Fair City's Rebecca Grimes admits there are no guarantees about show future due to nature of soap

1 month ago 6

Fair City star Rebecca Grimes has admitted there are no guarantees about her future on the show and there are no jobs for life in soap opera.

The actress knows that her character Hayley Collins could be killed off at any point given the nature of dramatic storylines.

She also nearly landed the part of another iconic Carrigstown resident when she first auditioned for the RTÉ show.

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Rebecca told RSVP Live: "You really have to enjoy it as much as you can because that is the nature of soap. Dramatic things happen and people make dramatic exits, and who is to say it won’t be.

"There is no such thing as a job for life. Maybe you will go down in a blaze of glory or maybe you will slip off in a taxi somewhere.

"It could be you at any time. I always remember Eric Lawlor, who played Cathal, saying that he would flip to the end of a batch of scripts just to make sure he was still alive. "

As an actor, Rebecca is always looking at her options and alternatives.

She said: "We are constantly auditioning for other things and then it is just a case of getting the park and then if you can make it work with your schedule.

"Our eight weeks off this summer allowed us a bit more leeway if something should could up. You are always hustling and everyone has something else on the go whether it is writing or their own theatre company."

Rebecca Grimes and Matthew O'Brien, who play Hayley Collins and James Rafferty

Fair City stars Rebecca Grimes and Matthew O'Brien, who play Hayley Collins and James Rafferty

Fair City went out of production for eight weeks this summer and the number of episodes in the schedule was reduced from four to three, but that didn't bother Rebecca.

She said: "You could be off for eight weeks anyway. We have breaks of length and beyond. There was so much sport on and the crew were distributed.

"You just question if there are other things we can do during that time.

"If you are sad and boring you can buy a greenhouse like I did. That is how I spent my break."

Rebecca joined the show 10 years ago, but she first auditioned to be Sash Bishop.

She said: "I think I auditioned twice and they said the usual, ‘Not this time, we have gone with someone else.

"We will keep you in mind.’ You get so used to hearing that. A couple of years later I got an offer one day to come in for a day and a week."

Fair City recently celebrated 35 years on RTÉ.

Rebecca said: "It is important to respect your work and take pride in it. It is important to respect the show and everyone on it. It is a real honour to be involved with something that has been running for 35 years.

"It is a national institution. Everyone knows it, everyone is used to it and it is a part of our Irishness.

"The mammy’s love it. My mammy was thrilled, nothing will ever top it."

Swipe across below to see the full gallery of images for yourself

Fair City star Rebecca Grimes and Paul Donegan pictured at the opening night of 'The Cher Show' musical at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin

Hayley Collins can often be seen as a villain by viewers at home, which results in some comments when she is out and about.

The actress said: "People will say to me, ‘Stay away from the James fella, but I know he is lovely in real life. I just want to hate him’"

Fair City airs three nights a week on RTE One and RTE Player. Have you been following any of the storylines recently?

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