Having just won the second series of Strictly Come Dancing and the Christmas Special with her dance partner Darren Bennet, Jill Halfpenny has certainly proved she can dance. Her departure from Eastenders – she played ex-policewoman Kate Mitchell for two years in the BBC soap – couldn’t have come at a better time because after SCD, musical offers poured in. She is currently training for Chicago in which she made her debut on January 31. Alison Kirkman caught up with her after a day of rehearsals
A: What made you want to take part in Strictly Come Dancing?
J: Well, I'd seen the first series and I thought like it looked loads of fun. I’ve always harboured a want to try out Ballroom dancing since I was a little kid and when the opportunity came by I thought why not? It was something different. They approached a few people from Eastenders but when I got it, I was chuffed to bits!
A: Did you find the training and rehearsal schedule hard?
J: The first four weeks before the programme started were probably the least intense, because we only had one dance — we learned a few other bits and bobs but there was just the Waltz to concentrate on and it was all new. It was really when the show started that the pressure kicked in. We trained for 25 hours a week once the show had started. For the first seven weeks I was doing Eastenders and it was difficult to fit in but I think Sarah [Manners] probably had the worst time schedule wise, she was really busy at Casualty. It was great though. Every Saturday was like a little adventure. You never knew what to expect. One of my favourite parts was choosing the costumes — we were given designs at the start and you could adapt them to what you thought would suit you. It was brilliant — like being in a sweet shop!
A: Will you and Darren keep in touch?
J: Yeah, we’re friends! And hopefully me and my boyfriend will meet up with Darren and Lilia really soon. They're going to come and see Chicago so that’s really nice.
A: Tell me about your dancing background. There was a bit of controversy on the show about how much experience you’d had before taking part...
J: I always said I went to dancing. Always. I did ballet when I was younger, some stage stuff. I went to a local dance school but when I was 14 years old I got the part in Biker Grove and the dancing became very much secondary. It was just something I did as a kid because I performed, you know. I was in plays and stuff like that.
A:You trained at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art — did you do any dance training there?
J: We did period dance. Because when you're doing things like restoration comedies, sometimes you need to know how to do a minuet! So there was a little bit of that but it was really just to familiarise actors with the style of something like that. We did a little tap — which everyone hated except me! We’d have done more if it was a a musical theatre school but all actors really should be able to move. You’ve got to be body aware and that’s what Webber taught. I always try to keep fit so that if a role comes along that requires some dance I can do it. Like last week I had a chance to train with Cirque du Soleil. It came about because GMTV are doing this series of programmes where they take an actor for a day and get them to do something they've never done before. They were teaching me how to hang from the hoop. I like using my body. I'll always give something a try.
A: You’ve left Eastenders now after being in the show for two years. How did you feel when you were offered the part in Chicago?
J: Really pleased. It's been the smoothest transition I could've possibly hoped for. It's been amazing to come out of one show while still doing something else and then have a rest and a break for Christmas, then start rehearsing for Chicago straight afterwards. It's just been like a whirlwind.
A: How are rehearsals going so far?
J: Really well, we rehearse everyday from 10 til 6 usually. It's not all dancing. We do a couple of hours on the book, a couple of hours on the score, and a couple of hours dancing, so it's like just a mass of information being thrown at you and I'm just like, “oh please stop!”. At the moment I enjoy the dance the most I think. It’s probably the most immediate thing you can do because it's there and within a couple of hours you're dancing it. With the book, you've got to think about it more and the singing obviously is quite a big challenge for me so I've got to work on that. In the second year of drama school we had singing tutorials but, like the dance, it was taught as “an extra string to your bow”. I loved my singing tutorials, I used to think I was the luckiest person, because to pay for singing tutorials, one to one, would cost a fortune.
A: Thank you Jill, it’s been lovely to talk to you and good luck in the show!
J: Thank you too! Right, I’ll be off for my wig fitting then!
For tickets to Chicago at the Adelphi Theatre, The Strand, London WC2, call the box office on 0870 403 0303.
