In the TV series Brassic, Samantha Power currently plays Donna MacDonagh – the sister of Davey (Neil Ashton) and Barry (Greg Wood), having joined the cast in 2023. This year, Samantha had a guest role playing Marilyn Flo in The Madame Blanc Mysteries alongside Sally Lindsay and Steve Edge – both of whom she’d worked with previously, playing Laura in the mini-series Cold Call with Sally and Debbie Rossi in the BBC comedy series The Cup with Steve. A further project that Samantha was part of this year was Bank of Dave 2: The Lone Ranger playing Bev – the mother of Ella Bruccoleri’s character, and in 2024, she took over the role of Tina Dingle in Emmerdale, with the character returning for the funeral of Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell), and Samantha worked closely with fellow Dingle family member Lisa Riley as Mandy. Across the first four series of Ackley Bridge, Samantha played Simone Booth, and she has worked on a number of CBBC shows, including playing Agent Jones in Wolfblood and Wolfblood Secrets and guest roles in 4 O’Clock Club and All At Sea. Samantha worked with Matt Lucas and David Walliams on their radio show Little Britain, which went on to be a very successful TV show, however, Samantha was unable to be part of Series 1 due to filming clashes, but was asked to join the cast of Series 2, also returning for Little Britain Live! with Matt and David and Paul Putner, with the show touring the UK and Australia, and it had a residency at Hammersmith Apollo. Amongst her extensive screen career, further projects for Samantha include playing regular character Sonia Trent in A Prince Among Men, Shameless, feature film The Low Down, and she has just returned from filming a project in Malta which is set to air in 2026. Also a stage actor, Samantha most recently played Antonia in No Pay? No Way! at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, and she has previously been in the cast of shows such as Rock / Paper / Scissors – a trilogy of new plays by Chris Bush, which played simultaneously at Sheffield Crucible, Lyceum and Studio, and Chicken Soup, also in Sheffield. We found out from Samantha about playing Donna MacDonagh in Brassic, taking over the role of Tina Dingle in Emmerdale for Zak Dingle’s (Steve Halliwell) funeral, being part of Little Britain over the years and being in the cast of the stage show No Pay? No Way! playing Antonia.

Since joining the cast of Brassic in 2023, you have been playing Donna MacDonagh (sister of Davey and Barry – played by Neil Ashton and Greg Wood respectively), how would you describe your character and was there anything that drew you to the show?

Donna is a dangerous, unpredictable sociopath who would not stop at anything to get what she wants! I LOVE playing her! She’s manipulative, rude and ruthless.

What is Donna like to play and how has it been developing the character so far?

It’s one of my favourite characters to date. There is nothing she wouldn’t do. One of the best parts of playing her is working with Neil Ashton. It’s a joy and a privilege to have someone so wonderful and talented as your partner in crime. We laugh a lot. He’s become like a real brother to me.

Earlier this year, you could be seen playing guest character Marilyn Flo in Series 4 of The Madame Blanc Mysteries, what was your episode like to film?

It was great to shoot it in such a beautiful place such as Malta. I had worked with Sally (Lindsay) before on Cold Call and Steve (Edge) in The Cup so it was lovely to work with them again. It was also great playing a character where you don’t know whether she has committed the crime or not.

How was it being part of the film Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger, which was released on Netflix in January, as Bev?

I was super chuffed to be part of this. I loved every second. What the real Dave has done is remarkable. To have Ella Bruccoleri as my daughter was a dream and to work alongside Amit Shah, Chrissy Metz, Rory Kinnear was a joy. However, the stand-out day was filming with Def Leppard in a pub in Burnley! Never did I think I would be singing with Def Leppard! They were so nice. I also got to ‘work’ with my husband who came in as a supporting artist that day, so that was lovely to share the day with him too.

What was it like taking over the role of Tina Dingle in Emmerdale in 2024 and how was it working with the rest of the cast/Dingle family?

I loved playing Tina! What a character. I met Lisa Riley when I did the screen test for it and she was the most giving, generous, supportive person! A real champion and that kindness and professionalism and support continued throughout my time there. I will be forever grateful to her for taking me under her wing. It felt so natural to be be there in the Dales. Everyone was so kind and grounded from costume, make-up, crew, actors, everyone. It was a wonderful place to work! What a family to join, eh! The Dingles are iconic and they were all so, so welcoming!

Tina returned for her father Zak Dingle’s funeral, how was it getting into character as Tina and what was her storyline like to work on?

