Question time: Daniela Nardini - This part gave me bad dreams

Since you played Anna you've worked constantly. Can you pick and choose roles now?

It's never that easy! I worked for most of last year so I'm taking time off at the moment, but in two months I'll be ready and there won't be anything for me.

Your latest role is as the head of a high-security mental hospital who has to get into the mind of a serial child killer. Was it a hard character to play?

Natalie Vine was a very draining character for me to play. This was definitely the hardest part and the most upsetting subject matter I've had to deal with in my career so far. I finished filming about a month ago and have found her a hard one to shake off. (She does a strange roll of her eyes to her right shoulder and jokes: "She's always with me".)

Did you and the rest of the cast use humour to keep you going while filming?

Actually we were all very serious and quite precious about not cracking jokes and not having a laugh while filming because of the issues we were dealing with - and the fact that we were filming in a former TB isolation hospital. We did have keys to get in and out but it did feel like we were locked in, just as my character Natalie would be in her job. I think in real life there is much more gallows humour among the staff - that's how they keep going when they're dealing with murderers on a daily basis.

Did you do any kind of research for this role?

Yes, but it was incredibly upsetting. I was given books with case histories of serial killers to read about - particularly child killers. I found it really terrible to read about the... well the instances where torture was used. Some of the things were so gruesome. The books were all different, some of them were academic and others were sensationalised accounts, going into all the gory detail, but in just about all the cases the perpetrators had some history of being abused themselves. It was like cramming for an exam and I was quite disturbed by it. A psychiatrist and a nurse from Rampton hospital also came to speak to the cast about their jobs.

Did they seem hardened by it?

Not really. The psychiatrist was male - he was a gentle, good man and a good psychiatrist. But from what the nurse said, it seemed the nurses felt psychiatrists are often hoodwinked by patients, who after all are very cunning and clever. The nurses see them every day and I got the impression they feel psychiatrists are manipulated by the patients. In the film the psychiatrist is key in making things better, but the nurse laughed at the idea of a psychiatrist sorting anything out.

Did the role have any effect on you off camera?

I cried over the incidents of child killings. I also started having really bad dreams. A lot of the actors were in tears throughout the whole thing. This role raised a lot of questions for me, more so than any other work I have done.

Do you think you have to be a mother to understand the pain of the death of a child?

In the film we show a parents' campaign group. They are all very angry, but they feel impotent to do anything about their terrible loss. I can understand and empathise with those feelings, especially their anger about the killer of their children receiving treatment when they think he should be locked up in prison.

I have a nephew - he's 15 - and the thought of anyone doing anything to him... I think there are some things you just can't forgive, but I don't believe in locking people up and throwing away the key - I believe you have to try to understand what makes people do such horrible things.

In the past you have never made a secret of wanting children. Is that still true?

Yes, I would like to have children if the right man comes along. There's no sign of that yet. I am single at the moment, but I haven't resorted to the dating agencies - yet! I have thought of it, (her tongue is firmly in her cheek) but no, I don't really think I could go for those. Ruby Wax did a skit of a spoof advertisement for one the other day. There was a woman saying "I am very clingy. I won't have sex with you and I won't like any of your friends". It was hysterical.

You're 34 now. A couple of years ago you said that if the right man didn't come along "soon" you'd arrange to have a baby with a gay friend. Were you serious?

I don't know... I think I was just being flippant. It changes a lot - how I feel about children. I'd definitely like to have a child, but on my own... no... I don't know.

As you can see, the child debate is still raging for me!

You were with one boyfriend for five years and recently broke up with musician James Jacobs. Even though your character, Natalie, is a bright woman, she ends up in bed with a dodgy bloke. Would you ever take that kind of risk?

(With a hearty laugh) Oh yes! We have all done that - me included! The character in question is a "bad 'un" but I can identify with the feeling of lust that overpowers Natalie's good sense. She is vulnerable and just fancies him so strongly that she can't resist.

Now that you are well-known can you still go out and be

outrageous and get plastered whenever you want?

Being recognised because of This Life was a surprise at first, but it soon died down. It was just people in bars saying the odd thing, mostly staring and whispering. But I would - and do - still go out and get plastered. I wouldn't let being recognised stop me doing anything like that, but my favourite pastime is eating out. I love all kinds of food, especially Italian. I must be a real pain to my friends when we go to Italian restaurants because, although I would never complain to the restaurant, I would say to my friends how a certain dish should have been cooked and that it wasn't as good as real Italian cooking.

You're looking good. Do you have to do anything in particular to stay that shape?

I think I might go to the gym after this interview actually. I haven't been in absolutely ages. I did have a personal trainer last year for a few months. He was a 23-year-old Essex boy and it was quite good, but he nearly killed me. I kept telling him: "Look, I am not a 23-year-old Essex boy like you."

I have taken up yoga and I think that is the best form of exercise. I do it for relaxation more than to look good and it makes more sense to me than pumping iron.

In recent years you've played quite a few women who have had to strip off at some point. You have love scenes as Natalie, but compared to other roles the nudity is quite modest. Was that a relief?

Yes! (Laughter) | think my days of being nude for the camera may be over. Sometimes I think I like some nudity in films, but on TV it usually doesn't look right. It tends to look like some bloke has just thought, "Right, we better stick a boob or a bum in this shot" - so they do.

You attended The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama while the likes of Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle and John Hannah were making Scots accents all the rage. You always speak about Scotland with great affection, would you...

I know exactly what you are going to ask! Would I ever go back? I have just been up there at my parents' place. It's always open house at their place with people dropping by. They never have to lock their house or car, but my life is different now. I live in London and I would hate it if I had people popping in all the time. I do love Scotland, but

I have changed since I lived there. Also it is only an hour away on a plane so I can travel up there regularly.

You have always had a close relationship with your parents, [Sandra is a masseuse and Aldo the retired boss of the Nardini family Scots-Italian ice cream business]. You once said your father was your ideal man, what qualities in him would you look for in a partner?

You know, I think I have changed my mind since then. Don't get me wrong, I love my father dearly, but I have just been up there with Mum and Dad over the last month in Scotland and I don't know if I could live with someone like him! My dad is a typical Italian, a great cook and incredibly kind. He's very demonstrative and very in charge but I've noticed that he's very bossy, too. He really bosses Mum about - I couldn't cope with that in a boyfriend! I'll have to reassess what my ideal man is - I'm still looking!

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