Some of the JOE team dropped into the suave G Hotel in Galway recently for the launch of TV’s Autumn schedule where an exclusive interview of bizarre proportions ensued with two very different faces of TV3.
It’s seldom that the worlds of an TV soap star and a Gaelic football analyst collide, however, Sophie Powels (who plays Holly Barton in Emmerdale) and Gaelic football analyst David Brady were the unique interviewees for JOE to get his teeth into on the night the Irish station announced an exciting and reinvigorated schedule for Autumn.
Here’s how it went when the tape started to roll:
JOE: So, David is this your first time in Galway?
DB: Yes it is. And what about you Sophie?
SP: Same here. And it’s my frst time in this hotel. It’s amazing. All the different rooms.
DB: Yeah. I bet at around three o’clock in the morning the pink carpet looks freaky.
SP: I have to take heroin at 7am on Monday when I get back to the Emmerdale set. Just show up after my weekend and straight into the character of Holly.
One night I got home, I’d been crying all day on set, taking drugs and just being a dick, I had grease in my hair, bags under my eyes and bad spots. My boyfriend said to me, “You look like shitâ€. I said, “Thanks loveâ€. He said, “Do you want to go out?†Cheeky.
DB: Hope you let him off on his own Sophie. So, listen how do you want to prep this interview?
JOE: We’re running.
SP: No, you’re lying.
JOE: I’m not lying.
DB: It is, Jesus, the thing is green.
JOE: Anyway don’t worry. Neither of you has said anything defamatory, yet. Have you ever seen Gaelic football Sophie?
SP: No, I’m afraid not.
DB: Football players go training at half six and half seven at night so we don’t necessarily watch soaps. I’d recognise the faces of some of the actors but not all. But I think I’m just going to watch Emmerdale from now on instead.
SP: It’s quite hectic in the storyline at the moment. Drug use and downward spiral, family falling apart.
DB: We’ve had a lot of that in GAA. In Irish football we’d all be taking cocaine before games.
SP: Shut up David.
JOE: Seriously Sophie, there’s no drugs testing.
DB: If you’re playing corner-forward you take 15 lines. You don’t want to be a sub.
JOE: So, getting back to your Emmerdale character Sophie? What’s happening there?
SP: Holly started off addicted to party drugs, cocaine, speed and pills. But now she’s got really into it with new people and got into bigger things.
JOE: If she met Phil Mitchell what would happen?
SP: They’d have a really good time. They’d be on the same wavelength anyway. They’d both want the same thing. All Holly cares about now is the drugs, so she’s probably the same as Phil Mitchell.
JOE: Do you have a crack hat like Phil Mitchell?
SP: No, she has really greasy hair. She doesn’t need one.
DB: The most important word you can leave Ireland with is sneachta.
SP: What does that mean?
DB & JOE in unison: It means snow.
SP: Ah sneachta. Sneachta anyone?
DB: Careful. We don’t want to get arrested.
SP: I think I’d rather a cup of tea than do cocaine.
DB: I’d love one too.
SP: Cup of tea and biscuits is all I need.
JOE: What’s your favourite biscuit Sophie?
SP: Hob Knob. Or a shortbread.
DB: I’m a countryman. Mine is a suggestive.
SP: Digestive you mean? They’re not very good for dunking. Hob Knobs are the biscuits for dunking.
DB: I can get a whole digestive into my mouth without breaking it but people say I’ve a big mouth.
SP: What’s your biscuit of choice?
JOE: I like the Viscount. The mint ones. I hate Jaffa Cakes, I can’t understand how so many like them.
SP: Me too. Disgusting.
DB: We used to eat them before games because they were zero per cent fat and give us a shot of energy.
JOE: When you’re walking down the street what’s the most common thing people shout to both of you?
SP: People come up to me and ask me do I have any drugs. Usually people shout, “Emmerdaleâ€.
DB: It’s usually, “when are you coming back?â€
JOE: Is the money too good with TV3 to go for the vacant Mayo manager job David?
DB: If I don’t get a part in Emmerdale I’ll go for the Mayo job.
SP: So you’re a manager?
DB: No, I’m a Gaelic football analyst. He asked me would I like to be a manager.
SP: For Mojo?
DB: No, for Mayo.
JOE: What does the future hold for you Sophie?
SP: I look at a lot of people in my industry and they’re not happy you know. If I don’t put my family and friends first then I have nothing.
DB: I agree. The three H’s for me. Happiness, honesty and health.
JOE: And what do you think of Ireland, of the people and culture?
SP: I love the Irish accent and the Irish charm. Most Irish men are down to earth. I love the film ‘Once’ and the songs from it. Glen Hansard, he’s great.
DB: I think Irish guys are great too.
JOE: Thanks for that David. Have you heard of Fair City Sophie? What do you think of it?
SP: I’ve heard of it but I’m not allowed to say what I’ve heard about it.
DB: I’m allowed to say. As they say in Dublin, “Fair Shittyâ€.
And then it all came to an abrupt end as two polar opposite stars of TV3 were pulled away for a celebrity dinner. Interesting – to say the least.
