BETH ON LEAVING THE BILL AND ROMANCE (11/4/04)

From The Sunday Mirror.

BILL star Beth Cordingly arrives like a whirlwind. She wants a shower but is starving as she hasn't eaten all day and, by the way, she's sorry she's late.

It's no wonder Beth is in such a tizz. She is working 12-hour days, six days a week as The Bill's PC Kerry Young.

Any spare time was already taken up in writing a "Bridget Jones- type" novel - but then she agreed to run in next weekend's London Marathon to help Childline. So there's been all the training to go through.

And as if that wasn't enough there's the little matter of her love life...

Beth, 26, and her co-star lover Daniel MacPherson have both announced they are leaving The Bill. But far from giving them more time together, they'll be living 12,000 miles apart as ex-Neighbours star Daniel, who plays PC Cameron Tait, is returning to Australia in the hope of making it big in films.

It doesn't sound like a recipe for success. But despite the fact the pair recently had a highly-publicised two-month split, before being pictured making up on a beach in Sydney in December, Beth is determined to keep their two-year relationship going.

She says: "I don't really talk about the reasons me and Daniel split up because it's too personal. But I'm pretty loved up now. I'm very happy.

"Whatever happens with work we're still very much together - and we'll be spending as much time together as we can." She adds: "The Bill is shown in Australia so there might be opportunities for me there.

"But I'm not following Daniel to Australia to live with him or anything. I might go to America or stay in the UK - I'll go wherever the work is. But if you want a relationship to succeed, you can try and make it work, even if you're miles apart."

One thing former Family Affairs star Beth will miss about working on The Bill is her love scenes with 22-year-old Daniel. She says: "It's nicer kissing your boyfriend than any old actor. But although people think it must be fun, it's not as sexy as it sounds. You're thinking about where the camera is more than anything else!"

After running the marathon, Beth will probably be too tired to attend next Sunday's BAFTAs to see if The Bill wins the Best Continuing Drama award.

She says: "I'll hobble in to the after-show party after a kip. I'm really looking forward to it." It's a measure of how much she has enjoyed being on The Bill that she is prepared to go at all. She usually avoids celebrity parties, preferring to be in a pub with her pals... a mixture of actors, people she grew up with in Brighton, and those she has met on her travels around the world - she has been backpacking around Africa, America and the Far East. She seems to pick up friends wherever she goes - her conversation is littered with references to a girl she met last week on a fun run, or a friend of a friend she's really bonded with.

And it's not hard to see why - beneath the manic energy, she is refreshingly down to earth, talking about her cellulite ("So what? Everyone has it") and bursting into giggles.

"I have a group of friends who keep me down-to-earth," she says. "I'm not really interested in the party circuit, it's so boring. You go to celebrity things and recognise people because you're all off the telly, but you don't actually know them. It's weird. I'm not into clubbing either. I prefer talking." The other thing that keeps Beth grounded is her family - particularly her two-year-old niece Hannah, daughter of her older brother Matt. "I've got a nephew as well, Tom, who was born two weeks ago but I haven't had a chance to see him yet because I've been so busy.

"After a long day of working hard, a phone conversation with Hannah keeps me sane. But I'm not broody yet. I'm happy being an auntie. But maybe in a few years' time. Hopefully."

For now, Beth is concentrating on her work. After finishing The Bill, she'd like to do a Tom Stoppard play, a comedy like The Office, or a Richard Curtis film. "That's my ultimate ambition. I've watched Love Actually, Notting Hill, all of his films a million times." First, Beth has to bring her role as PC Young to a close through a series of dramatic storylines. At the moment, her character Kerry is unsure whether she has been date raped by Smithy (Sergeant Dale Smith, played by Alex Walkinshaw), or whether she consented to sex after a drunken night out.

And this Thursday Kerry will be caught up in a huge explosion after being sent to talk to a potential suicide bomber. Beth says: "This was always going to be my last year because, although I think The Bill is a fantastic show, life's about taking risks and stretching yourself.

"The producers told me I had some big storylines coming up over the next six months so I asked if I could leave at the end of them. I don't know what the ending will be yet - I don't know if she'll be killed off or whether the door will be left open, and I don't really mind.

"They've told me it will be a good exit and that's all I care about. What I don't want is to walk into a stationery cupboard and not come out again - as long as it's dramatic, I'll be happy."

YOU can sponsor Beth in the London Marathon by visiting her website at www.justgiving.com/bethcordingly.

KERRY'S LIFE AND LOATHES

BETH has been in the thick of the Bill action from the moment she walked on set as sexy PC Kerry Young.

Her blonde hair and pouty mouth immediately caught the attention of PC Luke Ashton - and the pair were dating within weeks. But unknown to Kerry, Luke (Scott Neal) was also seeing Sergeant Craig Gilmore (Hywel Simons).

Unable to admit he was gay, Luke proposed to Kerry and threw himself into the wedding plans. But his drunken stag night ended with him in bed with Sgt Gilmore. When she found out what had been going on, Kerry dumped Luke and then had a steamy affair with Sergeant Dale Smith (Alex Walkinshaw). The plot had the pair romping in a car when they should have been keeping an eye on a gang of children.

Now she is with PC Cameron Tait (Daniel MacPherson)... but the path of love has still failed to run smoothly.

Kerry was so scared by his romantic advances she ran back into Smithy's arms after a drunken night out.

But she cannot remember consenting to sex with him - and now fears she has been date-raped after the idea is planted in her head by a conniving PC Gabriel Kent (Todd Carty).

It is not yet known how Kerry will be written out of the show following this week's explosive plotline.

But if past storylines are anything to go by, it is bound to be dramatic.