Jill Nalder

Jill Nalder (Jill Rhian Nalder, born 1961) is a Welsh actress and HIV and AIDS fundraiser, whose support for gay friends in London during the 1980s epidemic was the inspiration for the character of Jill Baxter in Russell T Davies's television drama It's a Sin.

Early life and career

Nalder was brought up in Neath, south Wales. She moved to London in 1980 to train at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in Crouch End, graduating in 1982 in acting and musical theatre.

Her West End work has included Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables at the Palace Theatre and the original 1994 cast of Sam Mendes's production of Oliver! at the London Palladium, along with concert performances including the tenth anniversary concert of Les Misérables at the Royal Albert Hall. She appeared as a dancer in the film Finding Your Feet (2017), and is a founder member of the musical theatre group The WestEnders.

AIDS fundraising

During the 1980s Nalder and her friends organised cabaret and fundraising events in support of gay men in London who were falling ill and dying of AIDS, at a time when there was little public information and considerable stigma. The flat she shared, known among her circle as the Pink Palace, became a gathering place for that group of friends.

She has continued to fundraise and campaign, and served on the committee of West End Cares, the theatre industry's HIV and AIDS fundraising organisation, later known as TheatreCares and now part of The Make a Difference Trust.

It's a Sin

Nalder was a long-standing friend of the writer Russell T Davies, and the character of Jill Baxter in his Channel 4 drama It's a Sin (2021), played by Lydia West, was based on her and drawn from a series of conversations between them. The flat shared by the characters in the series takes its name from her own. Nalder appeared in the drama herself, and the phrase "Be More Jill" entered wider use following its broadcast.

Her memoir, Love from the Pink Palace: Memories of Love, Loss and Cabaret, was published by Headline in July 2022 and was shortlisted for the Polari Prize in 2023.