Blast from the past
SAMANTHA GILES IS TREADING THE BOARDS, BUT SHE STILL WONDERS IF BERNICE AND BOB COULD’VE GOT IT ON…
It was only six months ago that Emmerdale icon Bernice left the village for a fresh start in Portugal after racking up thousands of pounds’ worth of debt in her sister’s name. But here at Inside Soap we’ve missed her unique brand of madness every day, so we relished the chance to chat to actress Samantha Giles, who’s currently touring the UK in Kaye Mellor’s The Syndicate.
Bernice had some gloriously bonkers stories over the years, but in her last stint, we loved the eccentric B&B antics – and we weren’t alone. In fact, the star enjoyed it so much she was almost tempted into staying…
“For me, that last year doing all the B&B stuff was particularly brilliant – I loved that,” grins Samantha. “But by then I’d already made the decision to go. I hadn’t intended to stay that long, but Bernice is a great character. It’s always good to leave a party when you’re enjoying yourself. And the itch was still there to do other things.”
After leaving the Dales behind, Samantha did just that – playing the wicked stepmother in Cinderella. Then, she got the call about The Syndicate.
“I feel very blessed to be asked to do The Syndicate,” admits the star. “It’s such a well-written piece, and it feels like an honour to be involved in Kay Mellor’s last stage play. It’s going really well – we have a lovely company of people, too.”
The Syndicate, based on the BBC drama of the same name, is a story of everyday supermarket workers winning big on the lottery. And frumpy Denise is a far cry from larger-than-life Bernice!
“Denise, my character in The Syndicate, is the complete opposite to Bernice!” chuckles the actress. “Denise is very maternal, but sadly doesn’t have any children. She’s very trustworthy and always tells the truth. Denise is dog-mad – whereas Bernice is man-mad!”
The play is directed by Kay Mellor’s daughter, former Emmerdale star Gaynor Faye (Megan Macey), who had Samantha in mind for the role from the beginning. However,
