Justine Michelle Cain interview
When Carly jilts her fiancé Alfie at the alter, it's a particularly heart-breaking moment as she sets out to carve a new life for herself. Desperate to travel the world and not get too tied down, Carly believes she is doing the right thing when she tells Alfie that she no longer wants to get married to him. And for the actress who plays her, Justine Michelle Cain, she hopes viewers won't hate Carly too much for breaking Alfie's heart.
"Carly feels tied down," explains the actress. "She is young and she has had this relationship and done all the grown up things but it's got to a point where she starts to feel like she has not seen the world. She wants to explore a bit and hopefully people will think 'aww bless her, she just wants a bit of life experience'."
Justine says she can relate to her character a lot. "She is a bit dizzier than me but I do have my blonde moments too," she chuckles. "The fact she puts her heart and soul into everything is where we are similar. She wants to explore and that is what drew me to the character because I know what she is going through. It is very up and down but life is like that. My life has been up and down and you take the highs with the lows. She is fun and she adores her friends and family.
"You can see why she is friends with Michelle. You feel sorry for her at times and because she is naive, you do have those moments where you think 'oh lord'. She has her ditzy moments and she does need her friends."
Bursting out laughing, the actress goes on: "But she is definitely more selfish than me as a person. I would not personally make some of the choices she has done, and that is where youth and naivety comes in."
Thankfully, Justine doesn't have the same problems when it comes to her own personal life. Happily dating another actor, Kieran, she reveals: "I have a lovely boyfriend who is also an actor. He knows the industry and he is really lovely. We haven't seen a lot of each other as it has been so busy with the filming but I am really happy."
Justine goes on to explain one of the things she has loved most about playing the role of Carly is the on-set friendships she has forged - particularly with Louisa Lytton who plays her character's work friend. They have become such good friends away from the TV cameras that they have even taken to staying at each other's houses. "I could not love these people any more than I do," she enthuses. "They have been amazing to work with. We are a family on and off screen and there has not been a cross word said. I have become such good friends with Louisa. We do everything together. We have sleepovers together, we have dinners in watching a movie, we take the mickey out of each other and we even dress the same! Everyone finds it hilarious and I can't pick out one special moment, as there have been so many.
"Even when the car picks me up at 5am to take me to work, I am so happy as I have loved this job so much. I know there are a lot of positives as far as this job is concerned but it really is all true! It has just been so fantastic.
"My family are really proud of me and they have been so over the moon that Ihave landed this part."
Smiling, she says the bad weather in Margate did make her realise that life isn't always so glamorous on the set of a TV comedy drama. "It was really cold and for one scene, I didn't wear very much clothing," she chuckles. "My friends think I really am living the life of a TV star but if they saw me that day, they would definitely have told me something else! But we laughed a lot and there was so much wonderful energy on set. I have had some great moments."