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Dawn Steele plays Lexie
Life working on the vineyard in New Zealand isn't at all what she'd expected. For Lexie her spiritual home is Glenbogle, the place where all her dreams came true, and she's missing it. "Lexie does love Archie and she wants to be with him, but Glenbogle is where she belongs," says Dawn. "One of Lexie's main storylines has always been that she never quite found where her home actually was, then she got married and felt really settled in Glenbogle. In New Zealand she feels lost all over again. "With Archie being so busy with the vineyard, I think she was feeling a bit lonely. She had nothing to do. She's not used to that because at Glenbogle she was the one that ruled the house and ran everything - you know, SuperLexie - and I just think she felt like a bit of a spare part out there. "She wants to come back one last time, to double check whether the draw of Glenbogle is stronger than the draw of being with her husband. "She's just missing the place and its people. Glenbogle is in her heart and it's pulling her back." However her homecoming isn't as comfortable as she thought it would be - there are new faces and there's a new laird in place. "It's all moved on a bit hasn't it? I think she tries to act like she's still the laird's wife, but Paul's in charge now and he's doing things his own way," continues Dawn. Paul becomes a shoulder for Lexie to cry on and as she starts to depend on him more, she realises there's a growing attraction between the two of them. It's dangerous territory but Lexie is torn over what to do for the best. "I think the attraction between Lexie and Paul is symptomatic of her missing home," says Dawn. "I think she just wanted to come back to Glenbogle and for things to feel like they used to be. "She wants someone to pay her some attention and I would say that Paul is just in the right place at the right time." It's no secret that this is Dawn's last series of Monarch and she has already begun filming a new run of spooky BBC Scotland drama Sea Of Souls, alongside Bill Paterson. She plays Justine McManus, a single mum studying parapsychology. Even though she is happily throwing herself into new challenges, the chatty Glaswegian still gets a lump in her throat when talking about her last days on the Monarch set: "It was so awful," she shudders. "I couldn't even do a thank you speech at the joint leaving do I had with Hamish as I was just in floods of tears. I knew I would be like that. "It was so hard saying goodbye to everyone as we've grown so close over the years. "My last ever scene was actually in the hallway where I'd filmed my very first scene which was quite weird. "When I was coming to the end of my last bit I could see everyone coming down from the office and everyone gathering to give me a round of applause and I remember thinking, 'Oh no, this really is the last shot'. "It was a really odd feeling and very emotional." But Dawn will always have a reminder of Monarch in her home. She says: "I was given a beautiful painting of the house as a present from the production team. Not surprisingly, the minute I opened it I started crying again. I couldn't stop. "At the moment it's hanging very proudly on my mum's living room wall, in pride of place over the top of the mantelpiece. I will treasure it forever."
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