Underwater scenes for boat explosion
AS bed-hopping mucky Moira in Emmerdale, actress Natalie J Robb is seeing plenty of action between the sheets. But while her character is married to Dales bad boy Cain Dingle and in the throes of a steamy affair with Nate, Natalie herself is resolutely single – and happy for it to stay that way for now.
Natalie laughs: “I don’t have time for romance. I am still single but I am quite a happy single person.
“You accept yourself. Statistics prove that you are a lot happier and healthier now if you are single, because you don’t have to compromise. You are in control.
“You also get pickier when you get older and know what you don’t want.”
It’s not that the 44-year-old doesn’t get plenty of attention – she was voted Sexiest Female at the 2017 Inside Soap Awards – but it is not always welcome.
The North Lanarkshire-born actress says she has had some “creepy moments” with men who expect her to be like the fictional characters she plays, adding: “In this industry it is very difficult to know if people want you to be you.
“I have come across it and it is a bit frightening and it did put me off.”
And although she is open to romance, she has definitely ruled out dating apps after seeing friends go through bad experiences with online dating. Natalie explains: “I wouldn’t do the online thing – it’s a bit dodgy.
“My friends have done it and it has made them feel bad about themselves.
“But that is the society we are in now. People don’t go out to meet each other any more and I really hope that will come back.”
If she is to meet someone it won’t be on a boozy night out though as, for the moment, she has knocked alcohol on the head.
She went booze-free for dry January but liked the way staying sober made her feel and hasn’t touched a drop since.
Instead she spends her time walking her beloved dog Bronson, doing yoga and spending time with friends and family.
Natalie says: “Last Christmas it was making me feel a bit sick, even just a sip.
“So I thought I would have a break and then I just continued it because I felt great. But what I have found is that you see a lot of things very differently.
“Even though I would only have a drink at the weekend it would be Wednesday until I felt better, and I couldn’t cope with that any more with this job. You learn a lot about yourself, and I have loads more energy – there are loads of benefits.
“I’m not saying I am never going to drink again but I would like to get to a Jeff Hordley, who plays Cain, and I were both really nervous about it. It isn’t in your nature to be underwater with your eyes open, so it was scary.
year and give my liver a break. I’m 45 this year. I just think I have had a load of fun really demolishing my liver and kidneys over the years, and now I am just giving a bit back.
“I also think I like myself better without alcohol than I did with it.”
Natalie certainly isn’t joking when she says she doesn’t have time for romance or alcohol at the minute.
Her character Moira has been at the centre of Emmerdale’s most explosive storylines in recent years with the death