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Soap fans will instantly recognise Geordie actress NATALIE ANN JAMIESON for her portrayal of Amy Wyatt on ITV’s Emmerdale. Regular viewers will know that there’s been a lot going on for Amy lately – just as there’s been a lot going on where Natalie’s beloved Newcastle United are concerned! This, entirely in her own words, is Natalie’s story…
I don’t know many Geordies who don’t bleed black and white.
I grew up in the shadow of St. James’ Park, which stands less than three miles from the house where I was born, in Walker. For the first seven years of my life, I lived with my grandparents and my Mam, who would buy me the full Toon strip each season. In fact, I spent most of my childhood playing out in the cul-de-sac in my full strip: shirt, shorts, and socks. I even had the goalie tops – the extra padding was perfect for keeping me warm in chillier weather. Those of you who are familiar with the infamous North East weather won’t be surprised to learn that it was usually my Shay Given top that I reached for first.
The first thing I learnt about our neighbours was that there was a generations-old rivalry that needed to be maintained. I’m not talking about the families who lived next-door to us, but our Wearside foes, Sunderland!
No, in fact our neighbours were united in unrequited love for Newcastle United, and we would often all pile round one of the houses in the street to watch the match together – the most memorable one, of course, being the 5-0 thrashing of Manchester United in 1996 (which was then purchased on VHS for us to re-live at will)!
I remember our black and white-clad living room erupting with fury in response to a refereeing decision during the 1999 FA Cup final. If the neighbours hadn’t heard our cries, then they would soon know of our disgust, as my Mam sellotaped together pieces of paper and scribbled the words “DODGY REF” with a Sharpie pen, before hanging the makeshift banner on the front of the house for all the street to see!
The first Newcastle goal I saw at St. James’, in a home match against Crystal Palace, I jumped straight up onto my chair to celebrate and fell straight down the back of it! I hadn’t considered the folding seats and I was mortified! I’ve never done that again – although I can’t promise I won’t if I ever find myself at a title-winning game.
As a kid my most prized possessions were Toon treasures. An autograph book signed by the legendary Entertainers, including a receipt with Pavel Srnícek’s signature scrawled on the back (I spotted him in town using a phone box and couldn’t resist interrupting his call to add to our collection) sat pride of place on my bedside table well into my teenage years.
I had the honour of playing football with King Kev himself, when he opened my secondary school’s new Astroturf pitch. Although he declared me “quite good” when he dropped the ball after a long rally of headers, I wasn’t quite good enough at football to consider it as a career choice. Besides, it wasn’t the floodlights of St. James’ that were beckoning me, but the bright lights of a stage on the bank of the Tyne…
Live Theatre stands under the arches of the Tyne Bridge. It was there that I discovered performing as a teenager through their youth theatre programme. I went on to study acting at Newcastle College before heading south to train at Rose Bruford College. My career has taken me all over the country and even into Europe (Eddie Howe, take note!), but opportunities to play on home turf in projects at Live Theatre, and appear in ITV’s popular detective show, Vera, had me running for home, like the famous Lindisfarne song belted out at the end of a Sunday for Sammy gig. Set up in memory of local actor Sammy Johnson in 2000, Sunday for Sammy supports young creative talent on Tyneside, and I was lucky enough to be part of their most recent show, in February 2020. Waiting for my cue at the side of the stage that night might have been the closest I have ever come to feeling that same buzz our team must feel when they walk out onto the St. James’ pitch to the sound of Local Hero. Geordie Pride is something else.
I auditioned to play the role of Amy Wyatt in ITV’s Emmerdale at the end of 2018 and started working on the show at the beginning of the following year. I’ve been there ever since and am grateful to be able to do something I love every day. The only occasion other than a televised Toon match that brought our family together around the box was the festive drama of Soapland. I grew up watching all the soaps with my Grandma, and the opportunity to play the role of Amy in Emmerdale at the start of 2019 has allowed me to realise a lifelong ambition. I think she would have been very proud to see her granddaughter on the box.
The devotion of ardent soap fans is not unlike the passion that the Geordie faithful have for their home team, and since the takeover in the autumn, I have started to grow hopeful that our ownership can help me to realise another lifelong ambition: to see my team finally lift some silverware. I’ve been a Toon fan long enough not to expect an easy ride – we might need to borrow one of Kim Tate’s jeeps, as it is bound to be a bumpy road – but I feel like that is what makes the Toon fans the best in the country. We’re there for the highs and the lows; fiercely loyal. I’ve never understood my friends who support Manchester United and take the hump every time they lose a game; it’s one match, your team is for life – not just for highs!
Us Newcastle supporters are long overdue some success and I hope that the takeover will help us to achieve it. It’s obviously not a magic wand and there is lots of work to do but knowing that we have money to spend to build our squad and, more importantly, someone who is willing to spend it, means everything. We have something to believe in again. Bring on the January transfer window – us Toon fans deserve this excitement more than anyone!
Thank you to Kate Winney for providing Natalie’s picture.
