Radcliffe, currently filming the last instalment of the Harry Potter films, is godfather to one of Sharrock’s children. When I catch him by phone on set, he says that he “can’t speak highly enough of her. She is amazing. She’s this 21st-century woman who can direct four things at once and brilliantly mother two children at the same time. I don’t know that anybody else could have got me to the place she did with Equus, because it was nerve-racking.

"But if what you’re doing is crap, Thea will absolutely tell you, so when she gives you a compliment it feels amazing because you know it’s true. She’s got an incredible way about her in rehearsals. If Keira Knightley’s terrified, she’s right to be. But the experience has totally changed me as an actor, and I can’t wait to get back to the stage.”