麻豆社

Amber wants life to be like a Disney film with Amber as the princess heroine. At times dreamy, childish and a bit dim, Amber can be remarkably stubborn when she wants her own way. She’s very wrapped up in her looks and has a great sense of self-belief, bordering on delusion.

Actress Alice Felgate answered some questions about the making of Some Girls:

What was your audition like? What did you have to do?

There were a few auditions, not just one, but at the very first one I only had to go on tape so it wasn't too bad. When I was called back for my second audition, Bernadette was in the room and so I felt the pressure a little bit but she was so nice and very supportive of the way I was playing Amber that the nerves soon disappeared and I relaxed. Every time I auditioned (three times) I would leave the Hat Trick building, walk down to Camden High Street and mentally throw away the audition thinking "Well, I definitely didn't get that!" but they kept calling me back and I was delighted. Eventually we had to do a ‘chemistry read’ that I remember most fondly because it's the first time I really saw how special and funny the show was. There were eight girls going up for the four parts and they were seeing who worked best together. It was the first time Tash and I met and we could feel it was going our way because the decision makers continued to keep us in the room. Even though they can be a little daunting, all of the auditions were great fun. How can it not be when you’re playing someone as fun as Amber?

How would you sum up Amber and her friendship with the three girls?

Amber is a sweet, good-hearted girl who cares for her friends, family and multiple boyfriends. Amber is living happily in her own little bubble and whenever it's burst, her best friends are always there to support her. Her weakness is boys, especially her on-again off-again relationship with Brandon (who is seriously close to being as vacuous as her). Adelayo and I discussed on set that we thought that perhaps Amber and Viva have been friends the longest out of the group. Amber has always had Viva there to help her out of a ridiculous situation and that comes across in the series as Viva knows how best to deal with Amber and her concerns. Holli and Amber never dispute or come to blows; mainly because if Holli did ever say anything harsh to Amber it would probably go over her head. Saz and Amber get on as well as the others except for the times when Saz's jaw is on the floor over the most recent ridiculous statement that Amber has made.

Which of the characters would you have been friends with if they'd been at your school?

All of the four characters have a really sweet and warm side that anyone would want in a friend but if I had to choose one I think it would be Amber. I love making people laugh and love people who can make me laugh so even though she doesn't always mean to, Amber is always pretty funny and would probably make afternoon maths lessons go a lot faster!

How was it when you first met your three co-stars?

I met Natasha first at the chemistry read-through and we hit it off immediately. I think we were the two youngest so we kind of stuck together. We exchanged numbers and kept in touch and we were the first to call each other when we found out the series had been commissioned. We met Mandi at the 麻豆社 read-through and I liked her instantly. Mandi has so much life and energy in her that you just want to chat to her all day. I was away while they were doing the final castings of Viva so when I came back for rehearsals there was tiny Ade sitting there. She looked so sweet but she packs a punch and had me in stitches within five minutes. I don't think the show would have worked if the four of us didn't get on or if the chemistry was forced or fake. As different as we are, the four of us are as close as can be.

Who devised those football victory dances?

I seem to remember us all having a little input in to the dances, although I'm pretty sure Mandi and Tash were leading them. I think it was Ade or Tash who created the cowboy lasso one. The girls always made fun of my dancing, which looks like hamster paws, so we decided to do the hamster celebration. Mandi did her wonderful Indian dancing as Saz's celebration, which was hilarious.

What was the funniest moment in filming for you?

As cheesy as it sounds, there were so many, but I remember laughing a lot one particular day when I asked Ade to play a game I play with my cousins called 'bug eyes'. You put your foreheads together and roll back and forth so you look like you have big bug eyes. As we were playing they shouted "Get ready for a take!" so we pulled apart and got in to position but instead of saying "Action" they said "Stop, we need make-up!". Our make-up artists Sam and Vicky walked up to us with such a confused look on their faces and asked "What is that?". We looked in a mirror and realised that Ade had a big white streak across her forehead and I had a brown one… our make-up had rubbed off on each other. We found it hilarious but Sam and Vicky not so much. As they walked away they turned and insisted "No more bug eyes!". I also have to mention that any scene I had to do with Dolly Wells was a struggle. She’s probably the funniest person on Earth which makes it very difficult to do a scene when we're "losing the light!" on the final hour of a filming day. Everyone is pretty understanding when you have the occasional giggle and break character but with Dolly it's a constant struggle not to combust into explosive laughter. One look from her and I'm off.

Did you learn anything particular from working with Colin Salmon?

I'm so pleased I got to work with Colin because he's not only an accomplished and talented actor but he's also an inspirational man. I was only on set with Colin for four days but he made such an impact. He was always giving great pieces of advice ranging from what to eat to survive the long days on set to his favourite actors, films and musicians. He was very much the Papa Bear of the cast and we all loved him for it.