Those who have seen Industry know it’s a hell of a ride. It’s a high-stakes drama in a cutthroat industry, capturing your attention with every minute. It’s an impenetrable door to get your foot in, but Season 3’s breakout star Miriam Petche has made it seem effortless.
Having made her debut as Pierpoint’s graduate trainee Sweetpea Golightly (yes, that’s her real name), her personality is perfectly captured through Petche’s nuanced performance on-screen—quick-witted, highly intelligent and a Gen Z through and through. She carves a space in an industry she can only call her own. Though underestimated by her seniors in the beginning, her initial predictions soon transform into a horrific reality for the Industry world.
But things take a sudden turn in Season 4, where not all is well for Sweetpea. Trust the show’s cult following to be prepared, as plot twists are second nature for the series. “I think the dynamism and fast-paced nature of Industry is quite reflective of our times and I feel everything around us is moving quite quickly. We change as people quite quickly,” Petche explains.
It’s only been upwards for Petche since. She was cast in the HBO Max series in her final year at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but that was just the beginning. Her newest project comes in the form of the lead role in BBC’s newest drama Believe Me, a true-crime series based on survivor stories of the Black Cab Rapist. Here, she shares with Vogue Singapore on being an Industry mainstay, delving into the mind of Sweetpea and starry goals for the new year.
What can we expect to see from your character Sweetpea in this new season?
We can expect to see a more vulnerable side of Sweetpea. In Season 4, things don’t necessarily go her way and we’re able to witness just how far she’s willing to go to prove not only her, but that her work’s right as well. It takes a certain grit that pushes her character because she’s someone who likes to have it all under control.
Personally, do you see any similarities between yourself and Sweetpea? What was it like bringing her character to life?
I think with every character, you approach it with a level of empathy. Regardless of how you feel about their choices, you have to understand why they do what they do. I approach it with an open mind and look at what I’ve been given on the script of where she ends up or where her arc finishes. How do I make that make sense to me as an actor?
Control is huge for Sweetpea. I think what’s explored this season is that while control can feel safe, it’s also very isolating. Because she’s always two or three steps ahead, that doesn’t really give her any room to live in the present with the people around her. So it was really interesting, her relationship with control and what she thinks it’s doing for herself and what it’s really doing for her. There’s a specific moment in this season when she has a huge win, and on paper, it’s one of arguably the biggest success in her career but then she goes home and she doesn’t have anyone to go home to. And she has this really interesting moment where she realises this sort of success doesn’t erase loneliness and sadness and it’s really just those two things playing out at the same time.
Is there anything you’ve learned from Sweetpea as a person?
I think sometimes letting go of control. That it’s okay that you don’t have all the answers. Being a little bit kinder to yourself and giving yourself more grace and patience, knowing that you might not have control of the outcome always—it’s quite freeing to let go of that.
How did you prepare for your role in the new season?
For me, it’s about studying her arc as a character. Mick and Konrad (the show’s co-creators) wrote with such intention and nuance that every time I read the script, I’d find something new every time. I focus on where she needs to arrive eventually—emotionally and physically—and then work backwards. As an actor, you’re privy to the future that your character isn’t. So you can begin to plan how you want to communicate that emotional journey and make it make sense for not only you, but the audience. You know what’s happening in Episode 7 or 8, but how do you make that clear in Episode 1? I’m also just trying to understand the financial jargon, I feel like that’s the most complicated part. I don’t really have any connections to the finance world so it’s completely new.
Do you think you could ever make it in the finance industry in real life?
No one should trust me with their money. Not a single person should choose me as their investor. I can’t promise anything good will come from that. I would trust Sweetpea, though. I’d trust her the most I think, out of everyone in the show. She’s quite reliable and a bit safe when it comes to financials.
Do you have a favourite dynamic from the show?
I think Harper and Eric. They have many flaws, I know, but I like that I don’t know where it’s going to go. It feels very alive to me because every time I see them interact, I actually don’t know what’s going to happen and what direction the relationship is going to go. They’re very unpredictable and I find that fascinating. I’m very drawn to that as a viewer, but also as an actor. I mean, it’s also a testament to Myha’la and Ken [Leung] and how phenomenal they are. But it’s a really, really interesting relationship because sometimes they’re awful to one another and sometimes they’re exactly what the other person needs.
Your newest project is Believe Me, which is a show about the Black Cab Rapist and the survivors. In both Industry and Believe Me, you portray women of a particular strength and resilience. Is that an intentional choice?
As an actor, my responsibility is to honour the story that’s been told. In Industry, it’s engaging with very complex and morally ambiguous characters, allowing the audience to decide how they feel about them. With Believe Me, the subject matter is far more delicate and the focus is portraying the reality of what these women experienced with care and respect. I hope Believe Me encourages thoughtful conversations around what it takes for women to be listened to and believed.
What are you excited for in 2026?
I feel very ready to take on new work, and am very ready to try my hand at something new.
Photographer Craig Gibson
Styling Sarah Harrison
Hair Sophie Sugarman
Make-up Sara Hill
