Soap fans were captivated by Paula Lane's portrayal of the troubled Kylie Platt in Coronation Street, and now she's set to dazzle audiences once more with her latest role as Ella Forster in Emmerdale, a character with a dark past.
Ella has made quite the entrance into village life, not only catching the eye of Doctor Liam Cavanagh and befriending Mandy Dingle but also dropping the bombshell that she killed her best friend at the tender age of 11. The drama doesn't stop there for Ella, as she's about to experience the devastating loss of a silent miscarriage, adding strain to her already turbulent relationship with Liam (played by Jonny McPherson), who confronts her with the painful accusation of faking her pregnancy.
Paula has admitted that the intensity of these storylines takes a toll, and she actively takes steps to protect her mental well-being. Paula revealed her personal strategies for staying mentally fit, crediting regular exercise in the scenic Yorkshire Dales as her saving grace.
"Like anybody I can struggle with my mental health," Paula shared. "There's a hell of a lot going on in the world and it's hard sometimes to pick yourself up, but I really try to focus on myself. I reset myself every day and that might be through yoga, a walk with the dogs, or a run. Exercise for me is key in terms of just releasing and getting myself in a happy place. I love to run, I'm very, very fortunate that I live in a beautiful place where I use a lot of mindfulness."
Paula delivered a gut-wrenching performance as her character Ella confided her past traumas to Cain Dingle, portrayed by Jeff Hordley. A gripping portrayal unfolded as she recounted the harrowing backstory of her character, killing her best mate Joanne on what was meant to be a joyful celebration of her own birthday.
Following the emotionally taxing scenes, Paula found solace in the support from fellow actors Jeff and Jonny. During the journey home, the actress, wife to fellow actor Tom Shaw, and mum to their two children, Arthur, nine, and Penny, eight, used the solitude to process the day's events, allowing her to leave work at the door and fully embrace family time.
"I use that time to reflect on the day and I allow myself that time to really mull over it," Paula shared. "By the time I get home, and I'm around my kids and Tom, I've done that work, I've gone through it in my head. Then I don't need to kind of give it any more of my energy. Paula's storyline doesn't shy away from heavy themes; instead, she feels honoured to open dialogue about the rarely-discussed topic of miscarriage.
"One in four pregnancies results in a miscarriage so to raise awareness is important," she explained earnestly. "I wanted to do justice to it for women out there and for their partners as well because it does happen to people, and unfortunately not everyone does have their happy ending. It's an awful situation to be in and I wanted to play that and do that justice."
Paula's life off-screen is intertwined with acting just as much with the love story straight out of a soap opera. She met her now-husband Tom Shaw at the tender age of 17, both fresh-faced and eager actors Today, they share not only their lives but also their passion for acting, running the Lane Shaw Academy, with both Arthur and Penny, their young proteges, often seen treading the boards Paula was over the moon when her son Arthur secured a role in the upcoming film Starve Acre, starring alongside Matt Smith. Despite his tender age, Paula felt confident in letting Arthur take on such a significant role, attributing it to acting being in his DNA.
"Tom has been an actor since he was 17, which is when I first met him, and that's been our life together," she revealed. "Then of course, we had children and about two years ago, we heard about this open casting call. They were looking for a Yorkshire lad aged between five and seven. It was advertised everywhere - every cafe, every restaurant, everyone knew about it. So I thought, 'Why not? Let's put him forward.' He has acting in his blood, he's a fantastic performer. His delivery is just superb. So he auditioned, got a callback, then a final callback and he landed the role! We were in disbelief, completely shocked. Then the parental instincts kick in and you start questioning, 'Oh my God, do we really want him to do this?'".
Arthur thoroughly enjoyed his time on set and particularly loved working with former Doctor Who star Matt. "It's a big step for any child to be thrown into a feature film set with these incredibly famous actors. We will see where it goes, bless him, though he takes everything in his stride. He's gone to his football camp today with his sister, and we try not to get too fixated on making that decision for him. I want him to really decide if acting is what he wants to do. And equally for our daughter Penny as well. Because if it's just dipping their toes, then that's absolutely fine as well. I don't want them to feel too much pressure at this stage.”
Youngsters Penny and Arthur have already had a taste of the limelight, having starred together in a TV advert. "Penny is in the academy too," Paula said. "They did a Dairylea advert together, so they had quite an intense shoot in London doing that and they had that experience. They look really young in it as well, which is quite funny now they're growing up so quickly. They're auditioning all the time, but it's just getting that balance between keeping their childhoods and keeping it fun."
For Yorkshire-born star Paula, landing a role in Emmerdale was a dream come true, having auditioned for the soap multiple times during her youth before finally securing the part of Ella. Ultimately, she decided to take matters into her own hands and clinched the role after inviting Emmerdale producers to watch her performance in the play Quality Street.
"Even when times are good, even when you're doing work, it's so important to keep networking, because you are a business at the end of the day," Paula revealed. "I was quite bold with it. I do think I manifested it. It's important that you set yourself goals and chase them because, why not? ". For Paula, acting is her passion but nothing tops being a mum, and she's open to expanding her brood.
"I would never say never. I've still got a little bit of time to kind of make that decision," the 38 year old actress said with a smile. "But for now we have a mad Labrador called Stoodley who is way harder than having children. Somebody told me that when he turned two, it was just going to calm down, but I'm yet to see it. He's taking all my energy at the minute!"
Paula also fancies tripping the light fantastic on Strictly Come Dancing, a desire fuelled by watching her ex-colleague Ellie Leach triumph last season. She admitted, "I love dancing, I would absolutely meet that challenge! ". She even thinks she has the mettle to survive in the jungle on ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, though being away from her children would be tough.
"I am quite hardy so in terms of sleeping and camping out, I'm alright with stuff like that," she asserted. "I'd be up for the challenge with the creepy crawlies. I live rural and my house is usually freezing so I'm used to battling the elements, but I'd miss home a lot and my kids. I'd be one that blubs all the time for the camera!".