Six episodes in, it’s safe to say that Industry’s fourth season has reached its dizzying crescendo. The formula that has defined the finance drama over its previous three seasons—manic monologues delivered in glassy high rises; searing betrayals revealed at costume balls; pearlescent towers of cocaine and carnivorous sex everywhere—still reigns. But this time, the stakes feel higher.
While season four sees the bulk of Industry’s characters mired in struggle—shamed, killed off, ruined by grief, forcibly retired—one floats above the fray. It is, of course, Sweetpea: the canny analyst and not-so-secret OnlyFans star, played by Miriam Petche, who strode onto the Pierpont trading floor in the show’s previous season, ring-light in hand, and swiftly predicted the historic bank’s demise.
This season, the Gen-Z banker digs her way to the rotten core of fraudulent fintech company Tender—an arc that leads her to a false headquarters in Accra, Ghana, where she unravels the entire nine-billion-dollar sham with a gleeful glint in her eye. This victory comes at a price: Sweetpea is violently attacked in a bar bathroom by a man hired to scare her off Tender’s trail, an experience that reveals a depth of grace and fortitude that feels refreshing against the backdrop of the larger Industry cohort’s tendency toward depravity and hubris.
Audiences may not have known much about Petche before her Industry breakthrough, but like many of its cast members, the 24-year-old Brighton native has treated the series’ jagged emotional landscape as an opportunity to flex her full quiver of dramatic muscles. “Sweetpea is someone quite intently performing competence and perfectionism,” Petche muses. “I thought—what’s brewing underneath for her?”
As the season winds to a close and Petche prepares for a new slate of projects (including two upcoming British true-crime series), Industry’s most beloved newcomer takes a beat to reflect on a period of non-stop firsts.
How did you get your start in the film industry?
I signed with a child agency and started working pretty much by the age of 10. I started in a theater group called the Theatre Workshop, which is based in Brighton and Hove. As a child, I found it extremely exciting; it was just play. As I got older, I knew I had to take it more seriously if I was going to make acting my career, and I decided that I would like to do that very much.
What’s the first thing you do when you arrive on set?
Whatever anyone tells me to do. Go to a certain room, wait in a certain place—I’m wherever they need me.
Favorite way to start your day?
When there’s no pressure. I don’t have to get up. I can turn my heated blanket on in bed, and I can make my coffee downstairs in the kitchen exactly how I want it. I can take it back up to bed, and by the time I get back in, my heated blanket is at the perfect level. I get back into bed, I drink my coffee, I read my Kindle. Nothing beats that for me.
What’s the last series you binged from start to finish?
Task, which I’ve been watching with my mum. I think it’s phenomenal, and I was lucky enough to bump into some of the cast members recently, so I got to tell them how brilliant their work is.
Your signature way to start a sentence?
According to my dad, I say “basically” a lot.
Where do you start an outfit?
I start an outfit based on where I’m going, what I’m doing. I’m much more comfort-first, but I like to look good. I start by making sure I feel like myself, and it becomes, What am I feeling today? How do I want to present myself today?
Where do you finish an outfit?
Running out the door because I’m late.
What’s a book you started but never finished?
So many. I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t remember what they’re called because I got distracted. I always try to see a book through, because sometimes you can only gauge the impact once you’re done. But I definitely have lots of books where page 34 is folded, and I haven’t come back to it since.
Who would you start a band with?
My best friend, Abby. We went to school together, and we used to have music lessons together, so we’ve got a bit of history there already.
What’s your default way to kickstart a party?
I don’t host many parties, but I love hosting dinners. I like making Hugo spritzes at the moment, and I’m trying to get better at making espresso martinis. Otherwise, it’s just about a good bottle of wine and a pasta dish that people can dig into. Food, for me, is where it always begins, because it just makes people happy and at ease.
The Miriam Petche Starter Pack
Pink water bottle: It has a straw nozzle, and I take it with me everywhere. I’ve had it since the start of this season of Industry, so it’s quite an emotional support.
Metal tins of dates: I fill them with peanut butter and then dip pieces of dark chocolate in it. I kept them with me a lot on Industry for when I needed a little pick-me-up throughout the day.
Earphones: Always, always, always tangled.
Thermal gloves: I get cold easily. I always have them with me.
Phone: I have thousands and thousands of photos on my phone that I probably should get rid of, but I can’t.
Kindle: She is always with me.
Lip balm: The La Roche-Posay Cicaplast works the best.
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