Interview with Davinia Taylor about her return as Jude Cunningham. From Hollyoaks Spoilers and it does contain a little future plotline discussion, if you want to look away now.
Davinia Taylor (Jude Cunnningham) Interview - Hollyoaks
How did your return to Hollyoaks come about after all these years?
It came about quite by accident. The casting guy at Hollyoaks just dropped me a line, I don't know how he got my number. I got a text and it was tea time, I've got four boys so that's the worst time for any mum, it's chaos! I got a text asking if I would come back to Hollyoaks, I showed it to my partner, Matthew, and was like, "I've just had the weirdest text!" Id just had baby Jude, who is my fourth son, I didn't think in a million years that I would come back, hence the name! Matthew couldn't believe it and my nine year old was like, "What's that?" I said it was a TV show and hes like, "What? You on TV?" so I said, "Yes, I was quite something back in the day!" He was like, "But you don't do anything!"; as I was dishing up gluten free lasagne I'd made from scratch. So I just thought, "Sod it, I'm going back to Hollyoaks! You can make your own lasagne!’.
Did you think it might be a prank message?
I was a bit bemused really because I have had so many years out of the business. When you’re just a full time mum you think that’s it. I had just finished breast feeding, so you’re in that zone of boredom, you know, This Morning, more breast feeding, Loose Women, more breast feeding - it’s like box set after box set. You’re in your ivory tower with the baby, in your own zone, so I was really ready to get out of that zone because I thought, ‘OK, next stop menopause!’. So it was a breath of fresh air and it’s been absolutely wonderful. It’s surpassed all my expectations, it’s given me a new lease of life. It’s exciting to hang around with people who are actually taller than your hip! I actually race out of the door shouting, ‘Bye chaos!’. Like this morning, I was actually in bed with the baby and I hear singing outside my bedroom door. I thought how sweet it was that Acer has got up. Then I open the door and there’s my two year old, without his nappy on, smeared with poo! It’s everywhere and he’s standing there saying, ‘I only wear underpants!’. So I was like, hand him over, I’m off to work! Bye!
Why is Jude actually back?
It’s always about the money with Jude and getting it easily and criminally, I’m afraid. She’s been down in Costa del Crime, which I am OK with, for about 20 years. She’s pulling a mega bucks scam, she doesn’t care about anyone, just the money. She’s quite glamorous with it, so it’s not like she’s pick-pocketing, it’s big money we’re talking about, it’s about £500,000.
Will she catch the eye of any Chester men?
No, this is all about the money! She’s got a property development scam which the residents of Hollyoaks all fall for.
Is Jude as fierce and bitchy as fans will remember her?
Absolutely, if not a bit more than before! But she’s extremely loyal with it, especially where Cindy is concerned.
What’s Jude’s style like now she’s grown up?
I never bother wearing make-up and my hair is always in a scruffy knot, so I got a bit of a shock going into make-up on the first day. You have to remember we’re in Liverpool, the glamour capital of the world, and it all went mental. The slap went on, my hair was in rollers, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I look like a Cheshire housewife!’. I couldn’t do it, I didn’t feel right, there were fake eyelashes and everything. So I managed to tone her down quite a bit but still I come home from work and the kids are like, ‘You look so weird, why do you look so angry?’. That’s been interesting.
How is it working with Stephanie Waring after all these years?
We did a scene for the new titles up on the wall and it was a night shoot but it was July and Stephanie asked for a hot water bottle, the squishy one she likes. I was like, ‘Oh my god, Mariah!’. I couldn’t believe it, but then I’ll be honest, two weeks later we were doing a night shoot again and I was like, ‘Can I have a hot water bottle?!’. So it’s nice to be looked after.
What was it like walking onto set on your first day back?
I did feel nervous but I tell you what I found difficult, walking and talking - the fundamental aspect of acting, I was like, ‘Can we go again?!’. It took me a few days to find my feet in that respect but the good thing is because I know the character so well, I developed her and kind of based her on myself, it was easy to slip back into her. I could do the facial expressions and things like that pretty quickly. We shoot with one camera here, so it’s not like you do it once and that’s it, we have to remember when we put a glass down and where for each angle, so I’m like, ‘You want me to walk, talk, take a sip and act? What are you talking about?!’. That’s slowly coming back, as is the camera awareness and all that. There was a bit of stage fright but it’s been nice. The scripts have been so much more contemporary and how someone of my age would speak, so it’s nice to get gritty again.
Has anything changed on set?
So many of the cast and crew are the same. I’m like, ‘Oh my god, are you still here?’ and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah babe, I’m still here!’. They’ve all got a few more grey hairs but it’s fantastic to see so many familiar faces.
Your life’s changed rather a lot since the last time you were at Hollyoaks...
Just a tad! It’s very different now, it’s so much more manageable now. I feel like it’s a privilege to come to work, whereas before it was something that was in between socialising. The last time I was 18, had loads of disposable income and no responsibilities, you’re on the telly, it’s a recipe for disaster. The guys here now are far more mature than we were back then, they totally have their heads screwed on.
There wasn’t social media back then, are you pleased about that?
We didn’t even have the internet back then! We didn’t have mobile phones so if they couldn’t get hold of us, that was it, they couldn’t get us. Am I glad we didn’t have social media back then? A million percent, are you kidding? I’m fascinated by social media, I don’t do Facebook or Twitter, anything, I live through Steph Waring! I’ve got a Whatsapp group with my old school friends and my extended family, but that’s it. So it’s a whole new world, like when the digital team come down and pounce on you, I’m like, ‘Woah, you’re going to have to slow down and explain who the hell I am talking to!’. I don’t get it! It’s fascinating but I am comfortable in my own acting bubble with the cast and crew.
Do you think you would have been in trouble if there had been Twitter when you were partying?
Oh yeah! You can see now that it’s a car crash for a lot of kids. It’s a shame that we don’t have a pause or edit button on it. The things you say when you are 15 to when you are 25 or 35 are completely different. Now what you say is set in stone forever. You don’t have to be famous to be crucified now, it’s everyone. I think it’s something we all need to consider, you know, what we say. It’s awful if you ask me. My son’s only just coming up to ten and he’s only just starting, it’s something that worries me.
Will your mates like Kate Moss, Sadie Frost and the Gallaghers be watching?
I would have their kids watch because it’s on at tea time and they are all parents so I would imagine they would watch. I won’t be asking them to because it’s embarrassing watching yourself on TV. I won’t be having a party for my first episode, I’m going to have my head under a pillow and cringe
Has your return shown your kids just how famous you actually are?
Luckily no, I would love to obliterate my history, it’s awful. Maybe doing something like this will help, it is such a family show and does a lot for the youth of today because it’s like a voice, it touches on subjects that the other jam or soaps won’t touch. So I think this is something very positive. I think my kids will probably just be mortified I’m on TV, they might be a bit bemused by it.