I'm pleased to welcome Francesca north to the program today.0:05
Francesca is currently playing the role of Maggie in the popular TV series Prison Blues.0:09
It's lovely to have you with us today, Francesca.0:16
Tell us how you got into acting.0:20
Well, my mother is Japanese and my father is English, so we spoke two languages at home.0:23
My mother wanted me to have a good English accent, so she sent me to speech lessons.0:29
I did very well in this.0:35
The teacher also gave acting lessons and one thing led to another.0:37
She suggested I try some acting and the next thing I knew I was winning drama awards and seriously considering acting as a career.0:42
My mother wasn't sure she wanted me to do this, though.0:50
She didn't think it was a very secure job.0:53
Oh, all he ever wanted for me was to be happy.0:57
And if that's what I wanted, at the end of the day, I could always teach English or drama if life on the stage proved to be too precarious.1:01
So you did go to drama school?1:09
Yes, and had a wonderful time.1:11
The great thing is that you make so many friends and contacts.1:14
Then I happened to be in the right place at the right time one day and was offered a very small part in a TV soap.1:18
That was fantastic because although it was a small part, the thing with soaps is that the story is ongoing.1:25
Gradually, my character became more involved in the storyline and they wrote bigger and bigger parts for me.1:32
Obviously you must research a part.1:38
You played a young mother, didn't you?1:41
I did talk to young mums and tried to get an insight into the kinds of highs and lows they experienced.1:45
Young mothers have to have a lot of energy for their kids, but they also often feel they want more fun and less responsibility.1:52
Later, when I had my own children, I used to look back on the role and think of all the things I thought that being a mother was about.2:00
Then the reality wasn't quite the same.2:08
When you left the soap, it must have felt as if part of your life fell away.2:11
I had been very involved in the role, yes, but the offer of playing Maggie in this new series was too good to miss.2:15
The part you are playing now as Maggie in Prison Blues is very different.2:22
How do you manage to be so convincingly bad?2:28
I will take that as a compliment.2:33
Actually, Maggie is almost everything I am not.2:36
I'm not saying I'm perfect, but she is a very bad woman.2:39
In order to play the role, I have to consider how I would think and what I would do in the given situation and try to find the complete opposite thoughts and actions.2:44
There are times when I'm really not keen on acting out what Maggie does.2:53
For example, when she is so unkind to some of the others.2:58
Did you actually go to a women's prison and meet prisoners?3:01
And I learnt a lot about life in prison.3:07
I guess there must be a punishment for crime, but there are a lot of women in there who have had a really hard life with many problems.3:10
Many of them have had little education and were involved in petty crime as children and haven't had the love and care of family relationships.3:19
Others found themselves in difficult financial situations and resorted to crime as a means of survival.3:28
Is life in jail really like the TV series?3:34
Well, the producers have tried to make it as realistic as possible and that is why we spent quite a bit of time ourselves researching what it is like and talking to staff and prisoners.3:38
I don't think there are many real prisoners quite like Maggie, but sometimes the frustration of being in prison brings out the worst in people.3:49
I have to say that every time I left there I was so relieved that I didn't have to face years inside.3:58
Freedom is a very precious thing and what I have done has helped me to appreciate the fact.4:04
I consider myself to be a law abiding person and I sincerely hope I never end up in prison for real.4:10
You know, sometimes innocent people do and that must be an absolute nightmare indeed.4:17
Coming back to you and your career, do you have plans for the next role yet?4:25
Well, this series is still being completed and after that we'll see.4:30
But after playing such a nasty, violent character, I would like a role that is completely different next time.4:35
It's hard to play a baddie all the time and I wouldn't want to be typecast.4:42
In fact, if any directors out there are listening, I wouldn't mind a little role in the theatre for a change.4:47
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