Former Aldermaston family triumph at Baftas

Awards for hit comedy series This Country and its writer/star

AN acting family originally from Aldermaston are celebrating once again after their hit comedy show This Country won two Bafta awards last night.

They picked up two gongs at the ceremony at London's Royal Albert Hall, with writer and star Daisy May Cooper landing the female performance in a comedy programme prize and the show winning the scripted comedy award.

The actress wore a dress version of a Swindon Football Club shirt at the ceremony and ditched her high-heels to collect her award barefoot.

Daisy co-created This Country with her brother Charlie, who wore traditional black tuxedo.

Last month, the Coopers also had a successful night at the BAFTA TV Craft Awards, winning the breakthrough talent award for their writing on This Country.

The mockumentary series depicts life in the countryside, with a camera crew following cousins Kerry and Kurtan Mucklowe – played by Daisy and Charlie.

The pair wrote This Country from their experiences of growing up in Cirencester, but the family previously lived in Aldermaston, where Daisy was born.

Their grandfather was the highly-respected Bucklebury GP Bob Cooper and their father Paul Cooper, who plays Kerry’s wayward dad in the programme, attended St Barts and later South Berks College and worked for a time at Quantel in Newbury.

Paul married childhood sweetheart Gill in 1983 and Daisy was born in 1986.

Four weeks later, the family moved to Cirencester.

Paul’s brother Trevor, who plays the village grump Len in This Country, also lived in Aldermaston, but now lives in Acton, West London.

When not acting, Paul works for the charity Hoarding Disorders UK, which is based in Thatcham.