You probably know her as Hannah Ashworth off Hollyoaks – a role she played for five years when we were all still at school. But, since her departure in 2010, Emma Rigby's been going from strength to strength. From the critically aclaimed Prisoners Wives on BBC1 to Once Upon A Time In Wonderland – last year's spin off to the hugely popular *Once Upon A Time *series – now she's back in new film Plastic alongside Will Poulter, Alfie Allen and Ed Speleers.
The movie, based on real-life events, tells the story of a group of credit card fraudsters at university, who find themselves in hot water when they mess with the wrong person. Suddenly, they need to make a lot more money. And fast. Cue a trip to the land of the cash-rich and taste-poor – Miami.
We caught up with Emma to find out how she feels about leaving Hannah Ashworth behind and getting into bed with Downton Abbey's naughtiest footman.
The Debrief: Tell us a little bit about the real story behind the film
Emma Rigby: The script is loosely based on the real story but, in our film, the premise is a group of students who get involved in a serious crime and come up with the idea of stealing diamonds. My character, Frankie, gets involved because her father is ill and she feels desperate in the situation, and she also falls in love with the lovely Ed Speleers, who is the lead character in the film.
DB: Ah yes, the dishy footman from Downton
ER: I’ve never seen Downton Abbey, but I saw a photograph of him and I was like, ‘Ooh, hello!’
DB: And obviously you did a sex scene with him as well…
ER: That was the most mortifying moment. My mum is my date for the premiere, and I’ve already warned her about it! I don’t get embarrassed easily, but when I watched the film I was certainly embarrassed by that scene!
DB: What was it like working with Will Poulter?
ER: Will is amazing and I’ve become really good friends with him. He’s a wonderful boy. I just can’t believe his success – I was so thrilled when he won the BAFTA Rising Star and the MTV award, so I took him for a 'congratulations' lunch.
DB: There’s one scene in particular in the film which has got everyone talking – when you come out of the water in a bikini. Do you feel uncomfortable filming those scenes?
ER: Yeah, I do feel a bit uncomfortable, just because I feel like I’ve worked really hard to get away from a certain stereotype of being like a blonde, of people assuming I’m like a certain way and then having to do a scene like that. And also, because the day I shot that scene, there was about 60 paparazzi there and you can't remove them from the beach, and they told me I had to film the scene. You have no choice. At the end of the day, I just focused on the work. I’m there doing a job and I’m there acting so I just get on with it.
DB: With regards to trying to get away from a stereotype, did it take you long to get away from the 'Hannah from Hollyoaks' tag?
ER: I was in Hollyoaks for five years. It’s a huge part of my life and I’m very grateful for the time I spent there. But now I’m beginning a new thing. Film was always my passion. It is hard to move away from that stereotype, particularly coming from a soap. People can be very 'meh' for some bizarre reason. In America, it's very different. People celebrate success and people will you to do well, whereas here I fell like people are very derogatory. That’s unfortunate, but that's just their opinion.
DB: Obviously your anorexia storyline in Hollyoaks was a really big deal – do you still get people talking to you about it?
ER: I’m really proud of that story. It’s a subject that’s really close to my heart personally. It seemed to strike a chord with so many people. One time I was involved with a charity called Beat, and I went to a conference and a girl came up to me and said she was actually in a ward at the time because she had suffered with anorexia for several years, and she was at the stage where she was suffering potential organ failure and death, but that she had watched the scene where the character of Melissa died and she said it changed her life. That triggered something with me. She looked like a healthy young woman and she said thank you to me and I just burst out crying. I just couldn’t believe it. I was so pleased.
DB: Do you think there's a lot of pressure on young women to look a certain way?
ER: I saw Emma Watson had spoken out about the pressure and the airbrushing. I really admire Emma Watson. I think she’s a really eloquent, articulate young woman and a really great role model. I feel like it is still a huge issue still today – the influence of models, celebs. The idea that we are showing young people that can't ascertain people that have copious amounts of money who go on these photo shoots that are airbrushed is such a wrong message to young people. They should be able to focus more on being a child, playing outside, being happy and definitely not worrying about the way they look!
Follow Jess on Twitter @jess_commons
'Plastic' is in cinemas now.
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.