How would you describe your character, Whirly?
She’s very energetic and very gutsy. She seems tough but can be tender when she needs to be. She just wants to be a vet, that’s what keeps her going in the face of the discrimination she faces. That’s her passion and that’s what she wants to do.
Where does her name come from?
I don’t know. It’s never revealed and I don’t know if it ever will be. I think it sums her up though, she’s very energetic always rushing off after one thing or another. I looked it up in the dictionary and there is that sense of constant movement, like a whirling current.
Can you tell us a little about how you got the part?
I had done Outcasts and just moved back to London when I heard of the part. I went to a meeting and I was recalled. I had prepared some scenes from the first episode and read them with Ben Lloyd Hughes, who plays McAloon, for my audition. He was great. We had decided before we went in to just go for it and we did; the camaraderie was there right from the start and it obviously worked.
Had you seen All Creatures Great And Small?
I was vaguely aware of the show but hadn’t seen any of them. My grandfather has a farm and when I told my gran I was up for this she was very excited because she was a fan of the show. So were my parents. My Dad enjoyed the humour of the show and he thought it was great that I was going to be in something that had a happy ending. I bought the books and started to read them but Whirly isn’t in any of those books so my research was really based on the script.
There is a backdrop of sexism and discrimination for the period; do you think that gives the stories a little more edge.
Absolutely. Whirly stands up for what she believes in. She is one of only two women at the College and she has a lot of run-ins with Professor Gunnell because he is discriminating against women. She says at one point something to the effect that she doesn’t want to be another kept wife. But I think it’s important to keep this in perspective and not let it define Whirly. We shouldn’t lose sight of who she is and why she is there, which is to be a vet.
Whirly is very outspoken, do you share those qualities.
A little bit. I think I might have a greater sense of diplomacy than Whirly.
How was it working with the animals?
I spent a lot of time on my grandfather’s farm so I am used to being around animals but to be honest Whirly doesn’t spend as much time with animals as James or McAloon. I help a dog give birth in the first episode, I diagnose a cow in episode two, and I’m doing a bit of dissecting in the first episode but that’s about it.
Did you have any memorable moments during filming?
Handling the dog that was giving birth was a bit dodgy because it simply refused to lie down. The same dog is also supposed to attack James when first they meet but the dog was having none of it. Then when I had my diagnosis scene with the cow it trod on my foot which was extremely painful. It’s an occupational hazard when you are working with animals; they tend to do what they want when they want regardless of who else is around.
What was it like working with Gary Lewis and Tony Curran?
I had worked with Gary on Outcasts so it was great to be working with him again, it was very exciting when I heard he was in Young Herriot. He is a great actor and a really lovely man, very funny. So is Tony, he’s a great laugh. That really helps put you at ease and make a working relationship.
