Ted Lasso is Apple TV’s biggest flagship hit. The show has won 13 Emmys, garnered millions of fans, and skyrocketed the careers of Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, and Phil Dunster, to name a few. Meanwhile, Juno Temple found Marvel soon after her memorable depiction of fan favourite topless model-turned-PR titan, Keeley Jones.
However, the ‘real’ Keeley, former Page 3 girl Keeley Hazell, will not be tuning in.
Before Ted Lasso was commissioned by Apple TV back in 2019, Keeley, 39, says she was told by her friend, writer and star of the TV show, Jason Sudeikis, that he was working on a football comedy, and claims that he said he’d written a character inspired by – and for – her. (Although Jason has never publicly commented on this.)
‘The character was named and based on me with the intent of me playing myself in the show,’ Keeley explains to Metro.
The model couldn’t believe her luck. Having completed her last Page 3 outing a decade prior and hungry to act, she felt sure that her ‘entire career would have changed’ if she’d been given the part.
However, as production began, Keeley was told it wasn’t guaranteed. She’d need to try out for the part because of ‘the powers that be in the industry’.
‘I had to audition because I didn’t have the resume that would allow me to just be given the part – even though it was named and based on me with the intent of me playing myself,’ remembers Keeley, who’s gearing up to take her first show, Everyone’s Seen My Tits (based loosely on her autobiography), to Edinburgh.
‘During that process, they went out on a direct offer to the actress who plays the part. It was devastating,’ she adds.
That actress was Juno Temple, who had already starred in Atonement, Dirty John, Maleficent, Wild Child, and St Trinians and had grown up around the film industry – even reportedly having Johnny Depp as a babysitter for her film director dad Julien Temple and producer mother Amanda Temple.
‘It stung for a variety of reasons,’ Keeley admits. ‘It was based on her having more experience, and I think when one examines that, the easy answer – and what I think the general public go to – is the devaluing of me and maybe my skill set versus the examining of how Hollywood operates and how one is allowed experience and one gains experience. It’s sort of a catch 22. You know, maybe having parents in the industry as the actress who plays Keeley does.’
As Ted Lasso fans know, that wasn’t the end of Keeley’s relationship with the show, as she went on to star in seven episodes in a more minor role. ‘I have scenes with her [Juno], we’ve met, and she’s a fantastic, wonderful woman,’ adds Keeley. ‘You can’t blame an actress for taking a part. No hard feelings against her at all.’
Even so, losing out on the role still smarts, she admits.
To understand why, it’s worth looking at Keeley’s upbringing and early career. She got into modelling to escape an abusive and turbulent childhood, growing up in a council estate in South East London. While many girls were asking their parents about periods at 13, Keeley tried crack cocaine. At 18, she was in The Sun topless for around 3.9million people, having won their Page 3 Idol competition.
‘We really didn’t have any money. I left school aged 16 to get a job and my prospects were quite slim. So modelling and Page 3 became a route in which I could advance socially and make money that I wouldn’t in any other way,’ she explains.
At the time, Keeley insisted it was empowering, but later revealed she’d lied about her true feelings to keep her male fans and to carry on getting work. The reality was she felt ashamed and objectified.