Congratulations to our awesome ambassador Simone Lahbib! She won the awards for ‘Best First-Time Director’ and ‘Best Debut Film’ from the Soho London Independent Film Festival at the end of last year for her directorial debut, Swipe Right, a chilling short film about a young professional (Christina Chong) whose date arranged on a mobile dating app does not go as planned. Simone was recently nominated for ‘Best Soap Villain’ at the Inside Soap Awards for her sinister portrayal of sexual predator Katie Lewis (talk about playing anti-type!!) in a harrowing storyline about mental health on BBC soap EastEnders. You can check out the trailer for Swipe Right below!

Away from the camera, Simone is patron of the Eilidh Brown Memorial Fund, which she co-founded in memory of her niece who passed away of cancer aged 15. The charity supports kids with cancer and their families. Simone regularly organizes cast reunions of the ITV prison drama  Bad Girls. Her breakout role as Helen Stewart still has a cult following. You can fundraise and donate to the Eilidh Brown Memorial Fund here: https://www.justgiving.com/eilidhbrown. Mental Ideas is so proud of Simone and all her stellar achievements!