Post by tomsgirl on Feb 27, 2008 20:42:21 GMT 1
As seen on Tina Baker's Emmerdale teletext page-
She left Emmerdale to star in medical drama the Royal Today but it was yoga that Leah Bracknell prevoiusly Zoe Tate saved her hubby's life.
''He was choking on a piece of lamb I could see he couldn't breathe gristle was blocking his airway'' she recalls.
''Years ago I did first aid training as part of my yoga training & some must have stuck as I did the helmlich manovere & it saved him.
Starring in the new daytime drama series the Royal today is a fresh start for Leah Bracknell.
'After 16 years in Emmerdale I wanted to try new things' she enthuses.
'When I hit 40 I wanted to take a risk & find a new challenge which this has made life exciting again'
Leah's also enjoying playing a character different very different from gay veterinary surgeon Zoe Tate.
'She can be a bit flirty with the men which I'm loving' she laughs.
Almost three years after bowing out of Emmerdale Leah Bracknell has returned to soapland with the Royal today writes Jonathan Donald.
The prospect of taking on such a commitment again sparked conflicting emotions in the elfin star 43. 'there were pros & cons' she reveals 'but I was really excited about doing something that was starting from scratch.You did not quite know what you were getting yourself into.'
Challenges included being offered a role she did not actually audition for.
'When they rang me & said I had got the part I thought great & then they said I had got the role of matron' says Leah who is married to theatre critic Lyle Watson with 2 daughters Lily & Maya.
'I thought I was up for the part of a radiographer but that character disappeared in the nether.'
Part of the appeal of playing matron Jenny Carrington for Leah has been that she is nothing like her former soap incarnation lesbian vet Zoe Tate. 'She is so bossy which does not come easily to me' she admits 'but I really wanted to move away from Zoe with this role. I wanted her to be very different to the past that I had done for the last 16 years. She is a very strong charcter & I think there could be many places to go with her'
Leah did have considerable experience to draw on as she assumed the role of Matron after I left drama school. 'I worked as an nurses assistant on a geratrics ward' she reveals 'I enjoyed it but the job was very limited basically I was wiping people's bottoms, giving bed baths & feeding people it wasn't really for me but it did make me aware of how we need to do more to care for our elderly.
It has been almost three years since Leah left Emmerdale as Zoe she had played out mental illness being up for attempted murder & finallly escaping after blowing up Home Farm. She went through a 'detox' process after leaving.
'It is called doing theatre fortunately the work never really dried up. I have done a lot of theatre including panto for the first time which I loved'.
Leah has also been kept busy with a string of tv's drama roles most memorably being a patient in BBC historical drama Casualty 1907. 'I played a patient who's depressed. In those days they diagnosed it as being hysterical & had an usual way of treating it - a vibrator!' she reveals 'I don't think that you can not get that on the NHS these days but I have tried' she laughs.
The Royal Today ITV1 weekdays 4pm.
She left Emmerdale to star in medical drama the Royal Today but it was yoga that Leah Bracknell prevoiusly Zoe Tate saved her hubby's life.
''He was choking on a piece of lamb I could see he couldn't breathe gristle was blocking his airway'' she recalls.
''Years ago I did first aid training as part of my yoga training & some must have stuck as I did the helmlich manovere & it saved him.
Starring in the new daytime drama series the Royal today is a fresh start for Leah Bracknell.
'After 16 years in Emmerdale I wanted to try new things' she enthuses.
'When I hit 40 I wanted to take a risk & find a new challenge which this has made life exciting again'
Leah's also enjoying playing a character different very different from gay veterinary surgeon Zoe Tate.
'She can be a bit flirty with the men which I'm loving' she laughs.
Almost three years after bowing out of Emmerdale Leah Bracknell has returned to soapland with the Royal today writes Jonathan Donald.
The prospect of taking on such a commitment again sparked conflicting emotions in the elfin star 43. 'there were pros & cons' she reveals 'but I was really excited about doing something that was starting from scratch.You did not quite know what you were getting yourself into.'
Challenges included being offered a role she did not actually audition for.
'When they rang me & said I had got the part I thought great & then they said I had got the role of matron' says Leah who is married to theatre critic Lyle Watson with 2 daughters Lily & Maya.
'I thought I was up for the part of a radiographer but that character disappeared in the nether.'
Part of the appeal of playing matron Jenny Carrington for Leah has been that she is nothing like her former soap incarnation lesbian vet Zoe Tate. 'She is so bossy which does not come easily to me' she admits 'but I really wanted to move away from Zoe with this role. I wanted her to be very different to the past that I had done for the last 16 years. She is a very strong charcter & I think there could be many places to go with her'
Leah did have considerable experience to draw on as she assumed the role of Matron after I left drama school. 'I worked as an nurses assistant on a geratrics ward' she reveals 'I enjoyed it but the job was very limited basically I was wiping people's bottoms, giving bed baths & feeding people it wasn't really for me but it did make me aware of how we need to do more to care for our elderly.
It has been almost three years since Leah left Emmerdale as Zoe she had played out mental illness being up for attempted murder & finallly escaping after blowing up Home Farm. She went through a 'detox' process after leaving.
'It is called doing theatre fortunately the work never really dried up. I have done a lot of theatre including panto for the first time which I loved'.
Leah has also been kept busy with a string of tv's drama roles most memorably being a patient in BBC historical drama Casualty 1907. 'I played a patient who's depressed. In those days they diagnosed it as being hysterical & had an usual way of treating it - a vibrator!' she reveals 'I don't think that you can not get that on the NHS these days but I have tried' she laughs.
The Royal Today ITV1 weekdays 4pm.