Heartbeat
Tricia Penrose interview
Published: Friday, 9 November 2007, 5:02PM
Poor Gina has only been married a few months and tragedy is already lurking around the corner. Actress Tricia Penrose tells us about the big storyline in the new series that tears her life apart.
Gina, is enjoying married life. Are they settling down to their lives together?
You don’t actually see Gina and Phil together much, but they’re getting on fine. They’re settling into a normal routine with her working in the pub and Phil at the police station. They’re talking about the future and their plans for starting a family as most newly weds do.
Tell us about the devastating accident.
When the accident actually happens, Gina’s in the pub with everyone. They’ve organised a game show night with Oscar as the host and Gina as his glamorous assistant. When Sergeant Miller comes into the pub she guesses something’s not quite right. He tells her the news of Phil’s accident. Of course she’s absolutely distraught, because it’s taken them so long to get together and marry and then only for her to lose him. It’s devastating.
How do you think Gina will cope with the death of Phil?
It’s not something she will get over easily. She’s not really aware of what’s happening during the funeral and thank goodness Oscar’s there by her side to support her. It’s such a sad episode in contrast to the wedding, when you consider Gina, distraught and clinging to Blaketon for dear life.
Is he a father figure to her
Blaketon is her rock, I know the Oscar/Gina relationship is quite comical at times, because of the way she’s at his throat and he’s at her’s, but deep deep down they love each other and yes, he’s like a father to her. He even gave her away on her wedding day. Oscar’s always been there for her and says some lovely things after the accident, especially when Gina’s contemplating leaving Aidensfield.
She must want to escape from the village after Phil's death
Definitely. She doesn’t want to live in the village without Phil, as there are too many memories for her. Gina’s not sure what to do and all the regulars in the village try and persuade her to stay. It’s very sad and she feels it’s the end for her without Phil and she can’t bear to stay. PC Don Wetherby visits Gina, because he feels responsible for what happened to Phil.
She gets help from some unlikely places, too?
Yes, even Peggy has important words with her. I think Gina wants to get the funeral over, with everyone there to support her.
Was filming the funeral scenes hard for you?
It was very hard for me and for all the actors who worked on Heartbeat for a long time. I was feeling down anyway because I’d already said goodbye to Mark in real life and filming those scenes were very emotional.
You’ve worked with Mark for 16 years. How will you find working on Heartbeat without him?
It’s not the same for me, especially as I didn’t want him to go. I’ve lost my best mate on set and I miss the chats we used to have and spending time together. It’s not goodbye forever, though, as we’ll still see each other. I’ll struggle on set without him, because when you’ve worked with someone for so long and you know the characters as well as we do everything comes so naturally.
Her problems don't end with the funeral, do they?
No because Gina finds out she’s pregnant and is in turmoil about the whole situation. Without Phil, she doesn’t know what to do.
Who helps her?
Carol talks to her about how she feels and she even meets up with a psychiatrist who offers her some help on coping with grief. I don’t see any romance for her at the moment, because it will take a long time for her to get over Phil. She was besotted with him and thought she had married her soul mate.
Can she survive all the heartache?
With Oscar as her father figure, I think they’ll have their own little family and it would be lovely for them to bring the baby up in the pub. There’s a lot for Gina to take on board and it will take a while for her to get over the loss of Phil.
You’ve had a lot of sadness at the start of this series. Have there been any funny incidents on set?
There are always funny incidents. Working with Derek is always fun. He lightens the mood by saying silly things. I wish I could write down some of the things he says, as I never seem to remember them afterwards. I just remember him having us in stitches.