Jill on stardom, dancing and her passion for pirates

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Jan 3, 2007

Byline: By Craig Hope

Screen star Jill Halfpenny has told of her fancy for Hollywood heart-throb Johnny Depp.

The 31-year-old, currently starring as Mother Nature in pantomime at Newcastle's Theatre Royal, was speaking ahead of the second series of BBC drama Waterloo Road, in which she stars as a harassed single mum.

The former Eastenders star said: "In an ideal world I'd love to play opposite Johnny Depp in Pirates Of The Caribbean just so I could kiss him ( he's totally lush.

"It's weird, but that dark eye make-up on him was strangely attractive.

"I don't reckon many blokes could pull that off and be even remotely sexy."

Jill, who was brought up in Gateshead, found fame as Nicola Dobson in Byker Grove as a teenager.

Two years ago she and her professional dance partner Darren Bennett were crowned Champion of Champions in BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing show.

Following on from that, Jill landed the role of Izzie Redpath in Waterloo Road.

"It's mainly about Izzie's personal life and I think that's the appeal of her character.

"She's very spontaneous and lets her heart rule her head, which I really admire," she said.

"It's great to be back for a second series because none of us had a clue how it was going to be received last year, but the response we've had has been great."

Jill also told how she is enjoying the change from dance floor to TV studio.

She said: "I love the variety of acting.

"That's one of the reasons I'm in this business. You can be doing Chekhov one minute and pantomime the next.

"It keeps me on my toes as I do get bored pretty easily."

The only thing the actress doesn't feel comfortable with is being recognised in public.

"I still find it a bit strange being recognised and I've never really got used to it, I just find it really uncomfortable and bizarre.

"I mean, everybody is always really nice but it's the expectation factor of it all.

"I always think, 'Oh God, what do they expect me to be like, do they want me to dance?'

"The worst thing is that I get stopped all over, on the tube, on holiday or in the lift, which is the very worst situation as you have nowhere to go."

Jill won the role of Roxy Hart in the hit musical Chicago after her success on Strictly Come Dancing and she admits the show has helped transform her career.

She added: "Strictly Come Dancing opened a lot of doors for me and I've had an amazing run since then, so fingers crossed it continues as I've had loads of opportunities and I'm loving every minute."

When Jill does get a break from singing, dancing and acting, she says she loves nothing more than collapsing in front of the TV.

"I loved watching America's Next Top Model and I'd rearrange my social life to watch that," she said.

"Modelling is quite a bizarre profession when you really think about it, but there must be more to it that their looks.

"I suppose it's a bit like my job really ( people always think they could easily be actors but I'd like to see them try."