Kia Pegg can currently be seen playing receptionist Scarlett Kiernan in the BBC soap Doctors alongside a cast including Ashley Rice (as Sid Vere) and Dex Lee (as Bear Sylvester), and it has been announced that Doctors will come to an end in December. Having already filmed her final scenes, Kia will be on screen throughout the year in the show, and in 2023, she was nominated for Best Newcomer at the British Soap Awards and Best Daytime Star at the Inside Soap Awards for her portrayal of Scarlett. Having joined Tracy Beaker Returns at a young age as new regular Jody Jackson, Kia continued her role in the original cast of spin-off series The Dumping Ground, playing the character for ten series before leaving in 2022. As a presenter, Kia has been seen regularly on CBBC‘s Saturday Mash-Up, and she covered the Queen’s Jubilee alongside Stanley at Buckingham Palace, and she has also presented at CBBC HQ with Hacker T Dog. Speaking to Kia, she talked to us about playing Scarlett Kiernan in BBC’s Doctors, her time as Jody Jackson in The Dumping Ground and being a presenter on Saturday Mash-Up.

How did you feel finding out you’d booked the role of Scarlett Kiernan in Doctors and how was it joining the regular cast in 2022?

I can’t really explain how much it meant to me. It was completely unexpected. I’d found out about six weeks before that I was being written out of TDG, so I wasn’t really having a great time. More than anything I was very frightened for the future and what it might hold for me. Being cast in Doctors was exactly the sort of thing I hadn’t been letting myself dream of.

Actually joining was very daunting though! I didn’t have much self belief at the time and was petrified to be joining such an established and talented cast. I used to throw up most mornings before going to work and I probably worked harder than I had in a long time to prove my worth there. But I was shown nothing but kindness from the moment I arrived. I truly don’t think I will ever be able to do justice to how much Doctors means to me.

What is Scarlett like to play and how would you describe the character?

Scarlett is my favourite character I’ve ever played! I remember when I got the audition through I thought I stood no chance at all, she’s not the kind of character I normally get. Typically, I play a lot of tomboys, quite aggressive and not so nice characters. Scarlett is not that at all! I felt a bit lost when I first got the scripts, I couldn’t quite figure out who she was and how to play her. That didn’t come until I went in for my costume fitting. There was this whole rail of colourful trousers and bright woolly jumpers. They’d laid out a whole table of jewellery and asked what I liked. I was immediately drawn to this chunky, purple plastic ring that said BABY. I just thought who would wear that to a job interview for a GP surgery receptionist? It was so outlandish and silly and I loved it instantly. I remember standing in this completely clashing outfit and wearing that purple baby ring, and thinking ‘Oh I get it. This is who she is.’ For me, that was the moment that Scarlett Kiernan really arrived.

Almost all the descriptions of Scarlett cite her as ‘surly’ and ‘sulky’ and, while that’s not wrong, those wouldn’t be my first words. Scarlett is very perceptive – there’s not much that passes her by and she’s excellent when it comes to reading a room. She’s a bit no nonsense and contrary at times, though often I think it’s all a bit tongue in cheek. She’s quite insecure really, especially being in an environment of highly educated, wealthy doctors that are kind of 20+ years older. She’s got a super strong moral compass and an even stronger sense of justice. She’s on the side of the underdog, always. Though she might not say it often, she has grown quite fond of her job and colleagues. She particularly likes VPAS, specifically because she likes helping people. I love that softer side of her… but maybe not quite as much as I love when she’s being abrupt on the reception desk.

How was it on set of the show and what was it like filming with your fellow cast members?

This was the hardest question because I would write forever about what shooting the show was like and how much I adored that cast. Doctors was hard work, it was one of the fastest shooting shows in the country! At any given time you might have up to nine scripts working on, sometimes even 12. We shot between 22-26 pages on an average day so by rights, I should be talking about how difficult it was. But it wasn’t. Not to me, anyway. I genuinely never had a day when I was watching the clock or wishing for wrap. I loved being on set. In fact, I was infamous for never using my holiday days and being forced into it – which they wrote in as a storyline for Scarlett in the end.

The cast is made up of some of the most wonderful, talented, kind, hardworking and all brilliant people I have ever had the complete pleasure of knowing. I probably learnt the most from Jan Pearson. My first year was her last year, and we spent a lot of time together. She’s just phenomenal and I was petrified of working with her in the best possible way. But I learnt so much just from being around her and watching.

