Most eligible women 2003

Number Two - Dawn Steele
Actress, 28

Lives:
Glasgow

Who is she?
We know and love Dawn as Lexie, the housekeeper-turned-Lady in Monarch of the Glen. The Sunday night series has gone from strength to strength, routinely attracting some eight million viewers. Keen to move on from her role as ‘sexie Lexie,’ Dawn’s been busy broadening her portfolio with other projects too. Her recent BBC series, The Key, a Scottish historical drama penned by the redoubtable Donna Franceschild, in which she played union leader Mary Corrigan, received critical acclaim. Not content to rest on her laurels, she’s also branching into theatre, and appears in John Byrne’s The Slab Boy Trilogy at Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre from November until January. "I want to get that fright again," she says, "where you’re standing at the edge of the stage absolutely sh**ing yourself before you go on and wondering why you put yourself through it."

Conquests:
Archie, Laird of Glenbogle? You mean, it’s not real life?

Haunts:
Bamboo, St Judes and Cube. When she’s not holed up in Ardverikie Estate in Invernesshire filming Monarch, Dawn is quite the holiday jet-setter. She’s just returned from a safari in Kenya. Last year’s big destination was Australia.

Pluses:
Free haircuts - Dawn used to work in a hairdressing salon.

Minuses:
Monarch of the Glen means she’s based in a Portakabin in the Highlands for seven months of the year. Long term, she’s planning to move to London.

Do:
Buy her a Justin Timberlake CD. She’s a major fan and even named her car after him. And do tip generously - like all the best actresses, Dawn used to work in a restaurant (Glasgow’s Rogano) and knows first hand what it’s like to be a waitress.

Don’t:
Miss the opportunity to show her around Edinburgh now she’s performing at the Traverse. Having lived and worked in Glasgow for most of her life, Dawn’s new to the capital.