After more than two decades playing Emmerdale ’s ditsy Bernice Blackstock, Samantha Giles has seen her fair share of drama as well as comedy.
And in her latest soap storyline, the actress is taking on the menopause.
Samantha, who has played the iconic character on and off in the ITV hit since 1998, is determined to shine a light on the condition and its side-effects. But she also plans to tackle the subject with her trademark sense of humour.
This week, Bernice discovered she was menopausal after mistaking her ‘brain fog’ for early dementia.
And Samantha says that in true Bernice style, she will be letting the Dales residents know that hell hath no fury like a woman whose hormones are playing havoc with her mind and body.
“At one point, Bernice walks into a shop and actually screams,” Samantha laughs. “She goes into rages that completely take over but, like many women will know, she then feels terrible.
“After screaming, she says – very deadpan – ‘Thank you, I am done now’. She has many of the common symptoms, like hot flushes, but I really want to show the serious side of what going through the menopause is like.
“Because Bernice is famous for being a comedy character, I want to bring the funny side to even the darkest aspects of life.
Hopefully, people will see elements of themselves in what is going on. I know I do…”
At 51, Samantha is at the perimenopausal stage of her own journey. And like her onscreen character, she has also started to find herself becoming bad-tempered on occasion – even in shops.
“I get furious and anxious about things, which is obviously very common, and I had a brief rage in a chemist’s a couple of weeks ago,” she admits. “I didn’t go as far as Bernice but sometimes, you do get into situations where you would like to scream.
“It’s a tough one for women as you can lose your confidence or worry about your self-worth but, hopefully, a lot of the things Bernice says and does will resonate with women.”
Samantha prefers to keep her home life private but says hubby Sean Pritchard, who she married in 2010, has been “hugely supportive” as she navigates the peri-menopause.
And Samantha – mum to daughters Eve and Olivia – also has friends she knows she can rely on.
“It’s so important to have a support network,” she says. “Women do talk about things together – especially health. For women going through the menopause, it can be absolutely horrific. It can make you feel less feminine and you can fear your sexy days are over but, thankfully, there is a lot of help out there now.”
Samantha says she tries to eat healthily, avoiding both sugar and caffeine, and regularly works out – albeit reluctantly. “I would rather do anything other than go to the gym, but I make myself,” she laughs.
More than two decades have passed since she first joined the ITV soap but Samantha says she still loves playing feisty Bernice just as much as she did on her first day – and she loves knowing that she is bringing a smile to viewers’ faces.
She initially played Bernice for four years before leaving the soap in 2002 and then returned briefly in 2004. Eight years later, she breezed back into the Dales again before bowing out in 2019 – and then returning last year.
“I have so much fun with Bernice,” she enthuses. “I always try to stay truthful to the subject, like her menopause, but it is good to have some lighter moments too. On occasion, I find myself asking, ‘OMG, do I really have to say this on screen?!’ but it’s good to bring humour to Emmerdale.
“I really enjoy playing Bernice so much. I always remain truthful to every subject, but I hope people see elements of themselves in her in the lighter moments too.”
Samantha remains tight-lipped about what the future holds for Bernice but, as the feisty salon owner’s hormones are all over the place, she hints that there could be a rocky road ahead.
Has Bernice’s latest storyline made her more fearful of the menopause?
“You can worry about things all your life but I am going to take each day as it comes,” she says. “I am just going to hope for the best.”
However, one thing Samantha hopes she won’t have to endure again is another urinary tract infection. In her early 40s, she had a debilitating chronic infection that lasted for two painful years.
“I had an embedded infection and it was scary,” she says. “You are frightened of going to the shops or going out because you are constantly thinking about when you are going to need to use the toilet. It’s depressing.”
UTIs can sometimes occur when women reaching the menopause find their oestrogen levels are starting to lower. This means their bodies have less immunity to fight things off.
After such a bad previous experience, it’s something Samantha is very wary of.
“Now that I am perimenopausal, I’ve got to hope for the best that I don’t get another one,” she says.
One of the main reasons Samantha’s infection lasted so long was because it was originally misdiagnosed. The actress says she would like to see better testing across GP surgeries and on-the-spot testing introduced.
“Eventually, my body fought my infection off, but I would urge any woman who is in pain and thinks they might have an infection to make a loud noise,” she says.
For now, Samantha is looking forward to Christmas and making the most of the festive break from filming to spend some quality time with her family.
“It’s such a lovely time of year,” she says. “I really like it at Christmas and the Emmerdale village looks lovely with all the lights on.”
- For more information about avoiding bladder infections, visit liveutifree.com
