right and comfortable. We immediately moved in and got back to work.

Considering all that has transpired since that picture was shot, it’s astounding. Clara has built an amazing network of friends and become a self-made success. My acting career has been full of variation and a lot of luck. We lost a lovely daughter, but we still had three children.

Our lives have been dominated by the loss of Maude. Clara was clear that she didn’t want sympathy or for others to point at her and say, “There’s that woman who lost her child.” Rather, she would, as it were, cross the street and declare, “Yes, it’s me.” My child is no longer with me. Let’s discuss it.

Each of us has acquired new superpowers. Clara now serves as a facilitator for parent support groups that have experienced child loss. Being able to comfort people emotionally and tell them everything will work out is a very amazing talent. In the meanwhile, I’ve campaigned for a greater understanding of the clinical response to sepsis by using my fury and my fate to force medical changes. Maude has made me all the things I wasn’t at Clara’s 20th birthday celebration—incisive and self-assured.

Although Clara and I have always had a profound love, my respect for her only grows. She was a very gorgeous woman when I first met her, but now that our loss has allowed her to blossom into this amazing person, she is even more so. People are able to see the inner brightness that Clara possesses.

You’ve never had a better buddy than her. She enjoys watching trash television and can be silent at times when working on beads. She is significantly more intriguing than me and reads a lot. Clara brightens up any space. Her brilliance becomes stronger every year.

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