Amy Tyndall - hi sweetie! You're lunatics, the lot of you! What do I think of fans? You're all mad! You�re stark raving insane, all of you! [She's definitely joking - Ed.]

I�ve been in the business a really, really long time, so it�s hard to remember being really anonymous. Going to America has been refreshing in that respect, because very few people know me, so I can actually walk down the road and just be really normal, and it doesn't matter if I go out without makeup on.

In Australia it�s virtually impossible. They don�t mob me, but they always recognise me, but they are always really nice and ask how I�m doing and about the various projects I�m in.

Over here - I lived here for a really long time, twenty-seven years I was here, I came when I was nine. I used to go back and forth [between the UK and Australia] a lot. But as soon as I'd done Neighbours and it was shown [here] I was suddenly chased by school kids!

That was the most bizarre time, when fans were running after me and I felt like a popstar. Most of the time the fans are very respectful.

There�s only been two times when it�s been a little bit odd. Both instances happened in America. Once a video camera got popped under the door when I was in a [toilet] stall. I kicked it out of the way and gave chase, but they had gone.

The second time I heard this voice say, �Hi, how are you?� and because of the camera incident I looked down, but then they said, "No, no, I'm up here!" I looked up and they were there, standing on the toilet in the next booth, leaning over the top. They wanted to know if Zhaan went to the loo. I said, "Yes, she does, thank you very much for asking, honey, but tell you what, we'll talk all about it outside." Of course they were gone by the time I came out. I didn�t want to shout or scream or be aggressive any way because if they were doing that then they had no boundaries and they could have a gun. They might say, "Zhaan's dead and you should be too," or something crazy.

All in all, the fans know that I really, really love them and that I'm really normal and that I�m not up my own bum. I'm not one of those actors that thinks she's superior in any way.