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Girl from Down Under Comes out on Top
Aussie-born CASUALTY star Christine Stephen-Daly talks about her secret sexy past, and her long distance love affair with the man in her life
For two days, Christine Stephen-Daly sat alone in her London flat staring at the telephone, willing it to ring. By the end of the second day she�d had enough. Deciding she needed some fresh air, she changed her sweater, picked up her keys and headed for the front door. And that�s when the phone rang.
�It was my agent,� says Christine, 29. �The part of Lara Stone was mine and I was joining CASUALTY. That�s when I really started worrying.�
There were three reasons for Christine�s concern. Firstly her new job was based in Bristol which meant she would be living and working miles away from her boyfriend Simon in London. Secondly, she�d be required to play out some heavyweight storylines involving an attempted rape. And finally, there was the sexy secret of her mysterious TV debut in Britain.
�Looking back now,� says Christine, �I should have been even more worried. I had no idea of just what a big deal it all was.�
But surely she must have seen the show? �To be honest, never,� Christine admits. �Which meant, ofcourse, that I had no preconceptions.�
Two days later, she was in Bristol for costume fittings and her first script read through. Although she thought she�d be able to continue with her life in London with marketing consultant Simon, she soon had to re-evaluate things.
�I got a room in a hotel for the first month and then thought I�d better find temporary digs,� she says. �I hadn�t reckoned on the way that CASUALTY takes over your whole life. As soon as I realised what the part entailed, I had to sit down with Simon and explain that I�d be living in Bristol during the week for the next three years. We�d only be together at weekends.
�Now I get back to my flat in Bristol having filmed all day, and I barely have the energy for phone calls. Lucky Simon�s a really intelligent bloke so he understands my crazy schedule. It takes a very special human being to be able to deal with such restrictions. I�m very proud of him.�
CASUALTY isn�t Australian-born Christine�s first TV role in this country, but it takes plenty of cajoling to get her to reveal her little secret � that she made her debut as a stripper in Eastenders.
�I had a very small role in which I played a student who had to pay her way through university by taking on extra work,� she finally concedes. �I wore a corset, suspenders and not much else. I was hired by Martin Kemp�s character, Steve Owen, to strip at his stag party. He was very sweet to me, as was everyone else on the soap.
�I couldn�t believe the reaction, though. I was only on-screen for a matter of minutes and yet I started receiving all this fan mail. It was quite bizarre.�
Despite her coy attempt at hiding this earlier appearance, blonde Christine, who inherits her beautiful olive skin from her father�s Hungarian ancestors, is no stranger to playing sexy parts having starred for two and a half years in the Aussie soap Pacific Drive. After drama school Down Under, she�s worked in the theatre before landing a role in the glitzy drama.
�It was a sort of camp version of Melrose Place,� says Christine. �I played superbitch Amber and it was fabulous fun. She ruined people�s lives, breaking up relationships and trying to take control of companies. She bedded any and every available man, chewed them up and spat them out.
�It was wonderful. I wore animal prints, fluffy tops and ever present sunglasses. Amber was a real gay icon.�
There followed s strong of guest roles in almost every major Australian TV show, at which point Christine decided she needed a break from the endless grind of work and bought a plane ticket to Britain.
�I decided to go and stay with my older sister Louise who�s a teacher in London,� she says. �I wanted to do all those things I hadn�t done when I was younger, like just going out and getting drunk. I�d been such a serious young lady, completely professional and so career-driven. I needed to let my hair down and be a bit silly for a while.�
It was during her first year to London that some old friends from Sydney and her home town in Melbourne, introduced her to Simon.
After her first audition for the role of Lara Stone, Christine took her new man back to Australia �for a greet and meet� and when they returned to the UK a frantic agent was trying to contact her for a second audition.
�It�s such a great part,� she says. �As soon as I read a monologue of Lara�s at my first audition, I thought �I know this woman�. And that�s how it�s been ever since.
Christine has plenty to get her teeth into in the ratings-winning CASUALTY. Lara is the victim of an attempted rape at the hands of a police inspector, David Collier, who previously raped his own wife, a patient in Lara�s care
In the ensuing fight, Lara hits her assailant over the head with a brick, injuring him so severely that his life hangs in the balance. And by the end of this series, there�s a double shock for Lara, the consequences of which must be confronted when CASUALTY returns this Autumn.
�It�s incredibly highly charged,� says Christine. And Lara has certainly been put through an emotional wringer this year. In March, her boyfriend, Patrick Spiller, played by actor Ian Kelsey, was killed in a tragic accident. Christine�s performance in the aftermath were widely praised.
�Working with Ian was a dram though,� she says. �Patrick and Lara were a fantastic team. Both were arrogant and thought they knew best. It made work very exciting. Ian�s a real joker, though. He�s certainly got a twinkle about him. Acting opposite him was wonderful, great fun.�
On set, Christine is particularly close to Zita Sattar, who plays nurse Anna Paul. �We hit it off straightaway,� she says. �She�s got such a warmth about her and she�s incredibly funny. She�s just a very decent human being.
�When I first joined the show, I never went out in the evening, but after a bit you begin to make friends and want to let off steam together, never mind that you�ve got a seven o�clock call the next morning!
�I�m loving my life. I feel very privileged, both personally and professionally, to be in this position. These are good times indeed.