Post by tomsgirl on Jun 10, 2007 1:17:25 GMT 1
Linda Lusardi is turning nasty.
Linda Lusardi is turning nasty. Flashing the megawatt smile that made her one of Britain's most popular and successful models, the new Emmerdale star announces that the King family won't stand a chance now her character, Carrie Nicholls, is getting her claws out. And Linda couldn't be happier about it.
"I love being the Dales' superbitch," she laughs. "Well, it beats just being brought in to pull pints at The Woolpack! It's great that Carrie's starting to fight back, now that she's realised how dysfunctional the Kings are. But trust me, you haven't seen anything yet."
Until now, 48-year-old Linda has only ever had the friendly, super-smiley image that made her such a successful pin-up in the 70s and 80s -but that's just why she wants to shake things up. She's hoping that Emmerdale will let her finally put those modelling days behind her and allow her to be recognised as a serious actress.
"I really hope Emmerdale will put me on the acting map - I'd be lying if I said I wasn't," she sighs. "I've been doing stage work for 18 '.ears but until you're in people's homes on a regular basis, in a primetime show like Emmerdale, no one notices. I still get described as 'Linda Lusardi - ex-Page 3 girl'. Perhaps Emmerdale will stop that. I'd really love it to."Not that she regrets her former modelling days. What's to regret anyway? All those exotic locations and glitzy parties...
"Oh, I don't regret it," she says, "but please let me move on. It does get a bit tedious talking about it, which is why I hope Emmerdale will shake my old image and allow me to make my mark as an actress."
Well, she certainly gets her chance this week, when Carrie turns devious in a bid to safeguard her and her daughter Scarlett's future at Home Farm. Tricking Rosemary into trusting her, Carrie secretly tapes her confessing that she bribed Hari to lie in court at the Kings' trial.
And when Rosemary accidentally falls over a bannister and the King brothers refuse to call an ambulance until she signs everything over to them, doesn't step in to help.
"I think Rosemary's shocked at how sneaky and nasty Carrie's becoming," Linda says. "But Carrie wants rid of her; she wants to be the sole female in the King family and protect Scarlett's inheritance. She knows she can't trust any of the brothers, so she's determined to keep covering her back and collect as much evidence against them as possible so they'll never be able to push her out as they have done Rosemary."
Linda, who has appeared in Brookside and had a previous recurring role in The Bill, as dodgy Don Beech's girlfriend Maggie, says she definitely had a soap role in her sights.
"I think if you can do this job, you can do any acting job," she says. "Emmerdale's an institution. It's part of Britain; I can't remember a time it wasn't on, so I'm really proud to be here."
And a little surprised. Linda had a meeting with one of the soap's producers two years ago and heard nothing until she was asked to go for a screen test last winter.
The following day, she got the call while in rehearsals for a pantomime. "I walked back into the rehearsal room and my husband [former Brookside actor Sam Kane), who was directing, totally misread my shocked face and said, 'Never mind'. When I told him I'd got it, he said, 'Well, why aren't you smiling?'
"I said, 'How am I going to cope being away from the kids and you?' and he went, 'Just ring them back and say yes and we'll sort it out!' I spent the next two weeks worrying about how I'd juggle everything."
That, she says, is the only downside to her life right now - commuting from her Hertfordshire home to film in Leeds from Monday to Friday, leaving behind Sam and their children, 10-year-old Lucy and seven-year-old Jack.
"Like most working mums, I feel terrible guilt at not being there," she sighs. "\ should be home making their tea, or being with them if they're ill. But I think they're coping better than I am. They know it won't be forever and when the school holidays come around, we'll rent a cottage up here so we can all be together."
She and Sam, who have been married nine years, met in panto in 1996, not long after the end of Linda's unhappy first marriage to builder Terry Bailey.
"Sam and I tried to think of all the reasons we shouldn't be together so quickly," she recalls. "I'd just split with Terry, so was it rebound? Was he only interested because of my name? But it just felt right; we had to be together. Without a doubt, Sam's the best thing that ever happened to me."
Their wedding, in 1998, was one of the happiest - and saddest - weeks of their lives, as Linda explains.
