You play Ali G's girlfriend 'Me Julie'. What was it like putting flesh on a character no one has seen?
It was quite daunting playing someone who'd been talked about for so long and I know people will have their own ideas about what she's supposed to be like. But any character you play doesn't usually exist anyway.
You're the voice of Kate Ambridge in The Archers. Would she approve of 'Me Julie'?
The rebel in her probably would actually, but I don't think her parents would. It's funny how people still remember me from The Archers. Someone said to me the other day, "So how are things in the village?", I thought she was talking about London!
Tell us about your big kissing scene with Ali G. How did that come about?
The kissing thing, as with so much of it, was thrown in at the last moment. The first time we kissed was my first day on set, and initially we did a kind of playground kiss that was pretty innocent. Then Sacha [Baron Cohen] and Mark [Mylod, the director] disappeared for half an hour, and Mark came back and said could we try something different. "Could you tongue each other?" he said. And I said "What? Outside my mouth?". So that's what we did – and the first time we did it my entire facial make-up had to be reapplied!
Did you keep anything from 'Me Julie' 's costume?
I wanted to keep a memento of 'Me Julie' but I wasn't allowed to keep any of it in case I ever had to put it on again. Actually I did nick something, I stole my gold name necklace which says Julie on it. Except it was from Argos, and it said Julia!