Soap’s hottest new stars
TV Magazine meets soap’s brightest young actresses –
Danielle Harold, Georgia May Foote and Chelsea
Halfpenny – as they come of age in the public eye
Here come the girls... Chelsea Halfpenny, Georgia May Foote and Danielle Harold
TV Magazine/Lee Strickland
Last Updated: 18th March 2013
EASTENDERS’ DANIELLE HAROLD (LOLA PEARCE)
She’s the South London girl who left school with one GCSE before fate – and Jamie Oliver – smiled upon her.
Two years on, Danielle Harold is Albert Square’s fastest rising star.
“I’ve been so lucky,” admits Danielle, 20, who plays troubled young mum Lola Pearce.
“I found things tough as a teenager. I always wanted to act, but after I left school I worked as a waitress. Once, I dropped salmon soup all over me and had to carry on working for hours. Then Jamie Oliver came along and changed my life.”
Danielle’s referring to her stint on the 2011 series Jamie’s Dream School, in which the chef enlisted the help of celebrity experts to mentor teenagers like Danielle who had less than five GCSEs.
She’s kept in touch with Jamie ever since.
TV Magazine/Lee Strickland
“He sent me a bunch of flowers when I got the part of Lola,” says Danielle, whose alter ego is fighting Phil Mitchell for custody of her daughter Lexi. “I’m so thankful he gave me my break.”
Now, the actress is constantly being recognised in public (her platinum-blonde hair is a bit of a giveaway), and she created a huge stir when she recently went to collect a mate’s sister from school.
“When I got there, the reaction was crazy,” she explains. “There were hundreds of kids around me and I couldn’t move. It was surreal.”
It’s been that way since Danielle’s first appearance in EastEnders in July 2011, when all her family came round to watch her on TV.
“The sitting room was packed,” she smiles. “Now, when I watch the show with Mum, she cries her eyes out. I’m sitting there laughing and saying: ‘Oh God, look at my face!’ and she’s weeping and going: ‘This is so sad!’”
While filming on location recently, Danielle experienced first-hand the type of adulation you’d expect One Direction to get.
“All these kids were chanting: ‘We want Lola!’ It was like being a rock star,” she says, with a cheeky grin. “But then Steve McFadden arrived and it changed to: ‘We want Phil!’”
It’s because of all this attention that Danielle refuses to discuss her personal life, although she will admit she still lives with her parents.
“I keep my relationships private,” she confides. “It’s actually quite scary getting recognised, so it’s nice to keep part of my life the same as before. I never wanted to be famous, I just wanted to act.”
However, there is one characteristic that Danielle shares with Lola that’s helped her find her feet at work.
“Lola is strong-minded and so am I,” she says. “But I still get nervous about doing a scene – I don’t think that will ever go away. I still feel like I’ve got to show people what I’m made of.”
She may not think it, but we reckon Danielle is one raw talent who doesn’t need to prove herself to anyone.
CORRIE’S GEORGIA MAY FOOTE (KATY ARMSTRONG)
When Georgia May Foote joined Coronation Street in the summer of 2010 as wouldn’t-say-boo-to-a-goose schoolgirl Katy Armstrong, she had no idea what to expect from life as a soap star.
So she had a chat to someone who knew all about the fame game – Soap’s Sexiest Female, Michelle Keegan (Tina McIntyre).
“Michelle said she’d had a couple of years when it was dead quiet, then it just hit her in the face,” says Georgia, 22.
“Nearly two years later I said to her: ‘Nothing’s happened.’ Now, suddenly… it’s all happening!”
Almost overnight, Katy has gone from sweet, dependable love interest of Chesney Brown and teen mum to baby Joseph, to flirty floozy, cheating on Ches with bad lad Ryan Connor.
“It’s like I’m playing a whole new character,” smiles Georgia. “It’s nice to have something feisty to sink my teeth into.”
TV Magazine/Lee Strickland
It’s a far cry from three years ago, when Georgia – who previously starred in Grange Hill and had minor roles in Heartbeat, Casualty and Emmerdale – arrived in Weatherfield.
“My first scene was Chesney’s 16th birthday party in Roy’s Rolls,” she recalls, “and I had to shout because there was meant to be music playing. I got told off for being too quiet. I just thought: ‘I’m going to cry. I can’t do it.’”
Now, Georgia has really found her stride, and while Katy’s transformation from shy schoolgirl to man-eating minx has shocked Corrie fans, it’s been no accident.
“Katy’s 18, but people still think of her in school uniform, so I said to the producers: ‘We have to decide whether she’s going to stay young or get older,’” explains Georgia, from Bury, Lancashire. “We went for older. It’s nice as people are taking her – and me – more seriously. I’m coming of age.”
The same can be said for Georgia in her private life, as the actress recently bought a house with her plumber boyfriend John.
