Trudie Stays Put

Sarah Knaggs talks exclusively to The Bill star Trudie Goodwin about her love for the show, and why she won't be leaving after all...

This month, Trudie Goodwin celebrates her 54th birthday and the chances are, she'll be letting her hair down more than usual having been front-page news for several exciting weeks. Shortly after The Bill's spectacular 21st anniversary live edition, the media claimed the actress was leaving the programme that made her a household name, but only a few days later, a statement was released which was music to the ears of her loyal fans - she's staying put, for the foreseeable future at least.

For more than two decades, the much-admired thespian has been better known to the British public as June Ackland - the Sun Hill officer who has been at the centre of many memorable plotlines, including the harrowing storyline in August which saw the sergeant raped by a teenage boy. Following the departure of Trudie's long-term on-screen love interest Jim Carver (played by her old pal Mark Wingett) earlier this year, she became the only remaining original cast member - a post she will thankfully hold for a while yet.

"I don't regret my decision to stay for so long for a second," she continues. "I never expected the role of June to last. Knowing how hard it can be to get work, particularly for women of my age, it's difficult to make the decision to leave because you can be out of work. More importantly, I've always enjoyed working on The Bill - even after so many years, I still love June and playing her."

Happily married to fellow actor Kit Jackson (who coincidentally has guest starred in The Bill three times) since 1979, she has been a devoted wife and mother to their two daughters, Jessica and Eleanor. Unfortunately, her hectic work schedule has often meant she's been unable to spend as much time with them as she would like, but they remain a close-knit clan and recently celebrated Jessica's graduation from university - a scary concept considering the young woman is a similar age to the programme. "When The Bill started I thought it might last a couple of series," she reminisces. "As we had a young baby, it was wonderful to have a couple of years of security which would pay the mortgage. I certainly didn't expect it to continue for more than two decades and if I had, I think I'd have invested my money differently. But as an actor, you worry your paycheques will stop and you'll be unemployed, so you're more hesitant."

"I've got quite a distinctive face and after so long playing the same character, it's only natural for people to think of me as her."

"I think, for a while at least, if I left The Bill theatre would be my only option. I'm obviously going to be somewhat typecast as June. I've got quite a distinctive face and after so long playing the same character, it's only natural for people to think of me as her, rather than an actress playing a part. But as I'd love to go back into theatre, I don't see it as a problem or obstacle - far from it."

A look back over Trudie's CV explains why she's so keen to take to the stage once more - theatre was her first love. Once armed with an all-important Equity Card, Trudie was hired for parts in The Gentle Touch, Softly Softly and Love in a Cold Climate, but it was the 1983 TV play Woodentop which changed everything.

Unless you're a die hard fan of The Bill, the chances are you've never heard of this one-off drama, but it was in fact the pilot episode which introduced us to the boys and girls in blue - not to mention CID officers who used ‘Woodentop' as a derogatory term for their uniformed colleagues. A year later, a cast of nine, including Trudie and Mark, made their names in hour-long investigations. Over time, the number of characters grew and grew, while the list of guest stars began reading like a Who's Who of actors.

Although June is firmly established at Sun Hill, there's a decidedly youthful feel to the show and self-confessed mother hen Trudie thanks her co-stars for keeping a spring in her step. "Most of the people I've worked with in recent years have been a lot younger than me and I've loved that. The young cast members are all great and they've kept me feeling as though I'm still in my twenties."

So could it be the answer to eternal youth is simply being around people who have yet to worry about laughter lines and middle-aged spread?

Trudie certainly believes so, but she has one important piece of advice which is needed to make the method work: "Don't ever look in the mirror! If you can't see your wrinkles, you can keep kidding yourself you're not getting old."