"After the wedding, we flew to a villa in Spain and invited our families along for a big party. But Sam's mum died of a heart attack while she was there. It was so traumatic flying back without her and seeing Sam hurting so much. We've always been so family orientated." Little wonder then that they were keen to
start one of their own, not least because being in her late thirties, Linda feared that time wasn't on her side.
"I didn't really want kids before I met Sam," she says. "I was enjoying my career and didn't think I had space for them, but then Sam came along and he wanted them and I couldn't deprive him.
"I knew there wasn't lots of time left for me and worried it could take years, but Lucy happened in two months! And when her in my arms it was the best thing in the thought '' I could have gone through life & not done this'. And being an older mum I've have done all the partying, so I don't feel deprived Dressed in a shiny tunic dress and it's hard to believe Linda - who is tiny is 48.
Warm, chatty and softly -spoken, her huge black
kohled eyes and sparking smile draw admiring looks from passers by.
But as she approaches 50, has she consided
having any cosmetic surgery?
"Oh, I'll probably have something don maybe a facelift at 55 - but I don't feel the need yet," she smiles. "I work out once a week keep the booze and curries down, but I've got my mum and dad to thank for my looks. It's in the genes. My mum's still a size 8."
Her parents, Nello, 76, and Lila, 74, have aways been her biggest fans. Raising her Palmers Green, north London, they watch their daughter try her hand at hairdressing & working at a tax office, before heading for bright lights when a model scout spotted me "Of course, they had reservations about modelling - about me flying around the world at 17 - but they supported me. They're so now seeing me on TV. Mum badgered me i months to tell her who killed Tom King -I told her I did it!"
Linda has had her initial six-month contract extended to keep her in the soap until Christmas, so what new levels Carrie will s to remains to be seen. But now she's anglin; be at the helm of the King family, we bet it's going to be lively. And Linda agrees.
"I think she'd like to rule the King empire she's certainly getting her feet under the tab I'll stay as long as they want me. I'm loving and I want to make my mark here."
By Rebecca Fletcher.
Saturday Express magazine 2nd June 2007.
I think Carrie
would like to rule
the King empire.
She's certainly
getting her feet
under the table.
Linda Lusardi is turning nasty. Flashing the megawatt smile that made her one of Britain's most popular and successful models, the new Emmerdale star announces that the King family won't stand a chance now her character, Carrie Nicholls, is getting her claws out. And Linda couldn't be happier about it.
"I love being the Dales' superbitch," she laughs. "Well, it beats just being brought in to pull pints at The Woolpack! It's great that Carrie's starting to fight back, now that she's realised how dysfunctional the Kings are. But trust me, you haven't seen anything yet."
Until now, 48-year-old Linda has only ever had the friendly, super-smiley image that made her such a successful pin-up in the 70s and 80s -but that's just why she wants to shake things up. She's hoping that Emmerdale will let her finally put those modelling days behind her and allow her to be recognised as a serious actress.
"I really hope Emmerdale will put me on the acting map - I'd be lying if I said I wasn't," she sighs. "I've been doing stage work for 18 '.ears but until you're in people's homes on a regular basis, in a primetime show like Emmerdale, no one notices. I still get described as 'Linda Lusardi - ex-Page 3 girl'. Perhaps Emmerdale will stop that. I'd really love it to."Not that she regrets her former modelling days. What's to regret anyway? All those exotic locations and glitzy parties...
"Oh, I don't regret it," she says, "but please let me move on. It does get a bit tedious talking about it, which is why I hope Emmerdale will shake my old image and allow me to make my mark as an actress."
Well, she certainly gets her chance this week, when Carrie turns devious in a bid to safeguard her and her daughter Scarlett's future at Home Farm. Tricking Rosemary into trusting her, Carrie secretly tapes her confessing that she bribed Hari to lie in court at the Kings' trial.
And when Rosemary accidentally falls over a bannister and the King brothers refuse to call an ambulance until she signs everything over to them, doesn't step in to help.
"I think Rosemary's shocked at how sneaky and nasty Carrie's becoming," Linda says. "But Carrie wants rid of her; she wants to be the sole female in the King family and protect Scarlett's inheritance. She knows she can't trust any of the brothers, so she's determined to keep covering her back and collect as much evidence against them as possible so they'll never be able to push her out as they have done Rosemary."