I loved being on set with Ross McLaren. Our characters’ friendship was one of my favourites to play, we just bounced off each other quite well and have a similar approach to work. I have so much respect for him – he’s one of the most hardworking and thoughtful people I know. I really miss just acting with Ross.

Ash Rice and Dex Lee were like my big brothers, we spent so much time just hanging out together and being silly. And if Ash and Dex were my Doctors brothers, then I think that makes Dido Miles and Ian Midlane my Doctors parents. They’re just brilliant. They always looked out for me at work, but maybe even more so now that we’ve finished. They both give excellent advice and they’re probably who I keep in touch with the most. In fact, it was only last night that I was at Ian’s watching Jaws for the first time ever.

How was it filming your final scenes and what do you think you will miss most about working on Doctors?

Filming my last scenes wasn’t as hard as you might expect it to be. My last big day on set was with Adrian Lewis Morgan. The two of us had become a bit infamous on Doctors for making each other laugh – ask Wendi Peters, she’ll definitely attest to our silliness. So actually, because I was with Aid I have really fond memories of it. It was almost a normal day really. We laughed a lot.

I miss my friends the most. There’s something so special about the regular cast of a long-running drama. We see each other more than we see our families sometimes. I miss hanging out in the rest off room and being told off for talking when they were trying to film. I miss having too many lines to learn and no time to learn them. I miss my little dressing room and sleeping under the window when the sun warmed it through in the afternoons – I particularly miss leaving and receiving notes from my roommate Joanna Bending. I miss the makeup room. Before this job, I hated my makeup call. It was something that made me really anxious but Doctors made me feel so comfortable and confident in the makeup chair. I really, really miss the work. Doctors was always a new challenge – some of them big, many of them not so big, but it was never the same. Every day was a treat. I felt lucky every time I crossed through those doors.

What was it like being nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2023 British Soap Awards and Best Daytime Star at the 2023 Inside Soap Awards for your portrayal of Scarlett, and what were the ceremonies like to attend?

It’s funny because the award shows have never been that important to me, but it was a lovely thing to be nominated for Doctors. I was just so proud to be a part of that show, that having my participation acknowledged was special. I didn’t expect to win, so I didn’t feel any pressure on the night. At the Inside Soaps I knew without a doubt that Chris Walker was going to win – his performance in If Wishes Were Horses was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. To be honest, I was just honoured to have been shortlisted alongside him.

The ceremonies were great fun! My favourite part is always the day before the show; last time the trains were off so a bunch of us had to get a coach together to Manchester. Then the excitement of the makeup room and everybody getting dressed up then shipped off in cars. It’s like a really fancy school trip. If there’s one thing Doctors can do, it’s party. We are the first and last ones on the dance floor!

In 2022, you finished your regular role of Jody Jackson in The Dumping Ground, what are some of your favourite memories from your time in the show?

My favourite memories are all so mundane! I loved having lunch together, sitting out in the sun between scenes, reading in dim corners on set. I loved location days, going out somewhere different. All of my best memories are really from Series 6 onwards. Practically all of them involve Annabelle Davis. She is a shining star in my life. The over 16 cast had a weekly games night, we went for Sushi every Monday and an Indian every Thursday. I loved that. My fondest memories when it comes to the acting are probably all with Miles Butler-Hughton. I have never worked as closely with another actor. Perhaps it’s because we grew up together, but we just instinctively understood one another as performers. I’ve never worked in such unspoken harmony.

How was it developing the character over the ten series and did you have a most challenging storyline to film?

I loved developing Jody over ten years. I mean, being gifted a character so interesting and complex and then being given a whole decade to play them is (rightly) most actors’ dream! In terms of most challenging, when they made her a street dancer. Nobody thought to check in with me on that one and I am impossibly uncoordinated and possess no rhythm.

What was it like leaving the show in Series 10 and how was it seeing the fan response to your last episodes?

Leaving the show was a very difficult thing for me. I have never kept it a secret that it wasn’t my choice, which didn’t help. I was a little disappointed when I received the episode and found out that Jody had actually left the DG off screen and was only back as a ‘visitor’. After all those years, I would have loved to have had a stereotypical leaving episode, where the audience got to see her last day and her final goodbyes etc but it just wasn’t to be. Some of the best advice I got was from Clelia Murphy, who told me ‘Leaving a show will never be what you want it to be’. Accepting that fact made it a lot easier for me. I’d been in The Dumping Ground for over half my life by the time I left, so leaving was never going to be easy. Carma Hylton, Leo James and especially Sarah Rayson worked really, really hard to give me a good last day and I’ll be forever grateful to them for that. It meant more than I’ve ever been able to tell them.

