HOW IS YOUR CHARACTER DEVELOPING THIS SERIES?
She’s developing greatly. We’ll see a great change in Yvonne at the start of the series. We’ll really see another side to her. It’s in total continuity from series 3 and she’s been set up for the murder of Virginia O’Kane, and left to cope with it on her own. She doesn’t do this very well, and she has a breakdown.
WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING IN BAD GIRLS?
The cast and the crew. It’s just such a lovely company to work with; it’s an ensemble piece. It’s a joy to go to work. We have a laugh every day. There’s new storylines coming in all the time, new characters… there’s just something new to look forward to all the time.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER?
What I love most about Yvonne is her vulnerability. People think she’s just a hardnut all the time and top dog. She can be, but there’s a much softer side to her which we see this series, which I’m very pleased about. I love it, it’s much more interesting and it makes Yvonne much more interesting as well.
WHAT DO YOU DISLIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER?
Some of her t-shirts! I like most of the stuff she wears, but she’s got some garish t-shirts. I don’t dislike anything about her, I love playing her. I usually like the characters I play. It would be very difficult to play a part if you didn’t like playing it. You wouldn’t be able to stay true to the character because you wouldn’t have any sympathy for them, because you’d be telling a lie about what you’re playing. If she was the nastiest bastard on earth I’d still like her!
DO YOU LIKE THE COSTUMES THAT YOUR CHARACTER WEARS? WOULD YOU WEAR THEM OUT?
I like some of them. I love all the leather gear! I like the way she wears her clothes. But I wouldn’t wear them out. I do have a pair of black leather trousers at home that I refuse to wear now because they’re just so associated with Yvonne.
HOW DO PEOPLE RE-ACT TO YOU ON THE STREET?
It’s mostly positive, lots of nice stuff about the show, what am I going to do to Fenner, am I like Yvonne in real life… and to all those questions I have to say ‘No, no, no… he’s a really nice guy in real life, he’s not a bastard, I’m not like Yvonne at all…’
ARE YOU LIKE YOUR CHARACTER? ANY TRAITS THAT YOU SHARE?
My sense of humour is very like hers… quite dark, quite sick, a bit of a piss-taker. I like her style! She’s quite protective towards people she loves and I’m a bit like that too.
WHAT SCENE HAVE YOU MOST ENJOYED OR HATED FILMING SO FAR?
I don’t like doing fight scenes. I get very scared and very nervous, unless it’s worked out to a tee. People can get hurt, and when you’re working with a bunch of girls that you love, to try and beat one of them is sometimes very difficult, so I hate doing those. I’ve had to beat up three people, and it doesn’t get any easier. I loved the scenes that I’ve done in the first block of series 4 because it was great to see that vulnerability in Yvonne and it was great for me to stretch her that far. She’ll come back again, slowly. I do enjoy the scenes with Fenner. They spark off each other so well.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW EXTERIOR?
I think it’s amazing. I think Jane’s done a brilliant job. I was really quite shocked when I went there. I was amazed by how the garden’s come on so well since Oxford! And we seem to have a conservatory now. It’s a greenhouse, apparently, but we like to call it the conservatory!
WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR FREETIME?
I ride… I’m a novice though. I started taking my daughter, and I’m just learning to canter now. I like going to the theatre, I like going to the cinema, I spend time with my family, having fun. Kika [Mirylees] and Vicky [Alcock], and Claire [King], have instilled the horse-riding into the rest of us. I’m another one now, a regular…
HOW WOULD YOU GET ON WITH YOUR CHARACTER IF YOU MET THEM IN REAL LIFE?
I think I’d be very apprehensive, very careful of what I said around her and how I said it. I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of Yvonne. I’d find her quite intimidating.
