5 minutes with... Joanne Froggatt

Joanne Froggatt

Joanne Froggatt

Joanne Froggatt was born in 1980, and shot to fame at the age of 16 when she joined the cast of Coronation Street.

Since leaving Weatherfield, her credits include Danielle Cable: Eyewitness, See No Evil: The Moors Murders, Life on Mars, and Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback.

She can currently be seen as Kate in the BBC One series Robin Hood.

Q: How would you describe your character in Robin Hood?

A: Kate's a village girl, and she's quite feisty. She fights for what she believes in and that gets her into trouble sometimes, especially with the Sheriff and the tax collector. Basically, she gets outlawed and has to join Robin Hood's gang, where she gets to fight with all the boys.

Q: Do you feel like you've become part of the gang?

A: Yes, everyone was so lovely. All the boys had known each other for a couple of years by the time I came into it, but they were so welcoming. We went on a few nights out with the cast and the crew, because we were all away from home, and it was a bit like a big family.

Q: Now Maid Marian is no longer in the series, is there a chance Kate will become the new love interest?

A: There is a will-they won't-they thing going on, but it's never quite as simple as that. There are lots of spanners thrown in the works and someone else is fighting for Robin's attention, shall we say. It's a little bit vague as to what will happen.

Q: A lot of your TV projects have been quite dark, is it good to do something more light-hearted?

A: I've done a lot of those things, which I loved and will hopefully go back to, but it is nice to have a change. I've not done anything that's action-packed before, and it's good to show people you can do other things. I thought it would be a nice, fun show to do and it was.

Q: You've played real people in the past. Do you approach that differently from playing a fictional character?

A: You've got a lot more research to do obviously, and it depends on whether the person is someone people might know or not. I played Joanne Lees and she was quite familiar to a lot of people because of the coverage after the attack in Australia, so that was slightly different because I had to try to get her voice and mannerisms. It's a big responsibility starring in that kind of drama because it's so sensitive to the people involved. In Robin Hood, you've got a lot more freedom.

Q: You got your big break on Coronation Street, was that a good way to start your career?

A: It was a bit like my drama school in a way because I learnt so much there - I was with some really good actors who took me under their wing. Because I was so young it was quite nerve-racking, but it really built my confidence, and my storylines got bigger. It was only supposed to be for four episodes and it lasted for 18 months. If they'd said to me at the beginning what I'd be doing at the end of my run, I'd have been 'My God, I can't do that', but they built me up gradually. It was a really nice time in my life.

Q: Do you have any ambitions?

A: I would love to do more of everything really. I'd love to do more theatre, more comedy, more period drama - it's never ending.

Q: Have you got any other roles in the pipeline?

A: Not really. There's not a massive amount happening at the moment all over, I have to say. I've just done a small part in an episode of Moving On, which is executive produced by Jimmy McGovern. It's basically a series of plays for BBC One and format is very like The Street, but it's for the afternoons, so there's not as much swearing in it. They're just fantastic scripts, and they've got a really good cast of people to work on it.

Q: Is it difficult during the quieter periods?

A: You always get a little bit worried of course, everyone does, but you've just got to make the most of your time, and use it to sort your life out and catch up with people who you've not seen because you've been away. You're always auditioning or publicising something you've just done, so there's normally something going on and it's hopefully not completely stark. I'm quite fortunate that most of the time I have a little project occurring.

Q: When you are working, is it hard to be taken away from home so much?

A: In some ways, yes, because you miss a lot of things. You miss your loved ones and your partner, and last year when we were filming Robin Hood I missed six weddings and my best friend having a baby, but that's the price you pay for doing something you love. You get to see fantastic places, and you do get homesick sometimes, but you can't complain about it because you're doing an amazing job. You can't have it all, all of the time, can you?

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Wednesday 10th February 2010
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