Although she wants to make her relationship with sporty girlfriend Fin work, Tess struggles with the role of footballer’s wife. Adding further confusion to her life, Tess finds herself attracted to new flatmate Lexy.

On top of this, her dream acting role is somewhat overshadowed by a power struggle with co-star Nora. Thankfully she has the support of ever-loyal Ed and new-found friend Hugh.

So it looks as though all of Tess’s dreams have come true as this series starts….

Yeah I guess so! She got the girl and the job – unfortunately it’s not happy-ever-after just yet.

What issues does she have with her new girlfriend?

There are a lot of things about Fin that don’t exactly float Tess’ boat. Sport for example. Tess is more likely to run away from a football than kick it.

What is it about Lexy that turns Tess’s head?

Have you seen her?! It’s more than that though, Lexy is confident and really secure about who she is, she’s not vain, she’s into the arts, she likes country and western and she’s a really good laugh. It’s kind of a no-brainer.

Now that Tess and Ed are just good friends do you think there’s any awkwardness between them?

Only when one of them says something about what happened by accident. I think Tess needs Ed to get a girlfriend so she can feel totally at peace with the whole thing.

Describe Tess’s relationship with her co-star Nora…

Nora goes out of her way to make Tess’ life at work pretty hellish, to say the least. I think she [Nora] feels threatened even though she is a more experienced actress. Tess is good and she can’t bear it.

And why is her friendship with Hugh [Stuart McQuarrie] so important to her in this series?

Hugh has a smashing sense of humour so they hit it off straight away. He becomes Tess’ confidant – especially as Ed becomes a little distracted – and she becomes his. Basically Hugh is a total legend – if a little bonkers.

What things can fans expect to see in the second series of Lip Service?

It’s fair to say they are not going to believe what happens. Think last series was shocking? You ain’t seen nothing yet.

What sort of reaction have you had to playing Tess?

I get recognised quite a lot which I hadn’t anticipated at all. People aren’t really shy. One girl came right up to me – I mean right in my face – and said ‘oh it IS you’, stayed looking for a bit, then gave me the thumbs up and wandered off.

What projects are you working on in the not-too-distant future?

In April I’m in a play The Girl In The Yellow Dress at Theatre 503, I’m in The Cardinal Burns show for E4 and I’m off to Los Angeles for some meetings which is slightly scary but exciting too.

BBC Press