“Being in Coronation Street has set me up for life,” she beams. “As an actress, that’s a really hard position to get yourself into. That’s why I think this is the best job I’ll ever have.”
As for the rumours that Georgia’s banned John from watching her sauciest scenes, she’s keen to set the record straight.
“It’s not that he won’t watch them, it’s that he’s really not bothered,” she says. “He’s never once pulled me up about it. He understands that it’s my job and that’s what I have to do.”
And what she’s doing is getting her noticed.
But rest assured, there’s someone special in her life who keeps her ego in check – her gran.
“She definitely keeps my feet on the ground,” says Georgia. “She’ll shout at me: ‘Stop frowning! You’re speaking too fast!’ But I still have to give her every magazine or newspaper clipping I’m in. She’s got a folder with all of my press cuttings from when I was nine. The first ever one is horrendous. I had frizzy curly hair, crooked teeth and only one eyebrow!”
How times have changed.
Thirteen years on, and stunning Georgia has received her first ever nomination at the British Soap Awards for Sexiest Female – where she goes head to head with... Michelle Keegan.
“I’m very flattered,” she stutters, while blushing. “But Michelle is absolutely gorgeous. I don’t think it’s fair on her to say I’m The New Michelle Keegan.”
She giggles, then adds: “Maybe you could say I’m The New Georgia May Foote.”
EMMERDALE’S CHELSEA HALFPENNY (AMY WYATT)
Trying to convince Chelsea Halfpenny to look at pictures of herself during our photo shoot is like dragging a child to the dentist.
“I just feel a bit odd posing,” she laughs. “I’m not very glamorous. I dress like a tomboy, so I don’t take a lot of photos of myself. But I guess it’s something I might have to get used to.”
She’s not wrong.
As bolshy, rebellious teenager Amy Wyatt, Chelsea, 21, made a big impact when she joined Emmerdale two years ago, causing trouble for foster parents Val and Eric Pollard.
Since then, the Gateshead-born actress has become one of the show’s brightest young stars, entrusted with huge storylines such as Amy giving birth to Cain Dingle’s baby and coping with the appearance of her estranged mum.
TV Magazine/Lee Strickland
The niece of Lightfields star Jill Halfpenny, 37, Chelsea credits her upbringing for her talent.
“Upstairs in my grandparent’s house there’s a mirrored wardrobe along one wall,” she says.
“I’d make up a song-and-dance routine, then come downstairs and do it for everyone. My nan and grandad say Jill was the same – they must have thought: ‘Oh my God, another one!’ We’re really close – maybe I got the performing bug from her.”
Jill has always been on hand to offer advice, not least when – despite enjoying roles in Byker Grove and an episode of Casualty aged just 11 – Chelsea nearly gave up on her acting dream.
“I applied to drama schools when I was in sixth form and didn’t get in,” recalls Chelsea. “But Jill said: ‘If you don’t get this job, it doesn’t mean you’re not good enough – you’re just not right for that part. Something will come your way.’ And it did. I started work on Emmerdale the day I got my A-level results. It was mad.”
It was her Emmerdale alter ego’s traumatic birth scene in December 2011 that really singled Chelsea out as one of soap’s rising talents.
“That was so challenging – it was just me and the crew and it was freezing,” she says. “I got a bit worried I wasn’t going to be able to do it. But when we finished, I felt like I’d achieved something.”
The year ended with a Best Newcomer nomination at the National TV Awards.
And having proved that she can handle major storylines, there’s lots more drama in store.
TV Magazine... 16 March 2013
“I can’t say what’s coming up,” she teases, “but it’s something I wanted to happen to Amy.”
As Chelsea’s star rises even higher this year, it’ll bring inevitable attention from the public – though, Chelsea says, not from men.
She insists her boyfriend has nothing to worry about...
“I’ve known him since school – he’s a student studying web design,” she reveals. “But when I go out with my mates for a girlie night, I never get approached. None of my friends from home do. We’re like: ‘Are we really that ugly?’ We’re not the kind of girls to dress up with massive hair, but still!”
There is one thing that’s sure to get heads turning – her black Audi A4 convertible.
“That’s the only extravagant thing I’ve bought,” says Chelsea. “I’m not a flash Alec, but I proper love cars – I’m such a bloke!”
However, it’s not the money or the glamour that Chelsea is most thankful to Emmerdale for.
“The biggest change has been the confidence it’s given me,” she smiles. “I’m reading a book about acting that says 99 per cent of the time you’ll get a ‘no’ at an audition, so to get a ‘yes’ is amazing. I don’t know what I’d be doing now otherwise – I might have even given up acting completely. It’s changed my life.”
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/tvmagazine/TVmagsoaps/4841214/EastEnders-Danielle-Harold-Corries-Georgia-May-Foote-and-Emmerdales-Chelsea-Halfpenny-are-coming-of-age-in-an-exclusive-photo-shoot-for-TV-Magazine.html#ixzz2TCVodaJ0