Dakota plays with Leo in London

WE CATCH UP WITH FORMER DALES STAR SHEREE MURPHY TO CHAT ABOUT HER LATEST NEIGHBOURS APPEARANCE…

When Neighbours first called and asked if I’d like to do another episode, I thought, ‘That would be great, I’d love to fly to Melbourne!’” chuckles ex-dales star Sheree Murphy, as we chat to her about reprising the role of Dakota Davies in the Aussie soap. “So when I found out they were filming it in London, I was slightly disappointed – especially as it was summer in Oz! But it turned out to be good fun. It’s always nice to have the Neighbours cast over here.”

Sheree’s appearance is just for one episode this time around, but Dakota is an integral part of the story. And the star tells us she’ll always be happy to step back into the shoes of such a sassy character…

Leo seeks out Dakota in London this week. What does he want from her?

He sets up a meeting to talk about a business proposition, and Dakota has no idea who he is. He’s actually digging to find out information for his dad, Paul, so he asks a lot of questions – something happened in Brazil when Paul and Dakota owned a factory together, and there was a fire involving Rafael’s mum. Paul can’t remember it as he had a brain tumour at the time, so Dakota holds the key.

Does she tell Leo what it is that he needs to know, then?

I don’t want to give away too much, but Dakota is too smart for Leo! He tries his best to prise the information out of her, but it doesn’t really go according to plan.

Do you like playing a character who’s so savvy?

Oh definitely. I usually get characters who are a bit ditzy and comical – which is great, because I love comedy. So it was quite nice to play a character who was full of sass, secrets and mystery.

Dakota’s storyline is linked to Rafael’s, who is played by Ryan Thomas. Are you friends in real life?

Yeah, we know each other and have a lot of mutual friends. When Ryan was offered the role in Neighbours, he called me to ask what he should do and I said, “You have to go as you will love it over there!” I put him in touch with Olympia Valance [aka Paige] and asked her to look after him, so she took him under her wing. And by the time he left, everyone at

Neighbours loved him!

Are you disappointed that you and Ryan didn’t have any scenes together?

I’m gutted! How weird would that have been? The pair of us, him from Corrie, me from Emmerdale, filming scenes on Ramsay Street together! That would’ve been cool. Slap Down Under: Dakota clashed with Paul during her time in Erinsborough

How was it filming with Tim Kano (Leo) when you hadn’t met him before?

Well Olympia happened to be in London at the same time, and we’d all arranged to go out for dinner together that evening – but obviously when he rocked up to film in the morning, it was the first time we had met. He was such a lovely guy, though. We filmed next to Tower Bridge, and then all met up for dinner later on.

We hear that you went back to Emmerdale recently as well…

Yes, I did. They do a studio tour there, which is amazing. It was really nice to go back and do a meet and greet with the fans, and we did a Q&A session too. It brought back so many memories about the show and my character.

Do you still get fans talking to you about Tricia Dingle, even though you left Emmerdale in 2004?

Oh yeah, it’s amazing! People don’t remember me for anything else I’ve done, but I love it. Playing Tricia was one of my favourite jobs – so I’m very happy to be remembered for that!

It was nice to play someone full of sass, secrets and mystery!