I felt very lucky to play Tina.

My first day was the funeral scene so it was daunting to rock up at the graveside with ALL the Dingles there! Obviously as much as they were saying goodbye to Zak, they were very respectful as they were also saying goodbye to their beloved Steve (Halliwell), who played Zak.

Tina got herself into all sorts of scrapes, which was great fun to play. I definitely ended up in the mud multiple times. I loved her ability to be so underhand and manipulative, blackmailing Mandy for her own gain. The two-hander scenes in the salon with Lisa were among some of my favourite scenes. It felt so natural working opposite Lisa. I love her!

What did you enjoy most about playing Simone Booth across the first four series of Ackley Bridge and how was it seeing the fan response to the series?

I am really proud to have been part of Ackley Bridge. Simone was a very flawed and vulnerable character but could be very deceitful and persuasive to get what she wants. Penny Woolcock was instrumental in creating something so special that spoke to so many. Those first two series had such an impact, especially the Missy/Nas friendship storyline. It was so popular because it was so, so good and relatable and they weren’t afraid to do challenging storylines. People still come up to me now saying how memorable it is and how they still watch it all the time, even now.

What was it like filming for the Channel 5 crime drama mini-series Cold Call as Laura across every episode?

There is a pattern here, I LOVED this job! What a great job! Playing someone who looked half decent for once, living in a mansion with a swimming pool was a welcome change (That pool was freezing by the way). What a cast too! Sally Lindsay is fabulous in every way. So talented and so kind!

For CBBC, you played Jones in Wolfblood and Wolfblood Secrets, and guest characters Mrs. Thompson in 4 O’Clock Club and Mrs. Brown in All At Sea, how is it filming for CBBC shows and what were the characters like to play?

CBBC produce some fabulous television shows. Wolfblood came about because I was involved with a spin-off series called Wolfblood Secrets where I played Agent Jones. We shot 10 episodes in one week. Agent Smith (the brilliant Si Trinder) and Agent Jones interviewed the majority of the Wolfblood characters. It was intense but Agent Jones is a complete departure from some of the other flawed characters I have played along the way. As a consequence of that, I was asked to film Wolfblood in Newcastle and that is where I got to work with the brilliant director Steve Hughes, who I have just recently worked with again.

Can you tell us about your time involved with Little Britain and how was it touring with Little Britain: Live?

Little Britain was a real career highlight for me and I am extremely grateful to the wonderful duo Matt (Lucas) and David (Walliams) for letting me be part of such a successful journey. Way back in the 90s I was asked to do a pilot radio comedy show called Little Britain! Who knew it would then go on to be such a huge success. The radio series was commissioned and I remember we recorded it in front of an audience in a studio on Goodge Street. I played numerous different characters. Then the TV series was commissioned and I was asked to do it but there was a clash with another job I was on so I couldn’t do it! However, thankfully it went in my favour as, kindly, Matt and David asked me to be in Series 2 where I was lucky enough to be part of the Bitty sketches. It was where David’s character still breastfed from his mother and I played his girlfriend/fiancée/wife over the course of the series. I feel truly blessed to have been part of Little Britain.

Little Britain: Live was a job like no other. We toured arenas all over the UK and Australia to an audience of thousands each night. What a privilege to be part of something so iconic. We did a residency at Hammersmith Apollo where so many people came to watch it! I met so many phenomenal icons such as Kylie Minogue and Sir Paul McCartney. It was only a cast of four – Matt and David, the incredible Paul Putner, and myself playing all the female parts! I LOVED IT! Travelling to Australia was a dream come true. One day we went to work in a helicopter! It was like being in a movie. It was just an incredible experience and I will always be forever grateful to them both. I learnt so much from them, watching them work. They are amazing!

What are some of your favourite memories from playing regular character Sonia Trent in the BBC sitcom A Prince Among Men early in your career?

Wow! We are going back now. One of my first major jobs. A BBC One sitcom! To be part of a cast with massive established actors such as Susie Blake, Brian Pringle, Chris Barrie was fantastic. I was so grateful for this role. I think it was 1997 and 1998 when we shot the series. We rehearsed Sunday to Thursday at the BBC (only half days) then we would go into the studio on Thursday or Friday and rehearse on set, do a tech and dress rehearsal, then we would shoot it in front of a live studio audience on the Friday night, which was just incredible!!! I loved playing the ditsy Sonia Trent. She had some great lines. We did two series of that.

