Curfew

This time last year I dyed my hair green as I was filming for Sky One's new series Curfew! I remember getting my first message off my agent asking me to do an audition which was for one of the hen party girls character. I didn't end up getting the audition but production wanted me to play an Emo Goth and had to check my availability for it, let them know as soon as possible so they could go out and buy me clothes and get me in for a costume fitting to try the clothes and do a make up test. (I'm glad I wasn't a hen girl as they had hardly and screen time and got killed off pretty early in the race).

I turned up to the costume fitting thinking I'm just going to try my costume to see what fits and have my make up and hair done and that would be it - oh how I was so wrong. I did half a day in work that day and drove down to Manchester for 2pm. Tried some outfits then just sat and waited around for hours before I ended up going into make up at around 7:30pm.

I sat in the make up chair and the head of the make up department asked if she could dye my hair. I said no at first then they tried different make up on me and I eventually said yes to it as I've always wanted to dye my hair but my mum would never let me and I didn't want to do it myself and knew it would cost loads to get it done in a hairdressers. Then they wanted to cut a fringe this was the photo they had as inspiration...

I said no way to getting a fringe like that cut in as I knew it would never grow out but did agree to a side fringe. Did try to get a clip in one but it just wouldn't look as good or natural so a side fringe was cut in!

What my hair looked like before scissors and dye went on it.

Trying make up on me...

They had to bleach my hair as they wanted it to go turquoise. They didn't leave the bleach on long enough so my hair didn't take and it ended up going a horrible snot green colour really patchy.

 I didn't end up getting home till 3:30am!! Then I was back in work at 7am which meant I had 2 hours sleep. The day after I was having an absolute breakdown over my hair and was crying on the phone to my agent like what have I done and why did I agree to dying it and they were going to pay me pennies for it. I remember going home after going the gym after work that night and my mum having a breakdown as she obviously didn't see it when I got home and it looked so bad. I guess it's hair and it grows which was what I was telling myself. But my agent was amazing and managed to sort it out and I went back to get it re-dyed 2 days later.

When I went to get my hair dyed again they had to bleach it again and left the bleach on longer this time for the colour to take. It took a good couple of hours. They shouldn't have rushed it the first night and should have just called me back to get my hair dyed really.

My hair ended up going this amazing mermaid green! And I loved it! It's like my favourite shade of green. 

A week later it was the first of a long week of night shoots! It ended up being the worst week ever to do night shoots as it was the coldest week of the year and it snowed. The weather was awful. A lot of the night's were delayed and they had to keep us on the dining bus as the weather was too bad to film and having to drive home on the motorway in an actual blizzard was scary. But it meant we all bonded and made some new friends.

Night 1 my hair and make up...

I actually lost my septum ring within half an hour...

My crew!

Julian had his hair dyed green for this, Bekki already had pink hair and Duncan had his hair sprayed black as he was getting married so didn't want to get his hair dyed.

My crew with our groupies - Laurel, Katy and Molly who are all real emo goths with amazing hair already who got brought in to be extras when they were out buying costumes for us.

Our car - the hearse.

My hair and make up didn't look as good as the first night again... My make up woman did get my hair and make up down to a tee and managed to do it quicker each night.

Night 2

I had to wear a corset and I could barely breathe with it on

We did 4 nights in a row and I got so ill as I'm not nocturnal at all, wasn't used to having a backwards routine and as we were all confined into the dining bus with the heater blowing on us and it being minus degrees outside everyone was ill and it was just spreading around. I nearly couldn't film on the last night but I eventually did it. We filmed so many nights in that pit but watching it back it all makes sense. If you watched it the background music in the pit was actually Scissor Sisters - Filthy Gorgeous every single night. Have PTSD of being super cold whenever I heard that song now.

Don't quite fit in when I took all my make up off.. But this was the end of filming with everyone.

I got called back to do a couple of more filming on my own as I sit in the front of the car so got to be in the car with the stunt driver. My hair and make up isn't as good when I went back as I had a different woman doing it and just couldn't get it as good.

This was played out on episode 3 when Rose shoots at the hearse driving through the smoke.

Episode 4 - my close up!

This is the behind the scenes of my close up from episode 4. Yep I did die sadly as I got shot but it was so fun to shoot even though the prosthetics was making me queasy I'm that squeamish!

Fake blood is so sticky

I was given a gun then they decided I didn't get to hold it

The last time filming with the crew - Duncan couldn't make it so he got replaced with someone else

I remember the camera being in my face when this was filmed but didn't know how it would get played out. I'm quite good at playing dead I guess! 

I loved filming this, it's my favourite thing I've filmed. Green hair Julie was living her best life even though every time I got it re-dyed it turned out a different shade of green/blue. I did want to keep it but hated when it faded it to a horrible seaweed colour and I just couldn't keep it up so after 4 months I dyed it back. (I've still got weird tinge of green and ginger in my hair now and there's a patch that didn't take the colour to go back black). 
The night shoots did kill me off and I can't say I'm running to do them again any time soon but it was an amazing experience and I met some great people. They put so much into filming this it was like a proper film. I'm disappointed at the ending - it could have been so much better.

 I am sadly dead and we didn't win or make it to the end of the race but that doesn't mean I can't film in the next series. I just won't have green hair or be an emo goth - no one will recognise me..!

I can't wait to film something as good as this again!

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40 mile bike ride

Went on a 40 mile bike ride with Jo on Sunday. My ankle is still sore and I wanted to cover miles still so we decided to go on a bike ride. We had to double what we would run so we decided to cycle into town then get the ferry over to New Brighton. The first ferry was at 10am but we wouldn't make that so aimed for the 11am one but ended up missing that one too and ended up on the 12pm. 

It cost us £6.40 each to get the ferry. We got a Walrus card that cost us £1 then £5.40 for an all day pass to use the ferry and any other public transport.

Getting the ferry is definitely the best way to see the waterfront. The weather was perfect for it 23°C. The ferry only takes 20 minutes to get to Seacombe ferry terminal. Then it was quarter mile down to New Brighton so we just cycled down. Once we got to New Brighton it was packed full of people. So many people were having picnics and bbq's. Fully Brits abroad.

We stopped to have an ice cream which was a rip off £2 and all you get is raspberry sauce and don't even get sprinkles no more! A 99 is actually £2.50 if you want a flake!

We carried on cycling and ended up stopping at Wallasey embankment as Rich rang to say he was at the docks. So we flew back to catch the 3pm ferry. Turns out neither of us can really cycle straight and I'm not a confident cyclist at all. I can't cycle on sand and I nearly fell off the bike at least 3 times! We got back to the ferry terminal at 3 thinking we'd missed it but turns out it was due at 3:20pm. Once we got back Rich and Billy were waiting for us and Rich got us another ice cream...

Jo got some fish and chips and we had to cycle back. My back and bum were so sore but the ride back was so much easier as it was more down hill. Going up hill actually kills your quads and it's so much easier to run up Woolton Hill than it is to cycle it!

Eventually made it back at 5:45pm I was meant to be going to nanny Wing's for dinner at 6pm but turned up an hour later as I needed to get a shower and wash my hair.

It was such a good day out and the weather was ideal for it. It would have been a real struggle to run in that heat but when you're cycling you're going a lot faster so you get the nice breeze even though you do get sweaty still. The only thing I hate is the sore bum and back which is still aching now! Not ideal having a boney bum! Definitely need to do it again in the summer. The weather this weekend has been amazing even though I did do overtime on Friday and yesterday I still had plenty of time to enjoy the sun and top up my t shirt tan!

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All photos were taken with my Samsung Galaxy S9 phone.