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Emma Samms - Queen Boadicea

Ghost stories
  Do you or don't you believe in ghosts?

I do believe in ghosts because I have seen ghosts, so I most certainly believe in them.

I saw the ghost of my brother, who died when he was eight, and I was nine. I saw him a few years later, and he quite clearly came back to tell me that he was all right, which was very comforting.

I wasn't ever scared, because it was my brother, but the first thought that went through my mind was, 'Ah, so there are ghosts'. And I've also experienced sort of poltergeist things.

In what form was your brother?

As though he was standing in the room, except the room was dark so I wouldn't have been able to see him if he wasn't somehow illuminated - he wasn't glowing, but he just looked normal. But as I say, I wouldn't have been able to see him because the room was dark.

Façades
  What kinds of magic spells would you like to be able to do?

[If] I could make a magic spell, I think it would be a spell to make people show who they really are.

I think it would be so nice for all misconceptions and façade, all the pompousness, to completely disappear, and for people to come across exactly as they are right from the very beginning, with nothing to hide behind. I think that would be extremely useful.

Could you handle living in the 19th Century?

I think it would entirely depend on where I was socially. If I was rich, I think it would be fantastic, because everything was done for you - though I'd probably like to bathe more than they used to.

But, of course, most people were not rich and well treated and had servants. Most people were really miserable and poor, and in those days before there was any kind of state education [or] state health care, life was miserable for most people.

Queen for a day
  Are you leader of the pack amongst your fellow Ghosts of Albion?

It's interesting that the ghosts have their own specialties. Obviously I'm the warrior who sees the big picture with the battle, chivvies them along and doesn't get involved in the bickering.

But she doesn't really have much of a sense of humour, old Boadicea. She doesn't join in with the giggling, she just likes to get a move on with the war.

The naked truth
  In The Ghosts of Albion, Boadicea is completely naked. How have you handled the naked acting?

Well, you see this is my first nude part and I surprised myself because I was really quite comfortable, very relaxed. I wasn't at all embarrassed or ashamed - I was actually quite comfortable with my own nudity, which I wasn't expecting.

Did you insist that the rest of the cast and crew followed suit, or were allowed to keep their socks on?

No I think it's important that everybody, including the people in the sound recording booth, everyone, other actors, the technicians all be naked, because it's only fair.

But seriously, I only acted nude!

How do you expect the animators to tackle Boadicea?

I have spoken to the animators and given them very strict instructions that I need to be very slender, [with] nice perky breasts, [with] no evidence of the two children that I've had. [I need to look] in really, really good shape.

This is which is why I'm comfortable with doing this sort of nudity really, because I can look fantastic.

Costume drama
  You come from a legendary American soap background, with Dynasty and The Colbys. Do you think there is a place for that sort of TV now?

I think that the kind of soaps that I did were one-offs, they were very much for that time. Particularly Dynasty, [which] was all about the '80s, about the 'Me' generation.

It wouldn't work now, because hopefully things have changed and moved on since then. I mean, you look at [Dynasty] now, it's a costume drama

The Starlight Foundation
  I gather you devote a lot of time to charity work these days.

I just think the best thing about an acting career is that you can use it for fantastic things like the work that I do with the Starlight Foundation.

It's a charity that I co-founded nearly 20 years ago which grants wishes to children who are critically, chronically or terminally ill. But there are other charities that I very much enjoy helping out if I can, like Great Ormond Street children's hospital and The Variety Club - lots of other opportunities which make one feel slightly less guilty about the incredible good fortune in having a successful acting career.

More please
  How have you found the American writing team working on this project?

I think they've done an amazing job. They have obviously researched, they know more about this than most of us do. They certainly know more about it than I do, they've gone into great detail with the history, the places, the names, all of the demons in the spirit world, it's very, very impressive.

How would you like to see Ghosts of Albion develop?

I'd just like to see more of it. I think it's absolutely magnificent, all the different characters and their interactions. It's really well done, it's really original, it's funny, it's scary, and I think it's absolutely fantastic.