Rising star Gugu Mbatha-Raw is in the running for an Evening Standard Theatre Award for her performance as one of the West End’s most infamous actresses.

Her portrayal of Nell Gwynn, who rose from the 17th-century London stage to become the mistress of Charles II, sees her shortlisted for the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress.

Mbatha-Raw, 32, is recognised alongside Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman, who played pioneering scientist Rosalind Franklin in Photograph 51, Denise Gough for People, Places And Things and Lia Williams for Oresteia. [more at source]