Unlike the other women, Lexy is quick to call people on their bad behaviour and is often quite insightful in her comments. Although she can come across as hard-nosed (particularly when indulging in gallows humour with her fellow, gay, doctor friend, Declan) Lexy is very compassionate and extremely good at her job.

As the series unfolds and she becomes the victim of some perplexing behavior and Lip Service fans will soon see her hidden vulnerable side. Lexy is quickly drawn in to the friends’ lives and finds herself immersed in events she could never have anticipated.

Tell us about your character Lexy…

Lexy’s extremely relaxed and doesn’t sweat the small stuff. She’s been through enough in her life and seen enough in her job in A&E to realise that, if given the choice, it’s better to laugh than to cry.

She has an incredibly dry, devilish sense of humour and is lots of fun to be around.

She’s a highly intelligent, incredibly nonjudgmental person and is happy to just let people be themselves in all their quirky glory. Lexy really delights in watching all of idiosyncrasies of Tess and Sadie. She’s adventurous in that particular way that Australians often are and is really enjoying living in Scotland and Glasgow and is really enjoying living far from home.

She’s not emotionally indulgent and tries to rationalise things instead of feeling them – she likes fixing problems instead of indulging in them. But will be there for you if you need to harp on about yours. Lexy is reliable and very grounded, the kind of friend you can always rely on.

She’s been a lesbian all her life and doesn’t feel the need to explain or justify her sexuality. And as you’ll see in the show, despite herself, she does fall for people very deeply.

Is Lexy a welcome addition to the group and, if so, why?

Because she’s a legend! No, seriously, I think she fits in because she’s so different to any other character. Lexy doesn’t challenge anyone’s position too much – even if at first they think she does. She’s a strong woman, but doesn’t shove that in people’s faces. Also, as the series progresses, they realise that they need her.

What’s Lexy like at work? And why is she such good friends with Dr Declan?

Lexy is very professional at work. She’s someone who you could trust and who would always do the right thing. And by right, I mean morally, not in a goody too-shoes way.

Declan is a very welcome relief at work. They share a gallows humour that is very necessary in the world of accident and emergency, where the weight of everyday needs to be lifted in order to survive. Declan is quite self-obsessed but lots of fun to be around and beneath all the bravado, their friendship really matters to them both.

What things can fans expect to see from newcomer Lexy?

They can expect to see someone fall in love without really realising it, someone joining a whole new different group of friends in a new country and being taken out of her comfort zone. And, of course, there’re lots of scenes in scrubs (which are the best costume to wear – ever!), some potentially scary intrigue, moments when things heat up and also some moments that are pretty funny.

What was it like joining the Lip Service team?

I was really nervous joining the team. It’s quite intimidating joining a group of people who are so close and who have already worked together.

I remember the read-through, I lost my phone on the train on the way up to Glasgow and was so tired because I couldn’t sleep the night before. Then, when I arrived, I was taken straight to the read-thru and they were all there, looking so together. I had to go and stand in a toilet cubicle to calm myself down…especially because I had watched the first series and thought – ‘Oh, they all look so lovely, I want to be their friend!’

What was it like filming in Glasgow?

I absolutely loved filming in Glasgow and I love that the show is a love letter to Glasgow. Glasgow is such a young and fun place to be with a thriving artistic and progressive culture. James [Anthony Pearon] actually lives in Glasgow and has an amazing group of artistic friends, so spending time with them was a much-needed break from the serviced apartment world of filming.

On our days off, we made the most of extraordinarily beautiful Scotland and found different lochs for swimming adventures. I even bought a wetsuit! Poor Heather [Peace] wanted to come, but she was writing her new album, so Tash [Natasha O’Keefe] got to borrow her wetsuit – we have some quite hilarious photos from our adventures.

We also had a pretty crazy night when Ruta and Heather introduced me to the Polo Lounge [Glasgow’s biggest gay club]. We were cutting some shapes on the dance floor that really should never have been cut.

Any memorable moments from filming?

Heather and I had quite an interesting time filming all the running scenes. Most of them are by the water and even though we were shooting in Spring – ach it was cold! Not only were we just wearing lycra, but we were sprayed all over to look sweaty – so when that north wind tore along the Clyde – wow!

The costume department were amazing and would be standing by with hot water bottles wrapped up in warm coats, but I think we both actually turned blue at one point!

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

I’ve recently filmed the new Coen Brothers written film, Gambit, directed by the inspiring Michael Hoffman. It’s a really funny film with Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz – I play Alan Rickman’s secretary.

I’ve also just finished filming the World War 1 epic adapted from a set of Ford Madox Ford novellas by Tom Stoppard and directed by Susannah White. It was fantastic to work with a great female director again. I particularly enjoy it when the creatives on a project are female. I play Rebecca Hall’s best friend, Bobby, a very naughty aristocrat. Rebecca is so fun to work with – we had a ball – even if the corsets were a bit tight!

BBC Press