Interview with Karen Henthorn - She Played Julie the Teacher Who Wooed Away
She Played the Teacher Who Wooed Away Nigel to Scotland By Sean Boru Editor’s note: British actress Karen Henthorn will go down in EastEnders history as playing the character who stole Nigel’s heart and helped him finally get over the death of his beloved Debbie.
To recap, Julie was the teacher of Nigel’s teenage stepdaughter Clare, who had a wicked crush on her classmate, who happened to be Julie’s son. It’s too bad the powers that be didn’t consider a spin-off series about this new household putting down roots.
In any case, Henthorn is an accomplished thespian of the stage and telly, and EastEnders was just a brief stop along an impressive career. A mate of hers, Sean Boru, procured the following interview. See Sean’s website www.seanboru.com to learn about his fascinating life and new book, No Sense of Tumour.
Walford Gazette: When did you decide to pursue acting?
Karen Henthorn: My interest in drama first began as a 12-year-old, when I joined the Oldham Theatre Workshop, a youth theatre based in the north-west of England. It provided a training ground for hundreds of young people, many of whom have since established successful careers in the acting profession, such as Anna Friel, Coronation Street’s Suranne Jones (Karen McDonald), Sean Wilson (Martin Platt), Sally Whittaker and Michael Le Vell (Sally and Kevin Webster), Lisa Riley (Emmerdale and the presenter of You’ve Been Framed). I was cast in my first professional role when I was 13, playing Betty Parris in Manchester Contact’s Theatre production of The Crucible. It was a wonderful experience, which left me in no doubt about what I wanted to be ‘when I grew up,’ and my involvement in numerous Oldham Theatre Workshops productions, throughout the next four years, simply confirmed this. After that, I spent the next two years preparing for my school exams and then a further five years in full-time drama education (i.e., a two-year foundation course in Theatre Studies at my local college followed by three years at London’s Method acting school, The Drama Centre). Throughout all those years in training I acquired a discipline, developed a confidence and realised a passion above and beyond anything I’d known before—not only has all this proved invaluable when I’m actually working, but it’s also helped me to ‘keep the faith’ during the inevitable periods of unemployment!
WG: How did you end up on EastEnders?
KH: My first interview for EastEnders was to play a small part in one episode—the role of Bianca’s pregnancy counsellor. About three weeks later, they rang my agent who told me that I hadn’t been offered that part because I was now being considered for a different character. I had to go back to Elstree Studios the following week to meet a director—which I did, but on crutches, with a twisted ankle—the end result of an overzealous softball game the previous day. It was an ‘entertaining’ conversation starter for my interview, at least. The director told me they were creating a new semi-regular character called Julie Hay. The reason being that in 12 months’ time, Paul Bradley (Nigel) would be leaving the show, and because he was such a popular character and because he’d had such an unsuccessful love life, the public wouldn’t want him to have anything other than a ‘happy ending.’ So Julie was being introduced as a vehicle for Nigel’s exit. As the character was still in the process of being written, the director and I read a few scenes from previous episodes between Nigel and Debbie. They rang me a couple of weeks later to say that they wanted to re-call me and were sending me some new scenes which I had to learn for a screen test in three days’ time. This meeting was with the same director and two casting directors and took place on the Friday morning. I was offered the job that lunchtime!
WG: Were you a fan of the show prior to your audition?
KH: Yes, I was a fan of the show before I worked on it. I could hardly contain myself the first time I actually saw Albert Square—‘in the flesh’. I ran all the way round the houses, up and down the steps, knocked on all the doors, peered through the windows of the Queen Vic, jumped around the garden and finally ended up sitting on Arthur’s bench—exhausted and totally overwhelmed. It looked exactly the same as it does on the telly and everything is ‘real,’ apart from the buildings—there’s nothing behind the walls!
WG: How did you get on with Paul Bradley?
KH: As you can imagine, I was pretty nervous the first time I met Paul Bradley. But he was really lovely, very warm and welcoming and also very funny... and he had a much better dress sense than Nigel! He went out of his way to look after me, would come into work early if I needed to run through lines or talk through scenes and he was very, very popular with cast and crew alike. It was a pleasant surprise and a relief to be working alongside someone who, although incredibly famous, was also extremely down to earth.
WG: Did you have any expectations going into EastEnders?
KH: I tried to keep an open mind regarding any expectations of the job. To be honest, I hadn’t got a clue what to expect. All I did know was that, because up until then, I. like the majority of actors, had spent years in and out of work (but mostly out). I had been struggling financially and creatively, had waited on more tables and pulled more pints than I care to remember. I was absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, going to appreciate every single second, enjoy the whole experience. Which I did—whilst I was actually at work. But when I was away from the working environment, getting recognised in the street everywhere I went, being followed, pointed at, photographed, this was something I didn’t expect. And it happened overnight—one day, you can’t get anyone’s assistance in the supermarket, the next, they’re queuing up to carry your shopping home! Fame didn’t change me—it changed people round me. It was a very ‘interesting’ experience which took quite a while to get used to.
WG: What have you been doing since EastEnders?
KH: Since then, my television work has been: Silent Witness, Born and Bred, Heartbeat, Casualty, Medics, The Bill, Sons and Lovers, My Hero, Holby City, Doctors, The Booze Cruise and Shameless (which will be transmitted in January). I will be filming The Booze Cruise II and III in the spring (to be transmitted at the end of next year).
WG: Thanks for the interview.
KH: I’m sorry if I’ve gone on a bit—just chop out the boring bits!
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