Film and TV Features

Hollyoaks' Jennifer Biddall

Interview: Hollyoaks' Jessica

Former Corsham schoolgirl, Jennifer Biddall, has just landed a role on Channel 4's prime time teen soap Hollyoaks.

BBC Radio Wiltshire's Will Walder, and Jennifer's ex-classmate, catches up with her on the set of Hollyoaks in Liverpool:

Q: It's been almost a year since I last bumped into you randomly at Paddington Station in London. Now you've got a part in one of the country's biggest soaps, how does that feel?

A: Fantastic! I'm so over the moon to have got the role. It's all been a bit of a whirlwind, but very, very happy.

Q: What have you been doing in the year since I last saw you?

A: I've done lots of different stuff. A couple of short films, some commercials – keeping myself out of trouble!

Q: And it's not just in this country that you've been working is it?

A: No I came back from Japan recently, just before I started Hollyoaks, and I was on set for my first episode with very bad jet lag after the flight back. So I've been going all over the place!

Q: Tell me a bit about your character in Hollyoaks…

A: Her name's Jessica Harris. She's a new university student studying Marketing and Advertising. She's confident, outgoing, she wants to be the life and soul and she's had a long term boyfriend since she was 15. She's part of the perfect couple and she's hoping to stay with him, so we'll see how that one pans out.

Q: Any hints?

A: Let's just say the Halloween episode's an interesting one, but I can't say any more than that!

Q: There are some established members in the Hollyoaks cast who have been there for years like Max and OB. How welcoming did they make you feel?

A: They're all absolutely fantastic! I remember walking into the green room and thinking that I'd be star struck by all these celebrities and they were just so down to earth. They tried to help me find somewhere to live, somebody's trying to help me look for a car, they've just been fantastic.

Q: You've been filming for a few weeks now, how’s that been going?

Jennifer on the Hollyoaks set

A: Great! Like I said, I started with jet lag and we were on a tough couple of weeks where we were working for a long time every day. It's started calming down a little bit because we're getting into another block of filming. It started off as a bit of a culture shock, we get thrown in right at the deep end and just get on with it, but it's been fun, so much fun.

Q: And talking of fun, Hollyoaks has it's fair share of good looking blokes. Have you (or your character) got your eye on anyone?

A: For myself I can't say, they're all lovely. My character tends to go for the ones who have a bit of a status. So I think she quite likes Lee, who's the student president, there's a bit of an interest there. But she might have a few surprises up her sleeve and she might not necessarily go for the guy you'd expect her to. You'll have to watch and find out!

Q: Acting is a very hard profession to break into, how have your family been throughout the whole process?

A: Amazing, I have a fantastically supportive family, so wonderful and loving. This has been just as good for them as it has for me, they're loving the whole journey.
You never really know how your career's going to go, whether it will take off or not. To get this role is fantastic!

Q: How did your parents react when you told them that you wanted to go into a profession where you could have been living on the breadline most of the time?

A: I was told that I should probably do my 'A' Levels. My mum wanted me to do a degree course which, luckily enough, my course at Bristol Old Vic was. I think they were hoping that I would change my mind. But after years of auditioning to get into drama school I think they realised that I'd get rejected and it wouldn't deter me. They realised then that I was deadly serious about it and that I didn't care about the time out, it’s just about being able to be an actor.

Q: What are they like now that you're on a prime time TV show?

A: They'll be glued to the TV when I'm first on to see it first go out on Channel 4. It's lovely to see them so proud. I'll probably be watching hidden behind a cushion, but it will be lovely to watch my first show with my family.