As a stage actor, you have most recently played Antonia in No Pay? No Way! at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, what was the show like to perform in?

It was everything and more. It was super fast-paced, bonkers, non-stop. What a job! From going down a slide from the first balcony to the stage with a massive bulge of ‘swag’ under my coat to illuminated giant statues of our lady, to singing Bella Ciao at the end, it was magical! I have never known a reaction on press night like it. Loved every second! Bryony Shanahan is an extraordinary human being and the best in her game. To watch her work and be part of her projects is incredible and I am so lucky to have been a part of it!

How did you find the experience performing simultaneously at Sheffield Crucible, Lyceum and Studio in 2022 in Rock / Paper / Scissors – a trilogy of new plays by Chris Bush, and how different did you find these productions to your previous work?

The work that went into that was off the scale! How we pulled it off is testament to the incredible hard-working people who organised it. Shoutout to Chris Bush and Rob Hastie for their ambition and belief and they did indeed pull it off. The thrill of running across the square in Sheffield from the Lyceum to the Crucible in the rain negotiating a growing audience from the nearby bars clapping as we ran was lovely! You know what, it never went wrong, there was never an actor not in place in any venue. The only time we had to stop was because there was a small fire from the machine in the Studio, which was put out immediately! All three spaces are very different and it was an amazing experience to do three plays simultaneously across three venues! Remarkable! It was so different because in rehearsals not only are you thinking of your story arc and performance, you are also thinking: ‘oh my god, where do I go now!!! Which room! Which play!’. You absolutely had to be on your toes.

Over your extensive acting career so far, you have been part of numerous other projects including Doctors, Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators (BBC), Whitstable Pearl (Acorn TV), Coronation Street (ITV), Wuthering Heights (Royal Exchange), Chicken Soup (Sheffield Crucible) and Beryl (West Yorkshire Playhouse), can you say about some of your favourite highlights?

Chicken Soup was my first project with Bryony Shanahan. I adored that job! I adore Bry. What an amazing cast too.

The Cup – a brilliant BBC comedy that was short-lived.

Shameless – I played a bonkers character who was obsessed with Frank Gallagher as she had a boyfriend on Death Row in Alabama who looked just like him! I had a massive tattoo resembling Frank Gallagher on my back and ended up doing a striptease in The Jockey pub.

The Low Down – a film I shot around 2000, directed by Jamie Thraves.

And as previously listed, all my Little Britain jobs, Brassic and Ackley Bridge and all the times I worked at the Royal Exchange Theatre. That was a dream come true!

Where does your love of acting come from, and how did you originally get started in the industry?

I was born in Ireland and moved to Rochdale when I was about three. No one in my family is/was part of the acting industry. I didn’t go to acting classes, I didn’t go to dance or drama classes, nothing BUT I just knew I wanted to do it from a really young age. I did GCSE Drama, then BTEC in Performing Arts at Oldham College and then luckily I auditioned for drama school and got in when I was just 18. I went to Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff (now known as Royal Welsh). Luckily, I got an agent from our showcase and 30 years on since we graduated I am still doing it and love it more than ever.

Do you have any favourite films, TV and theatre shows to watch and how do you like to spend your free time?

I love Bridesmaids. It’s a classic!

Recent TV series which I loved were Bad Sisters, Better Things, Kin, This City is Ours, The Responder.

I saw A Taste of Honey and The Glass Menagerie at the Royal Exchange in my teens and both plays left a lasting impression on me.

My husband and I love to travel when we can! We love going to new places, different countries as much as possible. I love Pilates, especially Reformer Pilates. I have an excellent teacher called Louise! She is phenomenal. I love Zumba/dancercise. Walking, seeing friends, going to the cinema, although we don’t go often enough.

What advice would you give a young actor hoping for a career on screen or stage?

It’s hard work. It’s tough. It’s harder than ever! You need to be able to cope with quiet periods, deal with the constant competition and rejection. No journey is the same. If you can cope with that then the reward when you land that job is so so worth it! My philosophy is what is for you won’t go by you!

What are you hoping this year brings for you, and do you have any projects coming up that you can talk about?

I have just come back from Malta shooting a lovely project which will be aired at the start of next year.

I hope this year brings more opportunities! It’s clear to see from my answers I absolutely love my job and have been lucky enough to have a varied career over three decades. Long may that continue. Fingers crossed. I just want to keep on working.

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