You Jess have to go for it

Sandra has starred in Citizen Khan and on the West End stage and been a backing singer for Kate Bush and Liam Gallagher. Now playing Jessie in Emmerdale, she talks about good advice, shows she loves... and a stiletto moment she didn’t!

What have you been watching recently? I love a good drama so I inhaled the entire five seasons of Line of Duty in just over two weeks. It’s so unpredictable. I was riveted by every twist and turn. What do you snack on while you’re watching TV? I’m a fruit fiend and can get through a punnet of grapes very quickly. Naughty favourites like hot cross buns, cheese and Hobnobs are banned from the house. Any TV guilty pleasures? If I’m at home on a Sunday, I’ll always seek out a channel showing Columbo repeats – even though I’ve got the boxsets and have seen all the episodes already. Describe your living room? It’s quite retro because I love mid-century furniture. I’ve got an Ercol chair, a drinks cabinet and a reconditioned 1966 Dansette record player. You play a headteacher in Emmerdale. Were you good at school? I was a bit mischievous and got lines a few times, but I was very studious and took my GCSE exams a year early. I got high grades, too. What do soap fans say when they see you in the street? They’re lovely and usually it’s either, ‘Ooh, your sons are a lot of hard work’ or ‘Don’t you break that Marlon’s heart’. What was your most embarrassing moment on Emmerdale? A scene where I had to run in stilettos. When the camera panned round to me, my heels went from underneath me and I decked it. How do you spend your spare time off screen? I’ve been going to a yoga studio a lot, which is very relaxing. I’m also a singer, so I perform my own gigs and I had a jazz, blues and soul cabaret show in London at the start of the month. Have you ever been star-struck? I went to an audition to be a backing vocalist, but I had no idea which artist it was for. When I was told I got the job, Kate Bush suddenly walked into the room. She’s an inspirational figure to me. To perform with her on the Before the Dawn concert residency in London was overwhelming. What’s the best showbiz advice you’ve been given? Never second-guess yourself – believe in what you do with 100 per cent conviction and just go for it. Do you have any bucket-list ambitions? I’d really love to go to New York one day because I’ve never been and everyone keeps telling me how much I’d enjoy it.

‘I seek out Columbo repeats... even though I’ve got all the boxsets’ Sandra Marvin