Alicya Eyo
Plays
Denny Blood
HOW IS YOUR CHARACTER DEVELOPING THIS SERIES?
It’s great to be back, it’s like being back at school. It’s nice to see new faces as well, it gives it a bit of freshness. I feel good. Denny’s just on a big adventure, she doesn’t realise how serious being back inside is. The main thing for her is getting back with Shaz and causing mischief again.
WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING IN BAD GIRLS?
The people. I love who I work with. I love Denny, I love playing her and what she gets up to.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER?
I love her little mind, the way it works. The whole Spain thing, I love the way she sees it all. Nothing’s really that serious to her, other than the people that she loves - which is Shaz, really, and Shell. She’s got a real loyalty to the people that show her any tenderness, which I like. I like the way she’s developed. I like the way she’s getting to know herself a little bit more. She’s also turned into a bit more of a kid if you know what I mean, as if she’s having the childhood she missed out on while she was growing up. In Spain she was like a kid in a toy-shop.
WHAT DO YOU DISLIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER?
I don’t really dislike anything about her to tell the truth. Perhaps the way she doesn’t realise she’s going to get into trouble, although that naiveté is also something that’s kind of cute about her, don’t you think?
DO YOU LIKE THE COSTUMES THAT YOUR CHARACTER WEARS? WOULD YOU WEAR THEM OUT?
No, I hate them all! Personally, I can’t stand them. It’s just all baggy and shabby. I thought she might have come back with a few outfits from Spain, but no – a few different tops, but nothing that I’d wear. There’s a few brighter coloured tops, which is nice, as it’s always been khaki and navy blue and stuff.
HOW DO PEOPLE REACT TO YOU ON THE STREET?
I get recognised quite a lot. Because I don’t wear make-up in the show, and I don’t really wear make-up normally. Apart from the tattoos – that’s the thing: people say ‘Where’s your tattoos?’ They all think they’re real. But people are cool. It happens a lot more now. Everyone wants to know when I'm coming back, if I’m going to sort out the Peckham Boot Gang, things like that. They wanted me to come back especially for that reason, because little Shaz was getting picked on. They loved the whole Denny and Shaz thing.
ARE YOU LIKE YOUR CHARACTER/ ANY TRAITS THAT YOU SHARE?
Her playfulness, I think, but that’s about it. And her hair. In my younger days I suppose I was a bit mischievous. I’m 25 and Denny is just turning 21. She is catching up with me.
WHAT SCENE HAVE YOU MOST ENJOYED OR HATED FILMING SO FAR?
The best scene… the scenes with Denise Black, who plays Denny’s mum, and also a couple of scenes with Linda (Yvonne Atkins). She’s great to work with - I’ve got a lot of respect for Linda as an actress. The worst scene was that scene with the Zandra character (Lara Cazalet) in the first series. Denny decrutches her to get drugs out of various orifices. Which wasn’t nice. It was one of the first scenes we ever did together and I was a bit traumatised.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW EXTERIOR?
I think it’s great, really good. I like that greenhousey bit. I keep going up to the walls and tapping them to make sure I’m not in Oxford.
WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR FREETIME?
Well, I’ve just bought a DVD player, so I’m in all the time. I’ve got so much respect for this new theory that staying in is the new going out. I don’t go out much anymore. I’m reading the Harry Potter books again at the moment, again. They’re just wicked, so addictive. And I’ve got a huge CD collection. I speak to my mum and my brother on the phone. My brother will be four in May. He’s a monster!
HOW WOULD YOU GET ON WITH YOUR CHARACTER IF YOU MET THEM IN REAL LIFE?
Me being the person I am, I think I’d have so much time for her, the way she is now. I’d try and help her. I’d feel a bit sorry for her. I don’t think we’d be mates though.