Sarah Manners Interview

Sarah Manners Interview from tonight's Edinburgh Evening News, previewing ITV3 screening of Crossing The Line - one hell of a gritty episode of which Geoff McQueen would have been proud.

MIND YOUR MANNERS, IT'S WPC KNIGHT
There are many reasons Sarah Manners loves her new role in The Bill, but the uniform is probably the main one. Having played bubbly receptionists in both Doctors and Casualty, the 34-year-old actress has moved up the ranks to the role of uniformed police constable Kirsty Knight in the long-running ITV drama.

“It’s my favourite role to date,” gushes the Birmingham-born actress.
“It’s the coolest role I’ve ever played. To be playing the role of a policewoman, I just absolutely love it. Getting the uniform on, putting on your stab vest and your tool belt, it’s so empowering.”

It’s lucky Manners has come around to the idea of the police uniform, as when she first heard she might be playing one of the uniformed officers she was disappointed.

“When I first auditioned, they tried me out for a part in CID which I was thrilled about because it’s the more grown up thing,” she explains. “After that they put me in uniform and my instant reaction was, ‘Oh no, I wanted CID!’ There’s a misconception that CID are more senior to uniform which of course they’re not and as soon as I put the uniform on, I was taken.”

Manners is launched straight into the action in tonight’s episode, Crossing The Line. PC Knight is Sun Hill’s new area car driver and she’s not one to sugar-coat her words.

“A lot of the other roles that I’ve played have been the light relief, it’s only been further along that I’ve got the heavy storylines, so for me to go in straight away and play a serious role is fantastic. Kirsty meets Sgt Stone (Sam Callis) on her first day. He’s badly beaten up and she’s quite cheeky to him from the off. Straight away you can see that’s she’s not too worried about what people think of her.”

PC Knight fits in well with the other officers, Manners reveals, immediately hitting it off with Sgt Jo Masters (Sally Rogers) and PC Mel Ryder (Rhea Bailey). Her first meeting with Sgt Stone might be is playful, but his actions immediately throw her into a professional dilemma.

“Stone takes it upon himself to take revenge on the man who beat him up. Kirsty puts two and two together straight away. It’s not something she would do. It’s not something she agrees with, but she has had contact with this character and he is a nasty piece of work, so I think she’s quite pleased to see him in that state,” she says, before hinting there could be romance in store for PC Knight.

“She gets on very well with all them so far and she’s about to get on even better with one of them,” she giggles.
“There is going to be an instance where Kirsty and one of the young men attend a scene which is very traumatic and as a result of that they end up consoling each other in a certain way I believe.”

On the identity of the lucky copper, Manners uses her right to remain silent.
Other thrills in store for the actress see PC Knight develop her daredevil side. “I get to do all the fast pursuit driving, which is extremely exciting. Within my first week of filming we got to put the blue lights on which I was being very childish about – you’d think Christmas had come early.

“Kirsty is an adrenaline junkie and so am I in fact, shortly before I got The Bill I did a sky dive and I like speed.”
Indeed Manners is even hoping to do her own stunts – and has already been beaten up repeatedly for the role.

“I did a scene when I was kicked in the stomach. I had some padding on but the actor was huge and it’s very difficult for an actor to kick or hit a woman, especially one who looks skinny like me.

“I kept on saying to him, ‘Kick me, go on kick me, we need some impact.’ We got one really good take but the camera didn’t quite catch it. I said to the director, ‘Go again, go on.’ I got another big thwack in the stomach which actually winded me, but it’s fine – you expect to have a few knocks and I’m all up for that.”

The Bill, ITV3, 11pm