Zoe Eeles: Keep your eyes on Zoe

ACTRESS Zoe Eeles knows all eyes will be on her when she takes on her first starring role in a new TV series tonight.

She plays the romantic lead in the BBC sitcom All Along The Watchtower - a show that has been billed as a modern-day Dad's Army.

But while most 23-year-olds would be wide-eyed with excitement and dreams of Hollywood, Zoe is as level-headed as a woman twice her age.

"I've seen it all before," she says, with a hint of sadness in her voice. "My mother's an actress and I've grown up with the whole feast- famine culture that goes with the job.

"Watching her struggling to make a living killed off any idealistic visions I may have had. She tried to put me off altogether because she didn't want me to be hurt by a business that judges a girl entirely on her looks."

Zoe's problem is that she is almost too beautiful for her own good. It is hard to imagine her cast in any other role than the love interest.

The flawless porcelain skin and flowing brown curls resemble a young Catherine Zeta Jones or Helena Bonham Carter. And the slender 5ft 8in body moves with a grace of a trained dancer.

But Zoe insists she hasn't always had a perfect figure.

"I used to be fat," she says. "Really fat. I only lost weight a couple of years ago when I started to pursue my career professionally.

"It made me feel very guilty. I felt like I was betraying the feminist cause by conforming to society's pressure on women to be thin. But the simple fact is that if you are fat you don't get the jobs.

"I don't want to be compared to Kate Winslet in this respect, but I do struggle to keep my weight down."

Zoe says she is not vain. She devotes very little time to her appearance and rarely has the time to exercise. In fact, she sees her looks as more of a hindrance than a blessing.

"It's so hard for young actresses. If you're good-looking you just get cast as the pretty girl in the mini-skirt," she says. "You rarely get any very interesting roles.

"It's a real battle to get taken seriously as someone with a brain. There are so many different characters I would like to play and I'm very keen not to be labelled."

Zoe was born in Dumfries and when she was five she moved to Glasgow with her mother Donalda, father Samuel, a freelance film editor, and her two older brothers.

Her comprehensive school education was followed by an HNC in theatre arts and a drama degree at Edinburgh's Queen Margaret College. Since graduating in 1997, she has devoted herself to getting her career off the ground.

She's had a few bit parts in film and theatre, including an appearance in the movie Obit with Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen.

"It's been such hard work. There were times when I was commuting from Glasgow to London twice a week for auditions and roughing it on friends' floors," she says.

"I quickly got used to the rejection and tried to make sure I never took it personally. If I did it would have destroyed me. But I was lucky in that I always found something to keep me going until my big break came along."

That break came last year, when she beat off competition from more experienced actresses to land the female lead in BBC Scotland's six- part series All Along The Watchtower.

The comedy is set in a tiny, remote RAF early-warning station which the top brass forgot to close down after the end of the Cold War.

The "crew" spend their time scanning the skies for signs of a non- existent enemy.

Zoe plays Eilidh, a teacher in the neighbouring village of Auchnacluchnie.

She has a "will they, won't they?" relationship with one of the airmen, played by actor Chris Lang. She is also the long-suffering daughter of the local hotelier, who always has a madcap plan up his sleeve to draw tourists to the area.

Zoe says: "I'm sure it will be a success because the characters are so warm and likeable. Mine is sassy, kind-hearted and generous and, like me, she is devoted to her job. The major difference between us is our choice in men.

"Eilidh is attracted to this smooth-talking officer but he is not my type at all. I'm really not into the suave sort who says all the right things. I like my boyfriends to be slightly rough around the edges.

"I've been seeing someone for the last three months and laugh off any other male attention. It's all very flattering but sometimes a bit of a hassle."

Zoe has now moved to North London, where she shares a flat with a girl friend. "I miss Scotland awfully," she says. "London is great and there are lots of things to do but I don't feel totally at home.

"People here aren't sure how to take me. They mistake my sarcastic sense of humour for rudeness. I think it's a very Scottish thing.

"I only moved to England for the work and I'll move back home at the first opportunity."

At the moment, Zoe's career is the most important thing in her life. But one day soon she would like a family.

"I'm desperate to have children," she says. "I want at least four. But I need to get my career established first.

"If All Along The Watchtower is a hit they'll probably make a new series. And there are all sorts of other parts I'd like to play too.

"One day I would love to be in a position where I could pick and choose my work. To me that is the sign of real success. But I know I've got a long way to go before I ever reach that stage."

Copyright 1999 MGN LTD
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.