Okonedo: 'Winnie Mandela is so strong'

Sophie Okonedo has revealed that she decided to play Winnie Mandela because she wanted to take on a "powerful" character.

Okonedo, who plays Mandela in a new television programme, explained that she had been shocked by her strength.

"I had for a while really wanted to play her," the actress told The Observer. "She's so multifaceted that, for me anyway, it seemed a more interesting story to tell, even than that of Nelson, and less well-known."

Okonedo continued: "I thought it was about time I played someone really powerful. I think I've done a lot of... I've had some great roles, but done quite a lot of victim parts. I'm not saying Winnie wasn't too, in many ways, a victim of her circumstances. But, also, she's got enormous self-belief and she's very strong, and I thought it was a good time for me to start doing those kind of parts."

Okonedo explained that she had been shocked when she learnt more about Mandela's story.

"I knew a bit," she said. "But until I started preparing I had absolutely no idea how much she had endured. How much she was baited by the police, taunted - I would never have survived it myself. Never knowing whether you're going to be raped, dragged to jail, taken from your children. It's enough to send you mad."

Mrs Mandela is on BBC Four later this month.