Former Footballers' Wives star Zöe Lucker makes her EastEnders debut as the glamorous Vanessa Gold on Friday evening - much to the delight of resident womaniser Max Branning (Jake Wood). With her daughter Jodie (Kylie Babbington) pinning her hopes on a job at Roxy's salon, Vanessa buys her a motor from the Car Lot and ends up taking quite a shine to Max - before they know it, they're romping on the office desk. Max, however, has no idea that Vanessa's married to a man called Harry - and has been for the last 20 years. Here, in her first interview since joining the East-End soap, Zöe reveals all about her character, how Vanessa's different from Tanya Turner and why she was so concerned about driving onto the Square for the first time.
Did you watch EastEnders before joining?
"I've watched it on and off since right from the very, very beginning when Den and Angie were in it. Depending on what I'm doing in my life, I dip in and out. If I'm at home and able to watch it, I'll always watch. I lost touch with the show for a couple of years but started watching again when Patsy Palmer and Chris Coghill's storyline was playing out - that was just so compelling. I was hooked again."
Is it quite flattering that programme makers and storyliners bill characters as a Zöe Lucker-type?
"I'm so flattered by that. Bryan told me that they spent some time thinking about Vanessa and then Bryan said, 'Why don't we just ask Zöe?' Julie Crampsie then called my agent, which resulted in me having a chat with Bryan on the phone. It just felt so right, especially at this stage in my life. It's so perfect and lovely to be part of such an amazing show."
How would you describe Vanessa?
"She's very glamorous and a real risk-taker who gets bored very easily. She's quite a complicated one. She appears like she's one thing, but we slowly but surely realise that she's not everything she seems. There are a lot of layers to her. One thing, though, is that she's a doting mother - she adores her daughter Jodie. Vanessa gets on with women and men, and luckily they like her too. She's not condescending, mean or spiteful but she knows how to get her kicks. It's not calculating, as such - she just finds ways of keeping herself busy. She's actually married. She turns up in the Square and is immediately taken with [Max] as he doesn't throw himself at her. He's very off with her and she's intrigued as she's not used to that kind of reception from men. She gets a real kick out of that."
How different is Vanessa from Tanya?
"Tanya was a very manipulative and calculating person who would have done anything to get what she wanted out of life. Vanessa's a much more hard-working and more relaxed character on certain levels. It's difficult - and I don't want to give anything away - but she needs to keep herself busy for certain reasons. Tanya had a child but didn't realise she had a bond until the baby had died, whereas Vanessa's adoring of her daughter - so that's worlds apart. Vanessa's not always on edge like Tanya was, either - she's more much laid back about life in general."
There is an essence of Tanya in there somewhere, though.
"She's very glamorous! Everything she wears is cream and her hair's always immaculate and massive. Physically they're the same - and I know that sounds weird - but with someone like Kate Keenan in Holby Blue, she was a long way away from Tanya. Vanessa's not dissimilar looks-wise."
Being from the North, are you having to put on a cockney accent?
"I'm not actually using a Southern accent - I'm using my own voice, which I'm grateful for. When they called about the part, I spoke to Dom [Treadwell-Collins] about the character and what they wanted from her but after I put the phone down, I thought, 'Oh wait, do they want me to put on an Essex accent?' because they told me that Vanessa lives in Chigwell. I think if you're doing one-off dramas, you can go and play a character with an accent, but when you're surrounded by people who use their own accents, I think it would have felt really unnatural for me to be putting it on. It could have all gone a bit Dick Van Dyke!"
What's it like working with Jake?
"I'm so lucky to be working with him. He's such a brilliant, standout actor. When I got there on the first day, we sat down and had a coffee. He was the one who gave me the tour of the Square and showed me where everything was. A lot of my first scenes were me driving. I'd only passed my driving test four weeks before I started, so I was there rocking around the Square in this five-and-a-half-litre Mercedes. I was having palpitations, worrying I'd drive into The Vic or over Jake. I took my test twice when I was 17 and failed both times and since then, I've been on and off taking more lessons. I took another test when I was pregnant with Lily, which I failed. Then another one after I'd had Lily and failed that one. I've done so many now I can't even remember the date I passed… I did an intense course of lessons in February, then I finally passed on March 2. It's been the bane of my life. I have a scar from that day as when I passed, I launched myself at the examiner - to his horror - and I had blood all over my hand because I'd caught it on something in all the excitement!"
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