“I’ve had a few punches in the face but I still go back for more – I love it,” says the stunning Holly Davidson with an air of defiance and conviction. Thankfully, she is referring to her passion for kick-boxing rather than any masochistic tendencies.
Holly is about to get her blue belt after a couple of years of learning self-defence. “I find it great for keeping fit and getting rid of aggression. It’s really quite scary but my confidence has grown over the years.”
However recently her busy schedule has meant she has been unable to practice as much as she’d like, ‘I try and fit it in,’ she says. ‘I’m so passionate about it and once you know you love something whether you don’t do it for a few months, when you get the chance you know you will go back to it.’
Unfortunately she is also now unable to do proper competitions, ‘I don’t compete at the moment, as I can’t really come in with a black eye but I do combat which is good fun.’
What is apparent from her screen presence at the tender age of 22. Sadie Frost’s younger sister is set to melt viewers’ hearts as consultant Harry Harper’s troublesome teenage daughter, Tally, previously played by actress Ashlie Walker. Holly watched the show previously and has seen her character’s developments so far ‘You notice how Tally is gradually getting older and wiser since her mum has died. You see a more mature side to her’
Holly continued of her alter-ego: “I play the eldest daughter. She’s looking after her brothers and sisters, trying to hold down a job and still trying to grieve as her mother just died. She’s going through a tough time and resents her father for not dealing with the situation well. She’s feisty and independent – I like that in a woman.”
Like her character, Holly is headstrong and determined and, while she can’t imagine a trauma such as losing a parent, her parents are divorced so she is able to draw on certain elements of her own life; “Everyone says I’m so mature for my age. I guess that comes from having older sisters, moving to London so young and having to grow up.”
Holly, who left school at 16 and immediately started working with a part in Pigeon Summer, an education programme for C4, can relate to 18-year-old Tally’s rites of passage: “The innocence, the experimenting, going out, learning to flirt, learning how to play men and how to deal with the attention she gets.”
‘On taking the job I think she thinks it’s just a bit of money to spend at the weekend for the moment. Its not like she would ever want to do a job like Harry’s. She’s just taking a year out trying to save up money to go traveling. It’s definitely not going to be her career’
Viewers will see Tally enjoying the attention of an older man in this series of CASUALTY; desperate for affection, she naively turns to ladies’ man Simon Kaminski, who makes her feel special. “Tally truly believes he loves her and wants to be with her and, when it begins to affect her relationship with her father, she rebels further. She’s 18 and won’t be told. She’s old enough to make her own choices and he can’t treat her like a little child anymore,” asserts Holly.
‘Tally doesn’t know the past relationship that her dad and Simon have had, so she doesn’t know how much they hate eachother. She’s getting some attention and flirting with this older guy who’s giving her the attention back so she thinks why not? Her father warns her about it but at this point their relationship is not great either. He tries to start dictating to her who she can and can’t see and at 18 she thinks that as she’s getting a reaction from her Dad and the handsome man at the end of the day, it’s all that she wants.’
‘She’s playing the two – its not that she doesn’t like her dad but their relationship is falling apart and this is her way of getting attention from him and she tries to get this ‘real love’ with Simon,’ she says. ‘Simon basically uses her though, as he knows exactly what he’s doing. Tally’s doing it all in a naive way as she doesn’t know what she’s doing or the actual consequences. After all she’s just 18 and can’t handle a big relationship or realize Simon is just a hot blooded male who wants to get back at his boss so she ends up getting hurt at the end of it. It’s certainly not the love she thought it was.’
All the way Harry has tried to communicate with her ‘he’s given her so many chances’ she adds, but will they manage to salvage their relationship after the damage that has been caused?
Luckily, Holly enjoys an open relationship with her parents. “I didn’t push the boundaries because they trusted me. I’d come home and tell my mum if I’d snogged a guy because I didn’t have anything to hide. It was a give-and-take upbringing but if my dad said no, I knew to let it go, he was the strict one!”
Holly wasn’t at all nervous about joining such a long running show, ‘I was in the cast of The Bill so kind of did it before,’ she said. ‘It’s nice having a second chance to do it all again because I learnt things from doing that and then to come here and gain so much more experience – working with different actors and directors. It’s like I’ve had a practice run and now this is real one, so I can now gain as much as I can and make the most of the experience, so I wasn’t that daunted or scared about it, I was more excited of what was going to be happening’
On her love scenes with Simon she joked ‘now that was scary!’ Tipped to become one of the hottest babes on the box, Holly is coy about her scenes of passion ‘To begin with it was embarrassing, but it wasn’t too bad. There were a few brief bra moments but nothing too raunchy. It was a bit daunting as it was in the first few weeks of filming here so it was just made hard as I didn’t really know anybody yet.’
‘In the past I have always played such young characters, even though Tally is just 18 I don’t usually get parts where I am told to ‘strip off for this man seductively’ type thing but after filming it about five times, you do get used to it quite quickly.’
Luckily, Holly’s boyfriend understands the business she’s in. Ben Jackson is personal assistant to Jude Law and used to be a model, so they’ve got a great understanding. The distance, however, is tough. “He visits and when I get a chance I go to see him but he’s in LA for a couple of months, which is hell.”
Holly, who has been dating Ben for nearly four years, smiles. “I’m very happy and very much in love. I feel very maternal and see myself having babies but, for now, I’m getting my fix with my nieces and nephews.”
Rather than while away the hours pining, Holly gets down to the gym.“I’m very sporty,” she says. She also loves the theatre, cinema and going to gigs when she’s not babysitting. Holly was brought up in Ludlow, Shropshire. “I’m so grateful to my parents for taking me there. I loved growing up in the countryside in a little black-and-white cottage with a couple of acres, a stream and a waterfall.”
She’s staying in a flat in Bristol, although home now is London, but when she’s there she hates the fact that her mobile doesn’t stop ringing and she feels “grotty”. “I drive to my parents and am soon in lush countryside. I take a deep breath and everything slows down.”
But life isn’t going to slow down just yet for striking brunette Holly, who is best known for her role as PC Roz Clarke in The Bill. She decided to leave the cop drama and move on to fresh challenges, ‘I don’t like being somewhere for too long. Maybe now I would have made a different decision but at the time it was the right thing to do for me and I felt that I’d done all I wanted to do and felt it was time to move on.’
Holly remains she has always wanted to be an actress ‘From the age of 8 I was selling tickets to my parents to see my shows!’ she says. ‘ I’ve always wanted to be the centre of attention. At the age of 16 I knew exactly what I wanted to do and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I moved down to London and got a job straight away.’
She has taken a lot of advice about the industry from her elder sister ‘I know how difficult the industry is from Sadie and realizing how difficult it can be has made me stronger. You will get people telling you you’re not good enough or right for the part, or have times when you want to quit but it’s a tough industry’ she said. ‘But if you’re determined enough you can make it, so I’ve always gone in it with that mentality.’
‘Both sisters are in the industry so ofcourse I ask them for advice. It’s nice to be able to talk about things and have that understanding. It’s also great giving my younger sister advice.’
