Live Chat with Dawn
Taken from the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/seaofsouls/dawn_transcript.shtml
Saturday 14th January 2006

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Littlemissrachie: How did you get into acting?
Dawn: Well, from a very young age, about 8, I was doing a lot of dancing. I got interested from that and got into amateur dramatics, locally, and went on from there.

Sassy1001: Do you ever feel scared by any of the episodes you do?
Dawn: No, not really, because it's not real. I'd say some of the material we're dealing with is quite scary but when you're filming it it's not that scary. But when you see it afterwards, with all the special effects it's a lot more scary!

Caz1973: Do you believe in the paranormal?
Dawn: Yeah, I do! More so now from doing Sea of Souls. I've always been quite interested in it, in terms of tarot card reading, fortune telling and so on. When we were doing research on the show there's too much information for it not to be true.

Lattoryan: Have you ever had any weird visions yourself?
Dawn: No, not visions. But I do get feelings now and again but I don't know if that's more intuition than psychic ability. You keep thinking everything means something - that it's a sign- but it's nothing really.

Bean: Do you believe in ghosts?
Dawn: Yeah, I believe there's something out there although I haven't experienced it first-hand. I suppose until I see it myself that's the only time I'll actually fully believe.

Scotsman: Good show, are the scenes in the 'college' Clyde or Jordanhill? My Dad was curious.
Dawn: Strathclyde University - we use that for the outside shots but the inside shots are a set.
We only film a bit inside the University but the scenes in the office are a set.

Marianne: What has been you favourite Sea of Souls scene to shoot?
Dawn: I like doing all the stuff with my visions. All the stuff in tonight's episode. They're quite good scenes to shoot because we use a full body-rig camera which is attached to me, facing me and built onto my body. It puts me in focus and the background out of focus as I move. It's quite challenging because it's a heavy camera!

Nic M: Completely different characters, but Lexie or Justine?
Dawn: I think Lexie will always be a big part of me because I did it for 6 years and it's the first big role I got from leaving drama school. They're very different characters and I wouldn't like to choose. Lexie's more fun but it's nice to play Justine because she's a lot more grown-up.

Natalie: Has being on Sea of Souls made you more interested in the paranormal?
Dawn: Yeah, it has, a bit. But also, we film for 6 months a year so there's not a lot of time to be interested outwith it when you're doing it every day.

Lucy: Will you be doing another series of Sea of Souls?
Dawn: I don't know - it depends how many people watch it. We'd love to do another series but we'll have to see how successful it is. I'd love to.

Huw G: Do you have to be able to find something of you in the characters you play?
Dawn: Yes. Especially Justine. She has a lot of empathy. She's quite intuitive and emotional. She gets quite emotionally involved with the people she's working with.

Joan: Have you kept in touch with anyone from Fame Academy?
Dawn: Yeah, I just got a text message from John Culshaw who said well done for the show. I'm still in touch with Edith and Kim.

Anon: Has your accent ever prevented you from getting particular jobs?
Dawn: Yeah! I'm sure it has in many ways! I go up for a few jobs that require me to do a different accent but I've not done one yet. I'd love to do one with a different accent. Maybe something period. A posh English drama. Or Cockney is quite good as well, I think.

Anon: What's it like working with Bill Paterson?
Dawn: Bill is a lovely, lovely man. An amazing actor. You can really learn a lot from him when you watch him. He's been doing his job for quite a few years. He's very sweet.

Alex: Just wondering, is the most eligible female still single?
Dawn: Ah.... I wouldn't say single. No, I'm not single. And I've not been the most eligible female in Scotland for quite a few years. I was No.1 at one stage but now I'm slipping down the ranks!

SJ: Who's the cutest guy you've ever worked with?
Dawn: Iain Robertson. He'll kill me if I don't say that.

Huw: After sing in Fame Academy, have you been offered any work in musicals?
Dawn: No. There's a very short, quick answer to that.

Jenny B: Which of your solo songs did you enjoy performing the most on Fame Academy?
Dawn: When I did Brass in Pocket. I ended up in the last 3 that night.

Elaine What was the last album you put on your MP3 player?
Dawn: It was We Are Scientists. I just put it on yesterday.

Naomi: What was the last book you read or what are you reading at the moment?
Dawn: The book I'm reading is by Zadie Smith. It's called On Beauty.

Grace5178: How does being in Sea of Souls compare to Monarch of the Glen?
Dawn: It's a very different job but very similar in that it's quite a lot of the same crew so it makes it comfortable to work on. Monarch was also very different because we were filming in the middle of nowhere. But even though I live in London we were filming in Glasgow which is my home.

Jim1: What are your next projects?
Dawn: Unemployment? Have you heard of that? [Laughs] Nothing at the moment. We just finished Sea of Souls at the end of November. Next I'm just auditioning. Hopefully we'll do another series of Sea of Souls. If so, we'll start in June.

Samg1987: Would you ever go on a reality TV show?
Dawn: I suppose I did, for Fame Academy. But that was for Comic Relief, which is the only reason I went on it. I was asked to do other things but no, I won't do it.

Wind: Will there be a Sea of Souls - The Movie?
Dawn: I doubt it. It'd be great, but I doubt it.

Heidi: What is your favourite song at the moment?
Dawn: Ah... I think my favourite song of last year was Arctic Monkeys. At the moment... I'm quite into Mary J Blige's new song. And The Strokes new one as well. I've got quite a diverse taste of music as the guy in the music shop pointed out the other day.

Lisa Y: Do you keep in touch with the actors from Monarch of the Glen?
Dawn: Yeah, I'm supposed to meet Alistair tonight. My friend Anna was in the first series of Monarch as Archie's girlfriend. It's her birthday tonight so we're all out tonight. And I recently had my 30th and Hamish was there. I spoke to Richard Briers the other week and we're going out for dinner. So yeah, very much in touch with everyone.

Anya: I know Rae Hendrie appears in an episode later in this series. Did you have any scenes with her and if so, was it weird acting with a former Monarch colleague?
Dawn: No, I didn't have any scenes with her, unfortunately. I was out filming the day she was filming but we didn't do anything together. Rae is one of my best friends and I see her loads.

Philippa: Are you really a big fan of Justin Timberlake? lol! I say Oasis all the way :D hehe!
Dawn: Well, this is something that came from quite a few years ago when Justin brought out his first album and I liked him then.

Jim1: Would you like to be a Bond girl on the next Bond film? Would you want to opposite Daniel Craig?
Dawn: Yeah, I think Daniel Craig is a fantastic actor and he's a brave choice for a new Bond as he'll take it in a new direction. I wouldn't say no to being a Bond girl but I don't think they'll ask me.

Anon: Where is your fave place on the planet?
Dawn: My new flat at the moment. I absolutely love it. I put new photos up tonight and was making it more homely. I have to wait and see where my next job's coming from before I start doing a lot to it.

Anon: Who would you most like to work with in the future?
Dawn: Ideally I'd like to do some theatre next. I'd love to work with Mike Lee and those directors, and do something gritty. But definitely theatre next.

Final word from Dawn:
Thank you to everyone who logged on. I hope you all enjoyed the episode tonight. Keep watching - there's 4 to go. Thank you all for your support and being so lovely. If you watched Monarch it's lovely that you're watching Sea of Souls. Thanks!