Jennie McAlpine Interview

by **Lou** Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:07 am

From DS

Coronation Street's Fiz Brown - played by the lively Jennie McAlpine - is about to have her heart broken yet again when she discovers that her love rat boyfriend John Stape (Graeme Hawley) has lost the plot when she unearths his secret - he's had Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan) locked away in his gran's attic for five weeks. Here, Jennie chats to DS about John, his 'cat' and Fiz's unlucky love life.

Do you think Fiz truly loves John?
"Ooh, that's a hard one. Yeah, I think she does. It's just one of those things - he's the first person she's really loved. And apart from that, there's not really much else on offer to be honest! All the other eligible blokes on the Street are taken! He's the best of a bad lot! Or the worst, now we know what he's really like."

You must have found it difficult not to look like you knew where John was going when he mentioned 'feeding the cat'...
"It was, because obviously we knew what he was talking about. We did mention the cat in a lot of scenes, so it was a bit of a running gag throughout."

They've been on a break and when they return, John's eager to feed the cat again. But Fiz finds the keys, doesn't she?
"Fiz and John have just returned from their holidays and John goes off on a taxi job. She finds his keys and thinks she's helping out when she decides to go and feed the cat. She turns up and sees that there's not a cat and wonders what on earth's going on. She's not really suspicious at first because she thinks she just can't find the cat but when she finds a set of sexy underwear on the airer, that's when the suspicion creeps in. All the horrible memories come flooding back for Fiz. She's angry and doesn't know what to think. According to John, it's just been him and the cat at his gran's house. Just as she's about to go up to the attic [to find Rosie], he stops her and says that he has to tell her something. It then all comes out about Rosie's kidnap. She's just so shocked when she hears his confession."

Did she have any idea about John having kidnapped Rosie?
"No, she had no idea at all. She probably feels quite stupid."

What happens to John?
"John goes up into the attic and just as he gets into the room, she whacks him around the head with a wooden towel rail before making a bid for freedom. Fiz runs after her and looks after her. It's all a bit weird for Fiz because she only went there to feed the cat!"

I think this week, it's the first time we actually see Fiz show an ounce of sympathy for Rosie...
"Definitely. It's weird because I wasn't expecting that. For the first time, she's being nice to the girl who last year ruined her seemingly-perfect relationship with the man she loved. Being nice to Rosie is, in Fiz's mind, the least she can do, I think. There's nothing much else she could have done in the circumstances."

Where does this leave Fiz?
"She's in an absolute state. She's just returned from a holiday with her 'lovely' boyfriend who she'd finally forgiven for cheating on her with a school girl and now she's having to deal with this!"

Do you think she could ever forgive him again?
"I don't know, because this is different. This isn't just having an affair. It's really cruel what he's done. John's deceived Fiz for a start, but he's also had Rosie locked up for five weeks. It does force Fiz to question the kind of men she goes for!"

Do you think Fiz will ever be lucky in love?
"I hope so one day. I think she should be. On the other hand, it's a lot more fun to play 'unlucky in love' than 'shacked up happily ever after'! You have much more fun rowing and screaming at on-screen boyfriends."

Who do you think she'd be happy with on the Cobbles?
"[No-one] at the moment - we need some new totty for her! There isn't really anyone that she'd go for that isn't already taken. We need some new boys! It'd be interesting, though, if Fiz ended up having an affair - the same thing that John did to her."

Aww I do feel sorry for Fiz Sad