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No stranger to the cameras: Justine Miliband



Justine Miliband's first foray into the election campaign trail revealed her to have been a rebel at school – including jumping out of a window to avoid being caught wearing lipstick.

But the Labour leader's wife is no stranger to the cameras, having starred in TV shows as a child actor in the 1980s.

She joined Ed Miliband on a visit to her old school in Nottingham this week, where the Labour leader admitted that his ‘troublemaker’ wife would have been ‘too cool’ for him.

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Rebel rebel: An 18-year-old Justine Thornton starred in the TV show Dramarama filmed in her hometown of Nottingham






Dramarama was filmed in Justine's hometown of Nottingham, where she returned with husband, Labour leader Ed Miliband, this week to meet pupils at her old school, West Bridgford


The couple made a rare public appearance on the campaign trail ahead of next month’s local council elections.

During a tour of West Bridgford School, it was revealed Mrs Miliband broke the rules numerous times while she was a pupil in the 1980s.

It emerged she once leapt from a window to avoid a teacher spotting her wearing lipstick. She also received detentions for wearing a purple coat instead of the regulation black.


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But as a teenager, Justine Thornton carved out a career as an actor. She starred in the ITV series Dramarama, which ran from 1983 and helped launch the careers of talent including writer Kay Mellor and actor David Tennant.

She also appeared in 1987 school-based sitcom Hardwicke House, which was axed after just two episodes after being mauled by critics.

But her role as a rebellious teenager was a case of art imitating life, as Mr Miliband discovered while touring her old school.
VIDEO See a teenage Justine Miliband in Hardwicke Hall




Ed Miliband's wife plays rebellious teenager in 80s TV show




Dramarama ran from 1983-89 and was the launch pad for a host of British talent including writer Kay Mellor and actor David Tennant




Justine Miliband attended the school in Nottingham in the 1980s, when she broke rules on wearing lipstick and only wearing black coats

Mr Miliband, a self-confessed policy ‘wonk’, was surprised to learn that she received detention for flouting uniform rules.

He said: ‘It's great to come back to Justine's old school. She has huge affection for it and so do I.

‘Obviously I learned some things about her that I didn't know - that she was more of a trouble maker than she's ever let on - wearing makeup against the rules - but she owes a lot to this school.’



Mr Miliband visited West Bridgford School while campaigning ahead of county and unitary council elections on May 2



Mr Miliband said she owed a great deal to the school, but had not realised what a 'troublemaker' she was





Mrs Miliband made a rare appearance on the campaign trail with her husband, ahead of the local elections on May 2
VIDEO 'In trouble with the headmaster wife too cool for me'- Miliband




Undercover filming. Miliband thinks wife 'too cool for him'


By comparison Mr Miliband attended Haverstock Comprehensive School – dubbed the Eton of the left - where he played the violin and became a master at the Rubik’s Cube.

The couple, who have two children, tied the knot in May 2011, eight months after he beat his brother David to become Labour leader.


Asked if he would have spotted Justine if they had gone to the same school, Mr Miliband suggested she would have been out of his league.

‘I would definitely have locked eyes on her,’ he told ITV News.

‘But I think she wouldn’t have had any time for me.’ Turning to his wife he added: ‘You were obviously too cool – this is what I now realise.’



The couple met pupils and staff during a rare appearance on the campaign trail



The couple, who have two children, tied the knot in May 2011, eight months after he became Labour leader

Mr Miliband is under pressure to live up to his One Nation slogan by making big gains in May 2’s local elections.

The Tories have challenged Labour to win an extra 1,000 seats, although pollsters predict gains of 370 are more likely.

However he risks embarrassment that the Unite Union – one of Labour’s biggest donor – is pushing for a general strike to bring the country to a halt in opposition to spending cuts.

He insisted he was against the strike, and would make that clear to union barons this week.

He told ITV News: ‘I think it’s a terrible idea. I’m totally against a general strike.

‘We are funded by individual levy payers who are trade union members, who support the Labour Party.

‘But a general strike is a very bad idea for the country – I’m totally against it, I’m very clear about that.’



Mr Miliband defended his shadow chancellor Ed Balls as a poll revealed more people backed George Osborne to steer the economy out of trouble

He also dismissed suggestions he should ditch Ed Balls as his shadow chancellor despite a fresh poll suggesting voters have more faith in George Osborne to handle the UK economy.

‘Ed Balls is doing a great job as Shadow Chancellor,’ he said.

‘Three years ago, Ed Balls stood out against what most people thought and said 'I don't think this austerity is going to work'. What you find now, nearly three years on, is a lot more people agree with him than agreed with him at the time. Getting those judgments right is incredibly important.’

In the survey, carried out by ComRes for ITV News, only 17 per cent said they trusted Mr Balls to ‘see the country through the current economic situation’ compared with 21 per cent for Mr Osborne.

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