For some actors they are a rite of passage, but for a special few, soap characters can be the role of a lifetime. Four stalwarts – from Natalie Cassidy to Sally Dynevor – explain what it takes to play the same part for decades
hat does it do to an actor to play the same role for most of their life? Do soap stars dream of binning off Albert Square, the Cobbles, Home Farm or the Woolpack? And do they have nightmares about being written out in a helicopter crash or crushed by a Blackpool tram? I spoke to four of Britain’s leading soap actors to find out.‘I’ve never thought about leaving’ … Charles Collingwood at his home near Portsmouth in June.In 1989, Brian Aldridge had a run-in with a mad cow.
Despite Brian’s longevity, Collingwood has often been insecure. “I remember when Brian bought a plane. I thought: they’ve only created that story so he’ll crash and die.” He could have left rather than wait to be killed off, I suggest. “I’ve never thought about leaving. I have been able to do other things during my career.
Despite that, from the age of 13, Dynevor attended drama club in Trafford, Manchester. One of her fellow child actors was Michael Le Vell. Little did she know that, on screen at least, she would spend 25 years married to him. In episode 2,590, mustachioed mechanicdrove his van down the street and accidentally splashed Sally Seddon while she was waiting for a bus. “I was in two episodes, then four, then I got a year’s contract and could afford to buy a car.
Does she not think she could have done other things? “Now I’m older, I completely understand why Jean said what she did. I could have pushed myself, but I didn’t want to.” She recently appeared in Dancing on Ice. “It gave me tremendous confidence. I’d never skated before. But after being thrown in the air, I feel I could do anything. I might do a play. I could do Lady Macbeth. Maybe I could do something off the Cobbles.”‘If you start taking it for granted, you’re finished’ … Mark Charnock.
When he graduated from Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in 1991, Charnock never imagined he would be in one role for nearly half his life. “I’m in people’s living rooms every weeknight while the kids have their tea, almost as if I’m part of the family.” The Jackson family arrived in Albert Square just before Christmas 1993. Carol and Alan Jackson had four children. Billie was the only child fathered by Alan; Bianca’s dad was David Wicks, Robbie’s Gary Bolton and Sonia’s Terry Cant. None of the actors who played the Jackson children were matched for appearance or screen compatibility.
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