EMMERDALE: I never take my work home. If I had, I'd have been intolerable to live with for the past 13 years; Emmerdale's Leah Bracknell on how she distances herself from her emotional onscreen traumas.
Byline: Rebecca FletcherThere are soap characters who simply potter along... and then there is Emmerdale's sexy vet, Zoe Tate, played by Leah Bracknell. In 13 eventful years, Zoe has come out as a lesbian, been the victim of attempted rape, killed her half-brother, had an affair with her brother's fiancee, become schizophrenic, indulged in arson and tried to commit suicide. Now, just when you thought a girl couldn't take any more, she's become soap's first pregnant lesbian.
Given her sexual persuasion, could this also be soap's first Immaculate Conception?
"Well, Zoe does wonder that because she has no impulses towards men whatsoever and has no idea how it happened," laughs Leah, 37. "It is one of her irrational, confused thoughts."
Even though the scriptwriters wanted a juicy storyline to mark the soap's 30th birthday on Wednesday, they made Scott rather than God the culprit. Scott and Zoe had a fling five months ago when, dazed with drugs, she made a pass at him. But given the extreme storylines Leah has handled, you can understand why she isn't batting an eyelid at this new twist.
"It was a pretty inevitable progression," she shrugs. "Zoe is a maternal person and toyed with the idea of artificial insemination a few years ago, but she's shocked by this because she has no recollection of how it happened.
"She was in a right state and her five-minute fumble with a younger man has slipped her mind. Frankly, it could be anybody's, which is why she grapples with the idea of having an abortion. She doesn't see it as a child - more of a monster. And she's got the added worry of whether the drugs she's taking for her schizophrenia has affected the baby.
"It's the last thing in the world Zoe needs, but for me as an actress, it's brilliant. I go into work wondering what they'll think up next. At least my life is completely different to hers - thankfully!"
Home for Leah is in Yorkshire, where she lives with her theatre director husband Lyle Watson and their daughters Lily, 11, and six-year-old Maya. Not that she's spending much time there.
"Because so much has happened to Zoe this year, the schedules have been manic," says Leah. "Yet even though my scenes are often dramatic or emotional, I never take my work home with me. God, if I had done that for the past 13 years I'd have been pretty intolerable to live with."
It's inevitable that playing soap's first lesbian has affected Leah's personal life and not always in a welcome way.
"When Zoe first `came out' it struck a chord and I got a lot of letters from young women confused about their sexuality," she says. "I haven't found that people have been prejudiced towards me, although the odd person thinks it's funny to shout names at me in the street. It doesn't bother me, but I do get annoyed when I'm with my family. Lily understands the names, but all Maya sees is someone being unpleasant to me. Why would anyone want to do that to us?
"At home, I've made a conscious effort, especially with the schizophrenia storyline, of not having the TV on. I don't think my little one wants to see me upset."
It's not just the children, either. Leah's husband Lyle couldn't watch when Zoe was almost raped in 1995.
"He doesn't like watching me on TV, full stop," she says. "He's spent his life directing and has had his fill of actors."
Born in London, the only child of David Bracknell, an assistant director on nine Carry On films, and his model wife who is also called Leah, she grew up loving movies.
"I spent most of my life on a set," she says. "I'd sit on a camera box and watch the action, wide-eyed and star-struck. Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor were all so nice to me. Sid gave me a bike once. I'd watch them all and think, `Yep, this is for me'."
After school, Leah went to the Webber Douglas Drama Academy. Just two years after graduating from there at the age 24 - and having only done a little theatre and commercial work - she was cast as Zoe Tate. Leah has been in the thick of the action for two milestones - the attempted rape was part of an hour-long special marking Emmerdale's 2,000th episode seven years ago, and discovering she's pregnant marks the soap's 30th birthday. But after 13 years, she has got itchy feet.
"I think about leaving all the time," she says. "You want to stretch your wings and look for new challenges. Saying that, it's scary thinking of doing anything else. I haven't worked in theatre as much as I'd like to. Whatever it is, it would have to be something very different to Zoe.
"It's a big decision, especially when you've been stable for a long time. Besides, this year's been great for me. Zoe has taken off in such a different direction that it's been like playing a new character. I don't know what they've still got in store for her. I'm just glad no one's got bored of me yet."
l See Soap Box, page 22.
IT SHOULDN'T HAPPEN TO A VET
In the past 13 years, life for Emmerdale vet Zoe Tate has been anything but rural bliss...
COMING OUT: In June 1993, Zoe became the first lesbian of soap. Her longest romance was with Emma Nightingale - they had their relationship blessed and exchanged vows and rings in May 1996 (above). It didn't last. Neither did her affair with lesbian trucker Frankie, three years later.
ATTEMPTED RAPE: In August 1995, farmer Ken Adlington (played by Douglas McFerran) forced himself on Zoe. "I was heavily pregnant at the time," recalls Leah. "So I remember being very slow and it taking ages. It was awful. I just gritted my teeth and got on with it. I was too upset to watch it afterwards."
KILLING HER HALF BROTHER: In November 1999, Zoe shot dead Liam Hammond (played by Mark Powley) in what was claimed to be self-defence. Liam, the bastard son of Frank Tate, was holding wheelchair-bound Chris (Peter Amory) hostage when Zoe tracked them down. She and Chris then burnt all evidence of Liam's parentage. "I'd never held a real gun before, so that felt weird," says Leah.
LOVE TRIANGLE: Towards the end of last year, Zoe had an affair with her brother Chris's fiancee, Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins). Zoe revealed their five-month fling at an explosive meal at Chez Marlon, but they still went ahead with the wedding. "I've kissed more women than men recently," says Leah.
BECOMING SCHIZOPHRENIC: Earlier this year, Zoe became a victim of mental illness. In a confused state she took an overdose of pills, tried to drink herself into oblivion and set the village church alight (right). "It's been my most challenging storyline," says Leah.
SHOCK PREGNANCY: Despite being a confirmed lesbian, Zoe discovers this week that she's five months pregnant after her fumble with young Scott Windsor (Ben Freeman) in May. "I enjoyed being pregnant in real-life, so this is great fun," says Leah. "They've made me a little bump to wear under my clothes - only thing is, it's making me broody."
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| Title Annotation: | Features |
|---|---|
| Publication: | The Mirror (London, England) |
| Date: | Oct 12, 2002 |
| Words: | 1214 |
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