Linda, who has appeared in Brookside and had a previous recurring role in The Bill, as dodgy Don Beech's girlfriend Maggie, says she definitely had a soap role in her sights.
"I think if you can do this job, you can do any acting job," she says. "Emmerdale's an institution. It's part of Britain; I can't remember a time it wasn't on, so I'm really proud to be here."
And a little surprised. Linda had a meeting with one of the soap's producers two years ago and heard nothing until she was asked to go for a screen test last winter.
The following day, she got the call while in rehearsals for a pantomime. "I walked back into the rehearsal room and my husband [former Brookside actor Sam Kane), who was directing, totally misread my shocked face and said, 'Never mind'. When I told him I'd got it, he said, 'Well, why aren't you smiling?'
"I said, 'How am I going to cope being away from the kids and you?' and he went, 'Just ring them back and say yes and we'll sort it out!' I spent the next two weeks worrying about how I'd juggle everything."
That, she says, is the only downside to her life right now - commuting from her Hertfordshire home to film in Leeds from Monday to Friday, leaving behind Sam and their children, 10-year-old Lucy and seven-year-old Jack.
"Like most working mums, I feel terrible guilt at not being there," she sighs. "\ should be home making their tea, or being with them if they're ill. But I think they're coping better than I am. They know it won't be forever and when the school holidays come around, we'll rent a cottage up here so we can all be together."
She and Sam, who have been married nine years, met in panto in 1996, not long after the end of Linda's unhappy first marriage to builder Terry Bailey.
"Sam and I tried to think of all the reasons we shouldn't be together so quickly," she recalls. "I'd just split with Terry, so was it rebound? Was he only interested because of my name? But it just felt right; we had to be together. Without a doubt, Sam's the best thing that ever happened to me."
Their wedding, in 1998, was one of the happiest - and saddest - weeks of their lives, as Linda explains.
"After the wedding, we flew to a villa in Spain and invited our families along for a big party. But Sam's mum died of a heart attack while she was there. It was so traumatic flying back without her and seeing Sam hurting so much. We've always been so family orientated." Little wonder then that they were keen to
start one of their own, not least because being in her late thirties, Linda feared that time wasn't on her side.
"I didn't really want kids before I met Sam," she says. "I was enjoying my career and didn't think I had space for them, but then Sam came along and he wanted them and I couldn't deprive him.
"I knew there wasn't lots of time left for me and worried it could take years, but Lucy happened in two months! And when her in my arms it was the best thing in the thought '' I could have gone through life & not done this'. And being an older mum I've have done all the partying, so I don't feel deprived Dressed in a shiny tunic dress and it's hard to believe Linda - who is tiny is 48.
Warm, chatty and softly -spoken, her huge black
kohled eyes and sparking smile draw admiring looks from passers by.
But as she approaches 50, has she consided
having any cosmetic surgery?
"Oh, I'll probably have something don maybe a facelift at 55 - but I don't feel the need yet," she smiles. "I work out once a week keep the booze and curries down, but I've got my mum and dad to thank for my looks. It's in the genes. My mum's still a size 8."
Her parents, Nello, 76, and Lila, 74, have aways been her biggest fans. Raising her Palmers Green, north London, they watch their daughter try her hand at hairdressing & working at a tax office, before heading for bright lights when a model scout spotted me "Of course, they had reservations about modelling - about me flying around the world at 17 - but they supported me. They're so now seeing me on TV. Mum badgered me i months to tell her who killed Tom King -I told her I did it!"
Linda has had her initial six-month contract extended to keep her in the soap until Christmas, so what new levels Carrie will s to remains to be seen. But now she's anglin; be at the helm of the King family, we bet it's going to be lively. And Linda agrees.
"I think she'd like to rule the King empire she's certainly getting her feet under the tab I'll stay as long as they want me. I'm loving and I want to make my mark here."
By Rebecca Fletcher.
Saturday Express magazine 2nd June 2007.
I think Carrie
would like to rule
the King empire.
She's certainly
getting her feet
under the table.