TV uglies go glam

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Nov 7, 2004 | by Lorraine Thurlow

In my own life, I really enjoy getting glammed-up. During the day I tend to wear jeans because they're comfortable, but I'll wear dresses and heels in the evening.

Because Marilyn dresses so completely different from me, it means it's easier to create a different persona when I have her clothes on. The only time I wish she was more glamorous is when we film out-of- work scenes. The other actresses are wearing sexy clothes, and look gorgeous, and I look like a granny who got dressed in the dark. But the trick is to wear sexy underwear underneath, so you don't feel like a complete frump.

I recently heard Marilyn is getting the axe. I'm still a bit sad about it, because I'll miss all my friends, but I'm pleased with the way she's being written out. I'll probably take her glasses as a memento, but I don't think I'll be taking any of her clothes. Saying that, it is my ambition to move to the country in the future, so some of her big cardigans might come in handy...'

Ursula Holden Gill, 30, plays squiffy-eyed school administrator Carol in C4's Teachers

'I've never been recognised in public, not once. But I like having that anonymity. People never believe it when I tell them I play Carol in Teachers. They're amazed at how different I look, which I take as a real compliment. When I first met Mathew Horne, who plays the new RE teacher, Ben, he said, "I can't believe how normal you look", which made me laugh. Whenever I get letters, they're always from people requesting a picture, wanting to see what I really look like.

When I auditioned for the part, the producers wanted Carol to be a bit of an underdog, so I suggested she could have some kind of mild affliction that made her shy, such as a squiffy eye. So it's my own fault I have to wear a prosthetic eye each day! The prosthetic, which was colour-matched to my own eyes, covers the entire eye. There's an optometrist on set each day and she puts it in for me. It's really uncomfortable and I can only wear it for about 15 minutes at a time. When I have it in, I can't see out of my right eye, which is probably just as well - Carol wears glasses with a really strong right lens and looking through it gives me a headache.

Usually, I don't wear much make-up as Carol, but a couple of series ago, when Penny gave her a makeover, they really trowelled it on. It was horrible, like wearing a mask of foundation. I was so relieved to take it off. This series, Carol has short hair. It's my own hair, but I pull the fringe down so it looks a bit like Jim Carrey's hair in Dumb & Dumber. To finish the look, I jut my jaw to the side, which makes Carol look really awkward. I first did that so she'd look completely different to me, which I suppose was just vanity.

I do feel very frumpy as Carol, but I actually prefer playing strange characters like her. It was never my dream to play glamorous or sexy parts. I'd much rather be a character actor - those roles are more challenging and you have more to get your teeth into. But my mum's upset Carol's not beautiful. She's always suggesting storylines in which Carol gets a makeover. In series two, one of the other teachers, Kurt, had a vision in which he saw a beautiful Carol. My mum thought I looked wonderful, but I was so dolled-up I felt more embarrassed than I do as normal Carol.