Maloney

Charged with the task of increasing circulation and carrying the newspaper into the modern age, Maloney is an ambitious and resolutely uncompromising woman who doesn’t hesitate to ignore Devlin’s opinion.

If Paddy thinks she’s found a friend in this new female in the office, she’s sorely mistaken as Maloney may have smashed through the glass ceiling of this male-dominated world but she pulled the ladder up behind her.

Tell us about your character, Maloney…

She’s not evil - she just thinks she needs to be like this to get ahead as a woman.

Katherine Kelly

She’s a bit of a sign of the times really. She’s absolutely ruthless, she’ll step over anybody. She has no morals, no principles – it’s all about getting the story.

It’s been great for me to play an out-and-out baddie. She’s a woman succeeding in a man’s world and she’s come down to their level really. But she also uses the fact that she’s a woman to get to the next levelin her career. She’s not really very likeable to be honest.

What does Maloney bring to the Glasgow Daily News newsroom?

Carnage. She brings with her a storm – she’s fearsome. You don’t really know where you stand with her, she can attack in many ways, she’s a lot more complicated and less straight forward than Devlin [David Morrissey].

You just know that she has no life, apart from the newspaper but she doesn’t even care about that – it’s just a stepping stone to further her career. She’ll polish that stone till it’s beautiful and shiny and really functional whilst she’s there but she’d quite happily burn it down to the ground the second she leaves.

She’s really blinkered and lives in her own little world. Maloney’s a lot of fun to play but she won’t be much fun to work with I’d imagine!

Do you think Maloney is as cold and calculating as she’d like everyone to think or is there a softer side to her?

I don’t think there is you know. I don’t think for one second she was born like that, she’s become a product of her own ambition. What you see is a case of nurture over nature but she’s pushed her nature way, way, way down. There are tiny glimmers of softness, underneath the big shoulders there’s a woman but her softer side has been so pushed down that if it was once there it’s barely seen now.

What is Maloney’s relationship with Devlin like?

It’s a sort of love-hate relationship. For him it’s probably just pure hate but for her it’s complicated. Part of her hates him because he’s lived his life the opposite way to her – his approach has been completely different to Maloney’s. He’s got to where he is by doing it the moral way, he’s got the trust of his team, he’s got them on side. And he’s a man so she thinks it’s easier for him.

She’s not evil - she just thinks she needs to be like this to get ahead as a woman.

What must it have been like for Maloney being the female boss in the male-dominated 80s media?

It would have been very tough back in those days. When you read Piers Morgan’s autobiography and Anne Robinson’s books you realise it’s a tough old world to be part of.

Describe her style.

She’s a power dresser typical of the 80s. Everything she wears is about being functional and she’s a status dresser. There’s nothing soft about it really – it’s all very spikey.

What attracted you to the role of Maloney?

I really enjoyed the first series and I think David Morrissey is one of our shining lights in acting. David’s [Kane] written a really well rounded and interesting character in Maloney – I really liked the thought of playing an out and out baddie.