The fan response was very kind but a little bit hard to read at the time. I had so many emotions about my time on that show and it ending, that it was a bit overwhelming. Since then, I’ve looked back over it and I can’t comprehend how kind people were. I miss Jody like you miss an old childhood friend, I know I won’t be seeing her again but I hope she’s happy out there somewhere.

As a presenter, you have been part of Saturday Mash-Up since 2022, how do you find the experience presenting the show and how is it filming for live TV?

I LOVE live TV. In fact, I love it so much that I couldn’t bring myself to give it up even while filming Doctors. On quite a few occasions I’d film Doctors until late Friday night, jump in the car to travel up to Glasgow, arrive in the middle of the night and present bright and early the next morning. Saturday Mash-Up, in particular, holds a special part of my heart. They reached out and gave me that opportunity when I was a little bit lost and I really credit them, and HQ, with giving me back my confidence. I love the pressure of presenting and I’m still learning all the time.

Do you have any stand-out highlights from working on Saturday Mash-Up so far that you can tell us about?

A definite highlight has to be when me and Stanley were sent to Buckingham Palace to cover the Queen’s Jubilee. They didn’t really tell me where I was going. They just asked if I was free and for my passport – I think it was only a day or so before that they told me where I’d be going. That was a real pinch me moment. And maybe the thing my mom is the proudest of too.

How was it presenting in CBBC HQ and working with Hacker?

I love working with Hacker! I was a very green presenter at the time and I think our early links could be the definition of chaos. But, to be fair, he did show me the ropes before he started trying to trip me up!

How did you get into acting and was it something you always wanted to do professionally?

I got into acting because I was badly behaved at school. I was talkative, couldn’t sit still and had a big imagination. When I was six, The Television Workshop sent a letter into my school looking for kids to audition. I’d never auditioned for anything before and my mom didn’t really know what it was about, just that I liked showing off and needed a hobby. I got in and I guess the rest is history. They really nurtured creativity and individuality in a way nowhere else did and I always give Workshop, in particular Ian Smith, full credit for everything I’ve managed to achieve. Workshop was like another world and I thrived there. There is nowhere else like The Television Workshop. It’s incomparable, in my opinion.

What are some of your favourite films and TV shows to watch?

Oh! So many. I love Our Flag Means Death – I only started watching it for Con O’Neil. He’s one of my favourite actors and I’d love to work with him one day. I like What We Do In The Shadows, Abbott Elementary, Dinnerladies, Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes (the Jeremy Brett series specifically). The latest thing I watched and loved was This Town. I love Red Dwarf. I’ve probably watched it a hundred times. It’s my dream to be in that one day.

How do you like to spend your time away from your career?

I’m a big reader, so I’ve always got a book at hand. At the minute I’m reading Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett and rereading the Thursday Murder Clubs, after the casting news. I’m so excited to watch that! I have a black card for the cinema and so I go there at least twice a week. My top movie of 2024 (so far) is Civil War. The rest of my time is divided between horses, my little brother’s DIY projects and my dog. Actually… he gets all of my time. He is the centre of my entire world.

Have you been given any advice over your time as an actor so far that has stuck with you, and what advice would you give a new actor starting out?

When I read this question all I could hear was Dido (Miles) saying ‘diction’. Actually, Dido gives me the best advice. She gave me a very lovely pep talk when I was still new at Doctors and I’m possibly still living off that high. She recently said to me that every day you spend out of work as an actor ‘carries you further away from your last job and a day nearer to your next one’. I think that’s really good advice actually. My advice? Be on time! And if you can’t be on time, make a prompt apology. Nobody likes a late actor but they really don’t like a late actor that doesn’t say sorry.

What are you hoping this year brings for you?

Some more work would be good. I’d like to spend some more time presenting, I still have a long way to go with that and I’d really like to improve and learn more. I hope to see lots of good movies, and some bad ones too – you can learn just as much from a bad movie as a good one. I hope to see more of the people that I love and to take my dog on some good adventures. He deserves it.

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