We’ve heard a lot about former Brookside star Anna Friel’s latest hit series, Pushing Daisies, though her fans on this side of the Pond will be desperate to see what all the fuss is about.
There’s still a wait until it airs on ITV1, but in the meantime, she’s been talking about why her other half and that of co-star Lee Pace think the show is the bees’ knees.
Pace plays Ned, a man who has the ability to bring back the dead with a single brush of the finger, but if he touches them again, they stay dead for ever. When he reanimated his childhood sweetheart, Chuck (Friel), he knew he could never touch her again.
Anna explained to The Sun: “It’s the perfect role for any jealous girlfriend or boyfriend - they’ve got nothing to worry about! ‘Ok, you’re going to work today, but you’re not going to be touching, are you? Shame!’
“It’s a mad, visual fairy-tale world, it’s driven strongly by a love story. Chuck and Ned just long to be together, and long to be able to have sex but they’re never going to be able to.”
She added: “It’s not like on Brookside and you’re like, ‘So who’s she kissing this week then?’ The imagination can run wild, they come up with the most genius things.”
So, what does she like about her alter ego, Chuck?
“I liked the idea of playing a character that was absolutely fearless,” she said.
“She’s had a chance to look at life for a second time and she looks at life with big wide eyes and true joy, every single minute.
“And she completely loves Ned, totally and utterly in love. It’s a good old romantic story.”
