Lauren Drummond Interview

Actress Lauren Drummond made her first appearance in June last year as loveable naive nurse Chantelle Lane. She talks to holby.tv about her character and time on the show so far…

You joined Holby City last year, how are you enjoying your time on the show so far?

I’m thoroughly enjoying playing Chantelle Lane, she is a pleasure to play. It’s lovely to be able to play a character like that which can sometimes be overlooked and I think she has had a nice impact on the show. I’m looking forward to seeing her grow in the future.

Chantelle must be a fantastic character to play, how would you describe her?

She is someone who has no agenda, she is very genuine and very warm. Warmth is a massive thing for her – she oozes smiles and cuddles and she is very easy going, yet consciencious and ambitious.

Can you relate to her in any way?

Yes, I can in the sense that I am a real people person. I’m not very good at confrontation or being abrupt. People often say that by being nice you don’t get as far in life, but I’m a nice person –I’d never stab someone in the back to get ahead – that’s not my style! I think I can relate to her in that way, that by being nice to people that will get you a long way!

Do you have any similar traits personality wise?

Yes, I sometimes don’t think before I speak!

Chantelle always tries to do the best by her friends. Do you think you could be friends with someone like Chantelle?

Yes I think I’d definitely be friends with her. If anything, Chantelle would make me feel bad about myself because she is so lovely and so selfless that she would always be a great friend to have.

Chantelle is prone to saying what she thinks – often when she shouldn’t, do you have any memorable Chantelle one-liners/ quotes?

Yes I do! Two spring to mind actually. The first was to Malick, where Chantelle said: “Malick you’re clever, is the Gambia in Africa?” The other was to Hanssen when she said: “Ooh don’t touch that, it’s my rape alarm!”

Your character was heavily involved in scenes with Elizabeth and her mother, did you enjoy getting to grips with this storyline?

Yes I did. It was a particular turning point for Chantelle when she realised that being nice to everyone doesn’t always solve everything, it might make things easy for people but actually it doesn’t always solve problems. With Elizabeth, she tried to have a picnic and tried to get Elizabeth and her mum together, to spend more time together and actually when there is an illness, especially a mental health illness, there is no logic in being nice about things and she couldn’t smile her way through that.

Do you miss working with La Charne Jolly?

Me and La Charne got on really, really well but the whole cast at Holby are great to work with and I’d miss any one of them if I wasn’t working with them.

What feedback do you get from viewers about your character?

They like the fact that Chantelle just comes out with whatever is on her mind! Viewers often say she doesn’t think before she speaks and treats the consultants and the patients as one. She doesn’t differentiate and she doesn’t treat someone like Ric differently from say the hospital porter, the audience like that. Also, Chantelle’s make-up and hairstyles seem to be quite popular!

Would you like to see Chantelle get a love interest on the show?  She seems quite keen on Oliver?

I think she is very keen on Oliver because she has a lot of respect for him, thinks he’s a good Doctor and is of course very handsome! They also get on really well. I’d like to see her have a love interest and to see how it would play out. I’d love to see what type of girlfriend she would be!

Chantelle likes to be glamorous, with her make-up and clothes. Do you like her fashion sense and what is your own style?

I’m very, very boring in comparison! I love her fashion sense as she simply throws on anything – she doesn’t care whether it matches! She mixes it all up and I am much more self-conscious so I’m a bit of a plain Jane compared to Chantelle but I do love her style.

What are the rest of the cast like to work with?

A joy. They are so encouraging and very open to helping the younger cast. They are an amazing cast and took me under their wing when I joined. Hugh Quarshie often educates me in-between scenes, he’ll teach me all about the Euro Crisis and wars going on in the world and those types of things.

Who are your closest friends on set?

I’m really close with Tina Hobley, especially as we are related – our grandmas are cousins! I always knew but Tina didn’t.  Before I joined the show every time I went over to Ireland the family would mention her! In fact, my grandma really wanted me to mention it in my audition, she said that I would definitely get the part if I said I was related to Tina! I didn’t tell them though in case they thought I was a weirdo lol! As well as Tina I’m very close to Hugh.

You made a guest appearance in Holby City back in 2008, can you remember much about this role?

Yes I remember a lot about it. I played a girl called Hannah Sharp. Hannah was a young diabetic girl who was very body conscious and wanted to be thin, so she didn’t take her insulin – she was bullied too by girls in her class. She died of a condition called Diabulimia, which was as a result of not taking her medicine.

What have been some of your other favourite acting roles you’ve appeared in previous to Holby City?

Waterloo Road will always have a place in my heart. I was in it for 3 years and loved the show and working with the cast there. Heartbeat will always be special to me as it was my first regular job and I loved dressing up in all the sixties clothes. It was nice to play with a different accent in Harley Street, because I played a very posh girl so that was nice as well.

Have you always wanted to be an actress? Which actors/actresses do you admire?

Unfortunately yes! I wish I had a back-up plan but this is me I’m afraid, I have no back-up plan if it goes wronglol! I think Meryl Streep is a genius. I also love Reese Witherspoon, the diversity of the roles she plays is fantastic. Marion Cotillard, a French Actress who starred inLa Vie en Rose is very good too.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I enjoy spending lots of time with my family – my mum, dad and my brother. I play the guitar but I think my favourite thing to do is going to the theatre which I absolutely love.