Post by Cornwallgirl on Feb 1, 2007 14:23:00 GMT 1
Facing the truth
Actress Natalie Blair admits to feeling terrified when Neighbours bosses requested a special meeting with her last year. Fearing that her job may be on the line, it was trepidation that she approached the appointment. However, rather than sacking Natalie, the soap's producers wanted to offer her the biggest challenge of her career - and informed her of this week's shocking storyline, which sees her alter ego, Carmella Cammeniti, confronted with serious facial scaring...
"Any time you're called into the producers' office, you wonder what you’ve done wrong," laughs the actress. "I was worried they were going to say they'd run out of ideas for my character, or something like that. But they actually wanted to discuss the possibility of Carmella being scarred, and I replied, 'Phew, is that all?'. It sounded exciting, and I was up for the challenge."
Carmella sustained her injury when her loopy cousin, Teresa, threw a pan of boiling water in her face. But although Carmella was carrying out a good deed at the time - trying to stop Teresa from stealing Sky Mangel's newborn baby - the former nun believes fate is punishing her for a past sin.
"Carmella sold Teresa's baby - which later died - and that's why Teresa became mentally unstable," Natalie shares. "So when Carmella's bandages come off and she sees the extent of the scarring, she thinks it's karma - her just deserts.
"Carmella's sister, Rosetta, is the only other person who knows she sold the baby, and is the only one she can confide in," continues the 22-year-old. "Carnella doesn't even tell her boyfriend, Will, what she's feeling. He's puzzled that she seems to come to terms with the injury so easily."
While Will vows to stand by Carmella, Natalie says her alter ego soon begins to feel undeserving of the relationship.
"They've only been seeing each other for a short time, so Carmella doesn't expect him to hang around," she sighs. "She feels hideous, and would understand if he wanted to end things. She even tries to push him away, but Will makes it clear that he's not going anywhere."
When nurse Katya later informs Will that expensive plastic surgery is an option, he embarks on a mission to raise the money. But could he be wasting his time?
"If it's God's will, why would Carmella consider having such treatment?" muses Natalie. "That's her attitude."
While some actors may baulk at the prospect of having to look less than perfect on screen, Natalie tells us that she's disappointed the scar isn't bigger!
"I would love it to be more gruesome, but it can't be because Neighbours is screened so early in the day in Australia," she explains. "That's one of the frustrating things about our show compared to Home and Away - they're on half an hour later, so they can get away with much more. I would happily sit in the make-up chair for hours, but now it actually only takes about 15 minutes longer than usual!"
Inside Soap 3 - 9 Feb 2007
By Jason Herbison
Page 26
