Interviews with MIchelle

Martin Aston: Tell us about your new cop comedy Feel The Force...

Michelle: It's a two-hander between me and Rosie Cavaliero (Peep Show, Green Wing). I'm PC Sally Bobbins and she's PC Sally Frank. And we're absolutely useless. Frank's a deranged buffoon, and Bobbins is more of a manic obsessive - so afrer (hospital administrator) Sue White in Green Wing, I'm playing another nutter!

Martin Aston: Did they let you nutters play with guns?

Michelle: We did have lessons, firing off Magnum 44's and Colt 45's, or whatever they are, and the odd rifle - while in a bikini, I might ad.

Martin Aston: You're undercover cops then?

Michelle: No, we're all copped up with the truncheons and revolting hats. The public has sometimes confused us with the real thing, so there have been instances when we've moved trafic on, just for the hell of it.

Martin Aston: While fimling Green Wing in a real hospital, is it true that you gave visitors incorrect directions?

Michelle: Not on purpose! I was trying to be helpful, but I accidentally sent them to radiology instead of orthodontics. I'm not wactually Sue White you know. She's just my character.

Martin Aston: Is filming Green Wing as manic as it looks?

Michelle: No, it's a laugh. We never feel justified getting paid just to jump up and down and make fools of ourselves.

Martin Aston: I hear you dislike being called an actor. What description would you prefer?

Michelle: That comes from when I was starting out and doing waitressing. I nrever felt comfortable telling anyone I was an actress which I was asking them if they;d like bread with that.

Martin Aston: Gomez isn't really a traditional Scottish surname, is it?

Michelle: Dad was from Antigua. Well, originally Monsterrat, but the volcano got a bit feisty so they all moved. His family were shipped to Edingurgh for a formal education at Fettes College, and he stayed because he met my mum.

Martin Aston: Is your Caribbean side a key to your, uh, feisty nature?

Michelle: Well, we did feel a bit different growing up. While others listened to Duran Duran, we listened to Harry Belafonte. Our house as always full of music and dance.

Martin Aston: Not very dour Scottish then.

Michelle: No, not much shortbread. A lot of run, though.

Martin Aston: Is your husband (Jack Davenport) jealous of the attention you shower on Julian Rhind-Tutt in Green Wing?

Michelle: Jack's an old pro; he seees it for what it is. But Julian is rather dishy.

Martin Aston: In the forthcoming film Chromophobia, you star alongside Penelope Cruz and Ralph Fiennes. What was that like?

Michelle: I wouldn't say "starring". Not even "alongside". I'd say "poshing about in the background". I'm not in any scenes with them. I play a newspaper editor, trying to find the dirt on Ralph.

Martin Aston: So not all your roles are nutters.

Michelle: What I really want to be is the female Dr Who. Why? I just think I could do something with that.

Martin Aston: Is there a RADA actress inside you, screaming to escape?

Michelle: There's doesn't seem to be. I can't seem to deliver a line without falling over, tripping up and gurning. I was brought up on Marti Caine and Lucille Ball: Any woman with a slightly angular face that was very malleable.

Martin Aston: Marti Caine's not an influence you hear cited much.

Michelle: She just caught my eye on Opportunity Knocks when I was about eight. I thought, "Wow, that woman fell off that stool brilliantly," It obviously influenced my entire career.

Martin Aston: So how similar are you to Sue White?

Michelle: Actually, it's probably the laziest role I've ever played, as my family and friends would confirm. Basically, it's all my party pieces strung together.

Martin Aston: How tired are you of being asked how bonkers you are in reality?

Michelle: If people want to talk about your work or any project you're in, I'm willing to talk.

Martin Aston: One final question, then - how bonkers are you in reality?

Michelle: On a scale of one to ten? Ooooh, nine and a half. Can I just say, the thing about Sue White is that when people say she's bonkers, I don't see that she's mad at all. She's one of these people who just say what they think. She's also incredibly bored at work, so she's just keeping herself occupied.