Rough Diamond
Lorraine Pilkington plays Yolanda Carrick
Bubbly blonde actress Lorraine Pilkington couldn't wait for starter's orders for her role as Yolanda Carrick in 91Èȱ¬ One's new family drama series, Rough Diamond.
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And one of its many appealing facets was that, despite playing a vet: "I didn't ever have to put my hand up a horse's bottom, which I was very pleased about!" laughs the mother of two.
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Dublin-born Lorraine, who plays the wife of millionaire race-horse breeder Charlie Carrick (Stanley Townsend), shadowed a vet for a couple of days as part of her research.
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"I watched how he approached a horse, how he handled it and gave an injection, how he checked hooves and all that kind of thing. And everybody who knew I was playing a vet, they all did this kind of miming for pulling on a very long glove – every single person," she grins.
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Lorraine, 31, who reaped plaudits for her role as Lulu in Justin Kerrigan's Human Traffic, set in the Cardiff club scene of the Nineties, knew from the off that she wanted to saddle up as Yolanda.
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"I had a couple of children and didn't do a huge amount in between and had begun to wonder if I was ever really going to get plum roles like Yolanda again," she explains.
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"So the first thing that appealed to me was the plumminess of the role – it was a fantastic opportunity and she's a great character to play. She's warm, she's got some wit, she's not too intense. She's kind of cool and she's got a sense of humour, which I like – and she rides horses and works with animals, which is all really groovy!"
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Lorraine has ridden, on and off, since the age of about 10.
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"I rode until I was about 14 and then I discovered boys," she confesses. "I came back to it when I was about 18 and rode probably until I moved to London, when I was 22. I never officially stopped, but just couldn't get on a horse in London – you have to travel for quite a long time."
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But there certainly seems to be an on-screen affinity between Lorraine and the magnificent animals sure to gallop their way into viewers' hearts.
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Surprisingly, though, she reveals: "I found myself quite nervous around the horses and it took me probably about two or three weeks before I was totally happy with handling them again.
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"Then, within two weeks, I was whacking them on the arse and playing with their faces and all that kind of thing, which is what you do when you're really comfortable with horses. But, at the beginning, there were certainly a few little nerves."
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She adds: "It was a delightful shoot. For Ireland, the weather was quite good and it was great working with [director] Simon [Massey], my husband, and with Dermot [Boyd], the other director."
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Before her marriage to Charlie, Yolanda had a relationship with Aidan (Conor Mullen). The two men are at loggerheads over the sale of Aidan's failing yard, which Charlie desperately wants to add to his upmarket business.
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So will viewers see Yolanda and Aidan rekindle any romantic embers?
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"The thing with Aidan and Yolanda is that they have an undeniable connection based on their love of, and passion for, horses," reveals Lorraine. "Although Charlie is passionate about horses, he's not very hands-on. He doesn't ride them and he doesn't have this magic around them.
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"There are also lots of other differences," she adds. "When Yolanda meets Charlie in the beginning, he's a different man. He's become this very successful, wealthy go-getter and, basically, Yolanda's much more low-key – she's kind of an ordinary girl.
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"She comes from probably a fairly wealthy family but she's not really interested in all that. She's driven by a love of animals and horses and I suppose Aidan represents something that Charlie isn't. It doesn't necessarily mean that she loves Aidan but I suppose, in a friendship, it satisfies something that she doesn't get from Charlie and I think that often can be a dangerous situation – especially if Aidan looks like Aidan!" she smiles.
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"But I think their love for each other is still very wholesome and I don't think anyone's going to do anything foolish."
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Charlie put Yolanda through veterinary school, so does she now feel unfulfilled without a "proper" career?
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"Basically she is a very good vet, but she's never been allowed to do very much in this huge stud farm and I think she does feel undervalued in that way," explains Lorraine. "Her daughter [Sheridan, played by Muireann Bird] has got to 15 and, as we all know, you raise a child and suddenly they turn around and go, 'I don't need you'.
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"I think she's hit a point in her life where she's going, 'I'm not busy with my daughter – what is it I do, exactly? Am I a vet? Or am I just somebody who wanders round putting Band Aids on horses?' But later on, they explore a little what she needs to be satisfied."
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Lorraine is the first to admit that to play Yolanda, she's had to combine her career with being mother to Milo, five, and Luke, two in February.
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"I was so overwhelmed to get this part that it was one of those situations where there was no question I had to do it – at any expense. I would have sent my children to Borstal!" she jokes.
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"But I felt very strongly that they'd had me full time and it was the point where, if I didn't get back to it now, I just didn't know when I would and I thought I might go completely potty!
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"It was very hard on my older boy because he had to move to Ireland and move school and not have any of his friends, and then his mummy went to work – it was really tricky for him. It was less so for Luke because their grandparents were around and he loves them. He's just used to pottering around the house anyway – he doesn't miss friends or social engagements."
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The actress admits: "It's terribly difficult because you know that, ultimately, you're not making your children happy at that point – you're making yourself happy. I guess the pay-off is that you're then a much more fulfilled and happy mother when you finish and then they are much more fulfilled and happy.
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"But in the time that you're actually doing it, I'm not going to pretend that they had a fantastic time without their mummy or daddy. I saw them a lot, but just not the same as when you're at home."
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The Rough Diamond shoot was the first time Simon and Lorraine had worked together as man and wife. They originally met on the second series of 91Èȱ¬ One's Monarch Of The Glen, in which Lorraine played schoolteacher Katrina, but didn't become involved until after the series was finished.
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"I guess I was nervous," explains Lorraine, "because we all have our roles in the household and if they're reversed, you suddenly think, 'How's that going to work?'
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"I would have a normal discussion with any director but I really felt I was holding my tongue just in case it sounded like we were having some sort of domestic argument when, in fact, it was only ever to do with work. I spoke to a lot of the crew, though, and they said it was absolutely fine.
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"And actually," she adds endearingly, "it was wonderful to see him in that capacity again and really kind of fancy him from afar!"
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Lorraine is hopeful that Rough Diamond will stay the course beyond this initial outing.
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"If there's another series, it would be fantastic," she declares. "The great thing about a series like this, as opposed to those that are on the whole year round, is that, as a working mother, it's nice to dip in and out – to do four months and then have six months off, and then do four months again. It's ideal to do it that way and still get a bit of time with the little ones."
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And if it all works out, diamonds really would be a girl's best friend...
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