As vicar’s niece Jasmine Thomas, young actress Jenna-Louise Coleman has seen her character go through more emotional upheavals than most of us have to face in a lifetime. But even she was taken aback when Emmerdale producers unveiled her latest storyline.
In the hour-long special which airs tonight, she batters her boyfriend to death after he tries to rape her: “I was quite shocked but immediately thought, ‘Yes!’ But I was very nervous before I filmed it,” she reveals.
In the ITV1 show, the rookie reporter has been dating corrupt cop Shane Doyle but when he discovers her ransacking his flat and finding drugs – incriminating evidence of his crimes – the unhinged officer pins her down and tries to rape her.
Talking exclusively to the Mirror, 22-year-old Jenna-Louise reveals how much the plot affected her
When her friend Debbie (Charley Webb) bursts in and smashes him over the head, it looks as if the story will end well. But Shane comes round and grabs Debbie, so Jasmine whacks him with a chair leg. Once she starts hitting him, she can’t stop. And before she knows it, she’s killed him.
Jenna-Louise, who is taking a break from the show next year, admits she couldn’t sleep properly for weeks before the filming. “Rape is such a sensitive issue and one of the worst things that can happen. I wanted to get it right. I was so tired I felt I was drunk, getting to that level of hysteria.”
She decided not to speak to rape victims or research it. “I didn’t want any preconceived ideas of how I was going to play it. But I watched loads of murder movies like Shallow Grave and Monster, which helped me realise how easy it is for things to get out of control when you’re backed into a corner and scared.”
The young star won’t be watching the gory scenes: “I’ve no idea what I did. I hate seeing myself on screen but my grandma will be glued. She watches every episode and always says, ‘Your hair looked nice’. I wonder what she will make of this.”
Scriptwriters are now working out Jenna-Louise’s exit next year and she knows it is a brave decision to leave: “It’s exciting but terrifying,” she says. “I’ve been here three-and-a-half years and it’s my first proper job so I’m itching to do something else.”
The actress feels her character may lose audience sympathy when she and Debbie panic and dispose of Shane’s body in a lake. “Hopefully her dilemma will make audiences feel sorry for her and understand why it happened,” she says.
In the past two years she has bedded Debbie, had a wild fling with Debbie’s dad Cain, who got her pregnant, and now she’s a killer: “She certainly doesn’t do things by halves,” she laughs.
Jenna-Louise admits she has received a mixed reaction since she has been in the show. “Little girls come up to me and people stop me and say nice things, which is lovely. But I do find it hard when people whisper when I walk past, ‘It’s that lesbian in Emmerdale’.”
Away from acting, her personal life seems very sorted. She has dated her former co-star Karl Davies for three years after meeting him on set when he played Robert Sugden, and the couple live together in a flat outside Leeds.
The 26-year-old actor has since starred in ITV1’s Kingdom with Stephen Fry. The series is set in Norfolk which has meant the couple have been apart for long periods.
“But we’re both independent, so it worked well. Karl has been working with Stephen and I’ve met him a few times.
“He’s just as lovely as you would imagine him to be.”
Her brown eyes sparkle when talking about her man. “I’m really happy with him. I’m attracted to men who are driven and enthusiastic about what they do.”
For now, she says she has no plans to marry: “I’m only 22 and I’m focused on my acting. I’m very ambitious. But I’d love to settle down one day – probably when I’m 30. And although I love babies, I definitely want to wait a while. I see how exhausting it is from actresses on the show who have children and my mum tells me what hard work I was.”
She says: “My mum had me and my brother when she was about 19 and it’s great because we’re really close friends. But I know I won’t be ready for motherhood until I’m older.”
Seeing how drained she was after the rape scenes, supportive Karl got up at 6am to drive her into the studios.
This is her second serious relationship – her first lasted for three years. “I’ve never had flings and I’ve never dated bad boys because I can’t stand that kind of arrogance. I prefer gentlemen. I love to be treated nicely.”
Karl seems to fit the bill. She smiles when she says that on her 21st birthday, he did a treasure hunt around the house with clues leading to gifts which included a Cartier watch. “He is very romantic but he is ridiculously tidy. He calls me messy but I think he’s got OCD,” she says laughing.
Despite her stunning good looks, Jenna-Louise suffers the same lack of confidence as many girls her age. “I hate my legs,” she admits. “But I like my shoulders. I don’t know what Karl’s favourite bit of my body is as he never says.
“Some days, I feel awful about myself and don’t want to go out of the house and then other days, I wake up and think, ‘I feel good’. I’m just a normal girl.”
Unaware of her beauty, Jenna insists she would never pose for raunchy photos in men’s magazines. “I’d be uncomfortable showing off my figure in a magazine. I exercise and do dance classes but I don’t diet. I like my food and my weakness is bread.
“As I’m only 5ft 2in, I keep an eye on it but I’m about size 10 and though I’d like to lose half a stone, I don’t obsess about it.”
Public recognition is one of the reasons she enjoys socialising with other cast members in Leeds to dilute the attention, and Jenna-Louise is close to Charley Webb and Sammy Winward (Katie Sugden).
The friends had a girlie holiday in Portugal earlier in the year and she adores Sammy’s three-year-old daughter Mia.
“She makes me melt when she asks to speak to me on the phone. She is so gorgeous and she does make me feel broody.”
Jenna-Louise is from Blackpool and close to her parents – her housewife mum Karen, businessman dad Keith and brother Ben, 24.
“Having a close family has made me very secure but I’m pretty grounded anyway. I love going home to visit them. It’s nice to escape – the hours are so long and you can get surrounded by Emmerdale.”
They encouraged her interest in drama from an early age. “I went to dance school when I was four. Then while I was at school, I worked with a theatre company and we’d go to the Edinburgh Festival and other places performing.
“I knew when I was 10 that I wanted to act full-time. Leaving Emmerdale is a risk but I’m just hoping that I’ll get more work.
“I would love to do something similar to Maxine Peake. The kind of character acting she does is really inspiring. I love working as an actress. So far, I’ve been lucky.”
