Martha Hayes 

Actor Tanya Burr: ‘My YouTube life is a juggle. If you let it get 24/7, you’d go mad’

The social media influencer on rehearsals, her love of garden centres and time alone
  
  

Tanya Burr
Tanya Burr: ‘I set my alarm for 6.15am and never hit snooze.’ Photograph: Mike Marsland/Getty

Sleep

I need my eight hours. At the moment, I get into bed at 10pm and wind down by lighting a Neom candle and reading The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman, a teen favourite of mine. I’m rehearsing for a play, which is intense, so I don’t want to read something where I have to meet new characters. I set the alarm on my phone for 6.15am and never hit snooze. I hate being woken by an alarm, so I don’t want it to wake me up more than once.

Eat

I have a black coffee before going to Barry’s Bootcamp, then grab a protein shake on the way to rehearsals at 9.30am. Lunch, at 1pm, varies: one day, it’s a homemade salad, and the next, cheesy chips from a greasy spoon where I’ll pick up a Twix as an afternoon snack. If I’m working late, my husband (vlogger/model Jim Chapman) will cook shepherd’s pie; if we’re both back late, it’s crisps and a gin and tonic.

Work

I see myself as an actor who does social media, in the same way Millie Bobby Brown is an actor but people call her an influencer. I loved drama when I was younger, and when I got caught up in my YouTube life, I really missed it. Now I juggle auditions, meetings, videos and Instagram content. Jim and I try to work between 9am and 6pm. If you let it become a 24/7 job, you’d go mad.

Family

Our families live 20 minutes from each other in Norfolk. It’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive, and we go back every two or three months. We’ve made west London our home, so family come to us. One day I got home from work to find my 17-year-old brother, Oscar, sitting on the sofa, having organised it with Jim. I love being with people, but I also need time alone. Sometimes I don’t even want my dog, Martha, with me.

Fun

I’m not green-fingered, but I love garden centres, and the food’s amazing at Petersham Nurseries. I like going there for a boozy lunch with Jim and friends before a walk in Richmond Park. I love being outside. Jim and I prioritise our holidays together. We’ll stick it in the diary and say, “Whatever comes up, this is important and we’re doing it.”

• Tanya Burr stars in Confidence at Southwark Playhouse, London SE1, until 16 June.

 

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