Daisy May refers to Daisy May Cooper, a British entertainer and writer who gained fame through her award-winning BBC comedy This Country. Born on August 1, 1986, in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, this BAFTA-winning actress has become one of Britain’s most recognized comedy talents. The performer-creator won multiple awards for her work and has since starred in several major television series while openly discussing her supernatural experiences and personal struggles.
Early Life and Breakthrough into TV
Cooper grew up in rural Gloucestershire with her brother Charlie Cooper and faced financial hardship before finding success. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and worked various jobs, including as a cleaner, to make ends meet.
Her breakthrough came with This Country, a mockumentary series she created and wrote with her brother in 2017. The show follows two cousins living in a small Cotswolds village and ran for three seasons until 2020. Cooper won a TV BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2018 for her role as Kerry Mucklowe. The show’s success transformed her career and opened doors to major opportunities in British television. Cooper’s portrayal of rural working-class life resonated with audiences tired of London-centric storytelling. Her authentic storytelling voice brought visibility to communities rarely seen on mainstream television.
Key Works and Critical Reception
Beyond This Country, the comedy writer has built an impressive portfolio of television work. She co-created, wrote, and starred in Am I Being Unreasonable? with Selin Hizli, a comedy-thriller that premiered on BBC One in September 2022. The show explores obsessive friendship and maternal paranoia through a darkly comic lens. Cooper’s performance earned her nominations for Best Scripted Comedy and Best Female Comedy Performance at the BAFTAs.
In 2023, she starred in Rain Dogs, an eight-part HBO and BBC series written by Cash Carraway about Costello Jones, a writer and single mother navigating poverty in London. The role allowed the relatable performer to draw on her own experiences of financial struggle. She also appeared in Armando Iannucci’s HBO space comedy Avenue 5 and the BBC series The Witchfinder. Most recently, in April 2025, she voiced the character Impedimenta in Netflix’s animated series Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight. In March 2025, she starred in the first series of LOL: Last One Laughing UK alongside Richard Ayoade, Sara Pascoe, and Bob Mortimer.
Personal Challenges, Health, and Supernatural Encounters
Health Crises and Recovery
Cooper suffered from viral meningitis in 2018 during the height of This Country’s success. The illness was life-threatening and required hospitalization. During her hospital stay, she had an experience that would shape her worldview and future work as a paranormal investigator.
While alone in her hospital room, Cooper asked if anyone was present and heard a tiny female voice respond, “Don’t be afraid”. She now has those words tattooed on her wrist. The experience strengthened her belief in supernatural phenomena and influenced her creative work going forward. This candid revelation about her near-death experience became part of her public identity.
Ghost Stories and Beliefs
Cooper has been vocal about her belief in ghosts and the paranormal. These experiences aren’t just personal curiosities but have become part of her public persona and creative output. She wrote about her supernatural encounters in her autobiography Hexy Bitch: Tales from My Life, the Afterlife, and Beyond, released in 2024.
Her openness about these experiences connects to her broader willingness to discuss mental health, addiction, and personal struggles. Cooper has spoken about being prescribed Quetiapine for depression, which affected her weight. The actress-writer has never shied away from difficult conversations about fame’s pressures and the realities of managing mental health in the public eye.
New Projects: NightWatch and Beyond
In September 2025, the BBC officially commissioned NightWatch, a six-part series reuniting Daisy May and Charlie Cooper through their shared passion for the paranormal. The siblings will be locked overnight in some of Britain’s most haunted locations, from centuries-old castles to abandoned Victorian prisons, starting at HM Prison Gloucester near their hometown. The series will also visit a Northumberland castle, a Cannock Chase pub once popular with highwaymen, bat-infested ruins in Herefordshire, a haunted cinema in York, and a remote Scottish bothy.
Daisy May will bring a briefcase full of ghost-hunting gadgets while Charlie provides skepticism and humor. The show is produced through their company So Humble, with Lisa Clark as executive producer. Each episode begins with a custodian revealing the location’s spooky history before the Cooper family siblings are left alone from dusk till dawn.
Am I Being Unreasonable? returned for a second season, which premiered in the UK in February 2025. The show continues to explore the complex friendship between Cooper’s character Nic and her best friend Jen, played by co-creator Selin Hizli.
Behind the Scenes: Creative Process and Public Image
Cooper’s creative process involves drawing heavily from her own life experiences. She has spoken about how years of poverty and struggle before This Country’s success inform her work. Her characters often reflect the realities of working-class British life that mainstream television frequently overlooks. The Gloucestershire-born comedian brings regional authenticity to every project.
In September 2025, Cooper opened up about her dramatic weight loss, revealing she went from a size 24 to a size 10 over three years between 2021 and 2024. She explained that medication for depression had slowed her metabolism, and she later adopted a keto diet, though she “wouldn’t recommend it” after developing kidney stones. Cooper stated she was motivated by health concerns, saying she “couldn’t breathe when walking up the stairs” at her heaviest. This honesty about appearance, weight, and the pressures of public life has made her relatable to audiences.
Cooper’s public persona blends sharp comedy with vulnerability. She regularly discusses topics others might avoid, from ghost encounters to mental health struggles to the realities of single motherhood. She married Will Weston in September 2019, but the couple separated in July 2021, 10 months after the birth of their son. She has three children total and has spoken about balancing motherhood with her demanding career.
Her approach to storytelling challenges the boundaries between comedy and drama. She believes authentic stories must include both light and dark elements. This philosophy shapes all her work, from the mockumentary style of This Country to the darker tones of Rain Dogs and Am I Being Unreasonable?. Whether known professionally as Daisy Cooper or by her full stage name, she remains committed to representing authentic British experiences on screen.
Key Takeaways:
- Daisy May Cooper won multiple BAFTAs for creating and starring in This Country
- She experienced viral meningitis in 2018 and had a supernatural encounter during recovery
- Her recent work includes Am I Being Unreasonable?, Rain Dogs, and NightWatch (commissioned September 2025)
- Cooper openly discusses mental health, addiction, weight loss, and supernatural beliefs
- She draws from personal experiences of poverty and struggle to create authentic working-class characters
