Jodie Comer overjoyed as she claims first Tony Award for Prima Facie

Jodie paid tribute to her character and writer Suzie Miller as she collected the prize for best leading actress in a play.

Jodie Comer said she felt “overwhelmed” after winning her first Tony award for her performance in Prima Facie.

The Killing Eve star paid tribute to her character and writer Suzie Miller as she collected the prize for best leading actress in a play.

The award is Jodie’s first Tony nomination and win, and comes following her Broadway debut in Miller’s one-woman production, which follows a British defence lawyer who ends up in the witness box.

The Killing Eve star had to stop her performance on Broadway last week, June 7, after experiencing breathing difficulties brought on by the poor air quality in New York City.

It comes after thick smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into the US east coast and Midwest on Wednesday, causing hazardous levels of pollution in New York.

US outlet Deadline reported, per an audience member who attended the Prima Facie matinee, that Comer was around three minutes into the performance before coughing and telling a stage manager she could not breathe.

A spokesperson for the show said:

“Today’s matinee of Prima Facie was halted approximately 10 minutes into the performance after Jodie Comer had difficulty breathing due to the poor air quality in New York City because of smoke from the Canadian wildfires.

“The performance was set to start again from the top with understudy Dani Arlington going on for Ms Comer in the role of Tessa.”

The 76th annual event, which celebrates the best in Broadway theatre, saw success for several British names, including Sir Tom Stoppard, whose play Leopoldstadt scooped one of the night’s top prizes – best play.

The 2023 Tonys took place on Sunday in New York and was hosted by Oscar-winning actress Ariana DeBose.