Baby Blues

Anna Friel is left holding the baby in a new romantic comedy.

After her turn in last year's bleak eco-thriller Fields of Gold, the new ITV1 romantic comedy Watermelon came as some welcome light relief for actress Anna Friel. "I play the girl who thinks she looks like a watermelon because she's pregnant", she grins. "It's nice to do something where I don't ever have to think about death at the end or some sort of tragedy going on".

Based on the bestselling novel by Marian Keyes, whose Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married has also been adapted for television, Watermelon follows the troubled love life of Claire, an ambitious Dubliner who persuades her boyfriend Adam (Ciaran McMenamin) to relocate to London when she lands a job with a publishing company. However, it soon becomes evident that there is no actual job offer, just an interview which Claire fails miserably.

When Adam learns the truth, he heads home for Dublin, but his plane has barely left the tarmac before his ex is in the arms of her new flame, James (Jamie Draven). When Claire subsequently finds out she's pregnant, James happily assumes the child is his, only then to also do a runner when he discovers the father is in fact Adam.

Left holding the baby, Claire returns to her family in Dublin to contemplate her future, and faces a tough choice when both of her exes have a sudden change of heart. "I don't like the fact that Claire lies so much", admits Friel. "But hopefully, people will excuse that and empathise with her. I love her energy, ability to charm everyone and her wit".

The former Brookside regular wore a prosthetic belly for the pregnancy scenes. "It's very strange to see exactly how it would look, rather than just have a big cushion stuck up your vest", she admits.

The 26-year-old, who will next be seen starring with her partner David Thewlis in the time-travel adventure Timeline, reckons she's not quite ready to take on the role of motherhood herself. "Maybe when I'm 30 , or 32, " she smiles. "But I like to work. If I spent my life washing nappies, I'd be a very unhappy girl".

-Caroline Harris