All the world's a stage for Finty Williams

It's not uncommon when interviewing the offspring of the very famous to be warned that asking questions about parents is strictly off-limits; and when it comes to actors and actresses who have followed mama or papa into the entertainment world, it is almost always a given. You see, they want to be appreciated for their talents on their own merit. But no heavy-handed PR person lays down such an edict with Finty Williams, actress daughter of living legend Dame Judi Dench. And, much to my surprise, it's only a couple of minutes into our interview when Finty casually mentions "Mummy" herself.

"I am so proud of her!" she trills. "And I am constantly surprised by her. She truly does have more energy than any other human being I know. She's 75 now, but she can't stop working. She finds it very difficult to say no to things."

37-year-old Williams, the daughter of Dench and late actor Michael Williams, is currently starring in Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce at the Rose Theatre in Kingston. It's classic Ayckbourn stuff - suburban marriage, the fragility of human relationships, the comedy and poignancy therein - with a narrative that uncoils around four couples.

Williams plays Kate, whose seemingly seamless marriage gets gradually unstitched as the story proceeds. "On the surface, they are very happy and excited to be in each others' presence, but throughout the course of the evening it all goes a bit pear-shaped," she explains. It's a starry cast (Jane Asher, Lucy Briers, Nicholas Le Prevost) under starry direction (the great Peter Hall), so there's plenty to talk about, but discussing this play, like discussing most subjects with Williams, somehow always leads back to her mother." On the subject of mothers, it can't be easy being the offspring of Judi Dench, when you've chosen to follow her into the acting business. Has her mother's great reputation got in the way of her career? "It's hard. What I can't do is judge my career against hers. I have to understand that she has had a totally exceptional career and she's a totally exceptional actress."

Finty herself has enjoyed a successful career (along with an extensive theatrical CV, she's been in films like Gosford Park and was the voice for much-loved children's cartoon character Angelina Ballerina).

The actress lives in Twickenham with Sammy, her partner, Amit. For family evenings out, Finty and Amit take their two sons to Rock and Rose restaurant in Richmond or The Anglers pub in Teddington. The bond between mother and daughter is strong, says Finty. "She is the Don Corleone of the Williams-Dench family. We're stronger than Velcro now."

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