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An Interview With Jean Rogers aka Dolly Skilbeck
AS DOLLY, SHE GOT DOWN AND DIRTY ON THE FARM, BUT THERE WAS TOO MUCH MUCK IN EMMERDALE FOR JEAN ROGERS' LIKING...
Who knows what Dolly Skilbeck would make of modern-day Emmerdale! When she left, the village was still called Beckindale and country life was a lot quieter. But Dolly did have her fair share of steamy scenes, as Jean Rogers remembers.
''I think Dolly was one of the first Emmerdale characters to experience the new raunchy side of the soap,'' laughs Jean. ''She had an affair with Stephen Fuller, the timber merchant, who I called Dolly's 'tree felling-fella'- it was just like Brief Encounter.''
But it was the show's quest for more sensational plots that eventually led to Jean's exit.
''Dolly got pregnant after having an affair with Charlie Aindow, a sleazy councillor, and decided to have an abortion,'' recalls Jean.
''I couldn't believe she would do that and I felt the public wouldn't buy it - this was a woman who had suffered a stillbirth, then had another child, Sam, despite knowing it was dangerous and then had two miscarriages. And she ran the local playgroup - she loved kids!
''After my objections they decided to write Dolly out, because I was finding it hard to change the character. When you've been playing someone for 10 years, its terribly difficult to play them another way.''
In fact, Jean was the second actress to play Dolly, taking over the role from Katherine Barker, who had played the farmer's wife since the character was introduced in 1977.
''Katherine's Dolly had gone away for a few months before I came in, so that should have helped me,'' reveals Jean ''But just before my episodes went out there was a strike, so ITV showed old episodes of Emmerdale, featuring Katherine, right until I appeared. But if there any letters from angry viewers they never reached me.''
Adapting to life on a long-running show wasn't hard for Jean, who had tasted soap stardom after earlier stints in Emergency-Ward 10 and Crossroads. But although she worked consistently after Emmerdale, Jean found TV work scarce.
''I've done very little TV since, which is the curse of soap really,'' says Jean who lives in Surrey with her director husband Philip Hartley, who she met when they both worked on Emmerdale.
''But I do enjoy theatre so it's fine - in fact I've been a jack of all trades for the past few years. I've done radio and i appeared in the film The Peacemaker, starring George Clooney, but sadly I didn't meet him! I've just been to Majorca to film a commercial for United Airlines, and I'm currently trying to set up a Shakespeare festival. In my spare time I paint, mainly for family and friends but I had an exhibition in France recently and I sold a painting!''
And despite leaving the show almost 10 years ago, Jean still has some lasting reminders of her time there.
''Well, theres my husband of course, and Ben Whitehead who played my son Sam still sends Christmas and birthday cards. And a couple of years ago I was reunited with Ross Kemp, who played my older son, Graham Lodsworth - they asked me and Barbara Windsor, his other soap mum, to appear when Ross was on This Is Your Life. I have to say my boy's changed a lot since his days in the village!''
An Interview With Frederick Pyne aka Matt Skilbeck
An Interview With Emily Symons aka Louise Appleton
An Interview With Sheree Murphy aka Tricia Stokes
An Interview With Deena Payne aka Viv Hope
An Interview With Malandra Burrows aka Kathy Glover
Cast Interviews
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Copyright © 2003 Will F.. All Rights Reserved